matt2819.com/myanmar

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).

This is my regular … long awaited … occasional newsletter. In it 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 and some photos.

My Life in Myanmar

On December 3rd last year I headed off to Myanmar for my fifth short-term visit. A few days before that I was at my graduation ceremony of SMBC, and only a couple of weeks before that I was sitting exams. Second semester last year was my busiest and also my most successful. I had four very demanding subjects and a total of sixteen thousand words to write for my seven assessments. Thanks only to the grace of God I managed to get all my work in and pass my exams. I was quite relieved to be able to go to Myanmar with all of that work successfully behind me.

I arrived in Yangon around midday on December 4th to the welcome arms of Rev. Dr. Thang Bwee and his wife Nellie. Straight away we began to talk about our plans and hopes for the coming weeks as well as some of our more long-term plans. It was great to get stuck into things right from the get-go and to be involved in the work he is doing. The entire time I was there Thang Bwee was keen to include me in everything and all the while nurturing me and shepherding me like the wise pastor he is.

In the past I have gone to Myanmar for somewhere between two and four weeks to teach English or assist others in their teaching, however this trip was quite different in many ways. The most obvious difference was that I would be in Yangon for nine weeks straight, which would involve overstaying my twenty-eight day tourist visa. Prior to leaving Australia I had spoken to the Myanmar embassy in Canberra and e-mailed Thang Bwee to double-check, and according to everyone we spoke to it was quite normal to overstay. The only penalty would be a $3 per day fine payable at the airport on departure. A small price to pay for the convenience of being able to get more done in one trip. And it was as they said – hassle free for just $3 a day.

Late August 2009 Thang Bwee had e-mailed me asking if I could please teach a subject on Ephesians when I came in December and January, but as college was so busy I didn’t have a chance to start preparations until after my exams in November. And even though I made a start, I didn’t get very far before having to leave on December 3rd. But I still had some time up my sleeve. A few days after arriving in Yangon, Bill Lutton (the director of the mission organisation that is sending me) and his son Will arrived to teach English for one week. During that week I stayed in the hotel and continued my Ephesians prep. I managed to get about four lessons finished in that week, and although I was ahead of myself, I didn’t feel too good that it was only a few days’ worth of teaching. As a consequence, I spent almost every afternoon and evening over the following 7 weeks preparing the next day’s lesson. It turned out ok though and I learnt a lot from my preparations and really enjoyed the process of burying myself in one book of the Bible, surrounded by commentaries and of course, a constant supply of my much loved Jasmine Green tea.

The schedule was the same each week after Bill and Will headed back to Australia. I taught Ephesians to the Bible College students from 10am to midday, then had lunch with Thang Bwee before returning to the hotel to prepare for the next lesson. Wednesdays and Saturdays were ‘free’ days, but I found myself either preparing more Ephesians lessons or preparing a sermon. I was asked to preach two sermons every two weeks, and even though it added to my busyness, I really enjoyed the time in the Word and the learning that comes with sermon prep.

So that was “My Life in Myanmar” for the nine weeks of December and January and I loved every single bit of it. So much so that leaving to come home was difficult. Thang Bwee and I joked about how maybe there would be a problem with my overstay and I’d be stuck in Yangon for weeks. We were both overjoyed at the idea and laughed at the other problems it would cause – like not being able to finish my Associate Degree course at college.

There were a number of things that made it such a great trip. Being amongst the believers of Thang Bwee’s church is always an encouragement. They’re lovely, humble people, and so keen to know more of the Lord and be involved in what he’s doing in the church’s ministry. Teaching is something I enjoy, so that too was an enjoyable experience as well as the preparation. I got to talk at length with some Buddhist monks about Jesus and his death and their perceptions of that – this was part of some research I was doing for a college project this semester. But I think what made the trip so great was that I was living the life I’ll be living when I move there as a resident. Granted, I was living in a hotel and not having to cook and clean for myself, but every other aspect of my week resembled that which Thang Bwee and mission partners have come to see as my role there. After the first twelve months of learning Burmese at the Yangon University I will be primarily involved in teaching at the Reformed Bible Institute (RBI), the Bible college of the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC) – Thang Bwee’s church. Among other subjects this will include English teaching, but in addition to that I’ll also be teaching English to some of the non-Christians in my community. As has been our plan for a long time, this will be done using a Bible-based curriculum and will be one of our many works of evangelism. I will also be involved in preaching at ERC and working with and mentoring some of Thang Bwee’s young leaders.

