I want to give an update on the mission in Myanmar. I also want to say than you to the supporters of us through Exodus Global Ministries (EGM). This mission is being funded 100% through EGM. Below is an outline of what is included in this newsletter.
Work, New Builds, New Equipment, at the School Property
Purchased:
Desks, lights, fans, inverter and battery, chairs, ceiling, flags, plastic walls (rain), and fence
Built gym (about $7k)
Need mats
Equipment was donated
More equipment being shipped
Currently building a wall/ fence (around $12k) around the school to protect the children from dangers and the school and workout equipment from thieves
Teaching at the School Property
Admin training
Dedication ceremony, first workout
First week of school completed
House Church
Nevin, James, Ben, ANC kids
Preaching
Various gatherings, witnessing, gospel tracts
Zion Children’s Home
13 children added to school, 2 ABCs teachers, divine connection, story of kids walking 2 weeks through jungle.
Miscellaneous
Burmese lessons
Reading, writing, speaking,
Visa
Thailand, extensions
Fruit from Florida Bible Studies
Aung La, Ian and Tom, Jesus, Logan, Nick
Purchases, Work, and New Builds at the School Property
A ton of work has been completed to get the school up and running. We had already purchased desks for the school before we came, but we had to install lights on every desk. We also purchased 4 oscillating fans to make it bearable in the heat. Also, there is no electricity for most daylight hours here, so we purchased a battery and inverter so the fans and lights will work even when there is no power (as long as the battery is able to charge for a couple hours at night). We purchased 60 chairs and clear tarps that roll up for the gym to keep out the rain.
One of the biggest things we did was build a 42 ft. By 42 ft. gymnasium (pictured here). This was definitely an experience for me. I learned a lot and look forward to doing more things like this. Amazingly, we were able to construct it for right about $7,000 USD. We still need mats, but we are doing daily workouts there. The kids love it (and so do I and the other leaders too)! One friend here who owns a gym in Yangon donated about 500 kg. (1,100 lbs.) of dumbbells. Also, Fairtex kickboxing equipment in Thailand gave us a heavy bag and 3 pairs of Thai mitts/ pads for the gym. Our pallet from America should arrive next week which has about 12 sets of kickboxing pads and boxing mitts that I had saved from a sponsorship years ago (for just such an occasion). Once we get the mats purchased and installed, the gym will have everything we need.
Because of the children on the property, and because of the school’s supplies and equipment, we decided to invest in a better fence/ wall with barbed wire at the top. We started building this two weeks ago. When we were building the gym, some of the older boys would sleep at the school property. This is because they were worried thieves would come and steal the metal at night. Now we have more expensive things, and the economy is even worse here because of the war, the political situation, and the weakening of Myanmar currency. We will be looking into getting a night security guard.
Teaching at the School Property
Tessa and I completed the School of Tomorrow’s administrator’s training. We both learned how to run a “School of Tomorrow” using the Accelerated Christian Curriculum (ACE). I have to say, that I agree 100% when it comes to the ACE philosophy. This is something that I will write more about in later newsletter. Basically, the curriculum has a biblical philosophy in every subject. In education, there is no “neutral.” There is either biblical teaching unto God’s glory, or there is secular humanism. Mathematics is not neutral. Math is logical because God is logical. Science is definitely not neutral. Studying creation from a biblical viewpoint puts awe, wonder, and praise in our hearts for our amazing Creator. Starting with God’s word when studying the creation strengthens our faith when we learn that Science confirms a young earth, a global flood, and the creation of different “kinds” of animals (ie. not Darwinian evolution). Like I said, I would love to share what the Bible says about education another time…
On Saturday, 6/22 we had the school dedication. This was at least the second time the property was prayed over. Before we purchased the property, the house was Buddhist owned and had an area for idol worship. When we were building the gym, some of the workers testified of hearing music and other sounds, feeling someone touching them, and seeing ghosts. One account was a young Christian man who saw a dark shadow of a woman sitting where the idols used to sit. Tessa, MayMay, and I prayed over the area when we heard this. Then at the dedication, about 80 of us prayed together over the gym, the school building, and the entire property. I read Psalm 127 and gave a short devotion. Verse 1 says, ‘… Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” My prayer has been that God does the work, not by our strength or knowledge or skill, but by the Holy Spirit! May we not build our own kingdom, but may God build the Kingdom of God through us.
