People Living in Fear

Dear Caring Friends,

Greetings to you in the most wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I just returned after a busy, fruitful and long trip to Asia. The Holy Spirit is doing His mighty work of bringing people to God. What a wonderful sight to see our frontline missionaries involved in winning, building, training and sending to reach the unreached!

Over the past three years, God has given Alpha Ministries missionaries in Burma the privilege of training church planters through Alpha Bible College, Burma. Our heart is overflowing with thanksgiving to God, for His unfailing faithfulness towards us. I had the privilege of addressing the third commencement of Alpha Bible College in Burma. Thirty young church planters graduated from Alpha Bible College, Burma. This is not just another educational training, but building people who trust God, who burn with the compassion of Christ to win the lost and thus enable them to establish churches.

These graduates are being sent to many far-flung villages to reach the unreached. Currently we have 55 students occupying a bamboo dorm. The building is in a very poor condition and we need to urgently provide a safer and better place for our students.

Housing these 55 students is of utmost urgency. The new building will have two floors and the ground floor will be made of brick and the top with sheet metal. We have a great need for accommodation. Myanmar (Burma) is governed by a military dictatorship where large-scale human rights abuses and religious persecution is on the rise. Please pray for our students who have boldly stepped out to carry the gospel in this unreached region. Our present accommodation does not aid us in this task. We are looking for the opportunity of creating a confident, safe and comfortable building to house these young champions. This will be for the glory of God and for the extension of His kingdom in Burma!

Will you seek the Lord how you or your church can help us in this urgent need. The political climate is quickly changing and we have a great task on hand. Please pray and help. Burma is occupying the largest area on the South-East Asian peninsula, a country roughly equal to France and United Kingdom put together. Inhabited by a population of over 52 million people. Bordering five nations, including India and China it is strategically located as a land bridge with South Asia. The main religions of the country are Buddhism (89.5 %), Christianity (4.9 %), Muslims (3.8 %), Hindus (0.05 %), and Animism (13 %)

A nation governed by a military dictatorship with no respect for human rights or freedom. In power since 1988, the generals annulled the National League for Democracy's sweeping 1990 election victory and jailed its leader, the Nobel peace prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. She remains under house arrest.

The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been leaked from a government ministry. