2009 Archives - Macedonian Teaching Ministry

A Heartfelt Thank You To All Who Support MTM

MTMAdmin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:18:18 +0000

As the year of 2009 slides into history, and we look back and reflect, we continue to clearly see the fingerprints of God’s leading on the Macedonian Teaching Ministry (MTM).

By God’s abundant grace and your faithful prayer and financial support, MTM conducted 6 different Bible conferences in 6 different Asian countries in 2009. All totaled, there were approximately 250 Asian church leaders, Christian workers and future missionaries discipled through these 6 different Bible conferences.

Due to all the focus on soul winning, there are more first generation Christians in the world today then at any other time in history since the time of Christ. Most all of the brothers and sisters that attend MTM conferences are first generation Christians and have never had the opportunity for discipleship. Your prayer and financial help is making it possible to fulfill one of the great gospel opportunities of our day….discipleship and Bible training. These dear first generation Christians are open, moldable, eager to learn, willing to share their faith, and grow in Jesus Christ. What a privilege and blessed opportunity God has set before MTM. Thank you for your co-laboring with MTM in making this all possible.

2009 Highlights

Recently, MTM partnered with a student ministry team from the IGo Bible Institute to minister in Aizawl, India. What a thrill to see a former native student of MTM, now living as a dedicated missionary in the remote mountain regions of India. This same native missionary was our IGo student’s leader in hands-on village missionary experiences. What a blessing to see former MTM students now serving on the field and being a great example to our American IGo students.

Another MTM high light for 2009 was to return and work with the same coordinators for the second year. This took place in Bhutan as well as India. This is our heart to establish and maintain ongoing partnerships with these native coordinators. As deeper relationships are established with these native coordinators, it paves the way to take them deeper into the all things of Jesus Christ.

Looking Ahead Into 2010

As we look ahead into 2010 our hearts thrill at the open door that God has set before us. Already MTM has 6 different Bible conferences scheduled for the upcoming new year. Most all of these conferences are new coordinators in new locations. And the invitations just keep coming. MTM has teaching possibilities as far away as Malawi, Africa.

MTM is a faith-based ministry. MTM’s ability to disciple and spiritually equip native Christians to win their own unreached people to Jesus Christ is largely contingent upon your contributions to this ministry. All of your faithful contributions will be used to facilitate a training school of native church leader students in equipping them to take the gospel to where it has not yet been preached.

Thank you so much for your prayer support and financial support. By Gods faithful grace, MTM will teach faithful men who shall be able to teach others also ….so the gospel will be preached where it has not yet been preached. Contributions of any amount can be sent to:

IGo
198 W. Lexington Rd.
Lititz, PA 17543 USA

Please be sure to earmark your contribution for MTM. Thank you in advance for your prayer and financial contribution.

For Christ & The Nations,
Raymond Burkholder
IGO-MTM Director

The post A Heartfelt Thank You To All Who Support MTM appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

From Head Hunters to Soul Hunters

MTMAdmin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:04:17 +0000

Mizoram state of India is located in the northeast between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Mizoram is the home of the Mizo ethnic people. Just a bit over 100 years ago they were head hunters. There was status quo among the young men to have a human head on display as proof of their warrior ability. The first missionary to enter this region of India was a young man (23 years old) by the name of William Williams in 1891. He was one of thousands that were sent out after the Welsh revival in Whales & England. (truly missions is hid in revival). One young man all for God, totally changed a whole ethnic race of people.To this very day in Aizawl (capital city of Mizoram) this great gospel change is clearly evident. The city of 340,000 people has more then 100 churches. As we drove the streets this past Sunday morning, business were closed, the streets were empty (normally there are traffic jams) people everywhere walking to church carrying their Bibles. One particular church denomination has their sisters beautifuly covered with white flowing veils. But there is more. The Mizo Christians love to sing. It is not unusual to hear beautiful harmonious Christian music as you drive the streets of the city. Many of the Mizo people have a passion for missions. One large church we visited has more then a 1000 missionaries on the field. Brother Zela (our coordinator) is only 26 years old and has his own missions training school. Truly these people have changed from head hunters to soul hunters in 100 years. And MTM gets the blessed privilege to come into this setting to teach on missions. In many ways we feel humbled and feel they ought to be teaching us Americans on missions. But on the other hand our Anabaptist faith and practice is a great challenge and encouragement to them as well.

