News from ERC and RBI
Not a lot to report this month, with most activities having wound down for the break, but a few worth mentioning.

• The RBI kitchen has been completed and they even managed to get the appropriate local authority approval documents.

Dean of Students and Teacher, Be Nwee, enjoying a refreshing cola

• Joshua, Be Nwee, and Mordang have not yet returned from their ministry journey to Chin State, but reports suggest that it went very well. Be Nwee is currently continuing some ministry with his father around their area of Khumiland in Southern Chin State.

• A new kitchen area has begun construction for the children’s campus at Samee. This campus is used to house children during the school terms. They come from far and wide to attend the government schools in Samee, so they need somewhere to stay during this time. Isaac, an RBI graduate, along the some occasional help from Samuel and Barbor, also past graduates, take care of the children and all their many needs. This kitchen will help greatly in providing an area to better prepare food for the masses (about 70 kids).

Prayer Items for ERC and RBI

• For RBI lecturers, fresh back from various trips, to be able to get back into the swing of preparation for upcoming classes beginning early June.

• For ministry of ministers of ERC.*

• For ordination and examination of ministers at Samee.*

• For ministry of evangelism.*

• For travelling of Thang Bwee in Australia (returns to Myanmar on May 22nd).*

* Request mentioned in a previous newsletter

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Thanks for reading, may the Lord bless you and make his face shine upon you.

From Thang Bwee and the ministry teams of the ERC and RBI.

I went to the downtown area with a Myanmar friend to do some shopping this morning. As I usually do, I hailed a taxi for the return trip home. We haggle for and agree on a price and then we’re on our way. My friend and the driver talk in Myanmar for a while, and I realise that part of what they’re talking about is me. I ask my friend what they’re saying and this begins some broken translation between the driver and me, with my poor friend trying to keep up as mouthpiece for us both.

The driver was extremely friendly and talkative and animated, though he was also a little strange. He had some peculiar mannerisms, twitches, and noises, but these all seemed to add to his character. I was noticing these in the midst of our conversation too, so I didn’t think too much of it.

We began talking the usual stuff, like where I’m from, what I’m doing, and the conversation moved to him and how old he was (73), how many children he had (6, all sons), how long he’d been driving taxis, and so on. Interspersed in his conversation were comments to me like, “You’re a good man”, or “I can see you love everybody”, and “You have a very kind nature”. There were a few others, but you get the drift.

Eventually the conversation died down and I sat there thinking, “If I could speak the language better I’d be able to explain to him that I’m not that great, but He who lives in me is” (also, we were only a couple of minutes from home and I didn’t really have the time to begin sharing the gospel through a translator). But the other thought that came into my head was, “I’m wretched, sure, but I am actually a nice guy and I do love all these people.” At that moment, the driver had more twitches and strange movements, nothing too demonstrative, but noticeable, and I wondered if maybe he was possessed. I’m not blessed with the gift to discern such things, but assumed he probably wasn’t. But I asked myself that if he was, what would Satan want to say to me through him. And then it occurred to me that maybe it had already been said. Whether Satan had spoken or not is immaterial, but what happened in me was not. I had been praised and my ego had been nicely stroked. In the midst of me just being me I had been made much of. Someone had said what my deceitful and desperately sick heart (Jer. 17:9) had thought of itself all along. I realised that if Satan wanted to get to me he could do it subtly and gently with these kinds of praises of man. I’d been blind-sided, subtly but significantly.

In this culture, these kind words of praise seems to happen a lot. It comes from church folks who are grateful for a sermon or some encouragement, from Bible college students who appreciate a lesson, from friends who might be treated to a meal or simply be included in something the Westerners are doing, and from people in the street who are touched by a smile and draw that out to mean you must be a kind and wonderful person. And it feels great.

Them saying it, and me letting them say it, isn’t the issue and neither are a sin. But it’s what I do with it that reveals the old man within that’s not yet dead. If my heart was right then there wouldn’t be a problem and I wouldn’t be writing this post, but my heart isn’t right. It enjoys the approval and praise of man too much.

I’m reminded of a warning Pastor John Piper gave to a conference of pastors (sorry, can’t find the original to cite). He asked of the pastors something along the lines of, “Do you finish a sermon and then look for some positive feedback as the congregation file past you at the door? Do you hope that God will be glorified by what you preached, but also secretly hope that the people will reserve some of that glory for you?” It struck me at the time and does again now.

If you were to ask me what I want most of all from being here in Myanmar, I’d quickly and easily say, “God to be glorified.” But after today’s taxi ride I’m checking myself again for that old man within who might want some of the glory to stick to me.

I’m a wretch of a sinner whose journey of sanctification is certainly a slow work in progress. Now before you more liberal-thinking Christians tell me that I’m not a sinner, but just a a saint who sins, take a look at the evidence and stop kidding yourselves and playing with words. We’re all of us sinners. We’re all of us lawbreakers. The difference we need to focus on is that though we sin and break the law numerous times a day, we’ve been chosen by a loving God who has made us believe that Christ is “he” (John 8:24). We’re no longer bound to the punishment we deserve, for our punishment was bound to Christ when he was bound to the cross. I’m a sinner, and a wretched one, but because of what God has done in Christ, I stand forgiven. So I’m a sinner and a saint.

But I digress. Can I ask that you’d pray for me as I go about the Lord’s work here? Please pray that I’d be so filled with the concern for God to be glorified that I’d not have time to want to take any of His glory upon myself.

In his 1978 song, Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful, Keith Green wrote:

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it Lord.
And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

That’s what I’m after. That’s what I want my heart to want. Please pray that I’d not need or look for the approval of man, but only ever be interested in working to please an audience of one.

Thank you, and grace be with you,
Martin

But one of the feelings I was left with, apart from awe for the great man Spurgeon, was how difficult I find it to be anything even slightly resembling productive in the light of such people. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel a little inadequate. I get things done, but nowhere near the volumes of these men. Hence my claim that Spurgeon must have been Superman. I mean, how can anyone write 1500 letters a day? I’m hard pressed to reply to the dozen e-mails I get in an average day.

The other thoughts I had, which are probably more important than a passing feeling of inadequacy, is that men like Spurgeon were busy with many endeavours for the work of the Lord. They started many, many organisations, raised money for numerous works, preached, evangelised, wrote devotionals and/or books, lectured at colleges, and all the while managed to find time to write 1500 letters a day. Maybe I’m an attrocious time-manager, but how on earth do they do it? I’m writing lectures (and will soon begin delivering them), I write a sermon or 2 each month, I disciple a couple of people each week, I meet weekly for evangelism training and outreach, and I write maybe 10 to 15 short letters a day. I’d love to go about Yangon starting organisation for the needy and corresponding with folks to raise money for them, but I don’t know where I’d find the time. I’m already in an almost constant state of self-loathing because of my insignificant prayer life, and I know only too well that I should be spending what little time I have to spare on soaking myself with Scripture.

Do I need help? I don’t even know the answer to that. I’m acheiving – well almost – what I came here to do, that being teaching, preaching, and evangelising, but as time goes by I’m seeing needs around me that I’d also like to be involved in, like helping with some of the homeless needs and extending training to under-trained church leaders; just to name 2.

If I ever hope to do more I’ll need to find a way to Spurgeon-ise my life. Maybe I should start with making a red cape. Thoughts?

Grace be with you,
Martin

You can find ERC & RBI news by following this link.

Working together to save lives … in more ways than one

Another busy month has passed. Let me see if I can bring you up to date.

First, a couple of follow-ups from the last newsletter. Events leading up to the end of February were hectic and unsettling at best, and I mentioned to you that I was able to finally get into my apartment and start doing some work, and how that was having a settling affect. I’m very happy to say that since being able to move in permanently I’m completely settled and once again feel “at home” and at peace. I’ve been able to get a lot of work done over the past 5 weeks and feel on top of the workload, rather than the other way around.

The other follow up is about my promise of a monthly newsletter and how the March edition never happened. The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, and I should expect that when “challenges and ambiguity abound” (quote from the Feb Newsletter), then hiccups like this are bound to happen. When I moved into my apartment I was without Internet, but there was an Internet Cafe nearby which I thought would be good enough. I visited there for a time, but it’s difficult to work in those places, so at best I checked e-mails and did a little research. A couple of weeks of that and I decided to pay them the equivalent of $40 for one month of wireless access that I could use from my apartment. Though it was good to have Internet when I needed it, it was so terribly slow it was hardly worth it. Speeds improved around midnight and I was able to action e-mails and the like at that time, but at 2am each morning they shut down the service and it didn’t come back on until around 8am. Historically, those hours, between 2am and 8am, have been the best for Internet use and have allowed me to get much done. Their reason for turning it off was that there wasn’t a demand for it during those hours. I advised them that I’d be very keen for it to stay on so that I could use it, but they weren’t interested. The outcome was that I had access to the Internet at less than dial-up speeds (remember those days?) and only a short time late at night, if I was up, to get some things done. Consequently I couldn’t get a solid enough connection to put together the newsletter last month, so I’m sorry for any inconvenience to anyone who might have been waiting for it. I have now given that shop the flick, and have purchased a faster and more reliable connection. If you’d like to read about it, I posted a short blog about it here.

Early on in March I had the pleasure of being able to help Moses, an RBI final year student, with typing up his thesis for final submission. The subject was “The Sovereignty of God for Salvation”, and he’d done a very thorough job of it. English is his third language, and he’s quite a good speaker, reader, and writer of it, but when I read the first part of it I decided to offer some help in cleaning up the grammar and making some of the points a little clearer. We worked together for about 5 hours each day for 3 days and got it all done, printed, and submitted on time. He’d learnt a lot from preparing the thesis and I learnt a lot from his efforts too. We enjoyed a good time of fellowship and it was a great opportunity for me to get to know him more. He has now returned to his home village in Chin State where he expects to spend the next 6 months or so in church and evangelistic ministry. After that he thinks he might return to Yangon and undergo some further preparation for ERC’s church-planting work.

Last year I started preparation for teaching first-aid to the staff and senior students of RBI. It’s been a slow process getting everything together, but we have the first aid kits ready and during March I spent a number of hours finalising my training notes. Some time shortly after the semester begins in June I’ll take the guys aside for a few Saturday mornings and train them to deal with some of the more common minor and major injuries. The purpose is to take immediate care of any person on the RBI campus should it ever be needed, and we thank God that it hasn’t been so far, but also to equip them for assisting others in emergency situations. So far I’ve seen the aftermath of 1 fatal car accident, witnessed a trishaw being hit by a taxi, and also been witness to 2 significant car accidents, one where 2 people might have benefitted from some minor first aid. So having the knowledge to help will almost certainly come in handy.

If you’ve been following posts on the website you’ll remember a couple from last October on “a vital ministry” (posts are here and here). I was writing about the ministry of Living Waters and talked about some of their tracts. Well, over the past few months I’ve been working with Myanmar national Christians from our partner churches to have one of Living Waters’ tracts translated into the Myanmar language. It’s called the “Mr Nice Guy” tract (you can read the English version at their web-store) and it’s very popular and eye-catching. The man who did the artwork said that if anyone wanted it translated into their language he’d do it for free, all he needs is the text and a link to the font. Well, we had it translated a while back, but it needed checking by a few language experts before I would be happy to send it off for the final work. The people here in Yangon who were helping worked together over a number of drafts and last week we achieved the final translation. I then composed the e-mail and sent it off to Cedric, the artist, for his consideration. His website advises that it takes quite a while to insert the text of another language and to change the look of the characters, but we’re hoping for a speedy turnaround. If and when it comes back to us we then need to find a printer who’ll give us a good rate. Please pray that all of this would come about in a good time frame and with favourable results. And please pray that we might find sponsors to help us do a bulk print run (I’m thinking 50,000 should get us started).

On the topic of evangelism, I’ve started a weekly meeting at my apartment to focus on evangelism. For various reasons we (Thang Bwee and I) have been putting off getting started. A couple of weeks ago I just couldn’t wait any longer and so decided to get something started. It’s a simple beginning with a simple plan. The idea is to begin with prayer. I’ve invited anyone who’s interested to meet with me for prayer every Friday night at 8pm. Over the next month or so we’ll pray and have some practical training in Biblical evangelism. Then, I expect some time in May, we’ll continue to meet every week, we’ll pray for a while and then we’ll go out somewhere in Yangon and hand out gospel tracts. Later on, perhaps in June, we’ll start talking to people one-to-one and continue to hand out tracts. Eventually, if God and the authorities here are willing, I hope to do open-air preaching, but I expect that may live as a dream for quite a while. Last Friday was the first meeting and 2 people came. We had a great time of prayer and encouragement from the Word, and we watched a couple of short videos of people sharing their faith Biblically. Most of the people who would normally come are away on holidays or ministry trips to Chin State, so that’s why numbers are down. But I don’t mind if there’s only ever 3 of us. It’s our prayer that the Lord’s will would be done through us, and regardless of our strength in numbers, we have strength in the courage and comfort of our Lord. Please remember us in prayer as we learn and as we go.

Introducing Tim and Bree, my Home Support Coordinators

In the Feb newsletter I mentioned my new Home Support Coordinators, Tim and Bree Davis. This month I’d like you to get to know them a little better.

Bree and I were married in November 2011. We have been attending Revesby Presbyterian church for about 4-5 years. I work for myself as a carpenter and have done so for about 8 years. I am now attending PTC Bible college part-time and hoping to move to full-time in the next couple of years. Bree has completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in human resource management and employment relations. She is currently working as a nanny part-time.

I’ve been to Vanuatu 4 times with Mission Partners and because of this I know how important mission work is, especially in Martin’s field. We first met Martin at Revesby church. We found out about his plans to go to Myanmar through some of his presentations and info that was being passed around. After going to his info night, not long before he left, God had reminded me of what an important job missions is, and how support and prayer is so important for Martin and many others. Since Martin has been in Myanmar we have been praying for him and keeping up to date via emails.

Its a wonderful privilege for Bree and me to be able to be the Home Support for Martin. We will do our best to pray always, and to support and share Martin’s work with the church.

Aren’t they great! Hearts of gold and already an enourmous encouragement and blessing to me. You have them at your disposal, so please use them if you need anything related to the work here in Myanmar. As I mentioned last time, they can provide you with Prayer calendars, Mission Information sheets, updates, live presentations; you name it, they’ll do it. Their contact details are: timted2 [at] hotmail [dot] com or call Tim’s mobile, 0422429546. Why drop them a quick e-mail to encourage them in their new role. Ask them about “the envelopes” too. Maybe they can share with you what they’re doing at Revesby.

So that’s it for this month’s newsletter, except, of course, for the prayer points and ‘recent article’ links below.

Thanks for journeying with me, friends. Much grace and blessings be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

Recent Articles

Below are links to some of the recent articles I’ve posted on the website.

• Joy in difference, posted on March 19th, 2012.

• Spirit Possession – alive and well, posted on March 26th, 2012.

• Internet – toothpicks and shovels, posted on March 30th, 2012.

• ERC Update – April 2012, posted on April 1st, 2012.

For Prayer

• Praise God for providing access to my apartment. For some time it was looking impossible, then quite suddenly the problems disappeared and I was allowed to move in.

• Praise God for settling me and helping get through a lot of work during March.

• Praise God for the completed translation work of the “Mr Nice Guy” tract.

• Praise God for Tim and Bree. Their enthusiasm, humility, encouragement, and willingness to serve. May God bless them.

• Praise God for our weekly evangelism gathering finally getting under way. Thank God for His abundant encouragement to us last week.

• Pray that as we learn and do evangelism we would be bold and courageous, yet gentle and humble.

• Pray that the translation of the “Mr Nice Guy” tract would be approved and the work could be done speedily. Please pray also that we would find favour with a local printer and that the Lord would provide funds for the initial print run.

• Praise God that a dear friend has offered to help me learn the Myanmar language. We plan to do 3 hours across 3 days each week.

• Please keep praying for my Bible reading and prayer times. They’ve only improved slightly over the last month. Please pray that I would hunger for it like never before. I know the Lord is working on me in these areas and I know your prayers are being answered. Thank you, and please keep me upheld.

