Remarks - Myanmar Magazine

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Myanmarhasbeenincivilwarforthelast70years;it isthelongestongoingcivilwarintheworld.Addto thattheimpactofCOVID-19andthe2021military coup,andonemightthinkthatitwouldnotbeeasyto preachthegospel.Soweweresurprisedasweheard manygreatreportsofGodmovinginpeople’slives andmanymiraclesoccurring,andwewerewondering ifitwasalltrue.

WetraveledMyanmarin2022,fullofhopetohear storiesandtoencourageGod’sworkersinthefield. ThroughoutMyanmarandNorthernThailand,we heardtheconsistentreportthatGodhasbeenmoving greatly!ThousandswerecomingtoknowtheLord.

Manyoftheirtestimoniesaresimple,suchasvisiting asickwitchdoctoratahospitaltoshowlove.Others requiredgreatboldness,suchasonemansharingthe Gospeltovillagersastheywereliterallychasinghim withknives.Wesawthecreativityofthetwosisters pioneeringadeafministryinacountrywithonlythree schoolsfordeafpeople.Andwewereamazedbythe courageandresilienceofthebelieversinMyanmaras manyfacedbeingcastoutoftheirvillagesorworse.

Thestoriesinthismagazinearethedirect testimoniesofthepeoplewemet,transcribed word-by-word.Theseareordinarypeople,with manyhopesanddreams,butwithaheartto followJesusthatisevidentineverythingtheydo.

Theaimofthismagazineistoinspireustomove inaction,togive,andtopray. Wehopethis magazinewillstiryourheartforMyanmar.

YouthWithAMissionPerth

RemarksMinistry

*Forsecuritypurposes,theirnamesandphotosarenotlinked.

©RemarksMinistry

Habakkuk2:14

Fortheearthwillbefilledwiththeknowledgeofthe gloryofthe LORD asthewaterscoverthesea.

Page6-Faithful>Fruitful

Page7-SharingtheGospelEverywhere

Page8-GodusesTourism

Page9-HowGodSaves

Page10-MuslimCommunityAcceptsMissionary

Page11-‘Godblindedhereyesbecausewewereworshipping’

Page12-ServingthroughChildcare

Page13-‘GodpreparedeverythingIneeded’

Page14-MinisteringtoaWitchDoctor

Page15-BibleTranslatorLearningaboutJesus

Page16-GodTransformsLives

Page18-WitchDoctor ComingtotheLord

Page19-DeafMinistry

Page20-BuddhistNunsBringUnexpectedTreasure

Page21-WorkingTogetherinMinistry

Page22-‘Wedon’thaveastory,onlyJesus!’

Page24-RefusingtoBowtoBuddha

Page25-HopeforMyanmar

Page27-‘EverydayIbecomemorejoyful’

Page27-DesiresFulfilled

Page28-God’sProtectioninanUnreachedVIllage

Page29-HowtoRespond

ပиတå| Peter

HereinMyanmar,wehavealotMuslims,likethe Rohingya.Theyareneglected;theyarethemost persecutedgrouphere.

Iwasatthecampsixmonthsagoandtherewerealmost 50,000peoplethere.Idrovethemotorbikewithmyson andkeptdoingBibledistributionwiththeSDcard.Iwas tiredandexhausted.Iwasatacrossroads.

Forthatparticularcamp,I’dalreadybeengoingfor10 years,sharingtheGoodNews.Notevenoneperson hadcometoknowChrist.

MysonwasbehindmeandIwasprayingsoftly,Isaid, “Lord,Ialreadyservedherefor10years.Lord,helpme. WhatshouldIdonext?Whydon’tyougivemeone convert?Whydon’tyousendmoreworkerswithmeto reachouttothem?”

GodalwaysspeakstomeinawayIunderstandthrough theinnervoice,Hesaid, “Icalledyoutobefaithfulin sharingtheGoodNews.TheharvestbelongstoMe.”

ThatwasabigrevelationandIhadalotofpeace withouthavingtheburdenorpressurefromanybody.

ItoldHim,“Lord,IwillfaithfullysharetheGoodNews;I willdomypartfaithfully.”