Our IGo ministry team was made up of three different aspects of ministry all in one team. First, there were 5 IGo students on their sixth term ministry trip. They were Nathan King, Jeremy Martin, Kimberly Eshleman, Deanne Weaver & Twila King. After a very brief stay in Aizawl they drove 9 hours to a remote mountain region. After a three hour hike they arrived at a village where no westerner had ever been before. Their native leader was Brother Billy. He had been a student last year when MTM ministered at the same mission school. What a great joy to see former students now serving on the mission field. The IGo students ministry included visiting and praying for the sick, preaching and children’s ministry. Secondly there was the English teaching team. They were David Brown, Jana Burkholder (my daughter) and Shana Yoder (Val’s daughter). David came all the way from America to join our team. They taught two classes each day. One class with a group of nursing students and another class with the pre-missions students. Thirdly there was the MTM team. Val Yoder (IGo director) and myself were teaching a class of pre-missions students. But we also ministered from time to time to a class of nursing students.

This ministry trip was especially memorial. This was the first time MTM partnered with the IGo student ministry trips. That truly was an added blessing and open the way for even greater witnessing for Jesus Christ. It is one thing for us older men to be teaching the Bible but there is a tremendous testimony to have young people with you who are living what we are teaching. To God be the glory !!!

The IGo Aizawl Ministry Team Dressed in Traditional Mizo Dress

L-R Back Row – Nathan King, David Brown (David came from America to join the IGo team) Jeremy Martin, Val Yoder & Raymond Burkholder

Front Row- Deanne Weaver, Kimberly Eshleman, Twila King, Shanna Yoder & Jana Burkholder

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES

The post From Head Hunters to Soul Hunters appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

MTM / IGo Students Ministry Trip

MTMAdmin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:57:43 +0000

The sixth term of IGo Bible Institute is complete as of Friday November 20th. Once again it is ministry trip time here at IGo. Each term is completed with an opportunity for the students to put into practice what they learned as well as experince missions first hand. MTM is partnering with a student ministry team to minister in Aizawl, India from November 25 to December 5th. We tried this last year after sixth term, but due to protesters taking over the Bangkok airport, our students were not able to join MTM in India. So we are looking forward to this kind of partnership between MTM and the IGo students. The IGo students will be ministering in a remote village near Aizawl in the state of Mizoram, India. Val Yoder and Raymond Burkholder will be teaching a MTM Bible conference to 22 pre-missions students. Val & Raymond are also taking their daughters along as part of the ministry team. Shanna Yoder (15) & Jana Burkholder (19). Here at IGo we get them started in missions young. They will also be teaching two classes of English each day. Please do pray for this ministry team. Thank you.

The Aizawl, India Ministry Team

L-R; Nathan King, Twila King, Shanna Yoder, Jeremy Martin, Jana Burkholder, Raymond Burkholder, Deanne Weaver, Val Yoder & Kimberly Eshleman.

Pictures Of Ministry Trip

The post MTM / IGo Students Ministry Trip appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

IGo Bible Institute

MTMAdmin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:24:48 +0000

Institute for Global Opportunities (IGo) is made up of numerous different ministries in SE Asia. One of those ministries is the Macedonian Teaching Ministry (MTM). But the heart of IGo is the Bible Institute. The vision of the IGo Bible Institute is to train, equip and prepare servants of Jesus Christ for a life time of service in building His kingdom world over. The Bible Institute is in its second semester for this year. We presently have the highest student enrollment since IGo began. We have a total of 31 eager, energetic students. Monday (Nov 2) begins the third and last term for this semester. Each term is three weeks in duration. After each term our students travel to different parts of SE Asia in hands on ministry experiences.

My (Raymond) primary role is to give leadership to the MTM ministry of IGo. But I also teach one term each semester at the Bible Institute. I will be teaching a course on I Corinthians this term. Please pray for me as I teach this class. In all reality the book of I Corinthians is a concise list of cultural conflicts that every missionary or church planter will face as they bring the gospel to an unreached people. My heart would be, in teaching this book, that it would not just be a book of corrections, but rather a class of raising up and preparing spiritual missionaries that will always be abounding in the work of the Lord.

IGo Bible Institute Students

Front Row: Eric Berkshire, Nathan King, Bronson Yoder, Anthony Sensenig

Second Row: Wendy Yoder, Melanie Beachy, Deanne Weaver, Nueng Kluksanasakulchai, Kelly Shenk, Anita King, Tiffany Wright, Karen Yoder, Karla Hershberger, Naomi Swarey

Third Row: Arlin & Kayla Beachy, Joyce Shoemaker, Andrea Pence, Kimberly Pollard, Rosa King, Twila King. Jeannie Graber, Kimberly Eshleman, Katie Shetler, Coleen Barnhart, Craig & Rachel Miller

Back Row: LaRonda Schrock, Leanna Wagler, Jeremy Martin, Lavon Slabaugh, Brian Shenk, Daryn Weaver, Jordan Flory, Ben Pifer, Victor Helmuth

Ps: Rosa King, Naomi Swarey, Kelly Shenk & Criag & Rachel Miller are all second year students. Rosa King & Naomi Swarey are now part of IGo Ransom Ministries. Kelly Shenk is part of the IGo English center. Criag & Rachel Miller are serving in a village in northern Thailand under the IGo Church planting ministry.

