Reaching, touching and changing lives in the Myanmar Chin state

By Rev Dr John Thoung

AO coordinator Myanmar

The Chin State is bordered by Rakhine State in the south, Bangladesh in the south-west, the Indian state of Manipur in the north and the Indian state of Mizoram in the west. The Chin ethnic group make up the majority of the state's 500,000 people. The capital of the state is Hakha. The state is a mountainous region with few transportation links, sparsely populated and remains one of the least developed areas of the country with the highest poverty rate of 73%.

Christians in the Chin state face systematic religious discrimination at the hands of the Burmese government and are often forced to convert to Buddhism as reported by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO). CHRO accuses the nominally-civilian government of pushing ahead with the military policy of “Burmanisation” in ethnic minority areas, resulting in widespread human rights abuses including violations of religious freedom, forced labour, torture, and sexual violence. The report, documents numerous cases where the state has destroyed crosses or denied Christians the right to worship through arbitrary regulations, threats and violence. Many civilians complain of being forced to build pagodas or hand over their land to make way for Buddhist constructions.

Christian students are regularly coerced or threatened into converting to Buddhism. Some students even report of being forced to shave their heads and wear monks’ or nuns’ robes. “If you don’t want to be a monk, you must join the military,” the headmaster of a Na Ta La school told students in 2010, according to a report.

Every year I make it a point to go back to my home state, the Chin state, to hold revival meetings to encourage the believers there. Because of the persecution they go through, many are afraid and discouraged, some even reverting back to Buddhism. My team of 4 members and myself left Yangon on the 2^nd of April travelling by bus through the troubled Rakhine state and then by boat to arrive at our first stop, a small village called Pyiwa. People here were hungry for revival and we had a wonderful night meeting with the believers and even some non-believers.  During the morning seminar the next day, praise the Lord 3 non-believers accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. 5 believers who never experienced the Holy Spirit before were filled with the Holy Spirit. We left this village encouraged and full of joy, eager to proceed to the next part of our journey. The next village we went to, Sami, we again experience the joy of seeing 5 believers filled with the Holy Spirit and 4 people being saved. We felt the anointing of God just flow over these events, touching and changing lives.

The next part of our journey took us up the mountain where we had to walk for 10 hours before we could reach our destination, Emakung Village. Being the hot season and after 10 hours of walking we were just so tired out. The villagers who were expecting us rushed out to greet us with cold drinks and a warm welcome. As tired as we were, the people were ready and eager for us to start our meeting and what a revival night it was. The joy of the Lord just flooded the place and people were singing and rejoicing during worship.

As we climb further up the mountain from village to village the climb got harder and we prayed to the Lord for His strength. Half way before reaching the village, groups of villagers greeted us with shouts and waves of excitement. They brought water and food for us. I was so touched at their eagerness to see us, excitedly anticipating our arrival. Not many local pastors wanted to come up here as it was too rural and the villagers too poor to support them if they decided to pastor a church. Due to strict travel restrictions for foreigners, hardly any foreign missionary ventured here.  God showed me just how hungry these people were for His word and how much they needed to be encouraged and uplifted.

At my native village of Seinki Taung, it was a joy to meet up with old friends I had not seen for 11 years. At the revival meeting, I was overjoyed to see the whole village come for the meeting and to see 10 people from my village give their lives to Jesus. Leaving my village we continued up to the Khopum Mountain where we held a 6 day youth camp in the jungle with about 105 youths. The youths there were on fire for the Lord and everyone who was there felt the presence of God and a powerful anointing. 30 people got saved and 20 people were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The local authority in charge of the village testified that he was a very arrogant man but that day he was touched by the saving grace of Jesus. Watching the people dancing and singing at the open air meeting, the team and I felt so humbled to be part of this great revival. After the camp the youths decide to erect a memorial stone for remembrance and to dedicate the camp to the Lord.