• And finally … my usual prayer request that is so very important. Please pray, as Paul did for the Colossians …
  

  “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Col. 1:9-12)

News from ERC and RBI

• On March 8th, RBI was granted their Building Certification. It has been a long time coming for the college, with various things causing delays. Papers went missing, people went missing, then the problem was that a wall was missing – fortunately only an internal wall, and not load-bearing. These have now been sorted out and the local building authorities signed off on the approval. As with many things here it’s do first, get approval later. The building’s been up for about 4 years and the paperwork has been ‘in play’ for about 3. Anyway, a great result for ERC’s ministries with their training facility being now fully legit.

• The RBI semester finishes late March, and so all the students leave the campus with some returning to relatives in Chin State. Others board elsewhere in the Yangon area and find some work during the break. One of our smallest students has proudly gotten himself a full-time job as a security guard for the grand income of $40 a month. Even for Myanmar, that’s a pretty lousy wage, but for security work it’s atrocious. He’s happy though, and the money he makes will help buy some treats during the next college year.

RBI's kitchen being replaced with a solid structure

• Whilst the students are all off-campus, Be Nwee, the Dean of Students, Annan, one of ERC’s elders, and one student who volunteered to take care of the campus in the absence of others, have been working hard on replacing the existing kitchen and dining area. They’re also taking the opportunity to extend the foundations of one of the existing buildings so that it’ll be ready to move the walls to match later in the year. As we’ve now entered the Summer season, the day’s are extremely hot (38+) and this is making the work very challenging. Kudos to the guys for hanging in there and putting in solid 10-hour days.

• On April 2nd, Be Nwee, Joshua (Thang Bwee’s right hand man), and Mor Dang, ERC’s newest pastor and church planter, will head to Samee in Southern Chin State to conduct a few weeks of training to some of the younger members of various congregations. It’s called a “Children’s Seminar” and training will include the Westminster Confession and Sunday School preparation.

• Some of RBI’s graduates will attempt to progress to the next official phase of their ministry as they sit for the ordination exam. Though I don’t have names and numbers at this time, please pray for them as they prepare, and that the Lord would have His hand upon them as he leads them into greater ministry responsibilities.

• And last, but certainly not least, Annan, the elder I mentioned earlier, and his wife gave birth to a healthy baby son on March 3rd. Please pray for the child’s ongoing health as various things can happen to babies here in Myanmar and healthcare is neither handy, affordable, nor of good quality. Sorry, no picture available at this time.

Prayer Items for ERC and RBI

• For ministry of ministers of ERC.

• For ordination and examination of ministers at Samee.

• For Bible training to the youth at Samee.

• For some infirmities in the church.

• For ministry of evangelism.

• For travelling of Thang Bwee in Australia.

• For travelling and training ministries of Be Nwee, Mordang, and Joshua as they head to Samee on April 2nd. They expect to return in the last week of April.

——

Thanks for reading, may the Lord bless you and make his face shine upon you.

From Thang Bwee and the ministry teams of the ERC and RBI.

Up until today I’ve been accessing a shared network provided by an Internet Café. They make extra money by providing their network wirelessly to those living within spitting range (they’re pretty good spitters here), but that means that several people both in and around the café are getting only crumbs from the available banquet. I recently described it to someone as it being like trying to eat cheesecake with a toothpick.

So I’m gloating about my fast Internet speed (still toothpicks and cheesecake for uploads, but shovel loads inbound) because up until now I’ve not really been able to do much at all. The occasional e-mail session and even more occasional surf, but not much more. That means that all posting and newsletter sending has been on hold. Pity too, as last month I promised a monthly newsletter only to fail immediately. But now that I’ve got it, I’ve posted what I was writing while in pseudo-offline mode (post-dated entries) and the newsletter will be out on April 4th, God willing.

Thanks for your interest and prayers. Grace be with you,
Martin

When describing Yangon its difficult to categorise. It certainly looks like a big city, smells like a big city, and quacks like a big city, but really it’s more like a series of very closely connected villages and people groups. With this kind of structure, it’s often easy to think of it as an interconnected economic centre, hustling and bustling it’s way through each day. And the funny thing is, it is that, but it’s also not. Scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find what I described before – closely connected pockets or villagers. This all makes it difficult to categorise, and even more difficult to explain. I hope I’m making some sense though.

So within this mix of modern and ancient, high-tech and no-tech, traditional and ‘new’, poverty and wealth, oppression and freedom, it’s a somewhat surprising reminder that Satan and his hordes are still hard at work keeping their foot on the neck of those whose minds are blinded (2 Cor. 4:4).

I was recently told a story by a man who visited a funeral at the home of a family who had lost their 11 year-old daughter in a recent ferry accident on the Panthein River (full story here). When he arrived he saw that all his friends from his church were standing out on the street. He asked them why they were not inside and was told that the mother was having a fit or in some kind of rage. He was concerned and curious about this so went inside where he met up with his pastor. They both stood and watched what he described to me as spirit possession. I have since discovered that this is not an uncommon occurrence here in the Yangon area.

Buddhism is the predominant religion here, but among some tribal people and even the main people-group of the Barma tribe, there is also a strong history of animism. Paul tells us that we wrestle against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12), so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that evil spirits are still taking control of people, but as most, if not all, of us don’t get to see very much of it in our lives it does indeed surprise and leave us wondering what to do in the midst of it.

Though I’d like to say that my friend and his pastor cast out the demon and brought salvation to the household, alas they were shocked as much as the rest of us would be and didn’t know what to do. There were many people there, some holding and trying to comfort the possessed lady, and they didn’t want to intrude or seem insensitive to the bereaved mother (the woman who was possessed). I can understand the difficulties of the situation and, as I wasn’t there, won’t make a judgement call. But I’d like to think in such circumstances that I’d have a plan and that I would be strongly led by the Holy Spirit to do or not to do something.

So I suppose I’ve told you all this to share with you a little of life here, but also to ask for your prayers. Please pray for me and for the national Christian workers who may often come across this situation in the future. Please pray that we’d have wisdom and a closeness with the Lord to know his prompting of us. Please pray that we wouldn’t move in our own strength in anything that we do, but that that would be especially true in these situations.

And if you have any input or experience you’d like to share with me and other followers of this blog then I’d be most grateful. Spiritual possession is something I know very little about, and though I know that greater is he who is in me (1 John 4:4), there’s a lot of uncertainty about how and when one should proceed. We wouldn’t want to make it worse for the person (Mat. 12:43-45), but we don’t want to be neglectful and uncompassionate either. So it’s a bit confusing, therefore anything Biblical you can offer would be a great help.

Grace be with you,
Martin

I invited him over for a meal last week and we got to talking about many things. As we were talking, we were both struggling with some rather tough meat. It was supposed to be tough, that’s the Myanmar style for this dish, but trying to cut it with a fork and a spoon, also the norm for the Myanmar culture, just wasn’t … well … cutting it (pun absolutely intended).

“I’m gonna need a knife for this,” I said, “How about you?”
“Yes, I think so,” he replied.

I got us each a knife and we revisited our meals with renewed hope. As I expected, my knife was making fast work of the once unrelenting piece or meat. His, however, didn’t seem to be working too well. I watched as his awkward grip and cutting style aided more in scooting the plate around the table rather then getting through the piece of food.

“Try more downward force with the fork,” I offered. That didn’t work. “Here, watch me.” I demonstrated my method. He tried, but that didn’t work either.

“I don’t know about the knife,” he said.
“Have you ever used a knife with food?”, it occurred to me to ask.
“No. Never used before.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that explains why your having trouble.”

I then proceeded to teach this young man (21yo) how to use a knife to cut food. He had some limited success, as any first-timer with a knife would, but eventually got through the meat without chasing his plate at the same time.

Further in our conversation we got to talking about ministries around the country and what the Lord might do through us as we evangelise.

“Which parts of Myanmar have you been to?”, I asked.
“Never to any place,” he replied.
“Nowhere?”
“Yes, only Yangon. Thauk Kyant [where the RBI campus is, on the outskirts of Yangon city] is the furthest I’ve ever been.”
“Wow,” says me. “Even I have travelled further out than you,” (only 20km further mind you).

After lunch I asked him if he could do me a favour and call a computer shop for me to ask if they have some software that I’m considering. I explained to him what I needed and handed him my mobile phone and the phone number.

“Um…” was all he said.
“Do you have a question?” I asked.
“No. I just don’t know how to use it,” was his reply, waving the phone.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I then proceeded to show him how to unlock the phone, enter the numbers, and to press the green button when ready to call.

The reason I wanted to share these 3 stories with you is simply to highlight some of the simple, yet numerous ways in which our worlds are separated. For our culture (Western/Australian), not knowing how to use a knife at 21 years of age is so foreign it seems strange. And for a person to have not travelled more then 30kms from their home at his age would again be a very strange thing. And what was once, in days of old, a peculiar piece of technology to us is still that to folks like my Myanmar friend.

Whilst each of these discoveries amazed me and took me a little by surprise, it got me thinking how much my culture determines the way I view the world and its people around me. I did numerous cross-cultural subjects at Bible college that prepared me well for such differences, but as I am a product of my many isolated years in Australia, coming face-to-face with them still offered a refreshing perspective. My friend comes from a very poor part of the city and does very well to interact with the more ‘modern’ areas of Yangon.

Poverty isn’t just about having little or no money, it brings with it dozens of other area of life that are affected. The infrastructure in his township is years behind that where I live, and my area is decades behind that of Australia. It was only last year that electricity was made available to his street. Telephones are talked about, not on. Roads are not only dirt, but pot-hole ridden dirt (and these are potholes you could spend a week in). Medical care is miles away, and the transport to get there is a trishaw at best. Schooling in Yangon is compulsory to year 10, but for those in the grip of poverty it becomes optional. I’ve heard of many accounts of children whose parents are in so much debt that they leave the children without notice and move to another place. The child then either lives on the streets or gets work in a tea shop, but either way will never return to school (or ever see their parents again). For those whose parents hang in there and try to overcome the debt, they don’t have the money needed for school fees, so the child roams the street or, like the abandoned ones, gets some menial labour work. And so the list goes on.

So I find my attitudes have been challenged. Could I live more simply? Is there anything I, and people like me, could do to help balance our excess with their lack? And what about my walk with God? My friend has had a zealous and joy-filled walk for many years, and all without a mobile phone, computer, Internet, library, shoes, television, or even a light to read by. He’s praying ALL THE TIME for absolutely everything and his cup runneth over (Psa. 23:5, Psa. 45:1). His fruit is healthy and plenteous (Gal. 5:22; Phi. 1:11) with lips overgrown with thanksgiving (Heb. 13:15). I am a midget-Christian next to him, yet I’ve walked with the Lord 5 times longer than he. Shame on me! Shame on us all in the West. We’ve grown fat and complacent whilst our distant family grows thin and oppressed. Let’s not waste any more time with rhetoric. Let’s pray, let’s get saturated with the Word of God, let’s go into all the world, and let’s make disciples of the idol-worshipping Godless so that they may enjoy the blessings (Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3; Tit. 3:5) we’ve come to take for granted.

Grace be with you,
Martin

But first, some background.

I moved from Australia to Myanmar in December 2010 and shortly after secured an apartment about 1km away from the church I was sent here to work with – the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC). Before moving in I had made some enquiries about wanting to have some classes there and also to set up the spare room as a place foreign visitors could use when they visited, rather than having to use a hotel. Nothing definite was ever said but I was led to believe that it would be ok. After moving in though, I was advised by the local authorities (similar to a small Australian town’s local council, but not in any way as organised) that I would not be able to have any classes, and foreign visitors must always stay in a hotel. A disappointing outcome, but made somewhat worse by the fact that I’d rented the apartment based on the impression that it’d be ok. What that means is that I would have rented a much smaller and cheaper place if I knew it was only ever going to be just me living there. In hindsight I know I should have asked more questions of more people, but at the time I thought I knew enough to make a good decision. Lesson learnt … or so I thought.

It was a 12-month lease at that apartment, so come November 2011 I was looking to move to something smaller and cheaper. After looking at a number of places I settled on one about half the size in a different but nearby township. Again, a 12 month lease was signed. As you know from my February newsletter, I visited Australia at the same time as when I had to move, so whilst there some of the church folks back here moved my already-packed apartment contents to the new place. Upon my return it was just a matter of unpacking and settling in … or so I thought.

The first problem arose when I wanted to move in on a tourist visa. Top of my list of things to do upon my return from Australia was to secure a business visa, and so I found myself quite busy trying to do so, talking to various people both here in Myanmar and back in Australia. One conversation led to another, which led to another, and so on, and eventually I met with another missionary who was able to help me through the business visa process. After gathering the information and paperwork needed I visited the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, to obtain the visa that would allow me to move in to my apartment.

I returned to Myanmar with passport and visa in hand and headed back to the hotel I’d been staying at. I expected to stay there a day, maybe two, whilst the process of submitting whatever was needed to the local authorities transpired. Thang Bwee has a very good relationship with his local authority people, who were now my local authority people, so he dealt face-to-face with them on my behalf. For the sake of keeping this ramble to a minimum I’ll just say that they requested still more paperwork before allowing me to move in.

One particular piece of paperwork was proving very difficult to secure, and so the delays continued whilst I made even more phone calls, local and abroad, and did some running around town meeting with this one and that. Unfortunately, and to my surprise, nobody was able to help me, and no matter how many different people I connected with they all hit a brick wall. My options were narrowing by the minute, and whilst I was still in good spirits and ever-hopeful, I was starting to wonder how I would find the path to lead me out of this maze.

Thanks to the sovereign hand of God and an abundance of grace I received a phone call from Thang Bwee 2 days ago. The first thing he says to me is, “I have some news. It could be good news or bad news, but I think you’d better decide which it is.” I’m not the sort of person to think the worst straight away, so I’m trying to think what might be coming next, whether it be good or bad. So I tell Thang Bwee that I’m ready, ether way. He strings me along for another 30 seconds or so, and at one point says, “Maybe I should just wait until I see you”, followed by great laughter. He has a terrific sense of humour and a clever wit, and was having fun with me because he knew what the news was that he was bringing. Eventually, he said, “Ok, here’s what I need to tell you. The local authorities have just said to me that you are now allowed to move into your apartment. You don’t need any more paperwork now, they just allow you to go and live there, no problems.”

I was amazed, to say the least. I asked him what had changed and he said that he had met one of the local authorities in the street and talked this matter over with him again, asking (almost begging) for some kind of solution. This man then called another local authority man and after all 3 of them had talked the matter through again they were able to come to a solution.

It seems the problem was that some of the information about the procedure was unclear and that the paperwork being requested was not really required and that I was now free to move in immediately.

The local authorities have been great, and I think the problem is due to the rules surrounding foreign residents having undergone many changes lately. This had resulted in everyone being confused about what was correct and what had changed, but it seems that even the local authorities are having difficulties keeping up with the changes.

Myanmar’s government, both federal and local, are enjoying some long-awaited change, but in the process of moving forward it seems there’s a strong likelihood that they might get tangled up in it at the same time. It’s a process of growing and maturing and moving forward in the direction of democracy and freedom, and these aren’t things too well-known here. Myanmar has had 60 years of military rule and all the complexities that go with it, and so for those in leadership here in Myanmar I can only imagine that they’re feeling their way whilst all the while trying to get it right for everybody.

Naturally I’m extremely happy because of the favourable outcome, and I’m happy to be experiencing this time of change in Myanmar. Though it’s a little clumsy at times, Myanmar is progressing, maturing, and, I believe, moving in the right direction. There is hope here and, albeit slowly, things are improving.

Please thank God with me for the excellent outcome of this situation, and thank you again, my dear prayerful friends and family, for taking my needs to Him in prayer.

Here are some photos of the apartment. As of today, Monday, February 27th, I will at last be calling this place home.

Grace be with you, and feel free to drop in for a cuppa any time
Martin

To and Fro, Here and There

You’re a dedicated group of followers and I thank you for your patience. Sorry this edition has taken so long to put together, but I kept putting it off, waiting for whatever was happening to come to some sort of conclusion so I could tell you about it, only to find that the next interesting thing I wanted to tell you about was under way and I should wait for it to finish so I could then tell you about it. Suffice it to say, that’s not a good plan. There is a new plan though, and that is this: shorter updates, but monthly updates. Can you believe it? Me … writing regular updates? Unimaginable? Impossible? Amazing? Well, time will tell, but I’ve been ‘encouraged’ by the powers that be to get info out to you more often, so that’s what I plan to do. Sincerely though, thank you for being patient, and thank you to those who continue to keep in touch and initiate contact with me during those silent months. I’m encouraged and feel very cared for.

