Teaching Trip News from Myanmar and India

I arrive in Yangon after a 36 hour trip, passing through Seoul and Bangkok. I am met at the airport by Aung Ko Ko Win, the leader of the church in Yangon. Yangon is a city of six million in the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), with a population of sixty million. Myanmar is a rather poor and a very isolated country because its government is very oppressive and has been under major sanctions by the international community. Little development money comes here from outside. A recent election was not considered free and fair by the international community.

 

Despite the political problems, the people here are very friendly. The country is 90% Buddhist. One sees many monks in their orange robes all over the city and the countryside, as well as many Buddhist temples. The country is about 4% each Muslim and Christian. It is a rather religious country, which is surprising to me because it had a communist government for many years. Yangon is a city of many beautiful parks, lakes, rivers and temples. Many people are found on the streets and hanging out in the parks. In the typhoon two years ago, more than 80% of all the trees were blown down, yet there are still many trees in this city. It is very green. The people seem religiously fairly tolerant, but unfortunately, the government oppresses both ethnic and religious minorities. The church here is not legal. They must meet in different locations every week so as to not attract too much attention.

 

On Sunday I taught the church on From Shadow to Reality. There are about 75 members in the church here. The singles are the largest group, with a marrieds group of a bit more than thirty. Very few here speak English, but I feel very welcomed here. The church is 14 years old, yet I am the first Westerner to visit and teach for the church since the time it was planted. This is principally because it has been impossible for outsiders to get a visa. I feel blessed that God opened this door for my visit. The members are very eager for biblical teaching, as one can imagine. They get little outside communication due to the lack of visits and opportunity to travel overseas. Even the internet is highly controlled by the government.

 

Besides being led by Aung Ko Ko Win a single man, there are also Myo Win a married brother and Ka Paw Hfoo, a single sister working for the church. The group here is blessed with strong leadership. The church does not have formal HOPE projects because it is not a sanctioned church, but they did wonderful work during the typhoon two years ago. At this time, the government refused to let the UN or other NGO groups come to help with disaster relief. The church filled in the gap in a great way, thanks to the contributions from HOPE Worldwide.

 

I was blessed with the opportunity to tour Yangon (formerly Rangoon) The highlight was visiting the massive Shwe Dagon temple site. This is a Buddhist temple, first built in the fourteenth century. Its massive central stupa is covered with gold. It is truly a wonder. There are dozens of beautiful temples of many variets all around the central stupa. Here we see hundreds of people praying, chanting, offering incense. It seems that Myanmar is, on average, much more devoted to its Therevada version of Buddhism than the other Buddhist countries I have visited. We see many monks in their orange robes, as well as a good number of nuns in pink robes. I am told that there are as many as three million monks in Myanmar, which has a significant impact on the economy and culture of the country. I also got to see the house where political dissident Anh Sang Suu Shi was under house arrest for most of the past 15 years. She was released last month. Is this a sign that the totalitarian government is ready to open up? Time will tell.

 

Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is a bustling city. There are many older cars here because it has been very difficult to import vehicles from outside the country due to the isolationist policy of the government. Most get around by walking or on buses. Driving around the old British heart of the city supplies one wonder after another. The men wear a skirt-like traditional outfit. I see Muslims, and Hindus on the street. There is a surprising diversity here. In many ways this is one of the last of the “unspoiled” Asian cities because there is very little influence from the West here. It is likely that all this will change in the next generation. This is a “must see” city as far as I am concerned. The main food here is rice, of course, accompanied by a great variety of curries and vegetables, many of which I do not recognize.

 

Tuesday was Independence Day in Myanmar. This is a rare day off for everyone, so I was able to teach for the church. There was a class on God and Science which lasted for two hours forty-five minutes in the morning, without a break, a one hour break, followed by a 3-1/2 hour class on Hebrews, again without a break. It is hard to imagine this happening in the US. A number of guests were in attendance. We only stopped because my voice gave out. The church here has many biblical and theological questions. They have very little biblical teaching here in Myanmar and very few spiritual books. Now that Myanmar is becoming open to visits by outsiders, I strongly encourage Christians everywhere to consider visiting the church here to give encouragement. It will be a magic time for you, as it has been for me.