We spent a month on the road walking from village to village on the mountains and though it was completely exhausting all of us agreed that we would go back next year. We brought 50 souls to the Lord in that one month and we know Heaven is rejoicing with us. The villagers begged us to return and were sad to see us go.  Every village we went to, we saw the same thing, the hunger for the Word of God. Unfortunately the Harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.

We are Soldiers of the living God. We are Called, Chosen, Confirmed, and Charged living to serve the God we love. Without Him I can do nothing but with Him I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Ministry in the Mountains

Ps Jiwan Rai

AO coordinator.      

In February I received an invitation from Ps Ramesh Manger of Urlabari in Nepal, to join his mission team going to evangelise to an unreached peoples group high up in the mountains near Pokhara, Nepal. Living in Silguri which borders Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, I have had my fair share of evangelising to villages high up in the mountain areas but in my 19 years of ministry, nothing quite prepared me for what lay ahead.

On the 20^th Febuary, two lay leaders from my church and I left Siliguri by bus on a 16 hour journey travelling at night. On arrival in Pokhara the team (13 altogether) were waiting for us and after a briefing and introduction, we began our journey up the Durga Mountain.  Durga is actually a female deity according to Nepalese Hindus and they named the mountain after her.

I was told that we would be going to a very remote village high up in the mountain where the Santhals and the Biswakarma Tribes lived. There are about 300 inhabitants living in Durga village. After changing three buses and walking for some two to three hours, we finally reached a small slum village where we had to spend the night. It was already 10pm and the whole team was exhausted and so glad to have reached our stop for the night.

The next morning we were up by 6am to start our journey. From here on, we had to go on foot but since I was not used to trekking I was given a horse to ride on. The trek consisted of many steep paths, zigzagging along mountains and as you climbed up, you saw what seemed to be the end of the climb but as you went higher, you realised there’s another steep hill waiting for you on the side. But it was almost impossible for me to sit on the horse as the paths were so narrow and hilly and I was afraid the horse would slip over the edge. For the first few hours up the trek we walked through the forest and as we got higher we began to leave the forest behind. The scene before us now was the snowy mountains and beautiful skies. The climb got higher, harder and colder. The mountain paths got narrower as it climbed and every step got more dangerous. One slip or stumble and we would fall over the edge. By this time, some of us began to experience ‘high altitude sickness’ and the team stopped to pray for us. By now the paths were covered with snow, some areas four to five feet thick and most times it was snowing. I felt like the 13 of us were like lost children trying to find our way in this sea of white snow. Some places the snow was so thick and slippery that we fell a couple of times and by then my legs were hurting. After 16 hours and 30 minutes through piercing winds and the freezing cold, we finally reached our destination. Praise the Lord! Throughout our long and hazardous journey we always felt His presence with us.

The village had absolutely no modern amenities and the people here are living in abject poverty. There was no hospital, shops and not even a police station. Since there was no government authorities present, the villagers set up their own administration. Most of the villagers here are Hindus and the only Christians here were Pastor Dil Bahadur and a family of four who had built their own stone church. The village is nestled amidst the snow-capped majestic Annapurna Mountain Range A simply breath-taking sight. It was like a forgotten place where time stood still.

 The next day we held our Healing crusade, the first ever in this tiny village. (Refer to cover picture). These simple mountain folk, completely cut off from the outside world were touched by the saving grace of Jesus Christ and several of them accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. It was so amazing to see them so excited on hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the crusade when we made an alter call for prayer & healing, some people experience instant healing. It was a humbling experience to share the Word of God with these simple people. After the meeting we distributed bibles, pamphlets and food to the crowd. It was an awesome two days of sharing the Gospel with people who are hearing it for the first time. They were sad to see us leave and I was sad to be leaving.

Our journey down was just as tough as our journey up but we made it down in one piece and all of us were so grateful to the Lord for giving us such a wonderful experience. I have already made plans to meet Ps Dil in Pokhara in July as our church is collecting clothes, blankets and other items to give these villagers. 

I realized that I am not the giver here. No matter how much I give, I give of what He has given me. Even my life, entirely belongs to the Lord. The true Giver is the Lord God Almighty whom we call the Heavenly Father. He has called every one of us to be His vessel and I am blessed as I choose to obey Him.