Atfirst,Ididn’tknowhowtosharetheGospel well,butIattendedaSundayschoolcourse whereIlearntaboutsharingtheGospel. Now IsharewheneverGodopensthedoor.

WheneverImeetchildren,Ishare.Onthetrain tothepassengers,Ishare.

Buyingsomethinginthemarket,Ishare.

Tothepeoplelivinginthetrasharea,Ishare. Tosomebackpackers,Ishare.

Tothepeoplesellingthings,Isaytothem,“Oh, whatareyouselling?BeforeIbuyit,youhave tolistentome.IwilltellfirstthenIwillbuy…”

eစ�ဝå�| Saywah

OnethingthatIlovedaboutdoingthetourismministry wasaboutbuildingbusinessandhelpingpeopleinthe village. Wehelpedthemtogeneratetheirdailyincome throughbringingintourists.Thentheycouldmakeanormal incomeeveryday.

ForBuddhistpeopleinthatarea,itwashardtogodirectly andsharetheGoodNews,butbusinesscreatedaplatformto gointotheirvillage.Webuiltrelationships.

Iwasinvolvedinthatministryforalongtime.Icouldhelp themphysicallyandalsospiritually.

Iwasbornasocialistbecausemyfatherwasasocialist.Our maingoalwastofindmoneyandtodogoodthings.Ihadfive brothersandonesister.Myfatherwastheprincipalofthe governmentinstitute.Hewasanengineerandheliked teachingyoungpeople.Hetrainedustoworkhard.

EverydayIworkedveryhardinthemorningandsleptvery late.Asayoungchild,toomuchworkmademedepressed.I hadtowork,work,work.Ididn’twanttolive;Iwantedtodieat thattime,whenIwasaround10-years-old.

BythegraceofGod,around12yearsago,aministercalled metodoaBiblestudy.IstartedstudyingtheBiblewiththis man. IreceivedChristanditchangedmylife. NowI wantedtoserveGodwithmylife.

Poni

ရ�ဝင�� YelWin

TherearealmostnoChristiansaround.Myareaisa Muslimcommunity,almosteveryoneisMuslim. It’srare thattheywanttohavemeinthecommunity. These Muslimfamiliescometomeandaskmetoteachthemthe Biblelessons.So,Iteachandsharewiththem,sharethe homewiththem.TheyareinterestedinreadingtheBible.

Lastmonth,Ididachildren'sprogramandaround100kids attendedit,MuslimsandBuddhistchildren.Theyhave acceptedme.

Iwanttoopenapreschool.Thepeopleinthecommunity wanttosendtheirchildrentoaChristianpreschool.They aresendingtheirkidsabitawaytotheChristianschool outsideofthecommunitybecausetheylovetheteaching andthevalues.

Thisyear,Iwanttobeginaworshipserviceatmyhome. WhenIshareandpeopleacceptJesusChrist,theyhave noworshipservice.OnSundayevenings,Iwanttoopen myhomeforthecommunity,“Pleasecomehereand worshipGod!”

eလ��ငယ�| Hwlay

Whenwearestartingtheschool ministry,thevillagerstoldusthat wecannotdoChristianworship, sowehadtoworshipatnight.

Atthetime,weworshippedevery nightbecausewethoughtwe wantedGodtobeapartofour school.Wewouldfellowshiplike youdoathomewithyourfamily.

Onemorning,weworshippedand sangasongandweprayed.The villagerscameandtriedtomake trouble.Godblindedonelady’s eyesaswewereprayingand worshippingintheschool.

Shecalledoneverydoor,“Are therepeoplehere?”Wedidn’t knowshewasoutside.Whenwe finished,weopenedthegateand shewassittingthere.

Shesaid,“Wherewereyouguys? I’vebeenlookingforanhour.” I thoughtmaybeGodblindedher eyesbecausewewere worshippingHim.

eနå�eစ�eစ�

Nawsaysay

Itwasaverydifficulttimebecause therewasnotenoughfoodin Myanmar.Itwasaround1988.I tookcareofchildren,likea daycare,becauseIhadaheartto takecareofthem,toblessthe children,andtotellthemabout God.

