Sinclair-Peters In South East Asia
"Only ask me and I will give you the ends of the Nations"
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; Old things have passed away; Behold, all things have become new." 2 Cor. 5:17
Praise God! This past month we baptized 20 new Burmese Believers. 14 people in Thailand and 6 New Believers in Myanmar! "Hallelujah! What a Party!"
A SECRET AGENT WITH A SECRET PAST
Ah Ko Lei had a secret past that he NEVER talked about. A Ko Lei was forced to become a child soldier in Myanmar when he was only 12 years old. He lived in military camps until he was 24 years old when he eventually escaped. He fled to Thailand but without a passport or any legal documents, he found his anger and rage suited the job of a gun smuggler. For two years Ah Ko Lei worked on the border of Thailand and Myanmar in a brutal and illicit trade. He sold weapons to the very jungle fighters who tried to kill him when he was forced to serve in the Myanmar army .
A few years later, Ah Ko Lei escaped with his life and somehow made his way to a factory in Chonburi, Thailand. Without legal documents Ah Ko Lei was exploited by unscrupulous factory owners who paid him virtually nothing.
One day, Ah Ko Lei met Peter Maung Maung, our intern. Peter wasted no time sharing with Ah Ko Lei how the love and forgiveness of Father God had transformed his life. Ah Ko Lei was ready to hear more about Jesus. But suddenly he had to flee again to escape the police. He moved around for 2 years. Finally, he received legal documents through an amnesty program for illegal migrant workers. Then, miraculously, A Ko Lei got a high paying job in a factory that operates under Thai labour laws. A Ko Lei saved money and bought a motorcycle. Guess where he went on his first motorbike trip? He took his new motorbike to find Peter Maung Maung and the church in Bang Sai!
He drove for an hour, finally finding Peter. A Ko Lei was ecstatic! He asked, “Peter, can you please come to our factory this week in Ban Bueng and tell us about Jesus? I have many friends who want to hear you speak too. I have never forgotten what you told me. I want to know more about Jesus!”
Last week Ah Ko Lei and his wife were both baptized in the ocean near the Bang Sai Lighthouse church. Since the beginning of January, every Sunday morning Ah Ko Lei opens up his one room apartment to all his friends and neighbors and has “church” on the floor of his room.
Thank you Jesus for your Relentless Love for AhKo Lei. Thank you for delivering him from all his addictions! We see the leadership gifts and deep hunger this man has for you! We ask that the blood of Jesus would protect this new believer from all spiritual attack. We ask that you would help us to grow him up to KNOW YOU and be more like you, JESUS. We praise you for all that you are doing in Ban Bueng through this man's testimony. We ask that a strong and vibrant church would begin in this man's home and that the Good News would spread from Ban Bueng throughout the world!! Amen!
The Buddhist Principal's Testimony Of Jesus
But last year I went to Thailand with you and heard about Jesus for the first time. You told me that God has the power to do miracles. So I started to pray to Jesus and ask him for a school for our village. Then last month you came and offered to pay for the roof for the school! I was so excited to hear this good news.
However with our partnership in this building project, came a lot of hostility and accusation from the Buddhist monks.. The village leaders were very angry with me for partnering with you! When I couldn't take the false accusations and pressure any more, I decided I was going to quit. But I prayed to Jesus one more time and asked God for his help.
Then, I had an idea; I sent the photos of the new roof off to the board of education to show them the progress the community had made building the new high school. Immediately the school board called me and said, "We see your commitment to education. We are very impressed. We have decided that not only will we give you the resources to finish building the school but we will build you a second high school building so that you will not have to turn any high school students away!
The principal was shocked and overjoyed! She told us,"God did more than I could ask or imagine! Once I announced to all the community leaders that we would be receiving 2 new high schools, all the persecution stopped!
That morning, all the new believers received a new infusion of boldness and confidence from their teacher's testimony. We all cheered and laughed when we heard this good news!
We are thanking God that our church at the Lighthouse Farm is growing! This past week we baptized 3 new believers! Imagine, only a year ago, the declaration of Baptism would have resulted in great fear and anxiety because of the opposition of Buddhist leaders. But now people are embracing Jesus with courage and faith!
At The Farm, The "John The Baptist- Fried Locusts and Honey " Dish is more popular than you can imagine! (Also an excellent weight loss tool for missionaries :)
The Miracle Of The Open Door
Welcome To The Beautiful Village of Nga Kone, 4,700 ft. Western Myanmar
But THIS village, THIS place where we have a new Intern and new church plant, has been on our prayer-radar for 2 years! We have continually asked God to make a way where there is no way!
This past year, God gave us a friend in the police department, an old school friend of Isaiah who advised us on how to prepare the proper documents for Pastor Isaiah's company so that our team could go up the mountain and work with our coffee farmers. The incredible beauty of this mountain range took my breath away. (well, the switchbacks on the motorbike up the steep trail also took my breath away haha :)
I was so GRATEFUL to God to finally meet the believers we have prayed for! I also felt very honoured by our host family on the mountain. The opportunity to worship Jesus with them, celebrate their first baptisms and encourage the church was a taste of heaven!
Maung Hmin & Maung Lone are brothers. They are our coffee farmer-church planting dynamic-duo! The day we arrived on the mountain, the father announced, "I give these 100 acres to you to use for farming to provide for God's workers in ministry. Wow!!! What a gift! We immediately prayed over the land, asked God to help us build a church and use the land for his glory!
We had great joy baptizing 3 Buddhists who have become Christ followers in Nga Kone!
Our New Rakhine State Church Planters
This month we launched another 12 interns into Discipleship-Church Planting School "Rhema" in Mae Sot Thailand! This new troop of soldiers are so amazed that they get to study God"s Word! They continually send us messages saying, "Thank you!!"
Thailand Leadership Retreat
We thank God that we could spend 3 days on a Houseboat in Western Thailand with 30 of our Myanmar church planters; Praying; Worshipping; Teaching; And giving testimony to God's faithfulness. What an honour it is to build up leaders who multiply leaders!
We also spent 3 days making sure that none of these littles ones drowned! Dave was the hero of the day when he saved Isaiah's son from drowning. Daniel fell off the back of the boat during one of our teaching sessions. Dave was the only one who heard the quiet splash! It was fun swimming with all the kids but as you can imagine...sleeping side by side 30 people, we didn't sleep much haha :)
Please Pray for Pastor Isaiah & Amon. (Nathan, Daniel and new baby Samuel)
Life is sometimes shorter than we expect
The Real Star Of The Show; The Illusive Star Bean
Cherubim Company now sells and buys star beans
Father God, thank you for Star beans! Thank you for the opportunity to minister your hope to hundreds of poor farmers in Myanmar. Lord we need your wisdom and help to grow this Kingdom Business AND plant churches. Would you help us put the structures and systems in place to make this venture a success? We are completely dependent on you Lord! Lead us by your Spirit and with integrity we pray! Amen!