Myanmar 10/15/12

Our last preaching service in Yangon was memorable. It was the 13th anniversary of Independent Baptist Church and the founding pastor Vel Siama. Siama and his wife were trained in the Phillipines and came here in 1999 to start this new church plant. Siama is a native Burman from the northeast sector of the state. He is a fifth generation preacher whose family was won to Christ through the preaching of Adoniram Judson.

The service this morning lasted over three hours. I taught a lesson at 10:30 and immediately after the next part of the service began leading to the preaching. Siama gave the history of the church, and there was much singing and special music. At about 1:00 I began the morning message from John 3:14-18. There were five unsaved visitors this morning including one of the teenage girl’s mother. She is a Buddhist and was last in church one year ago. She had said then that she respected Christianity and the Christians at the church, but could not decide to trust Christ as Savior yet.

After finishing the message I gave a very simple invitation for those who wanted to be saved this morning. There were six hands raised indicating the desire to know more and to be prayed for in regard to their salvation. As the invitation song was sung, a strong breeze blew into the church room. It had been stifling all service until then. And then one person came forward to the pastor for salvation. It was the Buddhist mother. She bowed her heart to Jesus Christ as the only Savior of mankind. God’s Word is the most powerful thing in this world. Faith comes by hearing and that Word is able to pierce the human heart and transform it. One moment a Buddhist mother is blind and helpless, and the next she is a glowing believer in Jesus Christ! Let the Christians rejoice and the world marvel at such a miracle as true genuine conversion.

Immediately after the service, I shared lunch with Pastor Siama and Benjamin, his youth pastor. Benjamin desires to be trained for the ministry. He is an incredibly gifted and bright young man and shows wonderful promise for the ministry. He wants to start a church someday right here in this part of the province. We are committed to helping prepare such young men as this.

Please pray as I wrap things up over the next few days and come home. It has been a difficult week, but very profitable in the life of this church and many church leaders.