Hebrews 6:10

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Prayer Request

1. Please pray for Ps Dil as being the only pastor he sometimes feels discouraged.

2. We pray for more open doors in the village to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. We ask the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers to reach the unreached.

Miracles in Bihar

By Pastor Paul Silvanus

Apostolic Faith Mission         

      

                        

Bihar, long called the “the graveyard of missions,” is now becoming “a vineyard for missions”. Once known as the darkest province of India where persecution was rampant, it is now one of the most open and responsive states for the gospel in India today. In the 1970s missionaries from South India sent by the indigenous missions came to Bihar but although they worked hard, they were utterly disappointed by the poor response to the gospel. Christianity was still seen as a “foreign White religion” by most people in Bihar. After ten or fifteen years without seeing any fruit, the missionaries got discouraged and moved to other states and most mission fields in Bihar closed.

Tensions and bloodshed between different castes resulted in the breakdown of law and order several times. Wide­spread corruption, poverty and illiteracy, as well as poor communications, poor transport and no proper roads all made Bihar seem hopeless and contributed greatly to the ‘spiritual dryness’ in Bihar. Many local pastors also hesitated to come here. But now a new picture is emerging. People from all castes and communities are responding to the gospel in an unprecedented manner. Opposition to the gospel, prevalent in many other states of India, is not seen as much in Bihar now. The Lord is doing a new thing in Bihar

In early 1990s, the Lord opened doors for the gospel in Bihar. The despair and hopelessness of the people made them look for alternative hope, which they found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The picture of Bihar as the vineyard began emerging. This is God’s time for India, especially for North India and Bihar. God is at work opening wide the door for the gospel to the 105 million people of Bihar. Thousands of people are responding, new churches are being planted, and Church Planting Movements are emerging among the unreached peoples.

The Lord is calling on the churches in India and the world to observe these new trends in mission and to respond positively. If this could happen in Bihar, why not in the other states of North India and beyond!

BIHAR TESTIMONIES

In 2007 we sent our first missionaries into Bihar, Pastor Amod Nanda and Pastor Joseph Nayak.  Although they were young people just out of Mission school, they were full of zeal for the Lord. They arrived at the District of Khagaria in Bihar where there was not even a single church. They did not know any one, when they jumped off the train and as they walked down the street they prayed and asked the Lord to find a place for them to stay. Immediately they came across a school run by a Christian Brother and as they shared that they are here to work for God’s kingdom, he allowed them to stay in the school. In return one of the Pastors who was good in plumbing and electrical wiring, helped the school to repair their plumbing and helped with their electrical problems. They were allowed to stay in the school premises until they found a place of their own.

They started their work in a village called Tikka Rampur, a village belonging to the high-caste people called “Yadavs”. As they went around sharing the Gospel, the people listened but no one would commit to Christ and they felt discouraged. One day the village head man took ill and after he was taken to hospital, it was discovered that he had a very aggressive form of cancer and the doctors gave him a few days. So his family brought him home to die. Pastor Amod Nanda went to the village and ministered to the Head Man, Bindeswari Yadav. The pastor took a scripture from John 3 that unless you repent and take baptism you will not enter into the kingdom of God, and this verse troubled the sick man and he began to question where he would go after his death.  “Please give me that Jesus so that I can to go to heaven if die today” he asked the Pastor. He accepted Christ and was baptised the same day. As he was too weak to walk, his sons carried him to the nearby river for baptism. A week later Bindeswari passed on to be with his Lord and Saviour. His son Gopal Yadav followed his father and accepted Christ, he committed his life to work for Jesus and has gone on to become the first native pastor.

