November 14-20, 2011
Headline News
PCT sees recent changes in Thailand and Myanmar as golden mission opportunities
Reported by Sam Lee, Chen Yi-hsuan
Written by Lydia Ma
PCT General Assembly sent a team of ministers to Thailand and Myanmar in early November 2011 to survey the extent of damages in these countries wrought by massive flooding and meet local church officials to see how they could help. Besides dealing with the latest flooding, both Thailand and Myanmar recently had elections and a change of government.
Thailand was plagued with unrest in the past few years with conflicts between the “red shirts” and the “yellow shirts”, which culminated in a presidential election in July and the election of the first woman Prime Minister in Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra. However, the legislature remains highly polarized and Shinawatra’s challenges in leading the nation have only begun.
In neighboring Myanmar, an election was held on November 7, 2011, and Thein Sein, a moderate and a retired general, became the new President. Shortly after his election, he freed National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
PCT and Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) have been partners in mission ministries for quite some time. PCT established a Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Bangkok and sent a missionary there to minister to Taiwanese people living in the area. That church is now part of CCT’s 6th District and is pastored by Rev. Lin Jen-shan. The plot of land where the church stands was given by the CCT free of charge in hopes that the new church might become a place of fellowship between PCT and CCT, as well as a place where more joint mission projects might emerge.
As for CCT ministries in Taiwan , CCT missionary in Taiwan, Thuanthong Sodthaisong, serves in PCT North Synod’s Labor Outreach Center, and CCT youths have been coming to PCT’s Ecumenical Youth Exchange Program for many years.
As for mission projects in Myanmar, both the PCT and the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar (PCM) are members of Church World Mission (CWM) and have used CWM as a means to partner with each other in ministries. The Myanmar government continues to restrict church groups and foreign missionaries from entering the country, making joint projects between churches difficult..
PCM Youth Ministry delegate Lal Run Suak spoke at a recent youth leaders’ summit hosted by CWM and said Myanmar churches desperately need resources from other churches on child and youth evangelism because PCM has little resources of its own and the Myanmar government has been monitoring every move religious groups make, resulting in further setbacks in evangelistic ministries.
Nevertheless, CWM has decided to hold a “I Love Myanmar Gospel Camp” on October 2012 wherein churches from across East Asia will send one youth delegate and one ministry staff to Myanmar to train youths in Myanmar on missions as well as share other helpful resources with local churches there.
Referring to evangelistic ministries in Myanmar, Taiwan Church Press President Joseph Chen recalled his first ever visit to Burma this past August with Taiwan Evangelism Explosion III (TEE). Chen was invited to conduct a seminar on behalf of TEE at a local Chinese church in Burma. When he reached Burma’ third largest city, he was taken aback by the muddy roads the team had to cross due to recent floods.
After struggling to adjust to local foods, he said he could now better understand the challenges missionaries faced when they came to Taiwan to preach the gospel at the turn of the 20th century. He underscored that Taiwan had received a lot of help from developed countries in the past and now that it could stand on its own, it was Taiwanese Christians’ turn to care for marginalized Christian communities in other countries.