But now, on to the news.

Since the last newsletter there have been many and varied things come my way. Some good, some challenging. Here’s a whirlwind, snapshot, overview (though not particularly short)…

In October I took a week off to spend with my friend, David, who came to visit from Australia. We frequented many coffee shops (he loves his coffee like I do my tea) and had lots to catch up on and talk about. It was great to have him here and he was very encouraging and supportive. A nice boost to morale after such a trying and challenging year of language learning. After his visit I got stuck into lecture preparation whilst continuing to chase various options to try to secure a long-term visa. The lecture prep was slow but progressing nicely, however the visa avenues were more like cul-de-sacs than through roads. None of the options was what I was looking for, so I was reluctant to commit to any of them due to how they would interrupt the work and plans I had with ERC and RBI. Unfortunately, all this delaying was bringing me closer to the deadline of my residency expiry, and around mid-November a decision had to be made.

After talking with Thang Bwee, and tossing up various options, we came to the conclusion that I should take up an offer that came my way earlier that month. Late November saw my dear Mum turn 80, and in early November my equally dear Sister, Helen, e-mailed me offering to fly me back to attend the celebration. With the deadline of my residency approaching and the unlikely outcome of me securing a long-term visa before that deadline, I decided to take Helen up on her offer and return to Australia for Mum’s party, but also so that I could secure a short-term visa to get me back in to Myanmar for round 2 of the visa hunt-down.

We kept my return to Australia a secret from almost everybody, most especially my Mum, and she was delighted and incredibly surprised to see me. First, she thought I might have been deported from the country, as she was aware of the visa issues and approaching deadline, but I assured her that I left of my own volition and would be returning as soon as I could. We had a great day together and she later said it was one of the best days of her life. A wonderful outcome.

I stayed with my sister in Sydney for about a week whilst I visited a couple of friends, as well as having a meeting with Kevin and Alex, the Director and Treasurer of Mission Partners. The following week I headed to Newcastle to spend some time with Mum while I waited for my visa application and passport to return from the Myanmar embassy in Canberra. This happened around the second week of December, so I made the decision to stay on and have Christmas with family. What I didn’t take into consideration though, was the cost of flights after Christmas. I was astounded when I tried to make a booking to get back to Myanmar. The flights were about 3 times their normal cost. As it turned out, I ended up booking my return on January 8th, the first day of the cheaper flights. So what was intended to be about a 3 week trip to Australia turned out to be a 7 week trip. It was good to spend that time with Mum and to see a few friends and family, but it was quite a long time away and, though I took work with me, it wasn’t a particularly productive time.

Because the trip was to be short, I hadn’t planned any visits to any churches or supporters, however I did get a chance to update my home congregation at Revesby, as well as a brief presentation at Cronulla on the same day I flew out to head back to Myanmar. Had I known at the outset that I was going to be back as long as I was I might have planned my time better and been able to see more of you, but it was a bit of a messy trip in regard to dates and seeing people, so I’m sorry to the many that I couldn’t catch up with. My next planned return is my 3-month Home Assignment (new name for furlough and deputation) starting in March 2014, and I’ll be sure to give you all plenty of notice and opportunity to have me visit and update you.

I flew back via Perth, where I visited family for a few days, and another stopover in Malaysia, where I visited a dear Myanmar friend who’s having his own visa-wrestling issues as he tries to get to America to see his aging and frail father. He’s a new Christian and was in desperate need of some encouragement and friendship. Please remember him in prayer, that the Lord would bless and keep him and make His face shine upon him and make him strong in all the fruits of the Spirit. His name is Jaw Mo Lwin.

I landed back in Myanmar on January 14th and began again the process of hunting down this long-term visa. At the same time I knew Thang Bwee wanted me to start teaching the Church History subject I was supposed to have started back in November, so I continued my preparations for that, along with 2 sermons, and various articles and other lectures. As you can imagine, it was quite a busy time and I was finding it difficult to properly focus on anything. Thang Bwee recognised that this was happening and very generously postponed my teaching schedule until next semester so that I could focus on getting the long-term visa before my short-term one ran out. It was good that he did, as it took me right up to nearly the last day to finally secure the long-term visa I was looking for. After many phone calls, even some back to Australia, and a number of visits here and there around Yangon, I managed to get all the paperwork together to apply for the new visa. This had to be done in another country, so I booked a flight to Thailand; the closest and apparently the easiest embassy to get a quick turnaround for a visa. Well, it wasn’t exactly easy, but I suppose it wasn’t that difficult either. I, along with a couple hundred other people, queued up in the sun, humidity, and heat of Bangkok to apply for our various visas. I eventually got seen and the chap took my application papers and visa and advised that it would be processed and ready for pick-up the next day (for a small extra fee, of course). Flights, hotel, and visa, all-up cost around $500, and I have to repeat this process every 10 weeks. Oh joy.

So with visa in hand I returned to Myanmar to begin the next part of the process, that being to try to secure permission with the local authorities to allow me to move in to my apartment. Firstly they said that I couldn’t live there without having a business visa, which is what I got in Thailand, but upon my return they now require a handful of other papers stating one thing or another. I’m still in the middle of this process and await the outcome. I hope for something to happen this week but really, who knows. One of my problems though has been that since returning I’ve had to live in a hotel. It’s a cheap hotel, at around $25 a night, but still, it’s adding up somewhat. Even more of a hassle though is how disruptive hotel living can be. I’ve been travelling and living out of a suitcase since late November last year, so I’m pretty desperate to get ‘home’ and settle down. Fortunately, since returning from Thailand I’m allowed to visit my apartment during the day, so I’ve been able to unpack boxes and get things set up. For the past 3 days I actually been able to sit down at my own desk in my own apartment and get some work done. It’s been wonderful!

So challenges and ambiguity abound here in Myanmar. Though somewhat unsettled I’m in very good spirits and am learning to ride the waves of good and bad, convenient and inconvenient, and everything in between.

Finally, and on a different note, I would like to let you know that Chris Athavle, who’s been my Home Support Coordinator for nearly 3 years has now moved into his own full-time ministry role. He passes the Home Support Coordinator baton on to Tim and Bree Davis, a delightful young couple from my home church, Revesby. Tim and Bree are dead keen on mission work and they’ve always been very supportive and encouraging for the work here in Myanmar. Unfortunately I don’t have their photos just now, but I’ll ask them to send me some to put in the next newsletter. If you need anything related to the work here in Myanmar, Tim and Bree are the people to talk to. Prayer calendars, Mission Information sheets, updates, live presentations; you name it, they’ll do it. You can contact them by email at timted2 [at] hotmail [dot] com or call Tim’s mobile, 0422429546.

So that pretty much brings you up to date. I can’t think of anything else to write so I’ll sign off. However, if this “whirlwind, snapshot, overview” has left you with questions, please feel free to write back as I’d be happy to answer any questions. And if you don’t have a question you could always write back and tell me how you’re doing and what you’ve been up to.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

Recent Articles

Below are links to some of the recent articles I’ve posted on the website.

The posts lately have been to share with you some of the answers to question I’ve been asked by the parishioners of ERC.

• Wrong or unbiblical teaching and worship

• Spirits of man and beasts – are they the same?

• Ex.32:33 – What does ‘blot out of my book’ mean?

• Can the Lord relent or repent for something?

• What does ‘an evil spirit from the LORD’ mean?

• What does the number 666 mean?

For Prayer

• Praise God for the time in Australia with family

• Praise God for the safe return to Myanmar (the place I truly call home)

• Praise God for the long-term visa (10 weeks is considered ‘long’ here)

• Praise God that very soon I’ll be able to move in to my apartment and to get properly settled

• Praise God as I now have almost 4 months of preparation time for next semester’s lectures (they start in June). I’ll be teaching 3 or 4, 32-hour subjects and each one takes about a month to research and write if I do around 6 hours of preparation each day. Pray that I would quickly settle into the routine of study and research needed for this.

• Praise God for opportunities to begin some regular (hopefully weekly) evangelism. This will probably take the form of ‘on-the-street’, walk-up evangelism and I’ll have a native speaker with me. FYI, evangelism in Myanmar is not illegal.

• Thank God for the excellent effort of my previous Home Support Coordinator, Chris Athavle, and thank God for the new Home Support Coordinators, Tim and Bree Davis, who are very keen about missions and about the work here in Myanmar.

• Pray for boldness and courage and wisdom when doing evangelism

• Pray that I might find a good Myanmar language tutor (I’ll start looking late Feb)

• My Bible reading and prayer times have not been very regular or deep over the past few weeks. Please pray that I would get this routine on track quickly. It’s easy to feel dry very quickly when you’re not drinking enough living water.

• And finally … I’ve had this as a prayer point since last April but I want to keep including it as it’s so very important. Please pray, as Paul did for the Colossians …
  

  “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Col. 1:9-12)

Prayer Items for ERC and RBI

• For the building process of Kitchen at Sami (Chin State) for 70 school children

• Funds for the kitchen building and hall-room extension for the RBI campus in Yangon

• Evangelism activities of ERC and RBI during March to May both in Chin state and Yangon Division

• To find sponsors for the mission Church’s building at Tda Myo

• For Thang Bwee and his family trip to Australia from March to May in 2012

• Translation work of Thang Bwee on J.I. Packer’s “Concise Theology.”

• For RBI graduates who are about to join for full-time ministry by April. Also please pray for provision and blessing for the commissioning service.

The Question(s)

Today, there are many churches worshipping in wrong or unbiblical ways. Also, false teachers and followers know everything concerning God, they believe God but they teach and preach falsely or in unbiblical ways.

1. Will these people go to hell after death?
2. Will God judge them in heaven or here on earth?

The Response(s)

• To respond very specifically to your questions I would need to know some more detail about what exactly you mean by “wrong or unbiblical”. However, I can offer you the following general information.
  • People go to hell because they don’t receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour and because they don’t repent of sin.
  • We see in our own lives and certainly in the lives of God’s chosen people throughout history that there is both judgement and punishment here on earth. Usually it comes to lead us to repentance and to cause us to cry out to God. 1 Cor. 11:32 says, “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” If someone is worshipping in an unbiblical way then they may be in sin and need to repent. And God, in his mercy, may either overlook it or chastise it, but that is entirely up to his good will and pleasure. Scripture tells us in many places that God chastens or disciplines us. He does this because he loves us – Deut. 8:5; Job 5:17; Ps. 94:12; Ps. 118:18; Prov. 3:11; 2 Cor. 6:9; Heb. 12:6, 7, 10, 11; Rev. 3:19.
  • There will be a judgement in heaven on the “day of wrath” (Rom. 2:5). Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Jesus Christ will be the judge. All unbelievers will be judged by Christ, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Rom. 2:5) and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Rom. 2:6). Believers will also be judged by Christ, but since Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us and our names are written in the book of life we will be rewarded, not punished, according to our deeds.
  • Revelation 20:11-15 says…
    

      ¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
    ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
    ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
    ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
    ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

  • And 1 Corinthians 3:13 …
    

      ¹³ each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

• And regarding false teaching, there are different types of false teachers. Some teach falsely on issues that, even if incorrect, do not affect one’s salvation. They are not centrally important doctrines. For example, some will teach that we must worship singing only the Psalms, whilst others will teach that singing songs other than Psalms is acceptable. Both can’t be right, so either one or both are teaching falsely. Does that mean they’re going to hell? No, but if they were to teach that salvation comes by anything apart from grace by faith in Christ then they would be teaching falsely on a central doctrine and, unless they repent, they will almost certainly be going to hell. And as with unbiblical worship, God may either overlook the false teachers or judge them here on earth. Again that is entirely up to his good will and pleasure.

Portions of this answer sourced from gotquestions.org/final-judgment.html

——

What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

¹⁹ For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
²⁰ All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
²¹ Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

I believe that all animals or beasts do not have spirit. But vs. 21 speaks about the spirit of the beast and it even says the spirits of man and beasts are the same (v19). I want to understand what does this passage mean?

The Response(s)

• I’ll answer the second part first, that being “what does this passage mean?” Verses 19-21, like the rest of the book of Ecclesiastes (with exception of the last 2 verses of the final chapter), are to be understood that the author is writing as if imagining or pretending that we are living without consideration of the influence of God. He is saying that life without God is meaningless. So these 4 verses say to us that if there is no God we don’t know what happens to either man or animal and their outcome could very well be the same.
• However, we know that that is not true when we look at other parts of the Bible that tell us we are different to animals and we do know what happens after death (Heb. 9:27; Mat. 25:31-46). Most notably, humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), while animals are not. Both biblical and scientific evidence demonstrate this. Man alone has the capacity to know and worship God because he has been made in Gods image after Gods likeness.
• See also:
  • 1Cor 15:39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
  • Prov 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
• Regarding animal spirits, the original word in the Old Testament parts of the Bible translated as ‘spirit’ can also be translated as breath or wind. (Cf. Gen. 6:3 against Gen. 6:17. The same Hebrew word is translated spirit in one case and breath in the other.) Such verses are teaching that it is God’s Spirit or breath that keeps every creature alive. The same “breath of life” or spirit that keeps each person alive also keeps each animal alive. What happens at death is described in Ecclesiastes 12:7:
  

  “and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

• So animals do indeed have a spirit. And the spirit, or better, the breath, that both them and us have is the same thing and that it is from God (Eccl. 12:7).

This answer refers neither to New Testament references to spirit nor the Holy Spirit.

——

What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Exodus 32:33

³³ But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.”

What does ‘blot out of my book’ mean?

The Response(s)

• Firstly, the ‘book’ referred to here is derived from the custom of the ancients of keeping genealogical records (Neh 7:5; Neh 7:64; Neh 12:22; Neh 12:23) and of enrolling citizens for various purposes (Jer 22:30; Eze 13:9). So, God is represented as having a record of all who are under His special care and guardianship.^#
• BLOT – exaleipho – “to wipe,” signifies “to wash, or to smear completely.” In the sense of removal, “to wipe away, wipe off, obliterate;” Acts 3:19, of sins; Col 2:14, of writing; Rev 3:5, of a name in a book; Rev 7:17; Rev 21:4, of tears.
• To be blotted out of the Book is to be cut off from God’s favour, to suffer an untimely death, to be robbed of an inheritance.
• Here, in Exodus, the inheritance is the promised land, and by implication, eternal life.

^# – In the New Testament it is the record of the righteous who are to inherit eternal life.

——

What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Exodus 32:14

¹⁴ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

1. What does ‘relented’ mean here?
2. Can the Lord repent for something?

The Response(s)

To question 1 …

• The Hebrew word for relented is nacham (naw-kham’), and further meanings of that word include grieve, to be sorry, to pity, console, comfort, rue (regret), and avenge.
• A more accurate rendering of the Hebrew used here in verse 14 would be that God took pity and consoled Moses (and the people) by not bringing the disaster upon them.
• God shows in the Bible that He has real emotions. He has compassion on people’s pain, listens to people’s pleas for help, and his anger and wrath are roused when he sees the suffering of people from others’ deeds.
• So what seems to be happening here is similar in nature to the command God gave to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. It was never God’s intention to see Isaac killed, but to invoke an act of obedience and to set up yet another Old Testament type of a New Testament truth.
  • Likewise, here in Exodus 32, God speaks of disaster and Moses responds with compassion for his people and pleas for them. God accepts Moses plea (an appropriate and obedient response) and takes pity on the people and does not bring the disaster he spoke of.
  • The New Testament parallel would be that of the threat of disaster God says is on those who are a stiff-necked people and who do not seek him, living as if he doesn’t exist. We saints plea for them and God spares some. He says there will be disaster for all who sin, yet he doesn’t meter our that disaster on all but in fact gives grace. He ‘relents’ of what he spoke of bringing on the people.

