Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Twenty-seven European leaders met in Worms, Germany, for a leadership conference from an Incarnational viewpoint. Elders and wives from Holland, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany enjoyed presentations from David Stirk, John McLean and Randy Bloom. The food and the weather were excellent and only exceeded by the discussions and fellowship. German national director and European co-director of missions Santiago Lange and his wife, Elke, hosted the event.
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Myanmar
Rod Matthews sent this update of his April visit to Myanmar:
Malaysian pastor Wong Mein Kong and I made a trip to visit members and strengthen our connections with some other ministry groups in Myanmar (Burma). On arrival in Yangon (Rangoon), we met up with the leader of our congregation in the southern Irrawaddy delta area, who had travelled to Yangon so as to accompany us back to his village, where the church meets in his home. Also travelling with us was Tluang Kung, a young man that one of the Australian congregations sponsored through a Master of Theology course in a seminary in India several years ago to equip him for pastoral ministry and theological teaching. He is currently teaching at a seminary in Yangon; and since he is fluent in Burmese and English as well as other local languages, he accompanied us as a translator.
The trip from Yangon to the regional town of Myaungmya was arduous – six hours by an old 20-seater minibus with no air-conditioning. The distance was probably over 200 km, but the state of the road made it seem so much longer. At first the tarmac road had large potholes that needed dodging. As the journey progressed, the potholes grew wider to become large unsealed patches of stones and holes, and before long the tarmac had shrunk to a few resilient little patches on a rocky, potholed, unsealed, narrow “highway.”
On one occasion we all had to get off the bus so it (we!) could safely cross an old battered wooden bridge over a small river. Because it was the hot and dry season, the whole road was layered in a fine powdery dust that crept through every crack and hole in the floor of the bus – and in waves through the open windows when a vehicle passed the other way. I guessed that the temperature was around 36°C. (97ºF).
Soon the dust permeated every pore – and you could even taste it. I felt like a scrambled egg when we finally bounced our way into in the regional town of Myaungmya. Now I knew personally what the local members have to experience to travel to Yangon to meet Wong Mein Kong on his annual visits.
The following day we arose early to travel to the rural area where our congregation meets. We rented a river taxi and after 45 minutes of pleasantly puttering up a branch of the busy Irrawaddy River (the main “highway” for commercial traffic and trade), we pulled into a small jetty at a village. At last we had arrived, I thought. But no, we now had to walk about three kilometers across harvested and parched rice fields, keeping to the banks that divide the square paddies, to a house standing in a patch of trees in the middle of the fields.
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This was where the church meets every weekend in the home of our congregational leader and companion since arriving in Yangon. About 30 excited people were waiting for us. They have had very few international visitors over the decades of the existence of this congregation because this part of Myanmar (in fact, much of the country) has been out-of-bounds for foreign visitors for much of that time. Of course, a lovely meal was waiting for us – surely a banquet compared with their normal morning meal.
After eating, we conducted a Bible study. Wong Mein Kong and I both gave a message, translated into Burmese very competently by Tluang Kung. It concluded with a time for questions and answers – theology, biblical practice and its applications, and inquiries about people in our fellowship they had heard about.
Naturally, this was followed by another meal. It was very hot – and outside a little petrol generator ran, off and on, powering a single oscillating fan, which waved a little air at us in each sweep. There is no community electricity supply here. It was a house of two floors. The lower, unwalled section was for animals and for storage of equipment and grain. The family lived on the upper floor, which had walls of woven thatch and curtains on wires dividing the open plan floor into sleeping sections at night. They had a DVD and CD player and a few electric lights when the generator was running.
I marveled at how far this was from the hustle and bustle of life in the big cities where the “important things” happen. How remote! How undeveloped! How beautifully connected with our Creator and the world that sustains us with food regardless of where we live! I’m sure the stars at night were simply stunning – no ambient lighting to smother their glory. God’s presence seemed more obvious and natural here.
Of course he’s always been there. He was there before we ever got there. This little congregation has existed for more than 40 years. They are people whose hearts God had touched and who follow and worship him. People who live in the middle of a largely Buddhist country, and who endure an intrusive and suspicious government who follows their every move. Our visit was tracked by local security authorities requiring hotels and transport providers to record our arrival, departures and movements. We even had a lady from the regional security authorities come all the way to the village, perhaps to ensure we weren’t in any danger. She sat in on the Bible study, which I hope she found interesting. She joined us for that lovely lunch too. So we offered her a lift back in our waiting river taxi.
About 2 p.m., it was time to leave – back across the rice fields (it was now much hotter than when we had come) to the landing jetty, into the river taxi and back along the river to Myaungmya. None of us were willing to face the bus trip again, so we opted for the night ferry back to Yangon. Foreigners are required to take one of the 10 or so cabins on the upper deck. Local people jostle for positions on the lower deck. No seats – just deck space. So they spread a mat and defend their claim. But more and more people pour onto the boat, and ultimately there is no space to walk between families sitting and lying on the deck with their food containers, rugs, cushions and bags.
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In one section, it seems you could rent a deck chair, but almost all the deck chairs I saw were just frames with broken canvas. It took 14 hours with a 9 p.m. and a 4 a.m. stop at regional centers en route. Hundreds getting off, cargo being unloaded by teams of sweating porters, hundreds getting on, more cargo being loaded, hawkers on the wharf desperately yelling for business, holding trays of flat bread and dried fish and other unidentifiable edibles (at least to me). This is life in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta. And God has given us a congregation there.