I realise that some of the people and places mentioned might be new to some of my readers. If that’s you, please visit “The Work” and “The Workers” pages to learn more.

News & Events

• Both RBI and GBS, the Bible colleges of our 2 partner churches have finished for the 2009/2010 academic year and almost all the students have returned to their families in Chin State (see a map of Myanmar at http://www.5starmyanmar.com/MyanmarStatesMap.jpg).
• For the few students remaining in Yangon they will be involved in various ministries including pastoring churches, children’s ministries, and evangelism.
• Kyaw Htin, a severely ill student of RBI is still in intensive care. In 2008 he was hospitalised with an unknown illness which had him in a coma for many weeks. When he came out of the coma he was paralysed and continued to require assistance with breathing. He has since regained consciousness but remains mostly paralysed with only limited head movement and still requires a machine to assist with his breathing. Fortunately the doctors were able to diagnose his condition a few months ago and operated on a bone tuberculosis in his neck. His mother and sisters remain by his bed 24/7 and ERC provides food and financial assistance. His recovery to date has been very slow and full recovery is expected to take at least another 2 years.
• The health of all others known to our 2 partner churches (ERC and FRCM) has been good. Tuberculosis (not bone tuberculosis), which is normal for at least one member of these churches to have has not been reported in many weeks. The only person reporting illness is Mor Dang who has been recovering from Hepatitis C. He is about 95% recovered but still gets tired very easily. Mor Dang is in charge of Sunday School coordination for all ERC churches in the Yangon area and one of the main pastors at ERC’s most recent church-plant.
• ERC continues to plant churches around the Yangon district and though the congregations are small they are strong. Repentance has been a noticeable factor in many who have come to know the Lord, and although this brings tensions within some Buddhist families, the believers are standing firm and looking always to the Lord for comfort and guidance.
• National elections are set to take place in May and many people are hopeful that they will be a positive turning point in their country’s history.

Things to Pray for

For me:

• For my final two subjects at Bible college this semester (11000 words to write)
• To finish the correspondence TESOL course I’m still working through
• For God to prepare the way in Myanmar for ministry
• That I would be obedient to the Lord, patient in all things, always humble and always striving to know and glorify God more and more. (1 Pet 1:14-15)

For ERC and FRCM:

• Pray for Rev Dr Thang Bwee (ERC), Pastor James Mang Khen Thang (FRCM), and their eldership teams – that they facilitate the ministry of the Gospel and be wise with finances and management. (Eph 5:15-17)
• Pray for Thang Bwee, James, the directors, lecturers and visiting teachers, college wardens and other staff – for wisdom and faithfulness to the Gospel and the Scriptures. (2 Tim 2:15)
• Pray for the students as they prepare for service, that the Lord would sustain and encourage them as they learn. Pray also that they would retain what they’re learning. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
• Pray that the Partner Church congregations of ERC and FRCM would be people who are committed to thinking and acting with Jesus as Lord of all, living out his Lordship in all aspects of life. (Jude 24, 25)
• Pray that each of the Sunday services would be effective for the building up and encouragement of the saints. Pray that they would be welcoming, loving, and seeking to always spur each other on to love and good works. (Heb 10: 24, 25)
• Pray for all those involved in teaching, that they will be examples in speech and conduct, love, faith and purity and that they will rightly handle and explain the Word in truth. Pray for the children and for their growth in Christ. (2 Tim 4:5)
• Pray that through faithful and Bible-centred ministry, God’s community at ERC and FRCM will grow in numbers and influence. Pray that they might be known as being passionate about people, lovers of the truth, and eager to serve Christ. (Acts 2:46-47)
• And pray for Kyaw Htin’s speedy recovery from bone tuberculosis and also for and his family as they tend his needs.

Photos

This is the street outside the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC).
I will walk down this street almost every day whilst in Yangon.

Some food and tobacco stalls in the street outside the ERC.

After each chapter of Ephesians we would get together like this
to discuss what we had been learning. The students found this helpful
for cementing some of what they had been taught.

On Christmas day the church folks got together
for a fellowship lunch.
On the menu — A VERY spicy Thai noodle dish.

This is just a very small portion of the rice grown from Thang Bwee’s
11 acres of rice paddies. He uses the rice to feed his family,
the college students, and his friends. What’s left over he
sells at market to help pay for the next year’s seed.

Tea shops are very common in Myanmar.
This is an outdoor one and is very popular with the locals.