To question 2 …

• Simple answer:
  • Num 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
  • 1 Sam. 15:29 And also the Strength [or Glory] of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he [is] not a man, that he should repent.
• When it comes to ‘changes of purpose’ in God’s dealings with man, God helps us by using language that we will understand. This is called anthropomorphism – the representation of God under a human form, or with human attributes and affections. Anthropomorphism is used extensively throughout the Bible.
• Some may say then, that God is being deceptive, saying one thing and then doing another.
  • Anthropomorphism is metaphor. Metaphor, analogy, and similes are never intended to be taken to the extreme. For example, in the Bible we see that the Father “makes his sun rise on the just and on the unjust” (Matt.5:45 ESV). Does the sun really rise in the sky? No. The sun neither ‘rises’ nor ‘falls’; rather, it is the Earth that rotates on its axis, which causes the perception of a rising and falling sun. The Bible is not being deceptive for using such language. It should not be taken to the extreme, but, rather, at what it was intended to convey. It is the same with anthropomorphism.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

1 Samuel 16:14

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

What does ‘an evil spirit from the LORD’ mean?

The Response(s)

• Saul had directly disobeyed God on two occasions (1 Sam. 13:1-14, 1 Sam. 15:1-35). Therefore, God removed His Spirit from Saul and allowed an evil spirit to torment him. God was now simply giving Satan and the demons permission to attack Saul.
• This leads to a related question – does God send evil spirits to torment people? Accounts like this one of Saul, and many others in the New Testament say yes.
  • NT examples:
    • God allowed Ananias and Sapphira to be filled with the spirit of Satan as a warning and example to the early church (Acts 5:1-11).
    • A man in the Corinthian church was committing sexual sin and God commanded the leaders to “hand him over to Satan” to destroy his sinful nature and save his soul (1 Cor. 5:1-5).
    • Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tried and tested by the devil (Mat. 4:1-11).
    • God also allowed a messenger of Satan to torment the Apostle Paul in order to teach him to rely on God’s grace and power and not become conceited because of the tremendous abundance of spiritual truth he was given (2 Cor. 12:7).
• God allows evil spirits to torment people with the goal of our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). Even though the demons are evil, they are still under God’s sovereign control. Just as in Job’s case, Satan and his minions can do only what God allows them to do (Job 1:12, Job 2:6). They never act independently of God’s sovereign and perfect will and purpose.
• Torment by evil spirits is designed to lead us to repentance and to seek God more earnestly.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

What does the number 666 mean?

The Response(s)

• According to Revelation 13:18 it is the number of a man. According to all commentaries I could find, no-one knows who the man is and many estimations of who it was in the past seem to have been untrue.
• It seems certain though that when the time comes we will be able to work out who the man is because of his close association with the number 666. However, to try to work it out ahead of time is not sensible.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Revelation 6-8
What do the seven seals mean from this text?

The Response(s)

What is a seal?

• Used to stamp a document, giving it legal validity.
• One of the most important uses of sealing in antiquity was to give a proof of authenticity, authority, ownership, and power.
• An additional use was the preservation of books in security. A roll or other document intended for preservation was sealed up before it was deposited in a place of safety. In sealing the roll, it was wrapped round with flaxen thread or string, then a lump of clay was attached to it impressed with a seal. The seal would have to be broken by an authorised person before the book could be read (Rev. 5:2; Rev. 5:5; Rev. 5:9; Rev. 6:1; Rev. 6:3, etc.).^#

What are some details about the seven seals?

• The seven seals (Rev. 6:1-17, Rev. 8:1-5), seven trumpets (Rev. 8:6-21, Rev. 11:15-19), and seven bowls/vials (Rev. 16:1-21) are three succeeding series of end-times judgements from God. The judgements get progressively worse and more devastating as the end times progress. The seven seals, trumpets, and bowls are connected to one another. The seventh seal introduces the seven trumpets (Rev. 8:1-5), and the seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls (Rev. 11:15-19, Rev. 15:1-8).
• The first four of the seven seals are known as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The first seal introduces the Antichrist (Rev. 6:1-2). The second seal causes great warfare (Rev. 6:3-4). The third of the seven seals causes famine (Rev. 6:5-6). The fourth seal brings about plague, further famine, and further warfare (Rev. 6:7-8).
• The fifth seal tells us of those who will be martyred for their faith in Christ during the end times (Rev. 6:9-11). God hears their cries for justice and will deliver it in His timing—in the form of the sixth seal, along with the trumpet and bowl judgements When the sixth of the seven seals is broken, a devastating earthquake occurs, causing massive upheaval and terrible devastation—along with unusual astronomical phenomena (Rev. 6:12-14). Those who survive are right to cry out, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:16-17).
• The seven trumpets are described in Rev. 8:6-21. The seven trumpets are the “contents” of the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1-5). The first trumpet causes hail and fire that destroys much of the plant life in the world (Rev. 8:7). The second trumpet brings about what seems to be a meteor hitting the oceans and causing the death of much of the world’s sea life (Rev. 8:8-9). The third trumpet is similar to the second, except it affects the world’s lakes and rivers instead of the oceans (Rev. 8:10-11).
• The fourth of the seven trumpets causes the sun and moon to be darkened (Rev. 8:12). The fifth trumpet results in a plague of “demonic locusts” that attack and torture humanity (Rev. 9:1-11). The sixth trumpet releases a demonic army that kills a third of humanity (Rev. 9:12-21). The seventh trumpet calls forth the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath (Rev. 11:15-19, Rev. 15:1-8).
• The seven bowl/vial judgements are described in Rev. 16:1-21. The seven bowl judgements are called forth by the seventh trumpet. The first bowl causes painful sores to break out on humanity (Rev. 16:2). The second bowl results in the death of every living thing in the sea (Rev. 16:3). The third bowl causes the rivers to turn into blood (Rev. 16:4-7). The fourth of the seven bowls results in the sun’s heat being intensified and causing great pain (Rev. 16:8-9). The fifth bowl causes great darkness and an intensification of the sores from the first bowl (Rev. 16:10-11). The sixth bowl results in the Euphrates River being dried up and the armies of the Antichrist being gathered together to wage the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:12-14). The seventh bowl results in a devastating earthquake followed by giant hailstones (Rev. 16:15-21).
• Rev. 16:5-7 declares of God, “You are just in these judgements, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve. … Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgements”.

^# – Orr, James, et.al., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1915)

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Matthew 18:1-4

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them
³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Will there be any different level or rank in heaven such as lesser or greater?

The Response(s)

• No, there are not different levels of heaven. The Bible never tells us that there are different levels of heaven.
• Scripture does speak of different rewards in heaven. Jesus said regarding rewards, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Jesus said that when He comes He will have with Him rewards to give to people on the basis of what they have done. This shows us that there will be a time of reward for believers.
• Matthew 18:1-4 is teaching us about how our attitude here on earth must be that we make ourselves humble and lowly like a little child is lowly, and then we shall willingly become by spiritual process what the child is by nature.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Ezekiel 37:1-10

¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”
⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
⁵ Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”
¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Did this really happen or was it symbolic? Were the bones really moving or just a parable?

The Response(s)

• God gave Ezekiel the vision of the dry bones as sign.
• God transported Ezekiel in a vision to a valley full of dry bones and directed him to speak to the bones. Ezekiel was to tell the bones that God would make breath enter the bones and they would come to life, just as in the creation of man when He breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7).
• The reviving of the dry bones signified God’s plan for Israel’s future national restoration. The vision also, and most importantly, showed that Israel’s new life depended on God’s power and not the circumstances of the people. Putting “breath” by God’s Spirit in the bones showed that God would not only restore them physically but spiritually as well.
• The details of this response came from http://www.gotquestions.org/valley-dry-bones.html. Please visit that page for more detailed information.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comments section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

I Cor. 3:13

Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

1. Will the works of the saints be manifested in heaven or in glorification?
2. Is there still better reward for works than the reward we have by Grace through faith?

The Response(s)

To question 1 …

• The ‘works of the saints’ refers to the good things we do here on earth.
• Some of these have been rewarded here on earth – Mat. 6:16; Cf. Mat. 6:1
• But there is a heavenly reward which Paul says is waiting for us
  • 2Tim 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
• Glorification is no reward, for a reward is given because of the person’s worthiness of it
• Glorification is received because of God’s gift of salvation (in which we’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone), which involves our repentance and faith in Jesus.
• So the works of the saints, therefore, will have to be manifested in heaven.
• And according to Paul it’ll be in the form of a crown of righteousness.

To question 2 …

• Again, that which we have by grace through faith is not a reward but rather a free gift, not one we earned.
• Repentance, faith, salvation, forgiveness, grace, mercy – these are all things which God gives freely to those whom he chooses.
• In my opinion, nothing is better than the gift of salvation.
• So nothing will be better than being able to spend eternity in the presence and service and worship of God.
• However, as mentioned already, there is still more than our salvation waiting for us.
• But let God take care of your rewards and eternal happiness. For now, you take care of working for him, serving him, honouring him, and glorifying him by all that you do, say, and think.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

What will be the consequences of breaking the law?

The Response(s)

• Quick answer – “The wages of sin in death” (Rom. 6:23)
• Romans 5 and 6 are good books to read on this issue, but basically Adam disobeyed God and, so too we disobey God. Just as Adam was assigned to death (Gen. 3:19; Cf. Gen. 2:17), so too are we assigned to death.
• The measure used to judge us is the Ten Commandments. And even though some people don’t know what the Ten Commandments say, God says that they are written on our heart so that no one has an excuse. (Rom. 2:15; Heb. 8:10). Do you know it’s wrong to lie? Do you know it’s wrong to steal? Do you know it’s wrong to hate? Do you know it’s wrong to murder? You only know these things because God put them in your heart and mind. And so when you disobey your conscience, you’re disobeying God. And God says that because of your disobedience, because you break the law, because you sin, you will be judged.
• If you have completely believed in God’s Saviour, and if you have turned from a life and habit of disobedience and turned to face God (repentance), and if you’ve decided to face God and live a life and habit of service and worship to him alone, then because of the work of the Saviour, and because you trust in it completely, then you escape the punishment that is coming to you because someone else has taken on the punishment for you, and because of that you can now stand before the judge as a free man who has had the penalty for his life of disobedience and self-seeking fully paid, and who is now forgiven and declared ‘not guilty’.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Psalm 150:1-4

¹ Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
² Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
³ Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

In praising God some are practising according to Psalm 150:1-4, especially as it in verses 3-4, dancing,clapping hands, shouting and using musical instruments.

How shall we understand this Psalm regarding the praising of God?

The Response(s)

• Firstly, clapping and shouting isn’t mentioned in my Bible in Psalm 150, but it is mentioned in the first verse of Psalm 47.
• What Psalm 150 and all the other Psalms telling us to praise God are saying is this – praise him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and if you have some musical instruments or percussion, you can use them too.
• The limits on instruments, particularly percussion, should be one of physical space or the number of singers and not one of theology.
• Theologically I don’t believe the Bible supports the prohibition of any musical instrument. In fact quite the opposite, as we read in Psalm 150.
• But use musical instruments in proportion to the space you have available and number of people gathered together to sing. For a small room then fewer, simpler instruments would be a better choice. For a larger room with many people then a moderate number of instruments as well as, possibly, some amplification would most probably serve the needs better.
• Psalm 150 encourages what seems to be a lot of volume, but I would take this to mean an appropriate amount of volume according to the location and people. Imagine the sort of freedom you might have with a large gathering in the outdoors.
• To support this further I would look to Paul who gives us a good rule to use as a measure for what we’re doing in church. That is to see if it’s what honours God and builds up the people
  • 1 Cor. 14:40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

Gen 2:17

¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

What kind of death is it that is mentioned in this verse?

The Response(s)

• A death of body and soul.
• God postponed the death of Adam’s body, but a physical death was assigned to him.
• Miseries and evils come upon our bodies and our souls here on earth. This is a kind of death, and entrance into death, until the final moment when death entirely absorbs us.
• Our souls see a kind of death because of our separation from God. And we do not seek God or understand God, and so this curse on our souls is equal to a spiritual death
• Both the physical and the spiritual death we experience can only be overwritten or cancelled when grace comes in the form of salvation

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

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Excerpt from a sermon delivered on Sunday morning, July 4, 1869, By C. H. Spurgeon, at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

Point 7.
To draw near to God, what does this mean? To draw near to God, brethren and sisters, implies first that we are reconciled to Him by the death of His Son. For a man to attempt to draw near to God while God is angry with him, would be a species of insanity. As well might the moth draw near to the candle, or the stubble approach the flame. God is “a consuming fire”, and while our hearts are evil there can nothing come of an approach to God but destruction. Before any one of us can draw near to God in acceptable prayer and praise, we must wash in the fountain that Christ has filled from His dying veins. Does thou believe in the atonement, my hearer? Believing in it hast thou also received it? Do you rest your soul’s salvation upon the accomplished mediatorial work of Jesus Christ? If not, you are such an enemy to God that you may by no means even think yourself capable of drawing near to Him. Your back is towards Him, and the faster you walk the further from God will you journey, and your end will assuredly be to hear from Him the word “Depart”. You have been departing all your life, you shall go on departing throughout eternity; departing from the God whom you have and despised, and forgotten. Before, then, we can draw near to God, we must have come with repentance and faith to the cross, and have looked up to Him who bled thereon, and we must have accepted Him as our salvation. I ask you whether you can accompany me in the first step? Have you laid hold on eternal life in Christ Jesus?

The Question(s)

Luke 5:36-39

³⁶ He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’

We see here two contradiction words, such as old and new. Old wine with garment and new wine new garment.

What does it mean… Old? and New? from this passage.

The Response(s)

Mark 2:17

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

• In the verses of Luke 5, Jesus talks about how the changes that his coming brings will be treated by different types of people.
• He gives us 3 pictures which represent the 3 types of people

1. Some will take only bits of his new message. They will try to stitch these new teachings into their old and decaying ideas and beliefs. Jesus’ word is not meant to patch up an old and failing belief system. Rather, his word is meant as a total replacement. Jesus is saying, “Don’t patch your old garment, or your old old beliefs, with my new teaching. It won’t work and it’ll tear apart. Totally replace your old garment with my new teaching.”
2. The second picture Jesus give us, about wine and wineskins, is about those people who don’t want patches, they don’t want bits and pieces of his new teaching, they want all of the new teaching. The problem is, they want to keep the old teaching as well. Jesus says that won’t work. He says says that if you pour my new teachings into your old and brittle belief system then it will not be able to hold together and will burst apart. He says that we must forsake the old beliefs and place our new beliefs in a new and fresh place all on their own.
3. The third picture, in verse 39, talks of those who are not prepared to even taste the new wine, which means they’re not prepared to even consider Jesus’ new teachings. That person says that the old ways are good, they work for me. They won’t even admit that the new teaching has any merit at all. He will not bother to compare the two because the old is good enough. He refuses to accept even the possibility of change.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

The Question(s)

II John 1:10-11

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,
¹¹ for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

III John 1:5-7

⁵ Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,
⁶ who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
⁷ For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

We know that false teachers are very much dangerous for the whole family. They can destroy the family lead into astray. In order to protect from such dangers… it said we should stop them and should not allow them to enter into our house. We should not welcome them from our home. Even not need to greet them on the street. It is what the text is teaching?

If like that…. My questions are….
1. If we act like that to them isn’t it that people consider us as a very rude and impolite man? They might think that we are not like Christian.

2. Can we distinguish or separate differently between life of Christian and social life?
My experience: When it happen to work together with people from outside the Church, they understood us as we use to forgive others. Then they use to take opportunity over us for their own benefits. Labourers do not take serious on duty to us. When we show our love in Christ to them, they use to take more opportunity for their own sake and least concern their duty to us. Many times we lose because of those unfaithful non-believers.

Questions….
2a. How shall we show our love to such unfaithful people correctly?
2b. Do we have to content for losing our own?
2c. How shall we deal to such people effectively both for Gospel and for the works at the same time?

The Response(s)

To question 1 …

• In the West, we tell our kids not to talk to strangers because it could be dangerous. Do you teach your children this also? And if your children don’t stop to talk to a strange man do people think they are rude and impolite? No. They realise that they are being careful and they have probably been told by their parents not to talk to strangers. Like that, John, as our spiritual parent, is telling us not to talk to men with strange teaching. He is saying, “Have no religious connection with him, and don’t act towards him so that other people believe you and him are brothers.” Why? Verse 11 says that if you do you take part in his wicked works. His accursed beliefs are filthy, and if you spend any time with him then you become filthy too. And the result is that the pure teachings of Jesus that you proclaim, become confused in the minds of people watching you, and this brings problems with sharing the gospel and many other things. Your witness for Christ become impure because of the impure man.

