Jan 2026  MTM Conferences in Yangon and Taunggyi, Myanmar

Pastor Toe always does an amazing job of translating…in word and deed

This trip to Asia is one that I have been interested in participating in for some time.  Merle Flory (“Pastor Merley” to the believers there) first asked several years ago but our family situation didn’t allow for it at that time.  This time when Rich called, it seemed God was saying the time was right.  After committing to go, I began to realize just how stretching the experience would be.  This was certainly true for me, but the stretching was in a good way.

We spent our first week in Myanmar in the city of Yangon which has a population of nearly 6 million.  The dense population is evident on the streets with lots of noise and considerable impact to their air quality.  While there, we were blessed to fellowship with excited believers during a four day conference at Pastor Toe’s church.  In attendance were pastors from various regions of the country who all were attentive and appreciative of the teaching.  Due to the conflict within the country there were some from up north who were not able to attend though they would have liked to.  Travel is just not feasible from those areas at this time.

Our Yangon Conference

The experience of teaching through an interpreter gave me a whole new appreciation for the way in which God has gifted His Body for His purposes.  The gift of interpretation is an amazing thing!  To listen to someone speak words in one language, process that mentally and then immediately give it to ready listeners in another language for hours on end looks daunting. We were blessed with men gifted in this way at each conference.

I was struck by the enthusiasm for worship among these dear believers and the commitment of the pastors to their individual congregations.  Many of them are the sole leaders of their flocks and dedicate an immense amount of each week to the care and encouragement of the people God has placed them with.

Our second week was spent about 400 miles north in the town of Taunggyi.  We started our week by participating in a church service at a small house church pastored by Stephen Blessing in the countryside on the outskirts of town.  He and his wife also have a small children’s home there where they live.  The Sunday service probably had less than 25 in attendance of which at least half were children under 12 years of age.  Again, I was impressed with the joy and enthusiasm of their worship.  The children shared memory verses and sang their hearts out.

Mike giving inspiring teaching on the glories of heaven

The next three days we held a conference in a nearby church building that Stephen Blessing had arranged.  Again, this conference was well attended by pastors from various locations and numerous tribes were represented.  Some drove quite a distance, possibly 6-10 hours, to be with us.   It was truly humbling to see how much they appreciated our presence and how engaged they are in the Word.  During some of the question and answer sessions we learned of some of their struggles and their commitment to teach truth to their congregations.

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The brothers and sisters we interacted with at both locations (Yangon and Taunggyi) were a true joy.  Their faith, hospitality, enthusiasm for the Word and joy in worship were a great blessing.  As is so often typical when we minister other places, I believe I brought home more than I took.  It is truly convicting to see how little they have and yet how well they reach out to their villages.  We in America could learn a lot from them.

The above article was written by our guest teacher Mike Flora. Mike serves as an elder and pastor to the Modesto Old German Baptist Brethren Church- NC in Modesto, California. Mike, Thank you again for spending and being spent for Jesus sake!  – Rich Moore 

 

 

Dear Friends of MTM,

Greetings in Christ, We are happy to introduce Eric and Amber Weaver to the Macedonian Teaching Ministry team. Eric will be serving as MTM PR Cordinator. He will help share the vision, needs, and opportunities of MTM with others more clearly. Eric and Amber are from Lancaster County Pennslyvania and attend Martindale Mennonite Church(Weaverland Conference). Please pray for them as they join the team. Pray that God will guide them, strengthen them, and use them for His glory. Eric and Amber Weaver + baby Bowen If anyone is interested in hosting an MTM PR event or would like to learn more about MTM, please feel free to reach out. Contact Eric Weaver at 717-205-6285, or by email: ericshawnweaver@gmail.com? Serving Christ together, Stephen Burkholder Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