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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 prayer cards, or better still the prayer calendar, or any information cards or support cards then please just let me know by using the Contact Martin page.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

This is the June 2009 edition of my “Mission to Myanmar” newsletter.

What’s News?

Another semester of Bible College almost finished, which leaves just one more to go. It’s not been an overly eventful semester which is why you haven’t heard from me – nothing much to say really. I’ve been chipping away at my college work since February plus our annual “mission trip” in April. I enjoy the more hands-on ministry learning (as opposed to classroom learning and essays) so the mission trip was a highlight for me.

This year our mission team of 14 went to Blaxland Presbyterian Church in the lower Blue Mountains where we engaged in all sorts of ministries including Scripture teaching, hospital and nursing home ministry, commuter handouts, community surveys, preaching, Sunday school, and a “Backyard Bash”. The Bash was aimed at getting the community to come and visit. We had activities for the kids, a coffee shop for the adults, a photo competition, and a free sausage sizzle. Then afterwards we had a bush dance with a great live bush band. Everyone had a great time and it was a good outcome for the church-folk.

Each member of the team was billeted out around the area with different members of the congregation. I was blessed to stay with Harry and Elizabeth who were so welcoming and looked after me like family. A terrific granny-flat style setup for me, great meals and even a packed lunch every day. I was spoiled, which is always nice.

After our mission week we had our 2 week semester break which saw me working on college assignments, and also a weekend up in Newcastle visiting my Mum which is always nice and relaxing. After the holidays it was back to classes and more assignments which has kept me busy up to now. We have exams coming up in a few weeks but I have a couple more assignments to get finished before that.

So not a lot out of the ordinary for me, but what about the folks in Myanmar? Well, between February and May it’s holiday time for students so some of Thang Bwee and James’ students head back to Chin State to visit family, but the majority of them stay in Yangon and do other ministry work like evangelism, and some even get part-time work. A couple of them have been laid up with illness too, with one in particular being in hospital for many months now. No-one seems to know what’s causing his illness but it has been very serious, almost fatal. He’s still recovering and Thang Bwee expects it will take at least another year before we see any significant improvement. The lad’s name is Kyaw Htin (pronounced Chore Tin) so please remember him in prayer especially.

Early May was the anniversary of cyclone Nargis which devastated parts of Myanmar last year. Much has been done by way of aid for the millions affected but there is still so much more to be done. Blame can be laid in the usual place and we can only hope and pray that things will improve more speedily.

On a completely different note, I sent a package of calendars to Thang Bwee earlier this year – not expecting it to get through due to mail going “missing” – however I’m happy to tell you it made it. And just so you know, in case you ever want to send anything over, it took 10 weeks to arrive.

In the Media

Child soldiers still common in Burma: UN Report

The Burmese military regime’s army and nine other armed groups, including ceasefire groups and active anti-government forces, are still recruiting child soldiers, according to the latest Annual Report of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict.

Referring to official reports shared by the junta, the UN report said the Burmese government continues to screen and release under-age children found in its armed forces during the training process. The junta reported that 68 children were detected in various military training schools and were released to their parents and guardians.

The 68 cases included 12 children who were released through the International Labor Organization (ILO) mechanism, one released and reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and two released and reported to the ILO and ICRC.

The ILO, through its mechanism to eliminate the use of forced labour, has verified the release of 23 children, mostly from involuntary military enrolment, based on complaints filed by parents and relatives. An additional 14 cases either await government response or remain open while the process continues, it said.

The report also said that even as the regime has informed the UN country task force that it has put procedures in place for the rehabilitation and reintegration of under-age recruits, the UNICEF has not been given access to children who were released through the government’s mechanisms for follow-up purposes.

Please Pray

Mon: Praise God that a dear friend has helped me understand how to more effectively study and prepare assignments.

Tue: Our partner churches in Myanmar. Pray for the leaders (Thang Bwee & James) and their helpers.

Wed: Severe drought and famine in Chin State due to a devastating rat plague.

Thur: Evangelism of Buddhists in Yangon and Chin State. Pray for opportunities and also for wisdom and boldness.

Fri: The Myanmar government. Pray for the Lord to change hearts and to bring justice, peace, etc.

Sat: Sick students, especially Kyaw Htin. Others suffer from recurrences of Malaria, and tuberculosis is common also.

Sun: Pray that God would continue to lead all those involved in the Myanmar work (in AU and in MM)

And praise God daily for the opportunities he’s opened up in Myanmar and for his constant blessing and abundant provision thus far.

Grace be with you,
Martin