• Though they might think you’re not like a Christian, you are in fact doing as you have been told, making you a Christian indeed. As a Christian, we live with upside-down logic sometimes. The fist become last, the last become first, the meek inherit the earth, the rich become poor, if we save our life we lose it, if we lose our life we save it. Likewise, by having nothing to do with a false teaching we’re proclaiming Christ crucified in all its purity.

To question 2 …

• First I want to start with some Scripture, then I will answer the question more fully.

• Matt.5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.”

• 1 Pet.2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

• Rom.12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

• 1 Cor.6:7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Q2b …

• The above Scriptures say yes, you have to be content with past loss, but you don’t have to continue losing if you are more wise in the first place.

• These Scriptures give us some important principles that we must remember when dealing with anyone. However, that doesn’t mean that you must always be a victim.

Q2a and Q2c …

• You need to set boundaries to show love and to display justice. These boundaries will become for you a reputation. I will give you just an example. You can probably think how to change this slightly to suit your needs. EG – When you hire someone, you make it a condition of hiring them that they do a job a certain way. In the agreement you also say that because of dishonest people in the past, you will not tolerate being cheated and will not pay them fully if they cheat you. It is very important that you have at least 2 other people witness this agreement. Then, when the job is done according to your agreement, you reward them with a bonus that they did not know was coming. If they defraud you or cheat you in any way, then because of the agreement you made at the beginning, they do not receive full payment. You will receive a reputation of being a rewarder of those who treat you well, and a man not to be cheated because you do not tolerate it. This way you’re being just and loving and not bringing any disgrace to Christ. Working for you will be something people will want to do and they will want to be sure to do it according to your agreement.

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What are your thoughts on these answers? Agree? Disagree? A bit of both? Please use the comment section to share what you think.

Blessings,
Martin

Evangelism

I wrote a little yesterday about Living Waters’ evangelism ministry but want to cover a few other aspects of it today.

Ray Comfort, the founder of Living Waters ministry, was a pastor in New Zealand in the 1970′s and used to do open-air preaching in Christchurch. Most of the time he’d go alone, but he was diligent in his resolve to take the gospel to the lost. While he was there he developed the pattern of sharing the law and the gospel which is now known as ‘The Way of the Master’ (check out yesterday’s post to watch the video that uses this pattern). Ray was invited to America and once there he eventually set up the ministry of Living Waters as a way of getting resources into the hands of those wanting to do evangelism or open-air preaching.

I’ll cover some of the in-your-hand resources in the Tracts section below, but first I want to mention their teaching tools for those keen to equip for evangelism.

School of Biblical Evangelism

Established in 2001, the School of Biblical Evangelism (SoBE) is an online Bible School dedicated to training men and women to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through 101 online lessons, including audios, articles, and videos, students are challenged to have a biblical worldview. Each lesson is designed to equip the students to defend the historic Christian faith. The course takes approximately six months to complete.

The Ambassadors’ Academy

The Academy fulfils the vision of having hands-on training classes in California, where Christians can experience one-to-one witnessing and the uniqueness of open-air preaching. The three-day Academy does nothing but train Christians to be bold ambassadors for Christ. Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort and other members of the Living Waters team, provide in-class training to all Academy attendees. They then go out and witness to the lost in Hollywood, Venice Beach, and other exciting locations in sunny Southern California. Numerous international students attend each Academy including many from Australia. People are being equipped, lives are being changed.

The Way of the Master Television Series

This contemporary, cutting edge program is hosted by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. Each 30-minute episode deals with topics ranging from biblical instruction regarding evangelism to highlighting the differences between the Christian worldview and that of other religions. This engaging format is used as a platform to instruct Christians on how to share and defend their faith by including interviews of well known biblical teachers and scholars, as well as actual “on-the-street” interviews and encounters with the general public. DVD versions of the series have been produced and are available through their store.

Tracts

Sooooo many tracts! At the time of writing this they have 63 and counting, so there’s bound to be 1 or 2 you’d be comfortable using. Here’s a link to the tracts at their online store so you can browse for yourself, but below are a couple I particularly like for use here in Myanmar. What I’ll end up doing though is take a lot of what’s written on their various tracts and meld it with some tracts Thang Bwee’s written and end up with one or two new tracts.

Curved Illusion	Thanks for Listening

The 180 Movie/Documentary

On September 26th, Living Waters released a much anticipated documentary on our modern day holocaust. With direct parallels to the holocaust during World War II, this 33 minute movie, which is unashamedly pro-life, documents the alarming similarities between what happened then, and what’s happening now in the form of abortion.

They have made the 180 Movie available for anyone to watch, and are virtually giving it away if you want to order the DVD to give to people you care about. Can I please encourage you to take 30 minutes to watch it and then to share it with everyone you know. It’s changing lives and may very well change yours and others you care about. People are doing a 180 in their beliefs about abortion.

After watching it you’re welcome to return here to comment, or even better, visit the Project Heart Changer website and interact there.

For the record, I support adoption wholeheartedly. Not because I was a child of the adoption process, but because it makes sense on so many levels. I am in no way pro-choice and don’t believe any true follower of Christ can be pro-choice because it is utterly inconsistent with a Biblical Christian world view. For encouragement or instruction on the matter please read this excellent, Bible soaked article on What God’s Word Says About Abortion.

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So those are some of Living Waters’ many resources. Please check them out and let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Grace be with you,
Martin

But before I do that, let me tell you how I came to learn about them. Back in March of this year (2011) I was beginning preparations for an evangelism course to be run at ERC’s Bible college, the Reformed Bible Institute. I’ve been interested in, and sporadically doing, public evangelism since 1990 but I think my experience is similar to that of so many Christians – we do it (sometimes), but we’re not confident and we don’t really feel equipped.

In 1990 I started doing public evangelism because I had to as part of my job, but looking back it was messy and really not a very good message. Since then I’ve grown in my understanding of God and his Word, and so my techniques improved, but certainly not enough to warrant more than a mention. Then, about 5 years ago I came across the Two Ways to Live gospel presentation method devised by Matthias Media in Australia. At last I thought I had found a technique of sharing the gospel that was quick, easy for me and the hearer to remember, and biblically sound. I bought the books, the DVDs, and even taught a series of lectures with it as the foundation for evangelism. But this March, when I came to prepare a new course for teaching here in Myanmar, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the Two Ways to Live presentation and felt that something was missing. I didn’t know what, but I knew I had to look more widely to find some help in putting together this course. I was also keen to find something that was going to be culturally relevant to people of a Buddhist culture.

Enter, Living Waters

Everyone’s best Internet friend, Google search, was the first place I went to ask the world wide web what were some of the tried and tested evangelism methods used in Buddhist Asia. I visited dozens of sites and read opinion after opinion but few actual methods that had been tried and tested. In a moment of inspired brilliance I returned to Google search and simply entered biblical evangelism, and viola!, first on the list was Living Waters and their School of Biblical Evangelism. Within about 15 minutes of reading various information on their site I was confident that I’d found what I believed I was looking for. I continued to browse, I downloaded a few mp3s, and over the next few days I had a pretty good handle on what they were teaching. On a different website I managed to locate most of the videos they used for the Basic Evangelism Course and so set about working through the eight-part series.

Suffice it to say, I was on-board and totally convinced of this method of evangelism, not because of a good gimmick or a flashy technique, not because of anything except that it was the biblical method that Jesus used in his evangelism. I still consider myself a novice and am keen for a lot more practice, but I’ve used this method of evangelism quite a few times and it works as well for me as it does for the the guys at Living Waters.

So what’s this method then?

Living Waters has a Youtube channel called The Way Of The Master where you can see real people evangelising other real people (view any ‘Living Waters University’ clips), but for a concise and fun presentation check out the video below.

Aren’t they just another money-grabbing Christian ministry?

Living Waters has their critics¹, but for me the criticisms reveal a lack of biblical understanding and a promotion of the easy-believism that is plaguing the church today. One thing is for sure – Living Waters are not in this for the money. Ray Comfort, a native New Zealander now a US resident and citizen, who founded this ministry based on years of personal experience, has said numerous times that their ministry is not one for profit but one that aims to inspire and equip Christians to fulfil the Great Commission (Mat. 28:19-20).

I’ve written a second article on some other aspects of their ministry, but for now here are some statements and some links I recommend. Oh, and one more thing. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that their ministry is built solidly on Reformed Doctrine. Cake and icing too. Wonderful!

Living Waters’ Vision

Inspiring and equipping Christians in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Living Waters’ Mission

In our passion to glorify God, magnify His grace, and exalt His Son, Jesus Christ, it is our mission to serve the local church by assisting in globally educating God’s people in the principles of biblical evangelism; Exhorting them to fulfill the Great Commission; and equipping them with every necessary resource along the way. We do this primarily through the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, strategic conferences, academic and practical training opportunities, networking platforms, and the production and dissemination of various printed and audio/visual media.

• Living Waters home page
• Vision and Mission
• Statement of Faith
• The School of Biblical Evangelism

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1 – I’m not going to cite them as I don’t believe they deserve any traffic thanks to me.

This hits hard and I’ll admit it hits me between the eyes as much as anyone. I’ve always struggled to be a fervent pray-er. That’s not to say I don’t pray, but I certainly don’t pray enough and don’t have a fire in my belly for prayer. It’s a topic I have to revisit often to rekindle the flames, and today’s post stoked and poked me considerably. I hope you find it encouraging too.

Matt. 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Robert Speer said, “The evangelization of the world depends first of all upon a revival of prayer. Deeper than the need for workers; deeper far, than the need for money; deep down at the bottom of our spiritual lives is the need for the forgotten secret of prevailing, worldwide prayer. Missions have progressed slowly abroad because piety and prayer have been slow at home.”

Robert Speer is right; prayer is evidence of our utter dependence on God. Without Him we can do nothing. However, never forget that Jesus said there was a lack of laborers in His time, and there is a lack of laborers in our time (see Matthew 9:37). It is easier to pray for this world than to preach the gospel to them. So make sure that you don’t substitute the sacrifice of prayer for the obedience of evangelism; to do so is to play the hypocrite.

“We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism…To your knees, man! And to your Bible! Decide at once! Don’t hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God. Quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and cowardly excuses. Enlist!” C. T. Studd

Long time, no see!

My dear friends, I want to begin with a heartfelt and HUGE thank you to everyone who was praying for me during my exams. They’re all over now and I’m amazed at how much I remembered and wrote. Before the exams I was sure they were going to be too difficult and that I’d be hard pressed to even pass, but thanks to God they weren’t so bad and He helped me get through them. I’m sure I didn’t ace any subjects, but I’m confident I didn’t fail any either. So again, thank you so much, you’re an impressive and wonderful team of prayer supporters. God bless you!

Now I know you’re keen to find out what’s been happening and where I’ve been these last few months so I’ll try to fill you in but not bore you with too much detail.

The last you heard from me was back in May when Thang Bwee and I did the video update. We got some good feedback after that so we’ll definitely be doing more; the next one should probably appear around the end of October. May was the second of two months off uni (mid-academic-year break) in which I attempted to catch up on all I’d learnt in the first semester as well as do some lecture preparation for teaching at RBI/GBS. Both the catch up and the preparation went really well and I felt quite well prepared for the second semester of uni which started in June. My catch up was well worth it, but the learning we embarked upon during the second semester was more focussed on writing the language rather than speaking the language, and as it turns out there are a whole lot of new rules for writing the language compared to speaking it. For example, in the phrase, “I will go to the market for some rice”, there is a new word/grammar structure for 5 of those 9 words. A friend of mine in class said, “It’s like learning another language.” I agree, and though I was grateful for the time to catch up in April and May, I fell behind again fairly quickly and floundered my way through the semester. By mid-August I was no longer enjoying the process and was keen for it all to be over. I’m grateful for my time of learning and for the experience but I have to say again, I’m no classroom learner. I learn ‘on the job’ and through kinaesthetic/tactile (hands on) methods, so sitting through 5 hours of lectures each day listening to the talking heads didn’t really work for me. As a result, I’ve not learnt anywhere near enough to even survive a trip to the market, so more learning is a must. I’m not, however, going back to the classroom but will instead look for a language tutor. I’m not sure where I’ll find said tutor but I’m trusting that God will provide the right person at the right time.

Since arriving last December I was asked by Thang Bwee if I could preach monthly on topics of my choice. The first couple of months were random but since February I’ve been preaching on a series inspired by John MacArthur (the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church and president of The Master’s College/Seminary, both in Santa Clarita, California, also known by his ministry Grace To You) focussing on Keys to Spiritual Growth. I’m planning to put some snippets of these sermons up as blog posts once the series is is finished, but as I only preach once a month I think I’ve still got another 4 months of stuff to teach. Consider this a very early teaser.

I also preach monthly at the church where James is the minister, the Free Reformed Church of Myanmar (FRCM), but I’ve not been working through the same series. The maturity of the congregation is somewhat different to the folks at ERC so I’ve been preaching on some general principles of the Christian life and trying to aim just a little above their level as a way of encouraging them to stretch themselves and to try out a little meat amidst their diet of milk. James seems happy with the teaching so I’m continuing on in that vein. Yesterday (Sept 25th) I preached on Malachi 3:16-4:3, a seemingly strange text perhaps but one in which we find the gospel message and plenty of encouragement for believers.

Along with my monthly preaching I’ve also become a victim of my own good ideas. Around January I suggested to Thang Bwee that it’d be good if people had a way of asking questions, anonymous or otherwise, and for him to take some time after one of the church services each month to go over these questions briefly for the benefit of all. He thought it was a good idea and put it into place. The questions were slow to come in but eventually he had enough for the first round of answers. As we were talking once day he handed me a wad of note-papers and said, “Here, these are for you.” I asked what they were and he explained that he’s been answering questions and giving advice to his flock for years with little response or change. He said that if they heard answers to these questions from me they might be more inclined to sit up and listen, and maybe even change where change was necessary. Though surprised that he’d give me such responsibility I accepted, and so, on the second Sunday of the month for the last 4 months, I’ve been answering about 3 questions after the service (takes about 20 to 30 minutes including translation from English to Burmese). The questions have been challenging and have given me some great study time in preparation for answering them and I’ve really appreciated it. Thang Bwee also seems thrilled so it looks like we’ll continue this trend for quite some time. As of October I’ve decided to post the questions and answers here on the website, just one each week, and I would welcome your feedback, encouragement, correction, and instruction related to the answers I’m giving. I know enough theology to be dangerous, much like my Burmese, so I know there’s room for discussion and learning for us all. Please check out the website often to see what I have to say and post your comments whenever you can. If you know what RSS is then that’s the best way to get the posts coming to you, rather than you having to go to them. Just click the RSS link at the top of the right-hand column.

I mentioned in the April newsletter and the May video update that we were gearing up for some deliberate discipleship for the congregations of ERC and FRCM. First though we needed to put the structure of leaders in place and then train them so that they felt equipped and ready to tackle this all-too-vague subject of discipling. On each of the Saturday’s in June we had discipleship training at my apartment. There were 14 students from both ERC and FRCM plus Thang Bwee and me. We had 4, 3-hour sessions over 4 Saturdays and then let them loose on their disciples. The training went really well and all said they were ready to get started. We’ve now had 3 months of weekly discipling of almost every person in the congregation and though small, we’re starting to see some measurable growth. We knew it would be a slow process and one that we’d have to commit to for the long-haul, but we’re all still keen and still anticipating some great results from it. The leaders who attended the training in June meet with me monthly to de-brief their experiences, both good and bad, and this allows us time for some top-up training and an opportunity to iron out any kinks that may be developing in the process. A really encouraging wind of change is blowing through the congregations of ERC and FRCM, so please pray that we might continue this discipleship with vigour and enthusiasm for many years to come.

So that kind of brings you up to speed with what’s been happening. I’ve not got anything startling to report as it’s been pretty much head-down, tail-up since about May, but I trust the news of what we’ve been up to over the past few months is of some encouragement to you and fuel for your prayer times.

But I’m not done yet. Let me share with you what we’ve got coming up over the next couple of months.