The post IGo Bible Institute appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Thailand Hill Tribe Ministry

MTMAdmin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:58:11 +0000

I had the privilege to travel with Wright Dee for five days of ministry among the Karen Hill Tribe people of the western Thailand/Myanmar border. The Karen people are an ethnic people group originally from Myanmar. But due to being despised by the ruling ethnic people from Myanmar, many have crossed the border into Thailand and live in the very remote rugged mountains of Thailand. Brother Wright Dee is native Karen from Myanmar. He is 74 years old and is passionately laboring to minister the Gospel among his own people in the remote villages. When I say remote, I mean remote. When you drop off the concrete road everything stops, the road stops, the power lines stop, all phone service stops (including mobile), no refrigeration, no entertainment media……everything stops. After driving for 3-4 hours up very steep grades with vertical drop offs that cause you to hold your breath, especially since the ruts are more then axle deep and the 4 wheel drive truck slides this way…and then abruptly it slides the other way perilously close to the fall off edge….I promise you the seat belt is taught & prayer is without ceasing! Brother Wright Dee has been negotiating these mountain trails for more then 30 years and his driving skills are the best and all went very well. After all this…. village life in the mountains begins. These dear Karen people basically live off of the mountain lands. They hold to their traditional Karen dress and are very hospitable. Brother Wright Dee is well loved by these people. When they see his Toyota truck coming, the people soon gather and then he would ask me to have a service. Being instant in season and out of season to preach the Word took on a whole new meaning….and I loved it. Please pray for the continued advent of the gospel among these people. In a few short years brother Wright Dee will no longer be able to minister as he is today. With a very sad expression, he told me there is no one else working for the sake of the Gospel among these Hill Tribe people…the road is too difficult and the sacrifice is too great. Did not Jesus say that unless we forsake all that we have, we cannot be His disciple (Luke 14:33)….who will answer the cry from our triune God in Isaiah 6:8…”who shall I send and who will go for us?”

Wahdah Kla Karen Hill Tribe Village We Visited

More Thailand Hill Tribe Ministry Photos With Captions

The post Thailand Hill Tribe Ministry appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

MTM Thimphu, Bhutan

MTMAdmin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:57:08 +0000

It is now 13 month since IGo-MTM commenced here in SE Asia. The first door of opportunity for a Bible conference was last year August in Thimphu, Bhutan. Since that time MTM has conducted 7 Bible conferences in 5 different countries. It was with great anticipation that MTM returned again to Thimphu for another Bible conference. The dates for the conference were September 21-25, 2009. This is the heart of MTM, to year after year, disciple the church leaders in the all things of Jesus Christ. What a great privilege was ours to renew acquaintances with the church leaders as well as develop new relationships.

MTM Ministry Team
L-R, Collier Berkshire (IGo staff), Merle Burkholder (IGo board chairman) & Raymond Burkholder

All the believers there in Bhutan are first generation Christians. Most all of them, including the church leaders, have not had the opportunity for discipleship and training. There is a sincere desire for the teaching and expounding of the Word of God. The believers there have a sincere desire to see their own people come to Jesus Christ. People are coming to Christ and the churches are growing. The believers are requesting that we pray for unity among the believers and that the government would take a favorable position and lessen the restrictions on the churches. Please do pray for the Bhutanese Christians. Thank you.

Click Here For Many More Pictures With Details

The post MTM Thimphu, Bhutan appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

MTM Yangon, Myanmar

MTMAdmin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:01:55 +0000

God so graciously opened the door for another MTM Bible conference in Myanmar August 31 to September 4th. Matthew Landis from Ephrata, PA traveled to this side of the world to serve as the second teacher. Back in January MTM was in Myanmar but this conference was sponsored by a different coordinator and a total different group of church leaders. The conference started with about 45 leaders in attendance and peaked towards the end with about 80 in attendance. There were church leaders there from most all regions of Myanmar. Even some from the very northern state of Kachin. Our hearts thrilled to see church leaders come together for the conference from five different major denominations. How our hearts thrilled in their desire and willingness to hear the Word of God. In many ways we learn so much from them. Their openness to hear and receive truth they never heard before. Their passion to see their own people come to Jesus Christ. Their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. Their hunger for the Word of truth is any teacher or preachers absolute delight. Blessed be God !!!

