[3112] Local PCT church’s Myanmar short-term mission trip a success and a historic first

Local PCT church’s Myanmar short-term mission trip a success and a historic first

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma

Tai-peng-keng Presbyterian Church (TPK), a church founded by missionary James L. Maxwell more than 140 years ago, just had a successful short-term mission in Lassio, Myanmar in early October. The church put together a troupe and rehearsed a few shows with life-size puppets specifically for this occasion.

The TPK group of 24 people were divided into two in order to remain inconspicuous and arrived in Lashio on October 8 and 9, 2011 They were hosted by a local Chinese church and seminary leader (whom we can only identify as Rev. Kuo for his safety).

Rev. Kuo said that missions in Myanmar requires a lot of patience and flexibility because many things can change in the spur of the moment due to the country’s autocratic regime. After this trip, the group surely understands what he means because they also encountered a few bumps on the road, such as problems at the airport with customs officers and last-minute problems arranging transportation due to a Buddhist holiday in Myanmar.

The TPK troupe delivered an outstanding performance of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan on the two nights they performed in Lassio. Both shows were held at a local church with a congregation size of 80 people. However, it’s estimated that the total number of people who attended the shows exceeded 400. The reason why the church attracted such a large crowd was because it was the first time that a professional-level troupe visited and performed in Lassio.

Following this event, troupe members got up before dawn for two consecutive days to get to a local Chinese School to host a camp. The school was founded by local Chinese churches and instructs about 600 students aged kindergarten to senior high school. The troupe performed the same program and the students there loved it as much as the adults did when the show was performed at the local church a few days prior.

Besides the life-size puppet show, there were also small group discussions so that students could share with one another what they thought of the show. This was followed by workshops and outdoor games so that troupe members and students could get to know one another better and break the ice.

“It’s wonderful to be found by God,” said Song Hui-ling, the leader of the troupe and a TPK church member. She sees many parallels between what they are doing in Lashio now with what foreign missionaries of old did for Taiwan when the gospel was reintroduced to the island in the latter part of the 19^th century. Both then and now, the good news is that God has come to find his prodigal sons and daughters.