Next week will see the arrival of Betty Murray and her friend Jan Turner, both from Presbyterian congregations in QLD. Betty will be leading them both in English teaching for the entire month of October. The training will take place on the RBI campus and the students from GBS will bus their way over each day to join in. This will be a great opportunity for the students to improve their English as Betty is a veteran English teacher with years of experience and expertise. I’m hoping to sit in on a number of the sessions to learn how it’s done. I might have finished my TESOL training but I’ve not had any practical training, only theory and methodology. I’m hoping to pick up some very important techniques from these ladies so that I can carry on the English teaching next year.

Also visiting in October is a friend of many, many years, David Trounce. David’s the minister of a church in Tanilba Bay, Newcastle and has a brilliant mind when it comes to theology and the practicalities of church structure and order. We’ve had some brief chats via Skype over the past few months pertaining to various ministry related topics and we’re both keen to continue our discussions. He’s not coming so much to be involved in the ministry to the churches here but rather to support and encourage me. I expect that his visit will prove most helpful in areas of biblical understanding and practical church life and order. Though he’s only here for 1 week, I think his visit will be quite the shot in the arm one needs during their first year on the field.

After the month-long English extravaganza that Betty and Jan bring, the colleges of RBI and GBS will settle back into routine with the more usual weekly schedule of lectures. This will be my first full-time role as a lecturer at the RBI college and I’m quite excited about it. Thang Bwee has put me down for 2 subjects so far (I say “so far” because he has a habit of finding ‘new work’ for me to do) which are Practical Evangelism and Post-Reformation Church History. As I’m only fresh from my final exams at uni I still have a lot of preparation to do for both, so please pray that I’d be thorough as I prepare.

December will be much the same schedule and then in January we’ll have more visitors in the form of Peter Barnes (Revesby Presbyterian Church) and Peter Barber (Townsville Presbyterian Church). They both may be bringing other folks with them but we’re not sure yet. I’ll update you in the next newsletter.

I think that brings you completely up to date with the what’s been and the what’s to come, but if you have questions please feel free to ask. And if you’d like something special covered in our October video update then now’s the time to send in your requests.

News & Events

• We’ve not had any overseas visitors since February but next week (first week of October) will see 3 Aussie visitors on our doorstep. The first two are long-time friends of the work here, Betty Murray and Jan Turner, both from QLD Presbyterian Churches. They’ll be here for a month and will be teaching English to the students of both RBI and GBS. It’s expected that there could be about 30 people in attendance for the lessons so they’ll be taking place in the lecture room at the RBI campus. The room can fit 40-50 students comfortably so it’s an ideal set-up for this group. The third Aussie visitor is my long-time closest friend David Trounce. He’ll be here for just one week and we’ll spend it together talking and encouraging one another, as well as a little sightseeing and shopping.

• The whole of October will be taken up with the English seminar so there won’t be any other classes taking place. Come November, the second semester roster of classes will kick in and the lecturers will resume normal teaching. This will be my first time as a permanent fixture of the RBI teaching team and I’m very much looking forward to it.

• There has been a lot of news about Myanmar and the progress that is being made by it’s new government. As with all news it takes a bit to digest and to sift through the spin and opinion. There’s way to much to list here (and commenting on some stories could bring me unwanted attention), but I’d like to suggest that, if you have the time, you might like to connect with some of the news sources available to keep your finger on the ever changing pulse of what’s going on in and around Myanmar. Please visit my Myanmar News page for some of the sources I suggest as good places to start.

Things to Pray for

For me:

• Thank God for his patience, grace, mercy, and loving hand upon my life.

• Thank God for the opportunity to learn the Myanmar language. I thank him for what I’ve learnt and for the encouragement of my friends here to “jaw za”, which means keep trying.

• I’m grateful to God that the university learning is over and that I can now focus on that which I came here for – teaching, preaching, and evangelism.

• I’m preparing for lectures that will begin in November. I’ll be teaching two subjects, evangelism and post-reformation church history. Please pray that I’d prepare well for these lessons.

For ERC:

• Thank God for his continued blessing upon the work and ministry of ERC.

• Thank God for the many new students this year at RBI. They’re a keen lot and, like sponges, ready to absorb everything. They’re obedient and willing to learn and follow, and they’re good students too.

• The ongoing discipleship (which started in July) is proving to be helpful to everyone with growth already evident in many.

• Pray for Thang Bwee’s translation work on Concise Theology by J.I. Packer.

• For guidance and protection for the English teaching classes to be held at RBI during October by Betty Murry and Jan Turner from QLD pressie congregations.

• And for God’s ongoing providence for all the essential needs of Thang Bwee’s family.

For FRCM:

• Thank God for some significant financial blessing over the past couple of months that has helped them out of debt.

• The injection of funds also allowed them to finally get a concrete floor put in throughout the house. This is where James and his family along with all the GBS students live. They’re thrilled to no longer be walking through the muddy, slippery floor inside and that things aren’t so dirty any more.

• Please pray that God would provide the needed funds for the daily needs (food, water, etc.) of the FRCM community.

• That the students would learn well and be properly prepared for future ministry.

• For the safety of GBS’s leaders and students as they travel around Yangon. Particularly, there is a lot of travel required during October when the students of GBS will travel about 1 hour each week day to attend the English classes being held at RBI by Betty Murray and Jan Turner (and then an hour back again).

• The financial needs of this fledgling church plant are many at this time. Please pray that there would be an outpouring of generosity toward these folks so that they may be equipped and ready to grow in number, maturity, and influence.

For some of the more regular prayer items, feel free to ask me for a Prayer Calendar. Additionally, you can visit this months Prayer Points page.

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I trust you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter; any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Remember too, if you’d like any Mission Information Sheets, Prayer Calendars, or to get in contact if you’re not near your e-mail, you can do so by using the Contact Martin page.

And finally, if there are any acronyms or initialisms used in this newsletter that you’re not familiar with, have a look at pages like “The Work” and “The Workers” and you’ll find the info you need.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

• Thank God for his patience, grace, mercy, and loving hand upon my life.
• For an improvement to sleeping patterns over the past few months. Though I’ve had a few nights where sleeping’s been difficult, for the most part I’m sleep normally. I’m no longer feeling like a zombie every day.
• Thank God for the opportunity to learn the Myanmar language. I thank him for what I’ve learnt and for the encouragement of my friends here to “jaw za”, which means keep trying.
• I’m grateful to God that the university learning is over though, and that I can now focus on that which I came here for – teaching, preaching, and evangelism.
• Thank God for providing for my physical needs, with good food, good shelter, clothing, friends, transport, safety, and so on.

Petition:

• I didn’t learn all I wanted to or needed to while at uni, so I’m considering a private tutor. Please pray that I would have wisdom regarding this, and that if I proceed I would find a good teacher who’s not too expensive.
• On October 15th my visa runs out and at the time of writing this we’ve not found a way to secure my long-term residency. We’ve had a couple of possibilities for assistance but they’ve not eventuated. Please pray that I’d be able to extend my visa with the least amount of disruption to the work and with minimal costs.
• I’m preparing for lectures that will begin in November. I’ll be teaching two subjects, evangelism and post-reformation church history. Please pray that I’d prepare well for these lessons.
• I had this as a prayer point last time (April’s prayer points) and I want to include it again as it’s so very important. Please pray, as Paul did for the Colossians (Col. 1:9-12) …
  • “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.“

ERC (Evangelical Reformed Church / Thang Bwee’s church)
Thanksgiving:

• Thank God for his continued blessing upon the work and ministry of ERC.
• For the continued partnership with Mission Partners and the financial support that that brings with it.
• Thank God for the many new students this year at RBI. They’re a keen lot and, like sponges, ready to absorb everything. They’re obedient and willing to learn and follow, and they’re good students too.
• Thank God for providing full sponsorship to all of the students of the Reformed Bible Institute (RBI), the Bible college of ERC.
• The ongoing discipleship (which started in July) is proving to be helpful to everyone with growth already evident in many.

Petition:

• Please pray for the minister of the Tada Township church plant, Mr Mor Dan, who is working tirelessly in evangelism and church planting for the Lord in that place. Please ask the Lord to strengthen him, to give him wisdom and knowledge, and to be diligent in all he does, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord (Cf. Col. 1:10).*
• Pray for Thang Bwee’s translation work on Concise Theology by J.I. Packer.
• For guidance and protection for the English teaching classes to be held at RBI during October by Betty Murry and Jan Turner from QLD pressie congregations.
• For God’s blessing and guidance for the upcoming seminars in January 2012 at RBI. These seminars will be on selected major prophets and reformed church history taught by Peter Barber (Townsville Presbyterian Church) and Peter Barnes (Revesby Presbyterian Church) respectively.
• Pray for the needs related to building a Church building at Tada Township as well as a dormitory at Shinletwa (in Chin State) in 2012.
• And for God’s ongoing providence for all the essential needs of Thang Bwee’s family.

FRCM (Free Reformed Church of Myanmar / James’ church)
Thanksgiving:

• Thank God for his grace. James writes, “We enjoy the life of FRCM and GBS. We thank God for His helping us up to this day with every blessing we need.”*
• Thank God for providing full sponsorship to all of the students of the Grace Bible Seminary (GBS), the Bible college of FRCM.
• For some significant financial blessing over the past couple of months that has helped them out of debt.
• The injection of funds also allowed them to finally get a concrete floor put in throughout the house. This is where James and his family along with all the GBS students live. They’re thrilled to no longer be walking through the muddy, slippery floor inside and that things aren’t so dirty any more.
• For the ongoing discipleship sessions of the FRCM congregation and GBS students.

Petition:

• That God would provide the needed funds for the daily needs (food, water, etc.) of the FRCM community.*
• That the students would learn well and be properly prepared for future ministry.
• That the church would grow in numbers as well as maturity.
• For finances for Pastor Samuel’s mission field. Pastor Samuel is a recent addition to the leadership and outreach team of FRCM.*
• For the safety of GBS’s leaders and students as they travel around Yangon. Particularly, there is a lot of travel required during October when the students of GBS will travel about 1 hour each week day to attend the English classes being held at RBI by Betty Murray and Jan Turner.
• The financial needs of this fledgling church plant are many at this time. Please pray that there would be an outpouring of generosity toward these folks so that they may be equipped and ready to grow in number, maturity, and influence.

View all posts ‘For Prayer’

* Thanksgiving and petition items with an asterisk indicate an ongoing prayer point, that is, one that was listed in a previous prayer letter.

It’s our first effort and I know we’ll do better next time. You can help us with that too, by commenting in the Leave a Reply section below. Please leave us any feedback and even ask us some questions that we might be able to answer in the next vid.

Feedback already received includes:

• Thang Bwee to speak louder
• Clearer picture (less blurry)
• Subtitles for Martin also
• Insert occasional shots of other things (like pics of RBI) while we’re speaking – excellent suggestion!!

Though you’re not able to watch the video here (sorry folks), you can …

download it to your computer using this link

Look for the green DOWNLOAD button to download it to your computer.
(It’ll be better quality than the one that plays in the browser.)

The video runs for 9 minutes and 50 seconds, and the file size is 71.9mb.

Please tell others about this,
and feel free to use it at your church or small group
(please let me know if you do)

Thang Bwee and I talk about what we've been up to, and what's coming up over the next few months.

In my April newsletter and my article, How about a progress report?, I’ve mentioned that I’m in the process of preparing some lectures. The focus of these lectures is first and foremost for the Bible college students, but the more we talk and the more I write they’re morphing into something that can and will be used with all members of the congregation.

The two lectures currently being prepared are for discipleship and evangelism. I’ve come to realise that the members of ERC are, for the most part, still infants in the faith. And that’s ok for some of the newer believers, but there are many who aren’t new believers and so it’s time for everyone to undergo a growth spurt.

One of the things both Thang Bwee and I are desperate to see is more evangelism from everyone in the congregation. The Bible college students participate in this haphazardly as part of their training, but there needs to be a more structured and deliberate approach to it. But in assessing the practicalities of this we find that there’s still some foundational work to do. That’s not to say that a new believer can’t do evangelism, but that in the case of ERC, the reason evangelism isn’t being done is because of a lack of understanding.

So before evangelism can be done we’re going to embark on a church-wide discipleship focus. Beginning in June we’ll be training as well as discipling the 2 elders, the 3 RBI/ERC staff, 2 of the senior Bible college students, and Thang Bwee’s wife. These 8 people, along with Thang Bwee and I, will then disciple another 3 or 4 people each. We should have everyone in the congregation and Bible college covered, though with some recent additions we may have to add some here and there. This move, to have everyone discipled, is something we hope to be a permanent and growing thing as the years progress.

We also recognise that we’re not in a position to handle church growth. If we had just one new person come to the church we’d be hard pressed to find someone who could disciple them. So we’re desperate for this growth spurt and to cultivate maturity at every level. Often times congregations don’t grow because the Lord doesn’t see them as able to handle it, and I think ERC is one such congregation at this point in time. But, praise be to God, we’re attending to this need within so that we can be more responsible for when the Lord blesses us with growth in numbers.

After the initial phase of discipleship training we’re going to start to push evangelism training. This will be mandatory for the Bible college students and ‘strongly encouraged’ for the rest of the ERC congregation.

Yesterday, May 1st, I preached on Jude 17-23. This passage describes how we (ERC leadership) are aiming to proceed – first by building ourselves and each other up in our most holy faith (v20, 21), helping those who doubt (v22), and then reaching out to others and snatching them out of the fire (v23).

We realise it’s first things first though, so please pray as we embark on changing the way this little pocket of the family of Christ relates and serves.

Grace be with you,
Martin

I’m a ‘bottom-line’ guy, so if you’re like me then here’s the progress report in brief – everything’s going really well.

But for those who like stories (yes, Jacqueline, I have you in mind specifically) then here’s some more detail.

The agenda for this 2 month break from uni was simple, but demanding – language revision, 4 sermons, and 3 seminar lectures (about 36 teaching hours each). In my April newsletter I wrote that I had “a little over 650 words that I need to revise, many of which I still have to commit to memory”, and that I had “set out a plan of action” to achieve this. Well there’s good news and bad news on this point. My plan of action was good for about 2 weeks and then it became a burden trying to do it and prepare lectures at the same time. So it got shelved for a week or so. Then, when I started revision again, it didn’t turn out to be with the same earnestness as before. Consequently I’ll not hit the 650 words that I was aiming for, but I hope to be good for about 400. On the upside, what I’ve revised so far is sticking in my brain, and I’m at about 150 words.

It’s all good news regarding my sermon preparation. 3 of the 4 sermons are written and have been delivered (the most recent one was yesterday) and the 4th is almost done. I don’t preach that one until June 5th so I’ve decided to put it aside for now to make way for more pressing matters.

Of the 3 seminar lectures I’m preparing I’m currently juggling 2 of them at once. They’re both coming along nicely and are proving to be as demanding as I thought they would be. The third one probably won’t get finished before uni returns, so there’ll be a bit of creative time-management during next semester, with language learning becoming more complex and thus requiring more study.

And the one other thing I’ve been doing, which wasn’t planned but has been most welcomed, is I’ve started deliberately and purposefully memorising Scripture. The plan is to tackle one memory verse each week. So far I’ve memorised 6 and am currently working on the 7th.

So thank you to those who’ve been wondering how I’m going and also for your interest and support.

I’ll finish here, but remember that I’d still very much appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks as there’s a long way to go to completion.

If you’re interested in what I’m preparing and why, please have a look at my other article, What’s in store for ERC.

Hello friends. In this edition I’ll be sharing with you what’s been happening since the last newsletter, sharing news and events in brief, and wrapping it up with some prayer points.

Learning, Growing, Enjoying

It’s 1:30pm as I begin to write this newsletter and I’m sitting at my desk feeling quite content. I have one of those office chairs that recline slightly and for the last 5 minutes I’ve been leaning back in that position thinking through what I might pen for this update. Usually around this time of year the temperatures here are “terrible hot”, as Thang Bwee would say, but lately the weather has been quite mild. As I sat reclining there was a nice breeze coming in my window, the curtain gently wafting back and forth, the trees outside swaying, and I was just totally enjoying the moment, quite content indeed. So praise God for big blessings, but praise him just the same for the small ones. His mercy is new every morning, and his loving kindness is in every refreshing breeze.

