What’s it like being a pastor in Myanmar right now? What are the priorities for Pastor David and House of Glory church?
I (Nancy) recently asked some of these questions I was curious about to Pastor David to learn more, and his responses pierced my heart in terms of his wisdom, simplicity and practicality. I hope they will encourage you, too.
As you encounter many heartaches and joys leading your church members each week, how do you maintain peace and balance?
“The first one is my personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus. Though my body and soul are tired and worried many times, my spirit is always fresh as a result of my closeness with the Lord. That allows me to overcome the challenges and fatigues that I encounter weekly in my ministry.
The first thing I do for the first hour in my daily life is take time with Jesus by reading the Word of God and praying.
The second is putting my family before my ministry. I understand well that the source of my joy and strength is from my family. Whenever I confront difficulties and sorrows in my ministry, I always share with my family at our nightly devotion. We pray together, and my wife and children often encourage and give advice. Taking family time together in prayer, studying the Bible, spending time and eating together always refreshes me with new energy and strength to maintain peace and balance.
The third is knowing my call for my people by my God from above. Yes, I face various heartaches, headaches and joys in my daily life. But I always recall how He called me for the lost in my nation and my people when I was just 17 years old, and that makes me peaceful when I am down and to serve more when I am up!”
What have you learned about sharing the love of Jesus through the 3 camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) that House of Glory and Firefall International help each month?
“Since the families at the IDP camps are hungry because of their current situation, many times they couldn’t concentrate or listen to what they hear about the gospel. But they pay attention well to what we share with them about the good news when we can fill some of their daily needs. They do not just listen to the gospel, but they can feel the love of both God and man in a practical ways. Love in actions, not just by words!
Some people from the camps recently testified that they feel and understand the love of God through us, as this is our fourth year of sharing the gospel and food with them! They just thought that it might be for a short period like other charity groups or teams do. This consistency makes their faith in Jesus grow for the new believers, and more hearts are opened to accept Jesus in the near future.
Some IDPs who just accepted Jesus by the love they received recently testified that they thought they were the unluckiest persons in the world when their houses were burnt and they lost some family members three years ago, but now they understand that they are the luckiest/most blessed persons when they accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord at the camps by listening to the gospel monthly. Among them, a woman shared her testimony that she had thought about committing suicide when she started to arrive in Pyin Oo Lwin since she lost all she had in her village three years ago. But the love she received and the gospel she heard from us gave her hope to live for the future as she regulary reads the evangelistic Bible! She was baptized six months ago.”
What role do prayer and fasting have at House of Glory?
“We have a fasting and prayer service every Friday as we clearly understand that prayer is like the breath of the church. We will surely die if we do not pray. We know that we can’t do anything except praying for the current situations of our nation and our people. We pour out our hearts and tears before the Lord for the lost souls in our nation. As the members and new believers from the church see how prayer transforms many lives in our community, there are about 100-120 who attend fasting prayer regularly. We are seeing the results of prayer in our church. Now we have begun to practice 48 or 72 hours of continuous prayer every month.”
since the members of House of Glory have outgrown the building, what are the next steps in multiplying the church?
“Recently, we launched a new church in a new region under the leadership of a church planter, with 10 families, about 35 members. Most of them are first-generation believers who came to know Christ from Buddhism and Hinduism backgrounds.
We are praying and preparing to launch more in other areas, too. Our vision is to start new house churches in every block and village in our township (which includes 21 blocks and 37 villages). Now we can start our cell groups in 10 blocks and 6 villages. When those cell groups are strong enough to start as house churches, we will launch to multiply the church!”
What would you like to say to Firefall friends today?
“We would like to say words of thanks to all Firefall International friends from the bottom of our hearts for sending us among the unreached people groups in our nation and supporting us in various ways. Our heartfelt thanks goes to our Heavenly Father first, and we would like to express our joy and gratitude to all of you because we clearly understand that we could not do many things like this for the people in our country without your help in prayer and support in finance.
We remain confident that our struggles and sacrifices are never in vain. We are looking to Jesus, waiting and preparing for more harvest! Though you might never travel to Myanmar or might never see their faces, thousands of souls from Myanmar will be waiting for you to say ‘thank you’ when we meet each other in our eternal home.
Please continue to help us in prayer and to support us as much as you can because our nation is still in the middle of political turmoil and economic crisis. Even so, these situations lead many people to search for true peace and joy, which can be found only in Jesus! We also still march on for His glory among our people by declaring ‘Christ for Myanmar’ in the midst of various challenges and obstacles!”
How can you partner with us and Pastor David?
If the Lord is prompting you to stand with Pastor David and Firefall International, we welcome your one-time or monthly gift.
