50 decisions for Jesus today in Myanmar

The children absolutely adored Martha.

 As soon as we saw their sweet faces, Martha and I fell in love with them. Around 20 children were gathered at the site where we held our outreach service today in Yangon, Myanmar. We crossed the Yangon River on a ferry to reach this impoverished area; the landscape dotted with bamboo and thatch huts, homes to these precious children.

Some of them wore "Myanmar Makeup" on their smiling faces. It looks like paint. It's made from a certain tree bark and it is on the faces of many girls, boys, women and men.

As soon as we stepped out of the taxi, the children greeted us. Neither of us could understand each other, but smiles and laughter transcend language barriers. They wanted to shake our hands, especially Martha's, over and over again. Then some built up the courage to hug these two giant white people. We are giants in this land as most of the people, and of course the children, are small.

The adults were as welcoming as the children. They smiled as we shook hands, and some said "Hello" in English. We immediately felt at home.

In Myanmar, we partner with Grace Theological College, a small college that dreams of making a big impact for Jesus Christ in their home country. It's needed. There are 40 million people in Myanmar who are unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The area we were in today is where one of the GTC students has been visiting every week planting seeds of God's Word into the hearts of the people. Today, he saw the fruits of his labor as around 50 people made decisions to follow Jesus.

This isn't an easy mission field. The main religion is Buddhism. There are temples all around, and in many places you hear Buddhist chants being broadcast on speakers. Many people face persecution if they convert to Christianity. While it isn't always a physical attack, it often means followers of Christ will be ostracized from their families, which also means not having a home.

The Jesus Film is a powerful tool to use in the mission field. We brought two Burmese-translated copies with us, but we will be sending more. It does a great job of showing the life of Jesus, and for these children and adults, seeing a movie is a huge treat. They don't have TVs, and can't afford to pay to see a movie at the cinema.

They were all captivated by the movie. Seeing the expressions on their faces was priceless and would bring tears to your eyes.

Following the movie, I shared a short message about being adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ. Then people made the decision to follow Jesus. I explained to them it was more than a prayer, that it was about following Jesus. I encouraged them in coming together often to study the Bible and pray together and to tell others about Jesus.

God spoke clearly to me that we need to plant a church in that area; one with a strong children's ministry. GTC produces wonderful graduates. We sponsor one recent GTC graduate. Bro. Solomon is currently the only indigenous pastor we support in Myanmar. He is a great example of the kind of missionary pastors they produce as he is doing a wonderful job in a different area of Yangon.

Please pray with us to be able to plant a church to further disciple these new believers. It would cost around $150/month for rent and a salary for a pastor so he can support his family. Please help us if you can. We actually need to plant at least three churches and support three more pastors.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters here. They are very precious people in a tough mission field.