June 2020 Dear Pastor, friends, and co-laborers in the worldwide work of Christ: During the present pandemic struggles, our work of the Lord has continued to go forward. God is still blessing our home church in New York State. We have seen souls saved and added families to the church even during this time. God is continuing to work in the hearts of people in Myanmar. Our preachers are winning souls and building their properties. It is actually safer to be in Myanmar during the Covid-19 virus than here in the U.S. Presently, Myanmar has had recorded 240 infections and six deaths nationwide. Every day I receive 2030 new Facebook Friend requests from people in Myanmar, both adults and young people. Very few ask for money. Rather, they seek to be connected with what God is doing in their homeland. Please continue to pray for GLBM and our beloved people in the Golden Land. Partner with us inancially if you can. Thank you all! Jer. 28:8
Myanmar public schools and colleges ended their classes at the end of March as usual, and began their summer break. Most of our students at GLBM’s Cornerstone Baptist College went home to be with family or friends until classes were scheduled to resume on June 1. For one of our young ladies, Hla Ohmar, her journey home took her into the middle of a highly publicized war zone. For several years world media has reported the Rohingya con lict inside Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, accusing the Burmese government of GENOCIDE—a false UN narrative. I believe it is Muslim TERRORISM, and we have witnessed their cruelty irsthand.
Over the years, many have prayed for Kaung Htet Kyaw, and asked about him. He’s the Burmese orphan boy I took under my wing and claimed as my own son because I was told he had no one. His father died before he was two years old. His mother had disappeared. We had been together for several years, and he was eleven years old when his mother returned. She took him out of school and made him work in the ields. He was forced to serve as a novIn 2011 Pastor Thaung Lian led some men, including myself ice monk in the Buddhist and Deacon Matthew Mayer, into the far reaches of northern temple. He said, “Dad, I will Rakhine State. Starting our journey from Yangon, or Old Rannever forget Jesus!” goon, we traveled by plane, then boat, foot, jeepney, canoe, and walking some more. After spending the night on thin bamboo mats inside mosquito nets in Soon Kaung Htet Kyaw will be 18 years what is considered the malaria capital of the world, we inally reached Nabugan old. And, through the miracle-working Village. We found the Myo People there, and GLBM became “ irst contact” power of the Holy Ghost, Kaung has among that tribe with the Gospel of Christ. A church crossed the Thai border into Myanmar was planted; a building was erected; Bibles were carthis week. And, contrary to reports, they ried to the new converts, and they were growing in did not quarantine him. He will soon Christ. That is, until the Rohingya came, killed four of report to GLBM’s Thaung Lian and Cornerstone the families, burned the church and Bibles, and chased Baptist College in Yangon to prepare for full-time the remainder of the Myo into the jungle where they preaching ministry. His mother was asked by Budhunted them like wild animals. The tragic news of the dhist friends, “How can you send your son away to killings reached GLBM, and we sent funding to Pastor become a Christian preacher? She answered, “All I Thaung Lian who organized men from his church. They can tell you is that I see him studying his Bible; I traveled back to Nabugan Village, found those frightened, hear him praying, and I see his God answering his disheartened, and starving Myo, and moved them back to prayers.” Kaung recently led a forty year-old BudYangon where we built housing for them to live in. I redhist man to Christ. He called me and I could hear member thinking to myself: “We introduced them to Christ, the excitement in his voice. This is and it killed them.” what my “son” was born to do: lead his own people to the Saviour. The Rohingya, a Bangla Muslim people, have been homesteading by the grace of the Rakhine State Arakans and the Myanmar government since before WWII. But now organized, funded, emboldened, and used by terrorist organizations, many have turned violent. They formed their own Army with the mission to establish an Islamic State within Old Burma. For the past several years, the con lict has intensi ied. Now escalating to a three-sided civil war, the Burmese Army (The Tatmadaw) seeks to protect its borders and citizens; the Arakan Army (AA) seeks independence from Burmese rule; the Rohingyas want their own Muslim homeland. ♦ December “Baptist Heritage Conference” with Dr. Phil Stringer. This is a crucial meeting Hla Ohmar was among those in that area who came for our preachers especially. Please pray that the to Christ. Desiring to serve God, she came to Yangon Coronavirus will not hinder us and that we can by faith and entered our Bible college. In March I raise the needed inances. THIS IS HUGE! begged her to stay at school because of the war. But she insisted that her family needed her. She said she ♦ Pastor Than Zaw—$11,000 pay off church land had peace about going home for awhile and asked me ♦ The Judson and Davis families need $15,000 ♦ Pastor Peter Van Siang Lian needs $10,000 to to pray that she would be able to return. But now, bus build his second church plant in a new village. transit has been discontinued due to Covid-19. The AA has crossed the State border to the North, taking Chin territory, burning villages, killing and raping, ♦ Pastor ALin—new baby, open church—virus while hiding behind innocent villagers. This is domestic terrorism and must be ♦ Pastor Joel Myint Aung— wife’s health needs ♦ Pastor Thaung Lian—vehicle, school inances put down. While GLBM has no supported churches in these areas yet, we are ♦ Pastor Jangngam Singsit—to open after virus, working with several men who have tried to come to our college and conferschool inances, government restrictions ences and have not been able to leave Rakhine State safely. They, like our dear ♦ Pastor Steven—$600 for security wall around Hla Ohmar, need you to pray that we bring them to the safety of Yangon soon. property, $10,000 to build his church.
A ministry of Lighthouse Baptist Church, 209 Gardner Rd. Horseheads NY 14845 Office: 607—739—9062 ♦ Bob DeWitt’s Cell: 607-426-8034 ♦ On the web: www.lbchorseheads.org ♦ www.goldenlandbaptistmissions.com