Back in Yangon, we met with our pastor from the north of the country, Naing Key Har, who had spent several days traveling down to meet with us. He pastors our second congregation in Myanmar, which has grown with his leadership and dedication. It will be another year before he sees someone from outside Myanmar again, so we leave him with packages of used clothing, some books and funds to support his pastoral work and help with his family’s medical expenses.
The weekend started when Mein Kong, Naing Key Har and I were guests in the small house church pastored by Tluang Kung’s father, who had moved to Yangon from the north of the country. It’s a little group of about 30, squashed into the lower floor of their very basic two-room home (one room downstairs, one upstairs) on the outskirts of Yangon.
Downstairs has a dirt floor with woven mats for the children to sit on. In fact, a majority are children. They worshipped God with beautiful songs, Tluang Kung accompanying them on the guitar. We both gave messages again with Tluang Kung translating. The children sang and Tluang Kung’s little sister performed some special music. It was simple. “Where two or three are gathered together…”
I should add here that Tluang Kung has completed translating our Discipleship course (Discipleship 101 on the HQ website) into Burmese, has had the translation checked, and with our funding is now negotiating for its printing. Within a few months we will have our first publication in the Burmese language.
The next day, we visited another young pastor who has a similar house church in his rented home. After learning of us through the internet, Daniel Ling and his wife Rebecca had contacted us by email many months ago desiring a connection so as to give them a stronger link with the broader Body of Christ. Unlike many small ministries that contact us by email, they were not asking for financial support (not that they didn’t need it), and we fellowshipped and worshipped together with a unity of mind and heart.
With Tluang Kung translating again, both Wong Mein Kong and I gave another short message bringing God’s word into the lives of these poor, salt-of-the-earth people as they struggle to survive in a land that makes life difficult in every way. I left Myanmar excited about the prospects of future contacts, developments and opportunities in one of the most challenging areas in Asia.
Prayer Requests and Updates
Dennis Lawrence
Lynn Lawrence, wife of Montreal, Quebec (English) Pastor Dennis Lawrence, who recently underwent surgery for a perforated bowel, sent her appreciation for the many messages of support for Dennis and the family from around the world. She said that Dennis is out of ICU and is gaining strength slowly. He has been able to take a couple of short walks and has enjoyed short visits. The doctor indicated that he might be able to go home this week and that after about four weeks they might begin chemo again for his diffuse large B Cell lymphoma. Please continue to remember them in prayer.
Kingston, Jamaica Caribbean Missions Director Charles Fleming sent this update on the violence in Kingston:
I spoke with Leroy and Diana Joiles last night (May 31) and they report that the violence is down from a week ago, and mainly restricted to the section of Kingston that is headquarters to the alleged drug leader who is wanted for extradition to the U.S. Life in most parts of the country is returning to normal. Leroy thanks everyone for their prayers and asks that we pray that even after the wanted persons are brought to justice that all sectors of the society will address the social needs of the country so that they do not experience the rise of another person who can buy the loyalty of deprived persons. He says that the leaders of our congregations are more determined than ever to do their part to make a difference in the community surrounding our church. He is praying that others will do their part as well.
Trinidad Our Trinidadian brothers and sisters send their thanks to everyone for their prayers regarding their national elections. The elections are now over and the country has its first female Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Of major concern to most Trinidadians is the need to bring down the high crime rate, especially violent crimes. Please continue to pray for the wisdom and courage of the new government.
Henry Kuper
Henry Kuper, GCI national coordinator in the Solomon Islands, is ill from the residual effects of malaria and complications from diabetes. Henry lives in the far southeast of the country on the island of Santa Ana, and needs to travel on occasions to the capital, Honiara, and to the island of Ranongga at the other end of the country where our major congregation is located. His health is very important to his role in this country of hundreds of islands.
Carmen Davies Rod Mathews let us know that Carmen Davies, wife of Vanuatu pastor William Davies, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Rod wrote: 
William and Carmen have travelled to Fiji, where a greater range of treatment is available, and are awaiting the results of further tests to determine the nature of any operation needed and the extent of follow-up treatment. While in Fiji, they have the bonus of being the house guests of Isei and Vasiti Colati, our Fijian pastor and his wife (Fijian hospitality is legendary). The Davies are encouraged in knowing that their burden is being shared by brothers and sisters across the seas.
John and Mary Dobritch From our Canfield, Ohio, pastor, John Dobritch, and his wife, Mary:
We request prayers for our oldest daughter Katherine who gave birth to her first child on May 31. Unfortunately, the baby had previously been diagnosed with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) which greatly limited the development of vital organs such as the heart, lungs and kidneys. In spite of the doctors’ best efforts, young Emery John Kaleta died shortly after his birth. Please pray for encouragement and emotional healing for our daughter Katherine and T. J. Kaleta.
Their address is:
T. J. Kaleta – Katherine Sutherland
1955 Raccoon Rd.
Austintown, OH 44515
Remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight of faith. Let’s encourage everyone to join together in prayer, for we belong to Christ, and by the Spirit it is in Christ that we pray. Prayer and other spiritual activities help keep our hearts in tune with God and remind us of who we are in Christ. He is our all in all, and in him we are eternally beloved of the Father and blessed to share his good news with others.
Love from my family to yours,
Joseph Tkach
Our 2010 International Conference is only four weeks away! We are eagerly looking forward to this special time of fellowship and worship with our brothers and sisters from around the world. Although registration for the general conference closes tonight, participants still have time to sign up for one of our three post-conference classes.
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