REDEEMED TO RESTORE

By Sandra Stebenne

How did I survive? Why was my life spared? Is there some greater purpose I am meant to fulfill?

Ko Ko* wrestled with these questions after nearly dying in a fight. Though raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home in Myanmar, as a young man he became addicted to alcohol and various drugs. He led a gang, became both a sniper and a weapons smuggler, and was hunted and feared throughout the entire region. There was not any crime he would not commit for the right price.

After Ko Ko survived the almost-deadly fight, his uncle, a pastor, invited him to attend a medical missionary training seminar. He was hesitant, not quite ready to give up his lifestyle and not eager to be told that he should, but eventually he went anyway. Ko Ko enjoyed HELP OPEN DOORS TO THE GOSPEL IN DIFFICULT-TO-REACH AREAS BY SPONSORING ASAP MEDICAL MISSIONARIES.

Watch “The Great Entering Wedge” to discover “... the very means of introducing the truth where otherwise it would not find an entrance” (Counsels on Health, p. 535). what he was taught and loved reading The Ministry of Healing. God gradually healed him from his addictions and in 2009 he began working as an ASAP medical missionary in Central Myanmar. In fewer than ten years, he planted four churches and established an Adventist presence in almost a dozen Buddhist villages! Hundreds of baptisms have resulted from the work of Ko Ko and his medical missionary team!

Following the death of their parents, Ko Ko and his siblings decided to honor their memory by converting their home into a small health center. The house is in an impoverished area, and most people cannot travel to see a doctor or afford to pay for treatment. So, even though the community is staunchly Buddhist, they welcome the health center and the work its staff is doing. In their first four months of operation, Ko and his team have helped dozens of patients, eight of whom have decided to be baptized!

Some of their patients experienced miraculous recoveries because of the power of the Master Healer. A 45-year-old Buddhist man came to them after being injured in a motorbike accident. They gave him physiotherapy treatments and applied poultices to his injuries; they also taught him some Christian songs and how to memorize Bible verses. When he went home three weeks later, his injuries were completely healed and he could recite Psalm 91 from memory with his whole heart!

Another man came to them for help; he had fallen from a palm tree ten years prior and had a spinal injury. Due to his injuries he could not walk normally and because of his diet was suffering from digestive issues and hypertension. He was treated with ice massages and fomentations, and the workers did stretching exercises with him and provided health coaching. He liked to sing, so they taught him some Gospel songs. He left three weeks later, walking significantly better and with his hypertension under control!

Through their wholistic approach, Ko Ko and his team seek not only physical healing but also the spiritual restoration of their patients. “It is our hope,” he says, “that every patient will be touched by the love of God during their time at the center and choose to give their hearts to Him.”