Hello friends. In this edition I’ll be sharing with you what’s been happening since the last newsletter, sharing news and events in brief, and wrapping it up with some prayer points.
From Learning to Yearning – The Final Stage
View from the balcony of the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC)
Well I almost can’t believe it. On Friday, June 18th I handed in my final assignment for Bible college which brought me to the completion of my Associate Degree of Theology. Many of you may already know that I’m not much of an academic, so Bible college was not all smooth sailing but I would certainly say I’m better off for the experience. Living in community at SMBC, loads of reading and in-depth research for nearly 40 written assessments, plus exam preparation definitely stretched me. What a blessing to be immersed in that environment though, and to learn from experts in their field.
So now that it’s all over what’s in store? Well my focus has changed, as the title suggests, from learning to yearning. I’m yearning to return to Myanmar and begin the next stage of my life and I’m yearning to immerse myself in the culture of the country which I’ll be calling home for the foreseeable future. But before I can do any of that there are a few more things to do here in Australia. Firstly, I’m booked in to do Mission Interlink’s Transition Training. I’ll spend 3 weeks in Belgrave Heights, Victoria, experiencing many things, not least of which is how to effectively transition from one culture to another. After that I’ll spend a relaxing week with friends in Broadford, also in Victoria, and then it’s home to Newcastle for a week. Then, a week later, on August 1st, I’ll start 6 weeks of deputation (also known as Partnership Development) in Queensland. I expect to go as far north as Cairns but won’t get too far inland; at the moment I’ll be visiting Toowoomba and perhaps Stanthorpe near the NSW Border.
Shopping centres are common but much more expensive than the more common street markets.
Something that I’ve been learning more about recently is the issue of wasting time; so many of us struggle with it and I’m certainly out the front of that pack. It’s interesting how we perceive the things we’re involved in and how very important they seem to us. Of course there are things we do which are very important, but how many of them aren’t? It’s difficult though to be objective when we’re so close. One of the things which has helped me take a more objective look at my own life has been through the reading of John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life.1 In the book he talks about existing to make Christ appear in the world as what he really is – Magnificent. He says that God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives. We struggle in this though because we are “fallen, comfort-loving creatures. We are always on the lookout for ways to justify our self-protecting, self-securing, self-pleasing ways of life.” (72) The opposite to a wasted life is to “live by a single, soul-satisfying passion for the supremacy of God in all things.” (43). He suggests we ask ourselves some helpful questions by which to measure our behaviour: “How will this help me treasure Christ more? How will it help me show that I do treasure Christ? How will it help me know Christ or display Christ? The Bible says, ‘Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Cor. 10:31). So the question is mainly positive, not negative. How can I portray God as glorious in this action? How can I enjoy making much of him in this behavior?” (119) It’s a challenge, that’s for sure. Please pray with me as I take my self-focussed life with its aroma of wastefulness to the feet of the only one who can do anything about it. Please ask me how I’m going with it next time you see me.
News & Events
Students learning English using "The Hope" on DVD
- Both RBI and GBS, the Bible colleges of our 2 partner churches have begun their 2010/2011 academic year.
- In my last newsletter I mentioned Kyaw Htin, a severely ill student of RBI. His recovery had been very slow and full recovery was expected to take at least another 2 years, however at 8pm on June 22nd he departed us to be with the Lord. This came as a surprise to us all and is very sad indeed.
- The Free Reformed Church of Myanmar (FRCM), the second of our 2 partner churches, has been able to purchase land thanks to the very generous support of the Presbyterian churches in Australia. This will allow them to settle down in the one place, a luxury they have not had for many years due to the difficult rental market in the area in which they minister.
- National elections, which were initially expected to take place in May, have been postponed. Media pundits are speculating that it might be around October or November but the ruling Junta has not set a date.
- Aung Sang Suu Kyi, still under house arrest, celebrated her 65th birthday on June 19th.
Things to Pray for
For me:
- Praise God that he has been strong and faithful in keeping me and encouraging me since returning from Myanmar in February. He has also equipped me and given me the ability to complete all my assignments (11,000 words in total) during the Bible college semester just gone.
- And praise him for the opportunity to speak about the work in Myanmar and preach at a few churches in NSW and QLD during the last few months.
- I’ve busied myself so much lately that I’ve neglected spending time in the Word and regular prayer. Please pray that I would make these a priority and keep them as such regardless of my schedule.
- Beginning August 1 I’ll be in QLD for 6 weeks visiting numerous churches and church groups talking about the work in Myanmar, requesting their financial and prayer support. Please pray for safety while travelling as I’ll be driving to most of the destinations, and please also pray for the Lord to move in the hearts of the church folk there to support the work.
- And please pray for financial pledges and promises to come in soon. Without them I’ll not be able to leave as planned in October. We, mission partners and I, are looking for pledges and promises of support totalling $25,000 per year.
Rev Dr Thang Bwee in his church office (Jan 2010)
For ERC:
- Praise God for the sending of rice to Chin state for famine relief of those affected by the rat plagues of the last few years.
- Praise God for and also pray for the 9 new students who have started Theological training at ERC’s RBI.
- Pray for the urgent need of Tada Myo mission. Thang Bwee writes, “We need to find a regular sponsor for Mor Dang [(the graduate pastor who has been put in charge of that church-plant)] and also the need to buy a single block of land for building. Presently I have rented a house to live. Things there seem to be going well in the mission. I might be able to manage for house rent but need some donors to buy land there and for the building.“
- Pray for Rev Dr T. Bwee who is fully engaging with teaching and pastoral ministries.
For FRCM:
- Praise God for He has guided them all the way in their church ministry. The Lord is surely gracious and able to deliver them from all the struggles in ministry to this today.
- Praise God for being able to purchase a plot of land for the FRCM church and GBS (Bible seminary) building.
- They request you “in Jesus Name to please pray for FRCM church ministry. The children’s ministry in South Dagon is needed to return as well as pastors needed for many ministries.“
- And please pray for a telephone for the new premises.
For more prayer items please visit this month’s Prayer Points page.
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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter; any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Remember too, if you’d like any Mission Informational Sheets or Prayer Calendars please just let me know by using the Contact Martin page.
Grace be with you,
Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar
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1 – John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, (Wheaton, Illinois: 2003). You can download a free copy of this book here (link sourced from this page).
Tags: Mission to Myanmar