 

 

I fly to Mumbai through Bangkok. I am met at the airport by Jacob, one of the ministers for the church I am visiting in Mumbai. I arrive at the hotel at midnight after a very long day. On Thursday I begin teaching a 24 hour class on Christian Evidence for the staff of the Mumbai and other churches in North India. There are about 20 students. It is good to see my good friend Raghu Katragadda all the way from Hyderabadh. The class today is from 9:30-6:45, so I am a bit tired.

 

It is wonderful to visit the great city of Mumbai. It has a population of 18 million and is located on the Northwest coast of India. It is fantastically crowded and people are always in a hurry. Mumbai is the business capital of India. Despite this, people are usually friendly. The streets are very lively. One sees Sikh, Muslim and of course many flavors of Hindu here. It is difficult to describe how many and the variety of people one sees on the streets here. The traffic is legendary and it is a bit of a free for all. There is really striking poverty here still, but the situation is improving since my last visit. The food, of course, is wonderful here. I love the variety and the wonderful flavors here.

 

On Friday I teach another eight hours for the Rocky Mountain School of Ministry class. The leaders here are hungry for knowledge. After teaching for eight hours, we hurry to a Jesuit engineering college where I give a public lecture on God and Science, as well as one on the question of suffering to about 150. There are many questions. At this point, my voice is nearly gone.

 

But there is not time for rest, because I am up at 4:30 to travel by train to Pune (also known as Poona). This is a “second tier” city of about 6 million. The train ride is three hours from Mumbai. Of course, the trains in India are an experience in themselves. They have by far the largest train system in the world here in India. The train station in Mumbai is very crowded at 5:45 AM. The variety of people here is really amazing. I see
Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus in a great variety of clothing, as well as many homeless, beggars, businessmen, families and all variety of people. This is one of the most unique experiences I have had.

 

I travel through mountains to the modern city of Pune. The price of coffee on the train? 5 rupee (12 cents)! Pune is a fairly modern city, with lots of technology and outsourced computer service firms. I am met at the station by John and Ewan Cheriyan who lead the church of about 170 here. We rush immediately to the meeting. It is a work day, so only about 70 members are able to attend, plus about ten visitors. I speak on Science and God, on the Problem of Suffering and on Messianic Prophecies. The church has many questions about the end of time, fulfillment of prophecies and other topics. This is a very short visit of 8 hours before we are rushed back to the train to return to Mumbai. The church in Pune is very faithful and growing. They are planning on helping to plant a church in Nashik. They planted a church in Kolhapur in 2006 which has grown from seven to sixty Christians. Like Mumbai, the members here must work many long hours and it is a struggle for them to do a lot of church activities, but they are very faithful. Another three hour train ride brings us back to Delhi.

 

Sunday we have church in the South Region, with about 200 in attendance. I preached on Freedom in Christ and using our gifts for God. This was followed by the last five hours of our Christian Apologetics class. From there, I am off to the airport to fly to the city of Chennai.

 

 

This is my second visit to Chennai. Whereas the principle language in Mumbai is Marati (as well as Hindi), the main language in Chennai is Tamil. It is on the Southeast coast of India. Chennai was formerly known as Madras. It was a Portugese trading city since the sixteenth century. Legend has it that this is the city where the apostle Thomas came and evangelized in the first century. I am not completely confident of this claim. The population of Chennai is 8 million. The government is quite conservative and favors the Dravidic culture and languages.

The church I am visiting is led by Paul and Rani. There are 700 members in Chennai and the area. I spend time with Felix and Smiley, as well as Abraham and Julie. Both couples work for the church. I have a vision for Abraham to be an elder here very soon. On Monday evening I teach on Science and God. There are about 350 in attendance, include a good number of visitors. After a nice dinner of Kerala style food with Ben and Jessy, I am ready for some rest.

