STEP OUT IN FAITH / Rev John Thoung, AO Coordinator, Myanmar

The world has been affected by the COVID pandemic for the last two and a half years but we here in Myanmar also had to contend with the political situation. The political situation affected us more than the pandemic as there was total chaos and unrest and we felt doubly burdened. Our hearts were filled with fear, insecurity and uncertainty for the future. We have been praying to God that He may lift our burden and give us peace and the courage to go forward sharing the Good News to our people. People are suffering because of loss of jobs and businesses.

One day while I was seeking the Lord for guidance on how to move forward with the ministry, the Lord inspired me to take a risk. I felt like the four men with leprosy as in 2 Kings 7:3 “Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So, let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” When they went out from the city, God performed a miracle and their people were blessed through them.

Likewise, I decided to walk by faith and trust in the Lord and made arrangements for a Christmas outreach programme. With the help of Asian Outreach Malaysia, we were able to reach many people through the Gospel of Christ. We were aware that it was dangerous for us and a risk we were taking but we prayed and stepped out boldly in faith. Our church grew after the Christmas outreach programme and we had to bring in more chairs for almost every service. The Christmas celebrations was like bringing new Hope and Joy into people’s lives. People here were sick and tired of worrying and fearing for our future. One of the most valuable strengths in life is being hopeful.

We not only did our Christmas programme around our village but in the surrounding villages in the Chin state as well. Our first stop was the village of Toe Myaung in the Bago Division and there were no Christians in this village. They watched the nativity play by our Bible students and they wanted to know more. Many received salvation and repented.

Next we went to the Rakhine state to preach the Good News. Rakhine state is a war-torn zone and a tough region to evangelize. But God has opened the hearts of the Arakan Army (AA) and they allowed Christians to practise their faith freely. I was able to share the Gospel and minister to the Rakhine people and 6 people were baptized. People are hungry for the Word of God and we have sent two fresh graduates from our Bible school for ministry there, bringing the total to four.

In April we held a youth camp for about 76 youths and as we spoke on salvation, many young people gave their lives to Jesus. 7 youths were baptized. During the Water Festival, young people like to enjoy the festival with merry-making, partying and drinking. The youths who attended our camp  testified how they were blessed and were glad they came. We were worried that the military would hassle us but our local authority gave us approval, happy that we were reaching out to the youths.

We really thank God for what he has done through us. We saw miracles and breakthroughs taking place and we saw God’s favour upon everything we planned to do. We spent time in prayer breaking every hindering spirit of the enemy and anointing the grounds on which we held our events. We are still following up with these young people and please pray with us to get more Bibles for distribution. Many people are asking us for Bibles but we do not have enough. When we take a step of faith , in circumstances beyond our control which are risky and laden with fear and we arm ourselves with trust in God, He will move mountains. We give the glory to God.

Matthew 17:20-21 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”