                               

Latchoso Shane and Sudhamma Devi

This couple belongs to a Hindu group called ‘Sath Pal Maharaja’ sect. Lathchoso was a priest leading the villagers into idol worship and had built a temple to the goddess Kali in the village. Meanwhile someone had done witchcraft over his wife Sudhamma and she became terribly ill and was bedridden. Being a Hindu priest himself, Latchoso offered a lot of animal sacrifices but it did not change his wife’s situation. He spent all his money on medication but it did not help. His wife was getting worse as days went by. Finally, in desperation he came to the local church pastor in their village, Joseph and Namitha Nayak. They shared the word of God with Latchoso and encouraged him to come to church regularly. He did so and God in his mercy healed his wife gradually. Finally Sudhamma got completely healed. They testified that Jesus had healed them and on 18 June 2013 they got baptized. After baptism the village council called them for a meeting and asked them who will lead the ‘Kali’ temple now. Latchoso answered that he had brought the idol into the village and he was willing to remove it. He started to testify about Jesus to his own villagers. Some have decided to follow him and come to church. But the others have turned against Latchoso and the Pastor’s family. Pastor Joseph Nayak was called by the village counsel and warned. They however continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, unafraid.

 Urmila Devi

Urrmila Devi was suffering with severe leg pain for some time. There was no medical treatment available in her village and she simply did not have enough strength to travel to the nearby city to seek medical help. Pastor Gopal Yadav met her and shared about Jesus and prayed for her. She got a little better and the she started coming to church with the help of others. Now she is completely healed. She is joyfully worshipping the Lord. She accepted Christ and got baptised also on 18^th June 2013.

Celebration in Heaven

“There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)

Back to Jerusalem on the Silk Road

By R & S Wa (Missionaries in China)

3,000 years ago, trade caravans carrying silk crisscrossed China and Europe, along the route known as the Silk Road. Then in the 1920s, God gave a vision to the Chinese Church known as the ‘Back to Jerusalem Movement’ (BTJ) to take the gospel westward from China, across Central Asia and all the way back to Jerusalem, ‘coincidently’ also along this Silk Road.

 BTJ is a Christian evangelistic campaign begun in China by Chinese believers to send missionaries to all of the Buddhist, AND Muslim nations. The ‘Back to Jerusalem Movement’ is a call from God for the Chinese church to preach the gospel and establish fellowships of believers in all countries, cities, towns, and ethnic groups between China and Jerusalem. The idea was conceived during the 1920s by Chinese students at the Northwest Bible Institute. However government restrictions and persecution forced the movement to go underground and its leader Simon Zhao spent 40 years in prison in Kashgar.

The vision however still resonates in the heart of the current Chinese Church. Today, much work is underway by China and the international community to build road and railway lines that would run along this Silk Road. This is seen by many as the revived Silk Road that would pave the way for the Chinese Church to fulfill this BTJ vision.

Recently, together with 3 Chinese church leaders we drove nearly 7000km along this Silk Road, reaching Kashgar (near border of Xinjiang) to discern what God is doing in this region. We met with various church leaders, believers and local missionaries in the counties or towns along this Silk Road. It was a joy to meet a 97 year old sister that is one of the two surviving missionaries of the pioneer BTJ movement. Some of her offspring are now leaders in the local churches and she passionately recalls her first foray into the field more than 70 years ago.

Some of our observations from revisiting this Silk Road:

1)     God’s plans would be fulfilled even in the midst of much persecutions and martyrdom. Though the missionaries we met in this trip are still working underground, often interrogated by the authorities, they are still going strong. Today thousands of Chinese believers have taken the gospel across the border to the Muslim nations.

2)     God can use governments and authorities as His tools to fulfill His plans. The China Government has invested billions to build relationship with formidable Muslim nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan. China’s successful foray into Muslim nations, its ambitious plans to develop Kashgar as a trade gateway and good transportation system that links these far remote places are paving the way and we drove for hours without seeing any inhabitants or cars along this Silk Road.

3)     All the missionaries we met are ‘tentmakers’, using their profession and skills to earn a living and have a credible presence in the community. We heard of how the early missionaries, some highly educated university graduates would pick up skills like steelwork, tailoring or farming to meet the needs of the community. Similarly we need to equip the missionaries we are sending out with skills and work that are needed in the community and that can sustain their livelihood. In restricted access nations, full time paid and supported missionaries may not be credible witnesses in the community.