ThevillageIaminnowusually kicksoutChristians. Theyaccept mebecauseItakecareofthe littlechildren.Icomeandcare forthem,givethemloveandtell themaboutGod.

Thepeopleseethat,theyseemy love,anditisveryusefulforthem tohavesomebodycareforthe babiesandfeedthemwhilethey work.Idon’tonlywatchthem,I lovethemwell.

Becauseofthat,theydon’taskme toleavethevillage.

NawNelly+BauwNaw

Onedaymyhusbandwenttoanothervillagetosell charcoal.Whenhearrived,aPalaungmanaskedhim, “CanIborrowyourmotorcycle?” Godalwayswarnedme ifsomethingwasgoingtohappen. Thatmanalways borrowedfrommyfamily,butthattimeIfeltsomethingin myheartandtoldmyhusband,“Ithinkweshouldn’tlet themborrowthistime.”

Onthatdayat6pm,mystomachveinsexplodedandIwas onemonthpregnant.IwasinextremepainandIasked God,“Please,pleasetakemylifenow,Idon’twanttolive.” Thenextdaymyhusbandwenttofindpeopletocarryme onsomethingtosendmetothehospital.

BythegraceofGodwhenIgottothehospital,Ihadan operationassoonasIgotthere,butotherpeoplehadto wait.WhenIwenttothehospital,Ididn'thaveanymoney, soIwenttherebyfaith. GodpreparedeverythingI needed. IneededsixbottlesofbloodandGodprepared peoplewhowoulddonatetheirbloodforme.

Aftertheoperation,whenIwentbacktothevillage, wheneverIsawapatient,IhelpedthembecauseIfaced thatsituationtoo.Evenifapatientcameatmidnight,I wouldhelp.

eနå�န�eလ၊eဘåက�eနå�

KhuGayandDeePhawLay

Therewasawitchdoctorfamilyinavillageandwe lovedthemlikefamily.Theywelcomedus.The villageleaderdidn’tacceptusverywell,butthewitch doctorfamilyacceptedus.Theysentourchildrento schoolandtookcareofthem.

Whenpeoplegotsick,theywouldgotothewitch doctorandhehelped,butwhenhegotsicknoone wasaroundhim.Hehadtogotothehospitalalone. Atthattimewewenttohimandshowedhimloveand broughthimmeals. HehadheardaboutJesus,but nowhesawJesusthroughusandherealisedthe lovewehad.

Atthattimeabibleoutreachgrouparrivedinthe villageandIbroughtthemtothewitchdoctor.They helpedhimwitheverythinghedid,includingfarming. Thegrouphelpedhimandthenhecouldn'tsayno anymore,sohechanged.

Hewasthehighestwitchdoctorinthreevillages.The wholefamily,withthewitchdoctor,acceptedJesus Christandwerebaptised.Wehavethissayingin Burmese,“Whenyougettheleader,youget everything.”Hewastheleader.Whenheaccepted JesusChrist,hisbrotherandniecefollowed.

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eအ�စå| AyeSandar

Agroupcametomyvillageandtheyoffered meajobtotranslatetheBible.Istarted translatingandIcametoknowwhoJesusis. IrealisedthatJesusisalive.

ကiuတင�| KoTin

Whenwestartedourministry,wefocused moreonthechildrens.Wewenttothevillage anddidchildren’sprograms,gamesand Jesusfilms.Theparentswouldcomeandbe involved,sowestartedtodothingsforthe parents.Throughthat,somepeoplebecame Christians.

WhenwesharedaboutJesus,wealso challengedandencouragedthemtoaskthe

Lord,“IfJesusisaliveandHeiswithYou, youcancallHimandHewillansweryou.”

Sometimeswhentheyhaddifficultiesand familyproblems,theystartedtocallonthe Lordandtheysawmiracleshappen.After

thattheywantedtoacceptJesus,andtheysawthat Hewasdifferent.

Wealsoworkedwiththechurchesinthelocation. Peoplecoulddoathree-dayintroductionfor salvation.Afterthat,ifpeoplewantedtoget baptised,theycouldgetbaptised.

