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Myanmar (Burma)
Text Box: Home More Countries Contact Us Site Map Text Box: A Deadly Cyclone Hits Myanmar  Acknowledgement—Above picture by Reuters. Myanmar is experiencing devastation from a cyclone that ravaged through Yangon on Friday. A state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm with 150 mile an hour winds dumping 20 inches of rain in that region. At the time of this update, the death toll had reached 60,000, (the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said Wednesday that up to 100,000 people may have died in the devastating cyclone.) and 42,000 thousand more are missing. Possibly 1 million people are homeless, without food, cooking utensils, emergency aids, and clean drinking water. In Jesus’ Name Ministries has been helping thousands of precious pastors, congregations, and Bible students in this area for several years that are now devastated by this deadly natural disaster. We have heard from our main contact (name protected) who lives in Myanmar, and by the grace of God he and his family are all fine, but their ministry buildings and home have been damaged. Food prices had already risen steeply before the cyclone, making it very difficult for most to purchase even basic foods needed for survival. Food prices have risen even more since the disaster struck. You can Help Make your checks payable to In Jesus’ Name Ministries, and in the memo field of your check, write Myanmar / cyclone, and we will make sure 100% of your gift goes to help our Myanmar brethren. This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. I John 3:16-18 Recently, there have been some disturbing reports coming out of Myanmar. According to a U.K. newspaper, Telegraph, a “secret” document titled “Programme to Destroy the Christian Religion in Burma,” which gives “point by point instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state,” has been leaked and is now circulating around Myanmar. The first line boasts, “There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced.” This is very distressing for us, wondering what they will do if a home is found where Christianity is practiced? Will they jail them? Torture them? Or kill them? What will they do to them? A second disturbing report, possibly even more so than the first, comes from Voice of the Martyrs. According to this report, the government of Myanmar has asked for a list of the names of every single Christian in Myanmar, including children, families, assemblies, homes where Christianity is practiced, church pastors, church leaders and church members. The government has also announced an “official” time of worship, making it illegal to congregate or hold worship services outside the set time. Is this bringing anything to mind? Nazi Germany, perhaps? The Rwandan Genocide? It is a very disturbing thought! God only knows what the Myanmar government will do in order to purify its state of the Christian religion and all its believers. Our brothers and sisters in Myanmar desperately need our prayers and our help so they can continue to work “as long as it is day,” for “night is coming when no man can work.” (John 9:4) Please consider helping these brave Christians in their time of great need, and uncertain future. Burma is a source (starting point) country for men, women, and children trafficked (illegally traded) to East and southeast Asia for sexual exploitation, domestic service, and forced commercial labor; a significant number of victims are economic migrants who wind up in forced or bonded labor and forced prostitution; to a lesser extent, Burma is a country of transit and destination for women trafficked from China for sexual exploitation; internal trafficking of persons occurs primarily for labor in industrial zones and agricultural estates; internal trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation occurs from villages to urban centers and other areas; the military junta’s (military group seizing political power) economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and policy of using forced labor are driving factors behind Burma’s large trafficking problem. Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. People living with HIV/AIDS is estimated at — 330,000 in 2003. The risk of major infectious diseases is very high. Some of the common diseases are diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever; and dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some areas. Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies , and rural poverty. They are 4% Christian and 89% Buddhist. (CIA World Fact Book) Top

Population  est. —47,373,958  (2007)

A typical Christian home in Burma             Picture taken by Court wood