For Jesus sake in SE Asia…

Bethany and I had the privilege of spending two and a half weeks in southeast Asia with Rich and Nicole Moore in early November 2025. We began our trip in Myanmar. The day after arriving in Yangon, Myanmar, we flew almost a thousand miles north to a region called Putao. The Putao region is a collection of villages in a beautiful river valley surrounded by the majestic Himalayan Mountains. Due to the country being in the midst of a civil war, this area is very isolated; the only way to get there is by air. The only road accessing the rest of the country is closed due to the ongoing civil war. Shortages, high cost of goods, and isolation from the rest of the country and the world is the norm in this place. What we encountered once we arrived in Putao was beyond our imagination. The people who live in this area have not seen a tourist, much less an American since some time before Covid. Their fascination with us and their excitement in having visitors was overwhelming. Adults would go out of their way to try to help us, young people would come running wanting to take a picture and practice English with us, the children would lean out of home and school windows to shout and wave, then giggle and laugh as we responded. The friendliness and welcoming that we received from all the people was such a blessing and very much enjoyed. To our surprise, Christianity has a great presence in Putao. This area was evangelized in the 1950’s by an American family named Morse, who had the goal of training native pastors in what at that time was a small Christian presence.  Today, seventy years later, churches and believers abound throughout the valley. The believers here think very highly of what this family accomplished by God’s grace. The churches and Christian schools sing from an American hymnbook brought and translated by this family, and the people eat and sell the grapefruit by the bushel that the Morse’s taught them to grow. Our first day in Putao was a Sunday. We went to a local church for services that morning and another that afternoon, with Rich teaching in the morning and I in the afternoon. That was followed by the next three days of conferences at yet another local church. Each day there were two teaching sessions in the morning, lunch together, then another two sessions in the afternoon. This conference was very well attended with about sixty men and twenty women. The rest of the week was spent touring and visiting in a number of different homes, churches and families. One of the highlights of the visiting was in the home of a Tibetan family. This family were practicing Buddhists, were poor beyond description, yet welcomed us with great hospitality, smiles, and refreshments. One of the refreshments was the opportunity to try a small piece of Caterpillar Fungi. This Tibetan man hunts for these fungi, often spending weeks away from home in the forest hunting for them. In China, Caterpillar Fungi sells for more than fifty thousand dollars per pound. To experience the warm friendliness of this family yet realizing that they are without hope in Christ is heartbreaking. Many of the local believers are very intent on reaching the Tibetan people with the good news of Jesus Christ, and my prayer is that this dear family will give their hearts to the Lord of all hope. The hunger for teaching and encouragement is overwhelming. One of the older pastors shared that this conference was the answer to many years of his prayers. Pleading for us and others to come back was a continual request with everyone we met. We hope their prayers for more to come will be answered soon, and sincerely hope that we too will get the opportunity to return to this beautiful valley, filled with warm, friendly, and excited brothers and sisters.

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We concluded our time in Myanmar back in Yangon with a Sunday morning service and lunch at Pastor Toe’s church. This man, his family, and his church have such an infectious joy in Christ, it is truly humbling to realize the hardship and poverty surrounding their lives. Again, this is a place and a group of people that we hope to meet again someday, if not in Myanmar, then in the presence of Jesus Christ in Heaven. We then traveled to Phenom Phen, Cambodia where we had a two-day conference in the home/coffee shop of a Mennonite couple who live and teach there, then another one-day conference at a local church out in a village about three hours away. At both conferences we experienced believers, pastors, and teachers who were anxious to learn, asking many questions. It is difficult in this area of Cambodia for believers. Phenom Phen is a large busy city with lots of distractions and busyness for people to occupy themselves with. Cambodia is about 95% Buddhist, so there is lots of pressure to conform to the historical and familial religion, regardless of its hopelessness. Between the lingering effects of a society still trying to recover from the effects of Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge regime in the late seventies, the utter hopelessness of Buddhism, and some of the false teachings labeled as Christian, these brothers and sisters desperately need encouragement and instruction, and again pleaded for any who might return to do so. This trip was such a blessing for Bethany and I. To experience such different cultures, food, and lifestyles was fantastic. Rich and Nicole are wonderful leaders and make such a trip a real lifetime experience. Most importantly, to spend time with fellow brothers and sisters, recognizing we have so much in common in Jesus Christ was both humbling and encouraging. My prayer is that others would feel the call to go, to share and teach, and learn from these dear ones who live in a different world both literally and figurately. Thank you Lord, for this opportunity to go, thank you Lord for what Rich and Nicole, MTM and others are doing for believers all over the globe, and thank you Lord for these dear believers in Myanmar and Cambodia. – Chris & Bethany Miller The above article was written by Chris Miller of the Modesto German Baptist Brethren. Thank you, Chris and Bethany for giving of your time, talents and treasure for the meaningful work of pastoral teaching in SE Asia. We also extend deep gratitude to all those that help fund this work and send us by prayer and go with us in prayer. God is not unrighteous to forget your labor! – Rich & Nicole MooreP.S. You are welcome to reply directly to this email with words of encouragement for Rich and Nicole.