Somepeoplecamebecausetheywantedto understandandknowaboutsalvationandtoaccept Jesus.Somecameonlytolearnandtoobserve. Evenwiththepeoplethatcametoobserve,after thetraining,theyacceptedJesus.

Forsomepeople,theiroldlifewasaboutdrinking andsmoking.WhentheybecameChristians,we helpedthemtounderstandtheWordofGod, teachingthem,“WhenyoubecomeChristians,you can'tlivelikeyouroldlife.Youhavetolive accordingtoGod'swill.”

Therewasthisonefamily,theyallgotbaptised. Theywerereallypoor.Eventhoughtheybecame Christians,theydidn’tknowwhattodonext.We helpedthemstartafriedchickensmallbusiness. Nowtheyaredoingthat.Thefatherwasan alcoholicbefore.WhenhebecameaChristian,he changed. Nowwewanttosendhimtoa missionarytrainingschool.

Myfatherwasawitchdoctorandwhenhecametofaith, wehadthesedemonbooksandresources.Theywere veryexpensivebecausepeoplewantedthatkindofpower. Onebookwouldsellfor$10,000.Whenthevillagefound outmyfatherhadbecomeabeliever,theywantedtoget thosebooks.Theywantedhimtogiveittothelocal monastery.

Myfatherwasthinkingofsellingittogetmoney.ButI challengedhim,“Thiswillbeacurseforanyonewhotakes it.Youneedtoburnit.Youneedtogetridofit.”He acceptedandwedestroyedthebooks.

Soonafterhegotbaptised.Whenhegotbaptised,the villageunderstoodthathewasdrawingtheline,theysaid, “Ifyougetbaptisedandifyoubecomeabelieverofficially, youaregoingtoloseeverythingyouhaveinthisvillage.”

Itwasadiscouragingtime,itwasdifficult.Welostour lands,ourlivestock,ourresources,ourhome,everything wasreclaimedbythevillageandwehadtoleave.We movedanhour’swalkoutsideofavillage.Formanyyears wewerelivingthereanditwaschallengingforus.Butmy fathergrewinhisfaithandrealisedwhenwearefinished onearth,wecannottakeanythingwithustothenextlife.

Previously,ourcommunitywasagainsttheGospel,but throughourexampleandoursuffering—andmyfather havingbeenoneofthevillageleaders—moreandmore peoplehavestartedcomingtousaskingforhelp. Slowly theirheartsareopeningupbecausetheyrealisethat thetestimonyofourlivesisreal.

အiuက�ခ�ယu| Aikeyu

BoynoandNgaihNgaih

AftermydeafauntybecameaChristian,deafministrywas onmymind.Atmymissionarytrainingschool,IknewIhad todosomething. AfterIfinishedschool,Iwaspraying abouthowtoblessmycountry.SoIstartedthis ministryfordeafkids.

Inourdeafhouse,everynightwedoBiblereading.Oneday, wehadavideocallwithoneofthefamilies.Beforethat,I hadbeensharingaboutwhatheavenisandhowtobelieve inJesus.

Whenwedidthevideocall,Iaskedthem,“Whatdidyou guyslearn?”OneofthemsharedhowifwebelieveinJesus, thenwewillgotoheaven.

WhenIheardthat,IalmostcriedbecausewhenIshare, oftentimesIdon’tknowhowmuchtheyaregetting.WhenI heardhowmuchheexplainedaboutJesustohisparents,I feltthatGodisworkinginthem.

Thisisnotourwork.HeisworkingHispartandweare workingourpart.

ဘ�iuင���iu+ငiuင��ငiuင��

Oneday,wewererunningoutofriceandthekids hadexamsthenextday.Thecookcametomeand said,“Weonlyhaveninecupsofrice.”

AndIreplied,“Iknow,Iknow.”ThatmorningIwas readingintheBibleinIsaiah45whereitsaid, “God hashiddenatreasureforyou.Thereisa treasureforyou.” Ithought,“Oh,Godhashidden it.Thattreasuremightbesomewhere.”

