The following was written by Hannah, one of our Australian partners, after our recent trip to Myanmar.
Peals of children’s laughter and joyous singing reverberate through the air. Passing rows of neatly stacked shoes and bags, I enter the most brightly coloured room I have ever seen. 50 small children are holding hands in a spinning circle, jumping up and down to nursery rhymes with their teachers….
Sounds like a scene out of a typical Australian preschool right?
But it’s not. Replace your new and fancy Australian preschool with thatched walls and a bamboo floor and you’ve got Blossom – HMP’s preschool. It’s smack bang in the middle of the slums of Yangon, Myanmar, a country where the average wage is less than a dollar a day. These Buddhist children are some of the poorest, yet are getting a world class education. Seriously…the methods of teaching that are being used at Blossom are the same as I am learning at university in Australia studying Primary Teaching!! 13 children have graduated during our trip, and when I was taken on a tour around the neighbourhood and saw such poverty and suffering, I realized what a feat these children had achieved just to make it through preschool.
Our God is a God who provides, and enough money was raised (Thanks!) for the Pastors’ Training Conference to take place with 43 pastors, many from the Chin state being blessed and built up through Sam’s messages.
We had the privilege of spending time with incredible students at HMP’s Restoration Bible College. 16 RBI students graduated during our trip, with many of them returning to their villages or remote areas to spend their lives sharing the gospel.
A highlight of the trip was 13 of us piling onto the back of a smoke-blowing truck and travelling 10 hours inland to remote Mindon, where HMP has a boarding school. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the 4 hours we spent in this village. The people are overwhelmingly friendly and welcoming. We learnt that on average, for the last 25 years someone has become a Christian every 2 weeks in this area – Amazing huh?!!
As we travelled around Myanmar, I was overwhelmed at the poverty and suffering that I saw, even for Christians. Yet those who have faith in Jesus were so joyous and happy. I realized during the trip that the hope for Myanmar does not lie in a new government to replace the evil one that is there now. The hope and future of Myanmar lies in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Myanmar church is growing despite the persecution.
So… what can YOU pray for???
- That Blossom kids and their families would come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
- That the messages preached at the pastor’s training would reap a rich harvest and the pastors would be encouraged to keep going strong.
- RBI graduates and students, as they return to their villages and full time ministry.