4)     As we fellowship with some local believers from Muslim background like the Urghurs and Kazakhs , we sense that believers from these Muslim people groups in China are rising up. They are strategically effective in reaching out to other Muslims and can easily cross the borders.

5)     The leaders we travelled with felt the challenges of the missionaries serving in these areas. They also sense the urgency of the times to continue the legacy that has been paved years ago. No longer will they just send out missionaries and leave them alone on the field. They are preparing and equipping their missionaries with skills and have resolved to actively support and be part of their work.

Surely history and present development has revealed our amazing God deftly weaving the tapestry for the Chinese Church to fulfill this significant role for such a time as this before Jesus returns. We are living in exciting times!

1Tim2:3-4 “This is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth”

From the Heart of Eric Fung

The Pulpit God used!        

On the 7th November 2013 Pastor Rolly and Joy Bascos heard over the radio and on the streets that a Typhoon was approaching the area and evacuation centres had been set up.  The sky looked dark and ominous but Rolly and Joy having been through many storms in the last few years living there decided to remain at home. But this time things were different. Heavy rain and strong winds started at 11pm and as the storm was raging outside it began to gain momentum and they could feel the ferocity of the wind. By then the typhoon had hit land and by 2am their house was torn apart and the concrete walls collapsed. Rolly, his wife Joy, their two children, his niece and older brother who were in the house rushed out and decided to take cover in the church only to find that here too the walls of the church had also collapsed and the roof and windows were blown off. All that was left standing was the pulpit, a wooden box three and half feet wide, four feet in height and two and half feet in depth. Fearing for their lives the six of them squeezed in this confined space and stayed there for seven long hours while the storm raged around them. They started to sing the song ‘You are my Hiding Place” and kept on singing and praying till the fear left them and they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit with them. They felt a deep trust in the Lord and knew they were safe and secure in God’s loving embrace. When the storm had abated they crawled out of the pulpit and saw the devastation around them. Looking at that pulpit now and seeing that is was just not possible for 6 people to hide there, they know that it was the Lord who made it possible, for nothing is impossible with Him.

At the beginning of this year, while I was praying, God impressed on my heart to reach out and help his children affected by the typhoon, so on the 12th March I landed in Tacloban city Airport or what was left of it (the area worst hit by Haiyan). The airport building had not been spared and as I walked into this rubble to collect my bags I already began to see the havoc Haiyan had caused. I was met by a local pastor and as we drove through the town I saw so many buildings destroyed or completely flattened. Thousands of trees knocked over and cars and metal piled up. Two huge ships were washed onto the road.  Journalist described the devastation as “off the scale and massive”. The official reports say approximately 5,000 over people died but according to the local people I was told 50,000 had perished and this includes the thousands that are still missing. Little children and adults just washed away without a trace. Up till today many families are still searching for their loved ones.

The Lord has showed me so much during the trip and has impressed upon me to evaluate how the Pastors’ in spite of their personal loss of lives of loved ones, home and belongings they have remained focus, pouring their lives into ministering, restoring and rebuilding the lives of those affected. I saw many churches with roofs blown off and some completely destroyed. Some were able to receive assistance and have started rebuilding but quite a few are just praying and remain hopeful. May God use us to answer their prayers.

The Word of the Lord that came to me on this trip was “They (Pastors) rebuild the lives of the victims and we are to rebuild their church.”

I was taken to 10 places covering m

any hours of travelling which was physically exhausting and so emotionally draining as I listened to the pastors and their members telling me about the loss of their loves ones, homes, paddy fields and coconut plantations. I have identified several churches that are truly worthy of assistance but Ps Roly and Joy’s church in particular, I have by faith committed to help. The entire church and parsonage was totally destroyed and they and their two children now live in the ruins of the church with a plastic sheet covering the roof and pieces of wood to act as temporary walls, giving them some measure of privacy. Here on Sunday, the congregation gather for worship. But their faith is strong and they firmly believe that the God who had His arms around during the storm and kept them safe will help them to rebuild their church and their lives.