Isearchedinthepot.Ithoughtthatmightbeit,but Ifoundnothing.Itcametoeveningandtherewas nothingspecialyet.

AgroupofBuddhistnunsarrived.Usuallythey wouldcometoaskforsomethinglikerice.Itoldthe children,“Go,go,go.Say,‘I’msorry,wecannot donate.’”

Theywentandthenunswerecarryingmany baskets,andtheysaid,“Oh,weweredoinga donationatourtemple.Therewasaweddingand wecookedIndianspecialriceandchicken.”

Themonkswantedtogiveittoanotherhostel,butit becameveryheavyandtheydidn’twanttocarryit anymore,sotheycametoourhostelinstead.So, wehadaveryspecialfeastwithchickens!

ဖရиeစ�လå| Priscilla

�ပည���ဖiu�eအåင� PyaePhyoAung

BeforetheyheardtheGospeland acceptedJesusChrist,theywere alcoholics.Theirliveswerebrokenand theywerenotokaywithneighbours.

Ibuiltatentinthevillagewherewedo regularweeklyworshipandchildren programs;wearedoingsimplechurch. Peoplecomeregularlytokeephearing thewordofGodtogrowtheirspiritual lives.Weputthetentinthepoor, immigrantworkerarea.Theycome fromdifferentplacesandtheycome here,therefore,wedomanydifferent ministries.

Wedopreschool,evangelism,church planting,wealsodoyouthand children’sprograms.Togetherwith youthfromdifferentchurches,wedo revivalevents. Therearechurches thatareveryinterestedinworking together.Weareunitedwithother churches.

အက�ခ�| Eak

Inthelast10years,manyShan peoplehaveacceptedJesus. Theycometoourchurchand thenmove,sometimesto Bangkok,southernThailand, somemovedbacktoShanstate butnotsomuchnowbecauseof themilitarysituation.

Ayearago,oneofthefamiliesin thevillagesreceivedJesus.They movedouttoThailandandjoined ourchurch.Theycameandgave theirtestimonies.Theywere superhappyeventhoughthe villagesdidn’tevenwanttoeven lookatthem.

Thewholevillagedidn'twant themandtheygotkickedout.The villagewantedtokeepthehouse andtheland.Theleadercalledall ofthemtogether,“Whatdoyou think?ThisfamilyreceivedJesus. Theyarenotlikeus.”

Thentothefamily,“Doyoustill believeinJesusornot?Ifyousay no,thenyoucancontinuetostay. Butifyousayyes,thenyouhave togoout.”

Immediatelytheysaid,“Yes!We stillwanttofollowJesus!”

Afterthatthewholevillagewas nothappy.Theysaid,“No,you can’tdothat.Youhavetoleave.”

“No,thisisourhouse,ourland, fromourfatherandmother.”

“Youcannotdothat,youneedto choose.”

Theleadersaid,“Ifpeoplecome andvisityou,don’ttalkabout Jesus.Don’ttalkaboutGod.”

Andtheysaid, “Ifpeoplecome andvisitus,whatstorydowe havetotellthem?Wedon’t haveastory,onlyJesus!”

Iwasinahostelandwouldgotoa Christianyouthgroup.Iwasonfirefor God.Myfriendswereimpressedbymy willingnesstofollowGod,butthey worriedthatIwouldgetintrouble.

IhadtobestrongbecauseIwouldgoto schoolandalltheBuddhistswouldbow downtotheBuddhastatue,butIsaid,“I amnotdoingthisanymore.”Myteacher calledonmeandasked,“Whyareyou notbowingdowntoBuddha?”Itoldher, “IhavebecomeaChristian,I’mnot prayingtoBuddha.”

eအåင�eအåင� AungAung

Inthepoorarea,alotofladiesinourcountryaretaught nothing.Theywanttofindajobandgetaskill.Whenthey gettooold,factorieswon’tacceptthem.Theyhaveno money,theyhavenorice,sotheydon'teat.

Whenweheardthosethings,wethought,“Ohthat’sso sad.Wealwayseatrice,buttheyhavenorice.”Their familiesareindifficultsituationsandtheyhavenojob. Manypeoplediedinthatarea.

