April '21 Update
Prayer Requests Directly
from Two of Our Pastors
We wanted to dedicate this month’s update to the pastors and believers in two persecuted countries, Myanmar and Malaysia. Pastor Philip and Pastor Joshua from our training group are going to update us on the state of the church in their countries.
Please take a few minutes to hear from these dear brothers about the many challenges they face, and then beseech the Lord on their behalf. If you aren’t able to watch, we’ve typed out their prayer requests below the video for you to read through .
Myanmar
Myanmar is primarily Buddhist and there is a great emphasis on making the country “Buddhist-only”. Persecution mostly comes from the extreme Buddhist monks and little is done from the government to stop it. The country has also had an ongoing civil war since 1948, which has currently put 100,000 Christians in north Myanmar to Internal Displacement Camps depriving them of access to food or heath care. *
- Currently, Myanmar is in political turmoil. Everyone is afraid and scared, yet this is not a new experience for Myanmar, especially for my generation. But for the younger generation, it is their first time seeing this political demonstration. Between this and Covid-19, our situation is going downhill.
- Please pray for our security and protection. If it gets prolonged, it will be very difficult for us to survive.
- Please pray for the churches in Myanmar. Many of us have lost our desire to study the word of God and meet in person to worship Christ. For me, that is the biggest issue we are facing. We have lost pastors and ministers, key leaders among churches, we lost our desire to study the Word of God and preach it.
- Pray for Grace Bible Church that we would look to Jesus and be His true witnesses, especially in this time of spiritual darkness and political turmoil.
- Pray for my 16yo daughter who wants to continue schooling, but it seems very dark. Please pray for her hunger for the truth, hunger for her Savior, and to shine her light in this situation.
- For me and my wife to be parents who are able to provide her godly counsel.
- Sharing the gospel to three families. One formerly Buddhist family is illiterate and it is very difficult for them to mature in Christ, so we need to read the Bible with them. Another illiterate family who is very very poor, they are cleaners in company market and make $40 a month for a family of four. We help them and share the gospel. Another Buddhist family, we try every Sunday to share the gospel with them. Please pray they would confess Jesus as their personal Savior and that our church could come alongside them in their spiritual journey.
Malaysia
Malaysia is primarily Muslim. The government monitors churches and it is illegal to share the gospel with Muslims. Converts from Islam to Christianity experience the most persecution. While violence is relatively limited, the pressure on family and social spheres is intense. *
Here is Pastor Joshua with a prayer update for Malaysia.
Pray for our church. We planted a church about five years ago and the Lord has been kind. Pray for the impact of the gospel and that a biblical church will be planted and multiplied in this country. There are so few.
- That more sound churches will be planted, that Christ will be glorified, and the gospel will be preached.
- Pray for the equipping ministry. We are thankful that Tim gets to come and equip the men.
- Pray for our biblical resources ministry, we need good reading materials for people to learn and understand the Word of God.
- Pray to strengthen Julie and their four children as they endure much from the challenging church planting ministry. Praise God for His faithfulness to their family.
- Pray that they would love Christ and live for Christ.
New Training in South Asia
Our last update contained some exciting news about starting training in a closed country in south Asia. We are still on track to begin in May - please continue praying for the Lord to work out the details and to provide the necessary funds. if you wish to support the pastors attending, there is an update as to how you can provide that support as follows:
For checks, make them payable to TMAI with a memo line stating: Philippines/Pakistan. They should be sent to the following address:
The Master's Academy International
Attn: Accounting
PO Box 846864
Los Angeles, CA 90084-6864
For Credit Card contributions, go to www.tmai.org/donate. Select “Philippines” as the recipient school and put “Pakistan Project” in the comments box.
*Information provided by opendoorusa.org