It was while we lived in Aceh with the Acehnese people that God imparted a huge burden on my heart for the Muslim people of the world. So much so that as of today I have developed a complete series on teaching for the Christian Church in motivating them to reach their own Islamic people for Jesus Christ.
Many of the pastors acknowledged that they have too often viewed the Bible through the lens of their culture, rather than confronting cultural errors through the lens of the Bible. We share in Paul’s confidence in the Spirit of God both in our lives and theirs:
The first week of December is a time that will be remembered for quite some time. There were a number of things that impressed us. Quite a few of the pastors & emerging leaders traveled on a bus for three days to attend this training conference. Furthermore, they would sit on the hard floor all day (6 hours) attentively drinking in deeply and diligently taking notes in their spiral notebooks.
The Northern border of Thailand meets up with Myanmar and Laos in a place called the Golden Triangle. Unfortunately, this area is suffering under the power of darkness due to drugs and idolatry. Many local native missionaries are engaged in taking the Gospel into the unreached villages of this region. It was here in Tachileik, Myanmar that MTM conducted a Servant Leadership Conference for pastors and missionaries.
I can only testify to God’s great faithfulness, love and compassion upon ALL of His People. Hallelujah and Amen would be the cry of my heart today as I reflect back on this amazing experience of worshipping, praying, leading, teaching, and crying with these godly men and women. I believe all of our team would echo my sentiments that God not only answers prayer, but He provides exceedingly abundantly above all that we might ask or think. The power of the presence of our Holy God was noticeably present as we lived, loved, learned, and taught among this wonderful group of people.
Having had very little idea of what to expect of the pastors conference in Taunggyi, Myanmar, I had one recurring prayer: “Lord, please empty me of self that there may be room in my heart for a full measure of Yourself”. God has answered this prayer, and we have been filled with countless blessings as we fellowshipped with our brothers and sisters of Myanmar.
What a blessed opportunity! Himachal Bible College & Seminary is located in the sub-Himalayan region of Northern India. HBCS is an accredited college & Seminary that gives the students the credits & degrees needed to get the good-paying jobs they desire. A good education is a very high priority in India. There is a lot of value put on a college degree even for the ministry.
I was impressed with the hunger and thirst for the word of God, and their desire to have pure hearts before God. During a brief testimony time, a young man shared how he was the only Christian in his family, and how God had shown him that he needed to ask forgiveness from his father and mother for some of his wrong actions in the past. Another commented that he always wondered why ladies didn’t cover their heads, since it’s in the Bible. Another shared how he wants to have a pure heart for God like Joseph. A young lady shared with me later how Hebrews has always been one of those books that she was afraid to study, and she was so excited this week to learn about Melchizedek, since it never made sense to her before. There were tears and brokenness before God, and we found encouragement as we discussed the truths of God’s word. Repentance happened as God’s Holy spirit pointed out areas of our lives that needed to be changed.
Pchum Ben, also called Ancestor’s Day, is a Cambodian religious festival that was in full swing during the time we were holding four MTM Leadership Conferences. Some Khmer Christians call it the “Festival of Darkness”. It is also a time when people travel back to their home villages for family time. We thank God for your prayers, as He faithfully lifted us from the oppression we felt around us!!!
India… a land one third the size of the United States, yet has four times the population. A country half way around the world from many of us, yet close to our hearts. A place where most of the people have never heard the name of Jesus, not even once. Where idol worship is seen everywhere, where little by little Jesus is being introduced by faithful brothers and sisters.
