The country of B//urma (Myan//mar on some maps) lies just to the west of Thailand, and the two countries share a border for quite a long ways. While Thailand is quite open to the Gospel, B//urma is a very closed country to any sort of religion. The government came to power there illegally in the 1980’s and is still in power today. The leaders there persecute all the tribal peoples in the area as well as Christians – and Buddhists, for that matter. It is a country that needs a lot of help – and prayer. On April 13, the manistry team had the opportunity to enter B//urma and spread a little Christian joy. Writer’s note – slashes are put in to prevent government officials from finding this blog.
Our contact for the month of April works with a church across the Thai border, and this church is constantly being persecuted. On the 13th, we crossed from Thailand into B//urma to worship and pray for the people there.
Our group exited Thailand and walked over the bridge that would take us into Thailand. Once on the other side, we were met by government officials who wanted to stamp our passports and send us back to Thailand. You see, most people come to this checkpoint to reset the number of days on their Thailand visa. We explained to them that we wanted to ride around a bit inside the country, and the officials let us – mentioning that we had to be back by 5. They held onto our passports to make sure we wouldn’t go too far.
Once inside the Bu//rmese border, we were greeted by a few “tour guides”. These men are actually spies for the government who would be watching our every move while in B//urma. We were also greeted by several men on bikes who would be riding us around the city. These bikes had chairs on the front that we all sat in. We were not allowed more than 5km from the border, and these guys were going to make sure of that.
Crossing the border from Thailand, the country of B//urma looks like a normal place. The government makes sure that no one sees what really happens there. Once you travel over 5km from the border (if you are one of the very few allowed to do so), you see the country in it’s reality. Inside the country, people are killed for disagreeing with the government. People groups are persecuted and towns are burned to the ground or destroyed by bombs. It is a terrible place for anyone to live, and those who oppose this are never heard from again.
The bikes took us to our destination, a church less than 1km from the border. Even through persecution, they are growing in size and are actually building a new building to accommodate their larger numbers. We came in and were fortunate that most the congregation was there working on the new building. Although there was tension in the air because of the spies, the congregation was very welcoming to us. We played several worship songs and prayed for the Lord to do great things there, and I am certain He will. Churches seem to thrive under persecution, and this one will be no exception!
We left B//urma the way we came and were only there for less than 2 hours, but being there touched my heart. Inside this country are millions of people with no freedom, and many are killed just for being who they are. Can you imagine what that is like? For most of us, we have no idea, and my blog here can’t begin to show the seriousness of what is happening. Please pray for this country from the bottom of your hearts that they would be able to break free and be able to live their lives the way they want to. Pray that the country finds Jesus and embraces Him as the Savior He is, and that a change would sweep through the the entire area. It would be wonderful to see this country as a shining light for Jesus!