 

Tuesday I begin a 24 hour Christian Apologetics class for students Bangalore, Chennai and Kerala. From there, I went to the train station to say good-bye to the mission team which is going to Nagercoil, which is a medium sized city at the southern tip of India. There are fourteen leaving for this city today—two couples and ten singles. About a hundred are here for the send-off. The parting is very emotional. Everyone is crying, both out of joy for the new mission and out of a sense of loss as close friends will not be seeing each other. Families are very close here. I found myself in tears as a mother said good-bye to her son. I feel very privileged to be able to be part of this wonderful experience.

 

From there, I went for a nice dinner with Roger Matthew and another evangelist from Bangalore. They share with me that just a few weeks ago, one evangelist and four others were beaten and arrested. The charge? Converting to Christianity. In Kerala and Kanada there are fundamentalist Hindu governments which give the police free reign. They allow beatings and arrest the victims, rather than the perpetrators. Roger tells me that all of the Christians live with a certain level of fear, as there is really nothing they can do about this. My hotel is “The Crescent.” Clearly it is a Muslim company, which has contacts with radical groups. We need to be a bit careful what we say here. As an American Christian, I cannot really relate to this problem.

 

Last Sunday the church put on a carnival, with many activities for the children, food, live entertainment and more. There were 2000+ in attendance. They raised enough money in this one event to support the entire mission team effort to Nagacoil for a year. What a great event—outreach to the community and getting the community to pay for a mission team!

 

I teach a total of 23 hours for the class, as well as getting time with Christy Varghese, leader of the church in Trivandrum (200 members) and Sheeba Alex, leader of the church in Coimbatore (160 members). Both are in Kerala State, on the southwest coast of India. We have a lot of fun talking about India and sharing our vision for the church. After the last class I make a very quick visit to a Hindu temple dedicated to the Goddess Devi. The pagan religion here is very worldly and can be discouraging. There is no time for rest, because one hour later I am off for the airport for a 12:15 AM flight through Bangkok to Taipei.

 

 

I fly through Bangkok to Taipei, Taiwan. I am met by James Chen, who, with his wife, leads the church here, as well as Andrew, a campus ministry intern. An hour drive takes us to Taipei. This is my first visit to Taiwan. Taipei is a very crowded city. The population of the metro area is about 6 million. Unlike the previous cities on the trip, things are very clean and organized in Taiwan. This is a very modern city, although economic growth has slowed somewhat because of opposition from mainland China and there is not evidence of very recent development. People in Taipei are very hard workers and well organized and efficient. This is a place where things get done. The church here is about 500. The Christians are very friendly and full of life. There is a very high percentage of highly educated, professional people in the church, partially because that is the nature of Taiwan in general, and even more so because of the very strong emphasis on the campus ministry for most of the history of the church here. After a lull of a few years, the campus group is picking up. There are about 40 in the campus ministry now.

 

Friday I speak at Taipei Normal University to speak on The Role of the Holy Spirit In Our Lives. This is not something I speak on often, but there are many Charismatic groups here and the question is difficult for the Christians. There are about 220 in attendance. On Saturday I speak on God and Science for 2-1/2 hours to about 150, with a lot of very good questions. My translator, Duke, has a PhD in biochemistry and is a sector leader for the church. The afternoon was a talk about the Acts and Church History, with an emphasis on the Christian World View to about 180. The church really appreciates these classes because they have not had an outside teacher visit for about ten years.

 

I got to tour the city a bit, visiting Taipei 101, so-called because it is 101 stories tall. It is the second tallest building in the world. James Cheng and Ryan, one of the evangelists take me to the tower and for a really great dinner.

 

The entire Taipei Church met together on Sunday. Next week is their 20^th anniversary celebration. There are perhaps 550-600 in attendance. The church worked hard to promote the event so there are many guests. I gave a very brief report on my teaching trips in the last year, followed by a sermon on From Shadow to Reality. I feel more energy than I have since leaving San Diego. Many tell me that they are very encouraged and inspired to study the Bible more deeply. The singing is good, although the service is a bit subdued with the Chinese culture. After this, I have a nice lunch with some of those thought of as possible teachers here. We talk about the teaching ministry and how to prepare for a teaching role. Many church issues such as discipling, “Who is my Brother,” and others are discussed. Monday I travel back to the US. It will be good to be home.

 

John Oakes 1/17/2011

posted by Jerry Maday, Worcester, MA