Last week was my final week at uni for first semester, which is why I’m home during the day today. It’s been a challenging 4 months for me trying to understand the language and committing it to memory, and I’ve come to realise that I need to be far more diligent in revising what I’m learning. I’m glad for the break though. Not least of which is so that I might have some time to catch up on what has been taught over the last couple of months. I’ve felt more like a spectator than a participant lately, so these next few weeks will give me the chance I need for revision. I’ve already set out a plan of action and have so far committed 40 new words to memory – memorised so that I can speak, read, and write them. There are a little over 650 words that I need to revise, many of which I still have to commit to memory, so as you can see I’ve got my work cut out or me. But each day, little by little, I’ll get there. As some bright spark once said, “How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time.”

Speaking of food, I’m loving Myanmar cuisine. Nelly, Thang Bwee’s wife, has taken me under her wing as son number 3, and part of that blessing involves regular delivery of her most excellent food. Beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, all cooked traditionally and all mouth watering. It’s great stuff, and on top of that I’m losing weight, so I’m a happy chappy indeed. But it’s not just the food that’s great here. I wrote an e-mail to some friends just recently and I said to them that there’s really nothing I don’t like about being here. The food is great, the people are great, the church is great, and the ministry is great. God has been abundantly generous and loving to me, which still takes me by surprise. And I like that it does.

Up until now, life is pretty much the same from one day to the next. Monday to Friday I attend uni from 9am to 4pm, then head home, sometimes have a nap, do some study, have dinner, check e-mails, read and research, more study, and then bed. Saturday mornings I join and sometimes lead a small group at the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC), and by midday I’m back home. I usually spend the day doing house stuff, maybe a bit of reading and a bit of study. Sundays is church at ERC in the mornings. I preach the first Sunday of every month which has been really good. I have lunch there with Thang Bwee and then it’s home for rest, reading, e-mails, study. Whatever takes my interest.

I haven’t had a lot of time or opportunity to get out of this routine, so I can’t tell you of any fantastic places I’ve been. I’m planning to take some days during this break to go and see some new things, but I haven’t figured out what yet.

February saw Peter Barber (Townsville PC) and his wife, along with Ralph, an elder from Mt Isa PC, visit for a teaching seminar at the Reformed Bible Institute (RBI), the Bible college of ERC. Minor Prophets and basic first aid were on the agenda, and by all reports it went very well. The ministers who came down from Chin State for the seminar have since returned and are now training their leaders and members. And that’s exactly the way it should work. Train the locals who can train other locals.

Just as my semester is over, so is the academic year for the Bible colleges. What usually happens is that most of the students will take the next 2 to 3 months and return home to family in Chin State, while a few will stay behind and be involved in evangelism and other local ministries. This time though, all of the students have gone home to family with only one staying behind to look after the RBI campus. The Dean of students and the Warden of the college have also headed back to Chin State, but for them it’s a few weeks of teaching at various locations, and then back to Yangon to assist with running the Church while Thang Bwee’s away.

[UPDATE, Wed. Apr 20th: Nelly's visa was not approved by the Australian Embassy here in Yangon so Thang Bwee, with the support and encouragement of Mission Partners, has decided to remain in Myanmar and travel to Australia around the same time next year, Lord willing.]

For those that aren’t aware, Thang Bwee, Nelly, and their daughter Vesta have been invited to Australia for 6 weeks which was due to begin about now (late March). There have been a few ‘hiccups’ with getting their visa and they wait patiently for the all-clear, which they expect will come any day now. If you’re keen to know where they’ll be so you can catch up with them, please contact Mission Partners’ office during business hours on 02 9792 1373.

During my five minutes of contemplation and naval-gazing before putting pen to paper (or, more accurately, fingers to keyboard) I was trying to figure out what would make the difference between existing in Myanmar and impacting Myanmar. Let me draw this out a little as question-time follows. I’m a Christian living in Myanmar (not that it matters where I live, really) and it’s easy to just get into the flow of life and go from one day to the next, attending meetings or classes, talking to this one and that one, but it occurred to me that it would be quite easy to simply ‘exist’ somewhere and not actually be making a difference. And how badly does Satan want us to be living like that!? So then I got to thinking. I can’t be sent as a missionary fully supported and prayed for and be just another Joe Sweatsock going here and there, doing this and that. I want to ‘impact’ Myanmar, not just ‘exist’ in it for the next 3 or 4 decades. I thought through the obvious ones, preaching and teaching diligently, discipling others, and of course I want to evangelise as soon as I can actually talk to them in a language they understand, but is that enough to change an existence into an impactence (I like to make up words). Not only do I want to stand before the Lord and give an account of a life that I’m not totally ashamed of, but I want to look back in my old age (God willing) and have few regrets about how I spent my time, and see that I have actually made an impact. So here’s the question. If, in many years, you could look back over my time here, what would you like to say was achieved and done? What do you think makes the difference between existing and impacting? (Please know that I’m not hoping for the praise of man in the years to come, but that people might praise God for moving and loving and saving and sanctifying a people for himself. I just want to do my part the best I can so that can come about, if it’s his will.) I’d really like to hear from you guys on this one, so please contact me with your thoughts.

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So I’m on this break from uni, which incidentally is for 2 months, but I’ve got a lot to do. While my classmates return to their respective countries (Vietnam, India, and China) I’ll be head-down-tail-up most of the time. I’d appreciate your prayers to get through all that needs doing. Apart from the language revision, I have 4 sermons and 3 seminar lectures (about 36 teaching hours each) to write. For the lectures I have to read through about 6 books cover to cover and skim through another 8 or so, and though I like reading, I’m not the fastest. I’m looking forward to it and I don’t see it as a burden, but it’ll require some discipline and a lot of my brain. So please pray that I’ll have clarity of mind and few distractions.

So with that said, I’d best be off. Thank you for your continued support and prayers, and feel free to e-mail me or contact me any time. A special thanks to those who have touched base recently. I love it.

News & Events

• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck a sparsely populated mountain area in the Golden Triangle region of northeastern Myanmar on Thursday, with tremors being felt over a wide radius. News agencies reported Friday that as many as 50 people had been killed [Edit (Apr 5th): Official estimations now say 73 people were killed and 125 others injuring. A total of 225 residential houses, 11 monasteries and 9 government department buildings were also officially reported to have been destroyed]. No folks known to the partner churches in Yangon or Chin State were affected.

• Myanmar will celebrate Thingyan (pronounced thejan), also known as the Water Festival, for about 5 days starting April 13th. Thingyan is part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the new year (April 17th). Celebrations have strayed a bit from tradition with an overindulgence in alcohol consumption by many, however water is still sprayed, thrown, and poured around liberally during the festival. Here’s a page of pictures that’ll give you a feel for the festivities (courtesty of ayeyarwady.com).

• The Reformed Bible Institute and Grace Bible Seminary are currently in recess as the 2010/11 academic year has ended. All students from both Bible colleges have returned to Chin State to spend time with family before returning again late May.

• During Peter Barber’s visit, RBI held a graduation ceremony for 9 of its students. Some of these students had completed their studies in the 2009/10 academic year, but as the graduation ceremony doesn’t occur every year, they had to wait until this time to receive their degrees. Traditionally, during a ceremony like this it is very rare for the students to display any emotion, so often they appear quite stern-faced, even when being presented with their awards. However, after the ceremony there were smiles from ear to ear, and quite a celebration was had by all.

Things to Pray for

For me:

• Praise God his loving-kindness and generosity. Thank him that I’m so ‘at home’ here.

• And praise God that I’m learning the Myanmar language. Many of you have been praying diligently for me and I can assure you it’s working. I’ve been able to learn and retain more in the last week than I have in the last 3 months. This is fantastic! Please keep praying though, I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

• Have been having trouble sleeping, either only sleeping for a few hours, or not being able to get to sleep until 5 or 6am. Just a few days ago (March 29th) I think I found the culprit – MSG – (but I need to test this theory more). Please pray that whatever is the cause it would stop. I’m tired and would like to stop feeling like a zombie most days.

For ERC:

• Praise God for the graduation of 9 students in February.

• Praise God for the purchase of land for the church plant at Tada Township. Construction of a simple building for the minister to live in and the congregation to meet in (same building) is hoped to start soon.

• And please pray for that minister of the Tada Township church plant, Mr Mor Dan, who is working tirelessly in evangelism and church planting for the Lord in that place. Please ask the Lord to strengthen him, to give him wisdom and knowledge, and to be diligent in all he does, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord (Cf. Col. 1:10).

• For the ministries of recently graduated students of RBI – Than Tun, Paul, Samuel, Aung Htaik, Sein Bay, Joshua, Isaac, and Than Htay.

• For the education of Thang Bwee’s children and for new sufficient accommodation (larger apartment) for the family of 5.

For FRCM:

• Praise God for His providential gifts that they eat and drink every day.

• And praise God especially for the partnership with Mission Partners, and for their great help with purchasing a plot of land with a small house which is now used for the church building of FRCM and the residence of GBS.

• Please pray that God would provide the needed funds for the daily needs (food, water, etc.) of the FRCM community.

• That the FRCM congregation might be edified and grow strong in the Lord and his Word.

• For the funds to complete the church building and to equip it with the usual – cupboards, kitchen ware, tables, chairs, etc.

For some of the more regular prayer items, feel free to ask me for a Prayer Calendar. You might also like to visit this months “Prayer Points” page.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter; any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Remember too, if you’d like any Mission Information Sheets, Prayer Calendars, or to get in contact if you’re not near your e-mail, you can do so by using the Contact Martin page.

And finally, if there are any acronyms or initialisms used in this newsletter that you’re not familiar with, have a look at pages like “The Work” and “The Workers” and you’ll find the info you need.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

• For his loving-kindness and generosity. Thank him that I’m so ‘at home’ here.
• For continued good health (in all other areas apart from sleep, see below).
• And praise God that I’m learning the Myanmar language. Many of you have been praying diligently for me and I can assure you it’s working. I’ve been able to learn and retain more in the last week than I have in the last 3 months. This is fantastic! Please keep praying though, I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

Petition:

• That I would continue to learn the language and that it would become easier. And that I would remember long-term all that I’m revising.
• For the sermon and lecture prep I have to do in April and May (See the April newsletter for details).
• Have been having trouble sleeping. Either only sleeping for a few hours, or not being able to get to sleep until 5 or 6am. Just a few days ago (March 29th) I think I found the culprit – MSG – (but I need to test this theory more). Please pray that whatever is the cause it would stop. I’m tired and would like to stop feeling like a zombie most days.
• And probably most important of all, please pray, as Paul did for the Colossians (Col. 1:9-12) …
  • “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.“

ERC (Evangelical Reformed Church / Thang Bwee’s church)
Thanksgiving:

• For the graduation of 9 students in February.
• For the purchase of land for the church plant at Tada Township. Construction of a simple building for the minister to live in and the congregation to meet in (same building) is hoped to start soon.
• For an encouraging and fruitful teaching seminar on the minor prophets, basic first aid, and prayer (3 separate subjects). Many ministers came down from Chin State and returned home very encouraged and well equipped to train their local leaders.
• Praise God again for the partnership between the Presbyterian Church of Australia and ERC. Because of this partnership the ministry of this Church has been able to expand and impact more lives. It has also allowed for many visiting teachers from Australia to come and teach, preach, and encourage. The body of believers here has been built up and equipped time and time again, thanks to the generosity of these folks, and the folks who support them financially and prayerfully.

Petition:

• For the minister of the Tada Township church plant, Mr Mor Dan, who is working tirelessly in evangelism and church planting for the Lord in that place. Please ask the Lord to strengthen him, to give him wisdom and knowledge, and to be diligent in all he does, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord (Cf. Col. 1:10).
• For the ministries of recently graduated students of RBI – Than Tun, Paul, Samuel, Aung Htaik, Sein Bay, Joshua, Isaac, and Than Htay.
• For the coming academic study year (2011-12) of RBI.
• For the education of Thang Bwee’s children and for new sufficient accommodation (larger apartment) for the family of 5.
• For the safety of the supplementary resources of the ministry and the family (paddy farming and animal husbandry).
• I mentioned little Lazarus in previous prayer letters. He suffers with a type of Cerebral Palsy called Athetoid due to a problem that occurred shortly after he was born. He’s a bright little guy and seemingly content. His mother and father look after him with a beautiful display of love and patience, and his brothers and sister dote over him too, playing with him, cuddling him, and kissing him. Life for Lazarus will be difficult in this country, and opportunities for him to experience an almost normal life virtually zero. Unless things change, he will not receive an education or any sort of physio or physical assistance. In addition, his family live on the outskirts of a small town, down a narrow and bumpy road, so even with a wheelchair there would still be complications and limitations. So please pray as you are led on this one, and if you have any advice we’d be more than happy to hear from you. You can use the Contact Martin page if you don’t have my personal e-mail address.

FRCM (Free Reformed Church of Myanmar / James’ church)
Thanksgiving:

• For God’s grace. James writes, “We enjoy the life of FRCM and GBS. We thank God for His helping us up to this day with every blessing we need.”*
• For His providential gifts that they eat and drink every day.*
• For His protection from various kinds of temptation.*
• Especially for the partnership with Mission Partners, and for their great help with purchasing a plot of land with a small house which is now used for the church building of FRCM and the residence of GBS.*

Petition:

• That all believers attending FRCM would grow spiritually and have good health.*
• For the extension of FRCM’s mission fields and the many things which are needed to do this work.*
• For the Holy Spirit’s guidance and that the lost souls would be saved by their ministry.*
• That God would provide the needed funds for the daily needs (food, water, etc.) of the FRCM community.
• That the FRCM congregation might be edified and grow strong in the Lord and his Word.
• For the funds to complete the church building and to equip it with the usual – cupboards, kitchen ware, tables, chairs, etc.
• For financial sponsorship of all the Grace Bible Seminary students (GBS is FRCMs’ Bible college, find out a little more here).
• For finances for Pastor Samuel’s mission field. Pastor Samuel is a recent addition to the leadership and outreach team of FRCM.
• Another dwelling is needed for the recently purchased property at FRCM. Again, prayers for finances please.
• For all the teachers and students of GBS – their health, their learning, and their support.*

View all posts ‘For Prayer’

* Thanksgiving and petition items with an asterisk indicate an ongoing prayer point, that is, one that was listed in a previous prayer letter.

First Month on the Job

This last month in Myanmar has felt quite busy. Here’s a quick run-down on what I’ve been up to.

I arrived early on Tuesday, December 7th and after a day of rest I went with Thang Bwee to the university to advise them that I’d arrived and to find out the details of my classes. Though they had already started a week before, I would begin my first class on the following Monday.

Thang Bwee began the process of contacting some real estate agencies to see what was available in the area for me to rent. He found 2 possibilities, one which was quite dark and had no bathroom fittings, and though it was within walking distance of the church, it was at an intersection in a very high traffic area. The pink walls, cement floor, no windows, and squat toilet added to the “uniqueness” of this dwelling. However, we wanted to see both before deciding and so we went to visit the second place. Within moments of walking through the door we were delighted, and quickly forgot the first place.

Keeping in mind that I was looking for a suitable place to use for teaching if required (both English and Bible classes), and somewhere with at least one spare room for both foreign and local guests to stay if they wanted to, the second place was a no-brainer. It had just what I was looking for, and though not in walking distance of the church (well, not short walking distance), it was still close enough to make visiting an easy option. So we advised the real estate that we’d take the place, and within a few days the papers were signed and 12 months’ rent paid up front. I know, sounds scary, but at USD$310 per month, it wasn’t so bad, and we had budgeted for, and I’d brought with me enough to cover, this expense.

Here are some photos of the place so you can get excited too …

[ click the photo to view a larger version in a new tab ]

So now that you see how good it is, you can join me in a bubble bursting extravaganza (and I’m not talking about that always-fun bubble-wrap kind of bursting either).