Wewanttoseethattheskillstheylearncanbecometheir ownpersonalbusiness.Becausetheyarepoor,wewant totakethemoutofpoverty. Myhopeforthecountry,for theministry,isforpeople’sbody,mind,andspiritto grow. Alotofareaslackhealtheducation;peopledon’t knowhowtocleantheirenvironmentorhowtocleantheir homes.

Wewanttohelpthem,butsomepeopleareresistant becausetheyfeelashamed.Wedon’twantthat,soIkeep askingGodhowtodoit,howtoreachthesepeople, askingGodfortheinstructions.

လuဘu| LuBu

ပиeခ| PK အက�စတå Esther

BeforeIacceptedJesus Christ,Iwasstressedand depressedbecausethere wassomuch.Untilthis year,Ididn’thaveafamily life.Ilivedtogetherandate togetherwith40peopleas myfamilylivedonourfarm withmanychildren,people thatcametolivewithus.

WhenIacceptedJesus,I feltjoyfulandIwas happy. NowIenjoylifea lot.It’sdifferent.EverydayI becomemorejoyful.

IwantedtogotoKaya state.Atthattime,Ididn’t haveanyfriendsandI didn’tknowanyoneinthat state.

ButIgottherethrougha weddingandthenImeta minister.Theminister said,“Oh,youareaBible teacher.Wedon’thave thatinhere.”

Ilivedthereandtaught thereandthenfromthere GodsentmetotheKaya borderandtheThai border,andthenfinally intoThailand.

WithoutGodleadingme, thenIwouldn'tbehere.

တန�ဂ�န�| TangGoon

Therewasavillagecalled Nanuionthemountainside andthatvillagedidn’taccept strangers.Ifastrangercame theywouldbekilledand buried.

Iwentthere.WhenIstarted goingintothevillage, everyonecameoutholding knives.Isawthattheywere coming.Iwenttoaverybig plainandtheyfollowedme.

Thevillagersgatheredaround me;theywererunningand chasingafterme.Iwaswaiting forthemandfacingthem. Theywereaimingtheirhands tokill,butwhentheygotclose tome,theirhandsstopped.

Iorderedthem,“Putyourknife down!”Everyoneputtheir knivesdown.Istartedsharing theGospel. Theywere amazedwhentheyheardthe Gospel.

HowtoRespond

Asyou’veread,GodismovingpowerfullyinMyanmar!Thepurpose ofussharingpeople’sstoriesistomoveusintoaction.Webelieve thereareacoupleofwaystorespondimmediatelytowardtheneeds inthisnation.

Pray Give

Prayerispowerful.Wewanttoencourageyoutogather withfriends,family,orwithyourchurchtocontinuallypray forMyanmar.Togetregularupdatesonwhatis happeninginMyanmarandhowtopray,signupfor www.prayforMyanmar.org/.

Tomakedonationstotheministriesprofiledinthis magazine,usethislink: https://tinyurl.com/tomyanmar, andput‘MyanmarStories’inthecomment.Pleasesend anemailto remarks@ywamperth.org.au withthereceipt ofyourdonationsowecanconfirmthatyourgiftis receivedbythecorrectministries.

Itissurprisingthatmanypeoplearenotawareofwhat's happeninginMyanmar.Ifyouwantthestoriesyou've readheretobringinspirationtoothers,sharethislink: https://tinyurl.com/myanmar2023.

“Theharvestareplentifulbuttheworkersarefew.”Theneeds areoutthere,andourencouragementisforyoutoactively engageinmissions.Thepeopleinthismagazineseethat wherevertheyareandwhatevertheydo,theycanpreachthe GoodNews.Inanyprofession,theycansharetheloveofGod toothersandthroughthat,manywillseeChrist.Ifyouwantto inquiremoreaboutmissions,write remarks@ywamperth.org.au and myanmar.ywam@gmail.com.

�မန�မå

ApictureofahousefromavillageformedfromChristiansthatwereforcedtoleavetheirvillageswhentheybecamebelievers