God at Work - Stories from the villages we visited!

"Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" Ephesians 6:19-20.

This was our team's theme verse as we headed to B*rma. We knew we were going to villages that desperately needed to hear Truth. Two of the villages had no Christ followers, and the villages that did have a church presence were often under pressure and experiencing persecution (with the majority of people being Buddhist). But, we serve a God that is bigger - a God that empowers us with His Spirit, and equips us and enables us to speak with boldness! So we headed out, relying on God to open doors and change hearts, and with willing hearts to be used by God in whatever way He wanted.

(most picture in this post, and in the last one, done by JohnMark Bergen. Thanks JM!)

This is what the villages and houses looked like! 

As we trekked through the jungle, through rice fields, and through mud and streams, Jeremy and I were reminded of Mark 6 where Jesus sent out His disciples. Here we were going from village to village, staying in homes, being fed along the way, sharing the good news and praying for healing and release from bondage. Many people had never heard the gospel or even seen a foreigner. It was like we were living the book of Acts - praying for boldness and seeing the gospel spread as we went out in faith on our missionary journey. And wow was God at work!

Pastor Isaiah showing the teachers how to set up the computer and printer

A team had gone into some of these same villages in July, and were seeking to build relationships with one village in particular, which had no church presence and no Christ followers. They had gone into the school and asked if there was anything they needed. The teachers said they could really use a computer. They had been trying to get one for quite a while, with no results. So, Louise and the Burmese team of leaders began praying for God to provide a computer that they could donate. Well, God answered their prayers, beyond what they had hoped for! Through the generosity of a woman that had visited Thailand, they now had not only 1 computer to give, but 3! So, here we were presenting computers to these three schools, sharing how God had provided them, and demonstrating love and generosity!

sharing God's love with the children! 

praying for the teachers, the children, and the village (Pastor Paul, our wonderful translator is the man in front) 

While Pastor Isaiah showed the teachers how to use the computers the rest of our team taught the children English songs, Sunday school songs, shared Bible stories, and shared the gospel. We then prayed for the school and the villages. The children (as well as all the people we met) stole our hearts very quickly! They were all smiles, and it was truly a privilege to be able to share the love of Christ with them!

teaching the children at the school some English songs (Jeremy has turned into quite the song leader!) 

As Pastor Isaiah would proclaim the gospel and share his story with the adults and youth each evening, we would share Bible stories, sing songs, do skits, and color with the kids! This was a highlight for both Jeremy and I! We loved getting to know the children and had many laughs together.

the happiest kid you will ever meet! His huge smile and laughter brought us so much joy! 

some of the children from village number 4 

For the first three villages, we had Pastor Paul translate for us as we did kids programs. However, part of our group left after the third village, including dear Pastor Paul, so we were without a translator for villages 4 and 5. But that didn't stop us! In fact, God even used that situation to sow seeds.

In the fourth village, we asked if there was anyone who knew even a little bit of English, so they could help translate for our kids program that afternoon, while Pastor Isaiah did some teaching. Well, there happened to be a Buddhist school teacher (who actually was fairly new to the village) who knew a bit of English and a bit of Thai. I don't know if he would have volunteered himself, but everyone else quickly pointed to him, so really... he had no choice (all part of God's plan!). So with his limited English and our limited Burmese, we (Jeremy, Louise, and I) shared Bible stories, acted out stories, and shared about the love of Christ with the children. The whole time I just couldn't help but think, how cool is God! Here we have a devout Buddhist man, who happens to be the only man in the village that speaks English, translating the gospel message to the children, and hearing the love of Christ. Isn't that awesome!

coloring with the kids, after telling them some Bible stories! 

parachute games with the kids! We could have done this for hours! They absolutely loved it! 

That evening, we met with almost the entire village (including our Buddhist teacher friend) to share the gospel message. As Louise and Pastor Isaiah shared, many Christians stepped forward asking for prayer - that they would be strengthened in their faith and that God would equip them as church leaders. We also saw many people decide to follow Christ and receive His gift of salvation. I noticed that the teacher was engaged, taking it all in, and flipping through the Burmese Bible he had received. He didn't stand with everyone else to pray, but I know that seeds were sown. He heard the gospel and the message of God's love, and we trust and pray that God will continue to work in His heart and life.

acting out the story of David and Goliath in village 3 

coloring by candlelight! 

As we traveled from village to village, often a bit of a crowd would gather and come with us (likely wondering what all these crazy foreigners were doing in the middle of the jungle). But, that provided an opportunity to share our stories, share God's love, and worship together everywhere we went. There was one man in particular, however, that really stood out to me.

As we were headed out to village number 3, there was a man in a bright yellow shirt who showed up and wanted to help carry our bags. He had heard about our group, and wanted to learn more about Jesus. So, he helped carry our backpacks and Bibles through the jungle and rice fields, just so he could talk with Pastor Isaiah and hear more. He then joined us at the church in village 3 for times of teaching and discipleship. Here was a man who was clearly hungry for more of God! We found out later that this man had left his job and his work, to carry our stuff and come with. Isn't that unreal!? I was reminded of when Jesus talks about the cost of being His disciple - leaving family, leaving jobs, and taking up our cross to follow Him. This man did that! He didn't have a lot, but was willing to leave his work behind, to just hear even a bit more about who God is. Wow! Am I hungry to know more about Christ like that? Am I willing to give up all I have to know and follow God?

the man that came with us to learn more! 

spending time in worship and prayer 

two of the Karen pastors (the man on the far left, and the woman on the far right). they were both such a blessing! 

The last little bit of our trip we spent in Mindon (all the villages we were in previous were Karen villages. This was a Chin area). We really enjoyed meeting some of the church leaders, and young believers there! We also made 300 goody-bags as Christmas presents for the children in that area!

Goodies, not garbage - the Christmas Presents! 

We truly loved our time in the villages. It was amazing to see God at work, and to see people responding. God opened doors and opened hearts! Please continue to pray that the churches in these villages will be strengthened - that they will grow in their knowledge of the Word, and be filled with the Spirit. Pray for the leaders there, that God will strengthen and equip them to continue to make disciples and to go and reach out to the villages around them. Pray that the church will continue to grow and that God's kingdom would be built! God is at work! Let's join what He is doing by praying for our B*rmese brothers and sisters!

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" Philippians 1:6.