Battle Log

The Christchurch (NZ) team made it safely to Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)!  We travelled via Guangzhou in southern China, and because we had a long layover there we had a tour guide take us into the city to see some of the sights.  Of course, this was also an opportunity to share the Gospel with the tour guide!

We arrived in Yangon on Monday, late in the afternoon, to heavy rain and made our way to the hotel where we met up with the team from Australia (and a Kiwi now from Malaysia!).  They had arrived in the morning and had conducted a training event with the local Christians we will be working with.

So Tuesday was the first official day of outreach.  The whole team headed to Sule park and then we split into smaller teams to spread out and share the Gospel!

My team didn’t have translators in the morning, so we loaded up with tracts and headed to a nearby intersection where we all took corners and started to engage with people.  Many tracts were politely distributed.  And, as some of the locals speak English, many Gospel conversations were also had.  In fact, one on the team simply asked everyone he was handing tracts to if they spoke English and ended up having a constant run of Gospel conversations!

The highlight conversation for me was with a man who was deeply indoctrinated in the idea that his good works would get him to heaven.  After I had explained the serious nature of sin via the law of God, and the amazing Gospel of Jesus, I used a checking question to see if he understood the way to heaven. His answer: good works.  So I backed up and re-explained, and I could see understanding starting to dawn in his eyes.  So I used a checking question again.  This time he was slower to answer, being very thoughtful, and said: “I need to trust in Jesus to save me from my sin… but I also need to do good works…”.  So for a third time, I explained that we are saved by faith alone.  He was really understanding now, and the thoughts seemed to be very foreign to him - but he was very interested!  He said he had an appointment, but he wanted to talk more.  Thankfully all the tracts are printed with local contact details, so I encouraged him to get in touch that way.

In another conversation, I found it fascinating that, even though I hadn’t talked about repentance, the guy seemed to be understanding the impact that faith in Christ would have on his life.  He said something like: “But I would have to change my mind about everything I believe; but I can’t change my mind!”.  So I told him to cry out to God and ask Him to change his mind for him.  Repentance and faith in Christ are a gift from God!

During our lunch break, the heavy rain started, and continued all afternoon.  The teams split up and found shelter as best they could.  Tracts continued to be distributed and Gospel conversations were had.

The team debrief in the evening was very encouraging: hearing all the testimony of the wonderful Gospel opportunities God provided.

Please keep the team in Myanmar in your prayers over the next two weeks!  Thank you. :)

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The team in Myanmar have had a flying start in the outreaches. With a team of twenty six, there are so many stories to share and conversations that have been had.

The team has been spreading across three locations each day and through translators or with people who speak english having lengthy and indepth gospel conversations.

Most days have been raining for more than fifty percent of the time so conversations are moved under cover. This has limited the amount of tracts that are able to be distributed but the conversations have been valuable and exciting.

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As the time for the next Myanmar trip approaches, may Linda's encouraging encounter with Peter, get you once again considering joining the team for the next trip to Myanmar.

If you're interested check out this information page.

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Because the comission from Jesus doesn't end until we die, the team had some spare time on their way back to Australia, at the stop-over in Singapore. This meant, it was time to find some people to tell about Jesus!

You can hear Ryan share about a conversation he had with a young lady that ended up saying that she wanted to trust in Christ. But he goes onto encourage you, in how you can use your time for God's Kingdom!

You can also hear Matt share about a Polish couple who heard the Gospel. Originally the man was proclaiming to be agnostic and the woman too good for a saviour but by they end they were both greatly impacted by the Gospel, understood it and said they would have to seriously think about it.

Who might you have an opportunity to speak of Christ to this day?

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In this outreach report, from the final day in Myanmar you can hear Glen share a testimony about a man and his response to the Gospel.

This man knew little about Christianity and was very interested to know what God had said and how he could be made right before God. He also struggled with the idea of it being a free gift and was unsure how to trust God.

Thankfully through the conversation and the work of the local translator this man came to understand much of Christianity but was also reminded that the Gospel message is very simple. He left with some resources and a contact number for a local pastor.

Please be praying for this man, that God would work in his heart and use this lengthy and valuable conversation to bring about his salvation!

Also be encouraged by John, that God isn't just using the Gospel to save people in Myanmar but you can glorify God and be apart of His work of salvation by sharing the Gospel in the place you call home!

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From the Day 10 recap you can hear Andrew and Elaura sharing about wonderful Gospel conversations they had in Myanmar. What made these two conversations different from many others, is that they were not with Buddhists.

Elaura had the chance to speak with an Atheist and his friends and one young man responded very positively to the Gospel message and simple apologetics given.

Andrew on the other hand spoke with a Muslim, who understood the issues with the message of Islam and came to understand the Gospel, to the point where he wanted to know more and was asking questions of his own.

Praise God for such a wonderful opportunity. Praise God that He uses feeble witnesses to share His glory with the people of this world. Praise God that He alone is the one that changes hearts and we are simply called to be faithful!

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From today's video you can hear Harry share about a funny scenario whilst he was handing tracts out to people inside some buses.

Also you can hear Matt share about two moments of providence, where God orchestrated events his glory!

Praise God for such a wonderful day of outreach in Myanmar!

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n this video you can hear Glen explaining what the plan was for the day where the team was able to take it a little easier. What is so beautiful about this, is that because the team was so much in the habit of evangelism, it wasn't a chore or a task to do some outreach but a priviledge. 

The team chose to spend some time talking to people because it had become the natural thing to do. 

There is nothing stopping this from being you. If sharing the Gospel was a regular event in your life, it would never feel like a task, or a rare occasion of surprising faithfulness. Rather, it would be one of joy in normality.

You can also hear Ryan sharing an analogy he used, to help explain to a local University student, why our future adherence to the law will never be able to fix our failure to keep it in the past and therefore how Christ can be the only solution.

Please keep the team in prayer as they seek to head out again this day to declare the Gospel to the people in Myanmar for the second last day of this outreach.

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As the end of the outreach is nearing the team are slowly learning new analogies and honing different skills.

From this video you can hear Ann sharing how in a single day she learnt how to use the flip chart and then was able to have five conversations using it.

You can even hear how one of the conversations went.

Next you can hear Bekky sharing about the parachute analogy and it has been helpful in explaining that we are saved by reliance upon Christ alone.

May this video encourage you in how you can use the flip chart or the parachute analogy to explain to people around you what God has done to save sinners.

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As the team gets back into full days of outreach you can hear encouragements from Trinity, Hung and Glen about how their days went.

Hear Trinity share about a conversation she had with an ex-Catholic, considering JWism, at the restaurant where the team had dinner. Praise God for his providence and timing, allowing the conversation to take place before this lady was sucked into the lies of JWism.

Hear Hung share about the wonderful experience of participating in the gathering of the saints almost 8000km from his home. Also hear his encouragement to others to consider taking this journey with the team on a future trip.

Hear Glen share about the wonderful day of outreach had, including some exciting conversations with locals who knew English and hear how you can be praying for the team over the coming days.

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