M YA N M A R
A Reason to Live A
ung Ko might seem an unlikely worship leader. He’s been blind since childhood and, by his own admission, has tried to commit suicide multiple times. But he’s also a living testament to the power of Jesus: the power to find people at their weakest moment and lift them up from despair, the power to turn emptiness into purpose and joy, the power to use absolutely anyone to be a beacon of light to those around them. Aung Ko was born to a Bharmar father and Shan mother and grew up with a younger sister and three younger brothers. They were a very devoted Buddhist family. When Aung Ko was seven years old, his carpenter father moved to a new town closer to the major city of Yangon. The rest of the family followed and settled with
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him in Shwe Pyi Thar, where they still live today. Soon Aung Ko began suffering from a disease in one of his eyes. Despite their heartbreak, his parents couldn’t afford to take him to a clinic, and the disease spread to the other eye. Aung Ko’s condition worsened until he went totally blind in his teens. He had finished grade seven in school but was unable to continue his studies. Adrift and depressed, Aung Ko saw only emptiness ahead. Every day felt dreadfully long. Years passed, excruciatingly slowly. Without hope for a future, Aung Ko vaguely thought about taking his life. Over time, these thoughts solidified, and the day came when he acted on his desire to be free of the pain. But his attempt failed. Nothing changed in his life, however, so Aung Ko tried again
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. . . and again. Each time, he was unsuccessful. One day, when Aung Ko was nearing his 30s, a Christian evangelist arrived in the village and began talking to people about Jesus. “Because the man was from the Karen tribe, I assumed that Jesus was a Karen ethnic god,” Aung Ko said. “But the evangelist explained that Jesus was God of all people and nationalities.” As a result of the evangelist’s messages, Aung Ko and his family were baptized into the Christian church. Since Aung Ko couldn’t learn more about Jesus through reading books, he searched for audio sources of information. This search was how he discovered Adventist World Radio (AWR). “I soon grew to love these programs,” Aung Ko shared. “Only the
