Southeast Asia Report
Dear Friends, Nov. 23. 2012
Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I had a wonderful time of Thanksgiving with my family after returning from Southeast Asia. God blessed our Yangon (Myanmar) Pastors’ Conference beyond our expectations.
First, this conference was the biggest gathering of pastors in Burmese church history (Attended by 400 pastors from 119 denominations). A group of pastors traveled four days to attend the conference; two days in a boat on the river and two days by land in various buses. One pastor told me he traveled “three days and one night” to come to the conference. These pastors, thirsty for the spring of God’s grace and passionately wanting to be equipped for ministry, absorbed the training like sponges.
Second, the fact that we had three local speakers in addition to the four from America appealed to the hearts of the participants. I just naturally thought that the pastors of Myanmar would like to listen to the leaders of Myanmar. The participants were deeply moved as they told me how no native Myanmar church leaders had ever been included as speakers in a conference sponsored by internationals. Praise God that these native leaders were powerful speakers! Furthermore, the participants enthusiastically reported to me that the speakers from America also profoundly ministered to their needs.
Third, the food we served during the three days of the conference was well-received. We served a piece of bread and a cup of tea for breakfast. For lunch we served them a small sack lunch of rice and a piece of meat, which was a very poor meal for our standard. Twice a day we had a coffee/tea break. Since a cup of tea or coffee cost approximately $1, which added up to be $400 per each tea/coffee break, I could not provide any better food for lack of funds. In spite of this poor provision of food, the participating pastors were grateful and said that they had never been treated to such quality food at any training conference.
From the beginning to the end, the conference was filled with joy, laughter, and tears. When I invited the participating pastors to recommit their lives to Christ, most of them came forward, knelt, and cried out to God for His grace. You can see this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzmF1g6GrKQ&sns=em. As I finished praying for these leaders, one of the pastors handed me an envelope. This envelope contained some Myanmar money equivalent to slightly less than 3 US dollars. He said that someone whose heart was deeply touched by the message wanted to give his tithe to me to financially support our mission to Myanmar.
After the conference was over, more than one hundred pastors signed a letter of intent to invite me for a city-wide evangelistic festival in Yangon next year. In return, I have invited twenty-two of the most influential pastors of Myanmar to dinner on November 28 to further explore this possibility. If the churches of Yangon are united in one accord and are willing to work together to win souls into God’s kingdom regardless of the sacrifice required of them, I am willing to do my part to hold an evangelistic festival in Yangon next year. Please pray that God’s will be done regarding next year’s festival. Please continue to pray for the pastors who attended our conference. May they serve the Lord effectively where He has called them.
The eleven church leaders I personally mentored for a couple of days were such quality leaders, three of whom had Th. D. degrees and one had a D.D degree. They were excited about the opportunity to develop their own leadership skills. They promised that they would continue to develop themselves as leaders and that they would train other potential leaders also.
The time we spent in Bangkok with the Korean Baptist missionaries was a blessed time also. Just living in a foreign country where people speak different languages and have worldviews than mine could be exhausting. If one tries to evangelize while living in that environment, the level of personal, family and ministry stress gets higher. In that light, this conference was like an oasis to these missionaries. Through a week of worship and fellowship, God refreshed these missionaries and restored them to Himself.
The messages of the three leading pastors from Korea powerfully ministered to my heart as well as to the hearts of the missionaries. What a privilege and honor to share the pulpit with these spiritual giants. The missionary conference is over now. These missionaries have returned to their respective countries. Would you pray with me that God will continue to use these missionaries effectively in their places of service?
DCMi spent $15,000 for these two conferences. I feel like I have never spent $15,000 for such a worthy cause. Not a penny was wasted and our investment will produce its return to God’s kingdom thirty-fold, sixty-fold, and even a hundred-fold. Thank you very much for your financial and spiritual investments! With all humility I would like to share Paul’s blessing for the Church of Philippi as they financially supported his mission: “My God shall supply all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Phil. 4:19).
Gratefully Yours, David David Chung