I am confident being ‘your eyes and ears’ on this trip for what God has shown me, you will partner with me to allow God to use us to answer these pastors’ prayers. Please join us to rebuild these churches.

Prov 19:17 "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done"

Changing Lives in the Katmandu  slums

RamPrasad Shrestha

Director of National Missions Commission Nepal.

 THERE is a slum by a river in the heart of Kathmandu in Nepal where children and their families have been living in filth and squalor for more than 20 years.

In fact, half of all urban Nepalese who migrate to urban areas and end up in slums are children. And the Bagmati river Slum where all the city’s human excrement, factory waste, rubbish and dead animals are dumped, must surely rank as the worst.

It is not surprising that those who live here (many of whom do not have jobs), including the children, are malnourished, uneducated and sick because of unsanitary conditions (such as drinking the poisonous water from the river) and poverty. The children here do not go to school because their parents cannot afford to buy school books, stationary and uniforms for them.

Into this devastation, enter Asian Outreach Malaysia and the National Mission Commission (NMC) of Nepal to minister to these slum dwellers the love of Christ.

The NMC has been feeding and teaching the children since March 2009.  Now about 80 children come to our slum center benefiting physically and spiritually. We also provide stationery, books and other educational materials to encourage them to attend school. Now about 75% of the children go to school.

We thank the Lord that a church has been planted in the slum through the education program and about 30 parents come to the fellowship. We now have three part-time teachers and several volunteers to teach the children.

One of the volunteers is Sarmila, who used to live in the slum. After she married she and her family lived outside of the slum but she never forgot the hardship she went through growing up in the slum. She has return to make a difference, faithfully ministering to the children because she understands their pain and suffering.

Please pray for these vulnerable children so that they might have an abundant life in Christ as we share our material blessings as well as the blessing of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 John3:18 “Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”

Salvation of the Santali Tribe.

AO Japan – Rev Takahasi Yoshida

The Santali tribe is the one of largest tribal communities in India; they live mainly in the West Bengal Area and some parts of Bangladesh. They speak their own language and are mostly farmers.

A conference was held in Siliguri for the Santali Tribe in January 19th and 20th. I was invited to speak at the conference and arrived at their village with Ps Lucky of AO India.Upon my arrival, I was surprised to see that Santali women have come out to welcome us by washing our feet. Ps Lucky explain  ed that this was their custom even before they were saved, and since there was the biblical example of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, they have readily adopted this custom.

More than 200 people, including children gathered that Saturday, under a makeshift tent made from plastic sheets. The church building was too small to house everyone. I was amazed to see the children sit there to listen from 10am to 5pm. The Santali love dancing and different kinds of song and dances by the choir and young people were dedicated to God.

Salvation of this group was started from Pastor Tudu’s family more than 20 years ago. Before his salvation, Ps Tudu had a former wife and six children. However one by one the children had died and finally his wife too had died. Ps Tudu remarried, but again his first child from this marriage also died at birth. Though his wife was afraid to try having a child again, she conceived but was fearful for her unborn child. One day she met Ps Lucky’s wife, who is a nurse, and she shared her fears with her. Ps Lucky’s wife encouraged her to believe in Jesus and prayed with her. When it came time to deliver her baby, she sent someone to call Ps Lucky’s wife, who came and safely delivered a healthy baby boy called Samuel. On seeing the mercy and love of God over their son, Tudu and his wife accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

 However, as they were the first Christians in the tribe they were severely persecuted. Ps Tudu and his wife persevered and kept on sharing the gospel and the love of Jesus.  Today, there are 38 Christian families and Ps Tudu and his team have planted 10 house churches and they go out to other Santali villages to evangelize. Their desire is to see every Santali tribe saved.

 

The last day of the conference was packed and it was such a blessing to see many come forward to repent before God at the close of the conference.

Asian Outreach Malaysia.