The gym is where we have been meeting every morning at 7:30 AM. We pray, sing the weekly hymn, talk about the history of the hymn and its author, recite the weekly Bible passage together, and then I teach on the weekly passage every day of that week. This passage is also the children’s Bible memory for that week. Week one was Genesis 1:1-5 and this week is Psalm 1. About 1/3 of the children recited the passage on the second day. Then we do the workout and have a snack before the academic work starts at 9:00 AM. Because our shipment was delayed, we have been teaching English to get them ready for the ACE curriculum. The school is English medium so the students are required to speak only English during school hours on the property.
When the curriculum arrives, we will teach 39 children in the school house, and another 13 children in the ABC’s for English Learners program in another building. Now we have 52 students! You can read the story about how we got the students under the “Zion Children’s Home” heading below. Tessa and I trained James and his wife, Khine Khine, on how to do the ABC’s program. We also have 4 more class monitors in to help with the curriculum and ABC’s. We have a total of 8 supervisors/ monitors to lead the children through the curriculum. Please pray for us that the shipment comes with everything we sent.
House Church
When we came here to Myanmar, it was already apparent to us that the Lord had gone before us. We were not surprised that God miraculously connected us with other English speaking believers with similar visions and callings from God. Our Saturday house church gathering is one such divine connections. Nevin is married to a woman of Myanmar named Cherry. They have a children’s home, and Nevin is the representative of 9 children’s homes here for an organization called SAFE. We started meeting for weekly gatherings since we first came.
The house church gathering has been wonderful blessing to our ministry. First, the fellowship has been amazing. We met James and Khine Khine (our ABC’s teachers) who lead Zion Children’s Home. Years ago, they started a christian school using the ACE curriculum, but the government shut down their plan. It is definitely a divine connection! We initially planned for 39 children, but believe it is God’s will for us to include their children too. Their 13 children will attend our school, EIA, which now has 52 students. We also met Ben and Bettina, another mixed American/ Myanmar couple working with Children’s Homes. We have also had several of the older children from next door attend our weekly gathering.
Secondly, the house church gathering has been a blessing to us because God has been speaking through His word and the Holy Spirit has been speaking through all of us every time in amazing ways. God has brought repentance, given encouragement, and built up our faith in these gatherings. I am so thankful for these days. Even on days when I am teaching (we have 4 teachers currently), I feel a burden lifted and I feel encouraged for the next week of serving. There have been so many difficult things and disappointments, but God encourages us always and many times, he has been using the house gatherings to do it. Since 2018, I have been a big believer in the house church model. I recently watched a message from one of our sending church pastors, Rob Bray. He does such a good job explaining it. You can the message at this link: https://youtu.be/aNawEj2upnM.
Zion Children’s Home
I met James through Nevin and the house church. We got to talk a lot when we spent all day getting a drivers license for me (what an adventure it was: car accident, thievery, bribes, and finally, success). Anyway, I learned the hardships he and his children have been through. They are internally displaced persons (IDPs). Because of the war, they have had to leave their homelands and move to Hmawbi for their safety. They have 13 children in their home. Two of their children just arrived two 3 weeks ago as IDPs. I will share one of their stories.
I met one of the young men from James’ home the day I taught at his church. I could see by his face that he has had a tough life. His family had moved to a refugee (IDP) camp in Yangon 3 years ago because of the war. Then his father died from stomach cancer because he drank and smoked his whole life. They couldn’t survive in the refugee camp anymore, so they returned to their village in the Rakhine state. Recently, the Myanmar Military blocked all roads and flights, so the people were trapped. The military started shooting the citizens, especially anyone trying to flee with material goods (so the people left all their belongings). This young man ran into the forest and found a group of young people, one of whom is also now the other new kid in James’ home (and now one of our students). They both had no money or possessions. They walked for two weeks through the jungle to come to Yangon! It amazes me when I see these two youths smiling at our school. I am thankful that God has us here to serve these precious young people. Each child in our school has a story of hardship and, thanks to Jesus, a story of redemption.
