6 minute read
Myanmar (Burma)
—Pastor Pan*
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MYANMAR IMPACT REPORT 2020
DEEPENING FELLOWSHIP
$84,214 Total 2020 Ministry Expenditures
26 Pastors & Missionaries
120+ New Believers
*Note—In light of the military coup that began on February 1st, of 2021, Myanmar and the pastors and missionaries we come alongside there are walking into a completely new and extremely difficult era. We chose to keep our original 2020 report, including our pastors’ outlook for 2021, so you can know what their mindset was before this life-altering change. We ask for your prayers for comfort, wisdom, and strength for the men and women we partner with and serve, and their fellow citizens.
Myanmar, also called Burma, takes up a landmass the size of Texas, yet has twice the population, with 54 million residents. A beautiful country with a majority Buddhist population, Myanmar is rich with history, architecture, precious gems, incredible landscapes, and diverse culture. The country has a long history of foreign colonization and local military rule, which it began to heal from in the 2010s. With a growing network of missionaries throughout the country, 26 of whom receive regular monthly support, Harvest Bridge comes alongside pastor training, child protection and education, women’s empowerment, economic development, printing and distribution of theological materials, and disaster relief.
In 2020, 735 families—about 3,675 men, women, and children—received several weeks’ worth of life-saving food supplies in the face of a hunger crisis precipitated by COVID-19 lockdowns. 51 children received monthly sponsorship. Nine women received micro-grants to invest in or continue their small businesses. Pastors and missionaries received 11 motorbikes and 15 bicycles to aid in their ministries. Over 120 men and women began following Jesus this past year, and 71 were baptized. One of our two country leaders, Pastor Pan*, gives his insight into the year:
“Even though there are many restrictions, there are ways we can serve the Lord. I praise God for that. What the world gives us is bad news all the time. But the Word of God gives us Good News all the time. The more we face hard times, the more we grow closer to our living God. No one is naturally willing to face problems, but when the problem comes, we take another step to grow our faith in Jesus Christ. The pastors and missionaries have faced financial problems, and have even struggled for daily food in 2020. The most difficult part was the restrictions, as we could not freely share the Gospel. But on the other hand, I can say that most of the believers are growing in their faith in God. For example, in my own house, I have had more time to worship and do Bible study. Because of COVID-19, there was a great focus in 2020 on personal evangelism, discipleship, visiting and encouraging new believers, and praying for the sick. God has been blessing the missionaries’ and pastors’ personal evangelism. The unbelievers are thinking about their destination. Especially Buddhist people are thinking about when they die, where their home will be.”
Our other country director, Pastor Thang*, reflects:
“Harvest Bridge was able to give a great witness by providing support for food relief. And with this support, the pastors could be a witness to their people. In terms of spiritual life, at first it seemed like there wasn’t growth. I pray with the other pastors by phone, and a great concern was that many of the new church members are from Buddhist backgrounds and are young in their faith. The pastors worried that with such a long break from church that they would fall back to Buddhism. But with COVID-19 relief, this was a great encouragement to the church members. It gave a great blessing of fellowship to help these new believers who were struggling to live day-to-day. These believers saw that their pastors’ preaching and teaching is not only theoretical, it is the practical love of Jesus. Their faith was renewed through this.
We all are talking very often about worshipping God normally in church again, and doing home visits. I believe there will be new ways of evangelizing in the new year. In Myanmar it has been one year since going to church in person, so we have learned and have new ideas of how to reach people after this year. We have met and reached many people through relief, and we are excited for them to come to church in 2021 now that we’ve been introduced to them.”
Pastor Lian* reflects on some of the challenges, as well as the growth in 2020:
“Though there are many restrictions, I still have ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I have conducted a homecell twice in a week and Bible study once in a week. I have conducted house-tohouse ministry with less people. The people are so excited, and we rejoiced having those meetings. We pray for one another and listen to the Word of God from the Bible together. We are growing in the Lord. I have seen people come closer to our living God through our efforts. Also, there are some new seekers who joined our meetings who have believed in Jesus Christ. One of the new believers who accepted Christ recently has been persecuted by his family. He was warned by his parents who said, ‘If you continue to follow Jesus Christ, you will be excommunicated from our family’. This man said to his parents, ‘I can’t stop following Jesus Christ because He has given me a new life.’ His parents got angry with him. He asked us to pray for his parents to come to Jesus Christ, and that this persecution will not be continued.”
Mang*, the father of a family who received food from one pastor, Zom*, shares how it changed his family’s life forever:
“We have five members in our family. During this pandemic, I had no work to earn money to feed my family. We struggled a lot. Pastor Zom came to our home with food items and gave it to us freely. If he didn’t help us on that day, we would not have had food for the next day. He not only brought help, he also shared with us about the love of God and the salvation message. In the past also he shared the Gospel with us, but as my wife and I grew up in the Laipian religion, we denied Jesus in our hearts even though Pastor Zom shared with us. But this time, the Lord spoke to us and our hearts were opened to the Gospel message. Pastor Zom shared with us the difference between the Laipian god and the living God. We understood that Jesus is the living God through John 14:6. We came to realize that Jesus is the only way to go to heaven. Now, heaven is our home because we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We joined the church and are ready for water baptism. I thank God for His salvation. I also thank you so much for the food that you have provided for our family.”