So many blessings were ours on this ministry trip. We visited an orphanage where 30 dear children were living in three 10’x12’bamboo homes. Their well trained mannerism and singing just thrilled our hearts with only about a 10 watt dimming light bulb. There we also witnessed a baptism of about 13 new believers in the night with only one flashlight.

Our native coordinator married Saturday right after the conference was over. What a blessing was ours to have part in this very special couples wedding.

Please do pray for the Christians in Myanmar. They face many hardships and in some regions there is also persecution. To be sure their lives are not endangered I will not be posting a group photo. Our coordinator did give me the blessing to post his picture with his new bride.

Our Native Lisu Coordinator With His New Bride

Click Here For More Pictures

The post MTM Yangon, Myanmar appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Back In Chiang Mai, Thailand

MTMAdmin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:42:37 +0000

June 16 to August 8, 2009 the Burkholder family was in USA. Our primary purpose was to renew our yearly Thai visas. Needless to say our time in America included a whirlwind of activities. There was the great blessing of Burkholder family time. All our children and grandchildren were together for a few days at a cabin in the mountains of central PA. The grand children, as well as all of us, just loved a day at Knoebels Family Amusement Park. Then there also were the tent meetings in Philadelphia and all those dear young people that came into the city to teach VBS. Naomi & I also very much enjoyed flying to Indiana with my mother (84) for my nephews wedding. Then there were also the many MTM presentations as well as preaching opportunities. All total we did 12 different MTM presentations in four different states. Our hearts are overwhelmed with the interest and support of MTM and our family. The blessings that were ours are innumerable. A great big heart felt thank you to all of you who blessed us in so many different ways. We are not at all worthy. But freely we have received and freely we will give for Gods glory among the nations.

The Burkholder Family

Grandpa And Three Of His Five Grandsons

The post Back In Chiang Mai, Thailand appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Philadelphia Tent Meetings

MTMAdmin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:08:46 +0000

The Burkholder family traveled to USA June 16. After a number of MTM presentations we traveled to Philadelphia, PA for the annual Sixth Street city tent meetings. The dates this year were July 7-17. Each evening Raymond preached in the tent serving as the evangelist. The attendance from the city was light. Praise the Lord for the few responses there were for Gods glory. There also were about 20 young people who are teaching VBS. Each evening they have about 70-80 children from the city. Several mornings Raymond spoke to the young people encouraging them in long term missionary service. God moved mightily among these dear young people.

Sunday Morning Tent Meetings

Sixth Street Mission Staff & VBS Teachers

The post Philadelphia Tent Meetings appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

MTM Pokhara, Nepal

MTMAdmin — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:52:01 +0000

May 15-24 IGo-MTM was on the discipleship trail once again. Harold Carpenter came from Sturgis, MI and traveled with me to Pokhara, Nepal for a MTM Bible conference. Words totally fail me to express the privilege and opportunity God granted Harold & I in Nepal. The work these dear native Christians are doing for Jesus Christ simply staggers and humbles me. The one village we ministered in was rather remote. We hiked one and a half hours to get there.

Our Ministry Trekking Team

Harold Carpenter, Karruna, Daniel, Esther & Raymond Burkholder

A native man at this village told us that 5 years ago when he left this village to go to the states, none of these villages had the gospel. As he said that, he swung his arm in a motion up over the very rugged mountains where we could see somewhere between 15-20 villages. Then he went on to say that now all these villages have heard the gospel and many of them have small churches, all due to these dedicated native Christians. Their willingness to sacrifice and give of themselves to Gods great work truly is a great challenge to us as American Christians. These are the same students that we had in our training seminar for the week. God again just clearly riveted in my heart that these are the Christians that have the commitment and dedication to take the gospel to those remote difficult villages that remain unreached for Jesus Christ. What a great joy and privilege that God would open the door for us to teach them the all things of Jesus Christ. In all reality I felt that I need to be sitting at their feet rather then them sitting at our feet. Yes, they literally sat on the floor all day while Harold and I taught. They have no chairs or benches in their church. What a blessed privilege that God has granted MTM. Our prayer is that the Lord would grant us heavenly wisdom to be faithful to Him in the opportunity He has set before us. Thank you for your prayer and financial support to make these MTM trainings possible.

Pokhara, Nepal Bible Students

More Pokhara, Nepal Pictures

The post MTM Pokhara, Nepal appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.