Miscellaneous
We have also had so many other things happening. I’ve had the honor to preach at several churches on Sundays in addition to our Saturday house church. We’ve been passing out Burmese language gospel tracts from Living Waters and one other publisher, and preaching the gospel to the neighbors, taxi drivers, and people at the markets. We went on a visa run to Thailand for a week and stayed with my good friend, Aung La Nsang and his family (see the heading below, “Fruit from Florida Bible Studies”). We’ve been applying for a 6-month extension (please pray: this has been a big obstacle for us). And to top it off, we’ve been learning Burmese through a teacher who comes to our house multiple times a week. Now we will also add Burmese classes twice a week at the school.
Fruit from Florida Bible Studies
I thought I would include this last bit to the newsletter as a praise and as an encouragement. As most of you know, my family and I spent 2020-2023 (a full 3 years) in Florida. I was training at Kill Cliff FC (fka. Sanford MMA). I also started a Bible study at the gym with a wrestler/ pastor, Steve Williams, whom I met the first week in Florida at the AirBnB we rented at the last minute. We also ended up meeting in our house on Saturday nights for house church. Then after a year and a half, I started what I called “242 Training” (re 2 Timothy 4:2) with about 15 guys. I had gone through seminary and wanted teach the men how to teach the Bible. It was about a one year program and we met every Wednesday online for 90 minutes. The first 6 months, we read Bible daily and commented on a group chat on the reading. The guys took notes on every chapter and wrote about the meaning and application of each passage/ chapter. It was about 7 chapters a day, and we would discuss weekly online. Then we went through 4 months of systematic theology, hermeneutics, expository teaching, and apologetics. The last 2 months the guys helped me with the Fighting For Truth podcast.
After these three years of meeting at the gym, training, meeting at our homes, fishing, meeting online, and being involved in every aspect of each other’s lives, God sent us to Myanmar, and it was the perfect timing. I want to highlight a few of these men and how they have stepped into the leadership roles that God has for them. There are more stories, and even more to come. The fruit of those three years will continue to be fruitful for the rest of our lives, I believe, because it was not me or Steve teaching those men. It was and is God the Holy Spirit.
First, There is Jesus Garcia. I met him after my first fight after 4 years of retirement. He was a spectator at the event and we talked beforehand. At the fight, I preached the gospel and he reached out to me through social media. He caught fire soon after and he was the first to step out and start another Bible study. He owns a gym and currently runs 2 studies there with two of the guys from 242 Training, Martin and Sean.
Aung La Nsang took over the study at the gym that Steve and I started. Aung recruited another elder, Dale Porchier. Aung has also encouraged several other qualified men from the gym to lead the study. He now has about five or six guys who can lead the study.
Ian and Tom both started a home Bible study together about the same time that Aung started leading. Ian was with us since we left Colorado. Tom was a newcomer to the Bible study at the gym who had been sitting under some heretical teaching with his former pastor. He was very combative about some of the truth in God’s word, but it’s because he wanted the truth and what I was teaching was different that what he believed. Tom and Ian were eventually both part of 242 Training, and now they are both bold heralds of the truth! Ian is currently praying about and moving forward to eventually start a Christian rehabilitation, recovery, and discipleship camp.
Logan Dorn was part of 242 Training for the first 6 months as we went through the Bible. He was living in Colorado and being discipled by my good friends, Micah and Rob. He became a full-time missionary and recently completed the evangelism boot camp with Christ For All Nations. He was preaching in Uganda on the street and in the crusades. Nick Weikel was also with us for the first 6 months. I just met him over in Thailand with Aung La. Nick is now a missionary in Bangkok with YWAM and has a rehabilitation and counseling ministry for men caught in the pornography and sex industry.
Like I said, there are more stories I would love to share, but I wanted to share this as an encouragement for me and for you. Even here, I have gotten very discouraged when things aren’t working the way I plan. Sometimes I see other ministries and I feel like what I do is meaningless. But God recently urged many of the guys from 242 Training to reach out to me and tell me how much their life has been changed because of God’s word and the time we spent together. Many times, I pray for revival and I picture everyone suddenly giving their lives to the Lord and repenting of their sins. When I look back at the three years in Florida, if all their lives were changed in one day, one week, or even one month, I would definitely identify it as revival. Yet, it took more than the three years. I’m not sure what to call it, but I can see the power of God working through it. I am just a farmer planting the seeds of God’s word and watering them. God gives the increase… and it’s still producing fruit! God is awesome!
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever!” (Isa. 40:8)
Comments