News from Myanmar

The following is an excerpt of a letter I received from a pastor in Myanmar.

I hope this letter finds you well. I wished I could write sooner. Telephone and internet services are irregular. Let me tell you what is happening on the ground in our area. The ground situation now is worse than that of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The situation is unrest, uncertain, and insecure. People have lost jobs. Theft and burglary are rampant everywhere.

Devastation to villages caused by the military junta in Myanmar.

The military junta takeover has plunged Myanmar into civil war and a humanitarian crisis. Many have fled across the border into Manipur (India) when clashes between military troops and the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) have intensified. The PDF have no plans to retreat. The military doesn't want to lose control of the town either. So it’s a tense situation between the two sides. Fighting between the military and anti-junta forces has forced nearly 800,000 people to flee their homes since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup d’etat. Here in our area the unnerving sounds of mortar and airstrike explosions, both near and far, are just that - unnerving, hitting a sore spot of the soul, an instant jolt that something is devastatingly wrong in so many ways. It makes us both jumpy and fatigued at the same time.

Yangon (formerly Rangoon) - the largest city in Myanmar

Myanmar shares a border of more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) in Chin State and Sagaing Region with eastern India. Most of the churches are in this region. The roads are frequently blocked. Food prices have skyrocketed in when junta troops and local resistance forces have blockaded roads for the past three months following clashes. When a fighting broke out, the two sides have blockaded the road, cutting off supplies and sparking a surge in food prices. We are unable to fix a date and a place for the upcoming missions conference due to these challenges. We are praying that God will make a way for the conference.

More than 60,000 people have crossed into India’s Manipur and Mizoram states since the coup. But Indian authorities in Manipur have been dealing with violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki minority there since early May, and say they no longer have the resources to accommodate refugees. There are security challenges in seeking refuge for Myanmar nationals. To make matters worse, the Indian government has closed the border with Sagaing Region following ethnic violence in Manipur between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

A Bible preaching church in Myanmar

The price of a sack of rice has almost doubled from mmk 80,000 to mmk 150,000 since the blockade. Petrol prices have also increased from mmk 2,500 to mmk 6,000 per liter. And the cost of cooking oil has surged mmk 8,000 kyats per viss (around 1.8 liters) to mmk 13,000.

Delivery of crucial food and relief aid to the needy in Myanmar

This is a very challenging situation for pastors like us. We don't know how we can encourage our members because of the current situation. Now we, the pastors are searching not only for spiritual nourishment, but also for physical nourishment. At this point, believers and non-believers are in trouble. A lot of people are in need of essential food, medicines, vitamins & supplements in order to survive.

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Myanmar. Pray especially for the pastors and missionaries as they endure hardness and faithfully minister the Gospel of Peace.

PRAY FOR MYANMAR

• Pray for God's protection from the wicked who seek to do harm.

• Pray for God's provision to those in need.

• Pray for God's peace and comfort for the afflicted.

• Pray for God's power for the missionaries proclaiming the Good News.

• Pray for the pastors as they shepherd sheep in great need.

"Finally, brethen, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."

2 Thessalonians 3:1-3