After finding and securing an apartment, the foreigner is then to approach the local authorities to advise them of where they’ll be living. The local authorities will then sign off on said dwelling, and provide any extra information pertaining to the foreigners conditions of residency. Those conditions (pins at the ready?) were that I could not have anyone stay overnight, either foreigners or locals, and I would not be allowed to use the place for teaching. In addition, if I were to have people visit during the day, either foreigners or locals, it would be advisable that the number not exceed 10 people. Now I know some of you are probably thinking, “Why didn’t you find this out first?” Well, we asked, but until one has secured a place, this information is not available. Hypotheticals don’t work well here at the best of times, but getting anything to suggest that we would encounter these sorts of roadblocks simply wasn’t available. We haven’t lost hope completely though, as we’re hoping for some favour from the authorities which will allow us to at least have some training here. Please pray with us about this. Should nothing change, then I’ll be downsizing considerably at the end of the year. Until then, I have a living room suitable for indoor soccer or cricket, so if you’re planning to visit let me know which you prefer. But sorry, you’ll have to leave when the sun goes down.

Along with securing the apartment came a flurry of shopping to kit the place out. I managed to pick up a few bargains as it was a good time of year to shop. The fridge came with a free microwave and many of the other smaller items were discounted due to the silly festive season. This has been very helpful, actually, as the US dollar is weakening by the day here and so our exchange rate has been a lot lower that we budgetted for (about 20% lower). Thanks to these specials though, the lower priced, larger-ticket items have helped keep me within my budget.

Around all of this I’ve been learning the language. Classes begin at 9am and finish at 2:30pm, and this is Monday to Friday. I have a speaking teacher, a grammar teacher, an economic terms teacher, a writing teacher, and none of us are really sure what the fifth teacher is, as she doesn’t speak English and talks in Myanmar at a hundred miles an hour. Today she revised some of the vowel sounds, of which there are dozens, tomorrow it could be something completely different. In keeping with tradition I’m struggling to keep up. In 5 weeks they’ve taught us about 120 words of vocab, and this after teaching us the 200 (probably more, I’ve lost count) consonant and vowel sounds. I’ve pretty much been in overload for the last 2 weeks, and have been discouraged a few times at how much I don’t know. A few of the other students are doing really well, but I’m a definite stand-out, only for the wrong reasons. The other students are: 2 from China, 7 from Vietnam, and 1 each from Malaysia, and India. Add me to the mix and there are 13 of us. Please pray that I might be able to catch up and then keep up. I’m drowning in words at the moment.

I’ve preached on 2 Sundays since arriving, and am down to preach the first Sunday of every month. I enjoy this very much, and have covered the first 10 verses of 2 Cor. 5. On the first Sunday of Feb I’m planning to finish off 2 Cor. 5, and then I’m not sure what I’ll do for March. You could please pray for ears to hear what the Lord wants me to preach each month. Thang Bwee thinks it better that I preach on topics rather than through a book as there are many weeks between each of my sermons. I agree, but as a relative newcomer to preaching that can make it a challenge to come up with something new, meaningful, different, and relevant each time.

So like I said, it has seemed quite busy this last month. I guess it’s more that there’s been so many things to do rather than actually busy. E-mailing has proved to be a challenge too. There were a few weeks where I didn’t have reliable Internet, so my Inbox had more unread messages than it’s seen in years. Then, when I did have more reliable Internet it took me ages to reply to everyone. I was really grateful for the contact though, so please keep them coming. I now have Internet at home, and although the speed is like dial-up most of the time it’s good to have it on tap whenever I need it.

I’d better finish up here. Maybe one day my newsletters won’t be so lengthy. I get news from others who manage to keep it to a page, but it seems I’ve not acquired that ‘gift’ yet.

News & Events

• Aung Sang Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on November 13th. There was a lot of cheering and celebration, and it went off without incident. Since her release she has been busy, but out of the spotlight.

• RBI and GBS will break at the end of this month. February marks the end of the academic year here, and so most of the students will return to family in Chin state, whilst some will stay on to look after ministries around Yangon. The next academic year begins in June.

• Rev. Peter Barber from Townsville PC and 2 other folks from QLD pressie churches will be arriving on February 8th for a few weeks of teaching at a special seminar organised by ERC. Many ministers from Chin state will be attending thanks to the generous support of Mission Partners.

• Thang Bwee, his wife Nelly, and their daughter Vesta look set to head to Australia during April and May this year. Many things still to arrange, so I’ll keep you posted.

Things to Pray for

• Praise God for health. I had a bout of fever and a bout of ‘loose movements’ during my first couple of weeks but I’ve enjoyed good health since.

• Praise God that the culture hasn’t shocked me and that I’m enjoying all that is my new home.

• And to mention again those items listed in the main body
  • Praise God for some great bargains whilst shopping (which has helped keep me within the budget),
  • please pray for favour with the local authorities,
  • pray also that I might catch up and keep up with my language learning,
  • and that the Lord would guide me and that I’d hear him regarding what to preach each month.

For some of the more regular prayer items feel free to ask me for a Prayer Calendar or download one from this page.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter; any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Remember too, if you’d like any Ministry Information Sheets, Prayer Calendars, or to get in contact if you’re not near your e-mail, you can do so by using the Contact Martin page

And finally, if there are any acronyms or initialisms used in this newsletter that you’re not familiar with, have a look at pages like “The Work” and “The Workers” and you’ll find the info you need.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar

It started like any other day of late, with some breaky followed by a few hours of TESOL, but this time it would be different. I’m happy to say that Nov 27th saw me finish my TESOL course work completely! Though I still have an exam to sit, and I don’t know exactly when that’ll be, I have completed all the modules, essays, and projects which make up the course. Praise God!!

For those who’ve been walking this TESOL saga journey with me and diligently praying for me, thank you, and bless you for suffering long with me over the past few years. I’ve been upheld by your prayers and have only made it by the grace of God.

Another, equally exciting thing happened on November 27th. The Myanmar embassy in Canberra called to advise that my visa had been approved by the authorities in Yangon, and that I should send my passport, forms, and money to them to get it all finalised.

So the Eagle is all clear for take off, and God willing I’ll be on a 4:30pm Thai Airways flight out of Sydney on Monday, December 6th, arriving in Myanmar on December 7th, ready to begin my language learning at the university the next day! I imagine that it’s going to take me a few weeks to settle in and find a permanent place to live (I’ll be in a hotel for the first week or so), but as soon as is practicable I’ll be sending out a newsletter with some photos of my new beginnings in Yangon.

Grace, peace, and blessings,

Martin

I’ve just finished typing this up and it’s a doosy (meaning it’s quite long). So I’d suggest you grab a cuppa … or two. I know I did.

I’m still in Australia … but not for long, I hope

Yep, I’m still in Australia. Can you believe it? It’s almost 5 weeks since I thought I’d be landing in Yangon but as yet I still don’t have my visa. But that’s ok. I worship a sovereign God whose timing is perfect so I’m completely content and ready to go when it’s the right time. But more on that later.

What have I been up to since the June newsletter? Quite a bit actually, let me walk you through it.

Yangon: Young lad selling flowers at night for income

The day after I wrote the last newsletter, back in late June, I drove to Belgrave Heights, just outside of Melbourne, Victoria, to take part in a 3 week Transition Training course run by Missions Interlink. I’m sworn to secrecy re the details about what goes on, but essentially they walk us through various aspects of transitioning from one culture to another. Check out the link if you’d like to know a little more. I met some terrific people there and made some new friends, all of whom are on, or heading to, the mission field in various parts of the world. For the most part the training was beneficial and I’m glad I had the chance to experience and think through some of the issues I’ll face in a new culture.

After Transition Training I stopped off on my way home to spend a week with Paul and May Lynn Reilly in Broadford, Victoria. For those who don’t know, Paul, Rev Norman Shellard and I went to Myanmar in 2006 and we had a terrific time of ministry, encouragement, and fellowship, not just with our Burmese brothers and sisters, but between the 3 of us. Every trip I’ve had to Myanmar has been a real blessing, but that year seemed extra special. So it was good to spend time with him again, and with his Burmese wife and their son who’s just over a year old. It was a good week of relaxation and a regeneration of the batteries, which was quite timely considering what was to come.

After spending a week at home (in Newcastle) I drove to sunny Queensland for the start of 7 weeks of deputation. Deputation, for the uninitiated, is basically visiting various churches and small groups and sharing with them about the work the Lord is doing in Myanmar. More often than not it involves a slide show of various Myanmar pictures with me explaining along the way. At the end the group is encouraged to support the work prayerfully and, if possible, financially.

I won’t mention all the places I went to but it started off with the Presbyterian churches at Scarborough and Woody Point (Moreton Bar area, about half way between the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast). From there I stayed in Morayfield with John and Lyn Tucker (and Suzie, the dog) who were absolutely wonderful hosts. They let me use their home as a base for a few weeks and it really felt like home during that time. I visited numerous churches and groups in the Sunshine Coast area as well as some around Brisbane, and did a trip to Gayndah and back to share with the Pressies out there (about 300km west).

Worship service at RBI campus

I was to visit Toowoomba and Cooparoo, but I went and hurt my back really badly whilst playing with Suzie. I spun around quickly without moving my feet accordingly and felt a sharp pain in my lower back. I went inside and lay down but I knew I’d done something serious. I ended up sitting in a recliner for the next 4 days just resting my back. Everything was agony. Sitting in a normal chair, lying in bed, standing, and everything else in between. The recliner was the only place I got any real relief. So again, the Tuckers were very understanding and accommodating during this time. For a couple of days I thought I’d have to call off the rest of the deputation trip, of which I still had 4 weeks and numerous visits remaining, but the day before I was to fly north to Townsville I was feeling ‘well enough’ to press on. God’s healing hand was at work, and within a week after arriving in Townsville my back felt about 90% better.

To cut an already long story short, I travelled about 3000km whilst up in North QLD, as far north as Cairns, and as far south as Monto (almost back to the Sunshine Coast), before returning to Townsville. Essentially a round trip from one end to the other and then back again. It was a great trip and I met so many warm and friendly people from all walks of life. What an amazing family we are, eh?

After all that, I flew back to Morayfield to pick up my car (stayed another night with the Tuckers, thank you both so much!) and then headed home to Newcastle via Tamworth one day, and Nambucca Heads the next. Again, great people, not least of whom were the Turners in Tamworth. What a wonderful family, and Carrie, the mum, has been a terrific support, encourager, and advocate for the work in Myanmar for years. It was great to see the Tamworthians again and to be encouraged by their corporate enthusiasm.

Martin's Commissioning service September 26th 2010

So with 6000 kms of driving behind me I was home for a couple of days before heading to Sydney for my farewell/celebration dinner and commissioning service on the 25th and 26th of September. The dinner was great and I was both surprised and really chuffed to see so many friends and well-wishers. My commissioning service the following day was truly a significant event in my life. My immediate family were there and many others came to stand with me in this important work. Norman Shellard, whom I mentioned earlier, was there and he prayed a very nice and meaningful prayer over me. Bill Lutton, the current director of Mission Partners and the man who’s supported, encouraged, loved, facilitated, and motivated me along this 6 year journey led the commissioning part of the service. Peter Barnes, my minister, preached one of the best sermons I’ve heard, and together, these men, the elders, and significant others from supporting committees and the like surrounded me for the laying on of hands. It was an amazing experience and blessing, and very moving for me and my family, who’ve walked this and other journeys with me unwaveringly. I now feel, quite profoundly and significantly, the weight of responsibility that has been placed upon me by the Presbyterian Church of Australia for the work we’re about to do.

Now I say “about to do”, but since my commissioning service, and with the exception of a week in Mandurah, WA, with family, I’ve felt a little like I’m treading water waiting for the all-clear from the Myanmar embassy in Canberra. I did expect, and would have told many of you reading this, that I would leave sometime mid-October. I’ve amended that a couple of times to the end of October, but here we are in the second week of November and still nothing. But it really is all ok. Though I might sound frustrated, I’m not at all. Sure, I’d like to have been there by now, but I don’t want to do anything outside of the Lord’s timing and plans (as if I could anyway) and I don’t want to grumble against them either. When he’s ready, I’ll go. Until then, even if ambiguity abounds, it’s all good.

Studying TESOL

It’s not like I’ve been bored or idle either. Not at all. I’ve been filling my time with the occasional activity and/or trip to Sydney, but most days I’ve been chipping away at the remaining correspondence study for my TESOL qualification. Though I’m not done yet I’m so close I can smell it. What with the continuing delays getting a visa, it looks like it’ll all be done by the end of next week (except maybe for a final exam). For those who’ve been following my TESOL progress and praying for what has seemed like forever, we’re almost done! How good is that? I’d like to take a sec to thank some people for helping get me over the line. Two TESOL experts in particular – Barbara Geddes, the wife of Jonathan, one of SMBC’s best lecturers and disciplers, has helped greatly with some lesson plan ideas, and most recently Judy Rowlands, whose e-mail signature says “ESL Ministry Co-ordinator, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Ministry & Missions, Presbyterian Church in NSW,” has been helping me work through all aspects of lesson planning, writing instructional objectives and teaching practice preparation. Her and I still have a bit of work to do, but as I said, I’m almost there!!! So a HUGE thanks to these two wonderful ladies.

I should wrap this up shouldn’t I? I imagine your cuppa’s probably long empty.

Here’s how I think the next month will go. Myanmar held elections on Nov 7th, and I think/speculate that all the activity over there has contributed to the visa delay. Now that they’re all finished and things are settling back to normal (that’s Myanmar ‘normal’) I expect the authorities in Yangon will tell the embassy in Canberra that they can issue folks like me with a visa now. So I expect I’ll get a call early next week, send my passport, as usual, to Canberra to have the visa inserted and the appropriate stamp applied, and once that’s returned to me I’ll book a flight, pack my bags and be off. If all goes according to my estimates I should be away some time around December 1st, give or take a week. Once in country I’ll be spending a week or so in a hotel whilst I try to find a suitable long-term residence. Once I’ve found that, I’ll be shopping like a spendthrift on speed getting the place set up with furniture, kitchenware, and the like. I should have about 3 days to get all that sorted before I begin a 12 month course at the Yangon University of Foreign Languages studying Proficiency-level Burmese. I expect December to be quite crazy.

I really should stop now, but I plan to get another newsletter out in about 6 weeks, once I’ve moved into my new place. I’ll take some photos and let you know how it all went. Please keep praying, and thanks for hanging in there and reading to the end. I hope you enjoyed the catch-up.

News & Events

• Burmese Elections took place on November 7th and the Union Solidarity Development Party (UNDP) has announced a landslide victory. You can read many stories about it at Google News.
• Aung Sang Suu Kyi is due to be released from house arrest on November 13th.
• ERC and FRCM continue their ministries, evangelism, worship, and outreach unhindered.

Things to Pray for

For me:

• Praise God for an uplifting, encouraging, and fruitful time of deputation through Queensland, Tamworth, and Nambucca Heads
• In answer to our prayers, financial pledges have been coming in now for many months and my support has now reached 100% of what’s required. This is such a blessing and indeed praiseworthy.
• And praise God for his healing and restorative power over my lower back injury. I experience no side-effects from the injury.
• Pray that I’ll transition well into a new culture.
• For safe travel.
• To quickly build good relationships with folks in the ERC congregation.

Harvesting Rice

• For second semester study of RBI students and lecturers.
• Pray for the farm that God will bless the harvesting of rice and they would be able to meet all the needs associated with this work.
• For the booklet translation work being done by Thang Bwee.
• For Thang Bwee’s father to maintain good health (he is more than 90 yrs old). Sadly, at 7:15am (AEDST) on November 16th, Thang Bwee’s father passed away. Please pray that the Lord would comfort them all at this time.
• For little Lazarus who is in need of good health as he suffers with a type of Cerebral Palsy called Athetoid (more details about Lazarus will come in later prayer letters).
• Pray for Rev Dr T. Bwee who is fully engaging with teaching and pastoral ministries.

For FRCM:

• Praise God for his grace. James writes, “We enjoy the life of FRCM and GBS. We thank God for His helping us up to this day with every blessing we need.”
• Praise also for His providential gifts that they eat and drink every day.
• And praise God for guiding and sending Pastor Bawi Ling (Samuel) to the mission field.
• Pray that all believers attending the FRCM would grow spiritually and have good health.
• For the extension of FRCM’s mission fields and the many things which are needed to do this work.
• That God would provide the needed funds for the completion of the FRCM church building.
• For the process of digging a well for drinking water at the new church/house.

For more prayer items please visit this month’s Prayer Points page.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter; any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Remember too, if you’d like any Ministry Information Sheets or Prayer Calendars please just let me know by using the Contact Martin page.

Grace be with you,

Martin
http://matt2819.com/myanmar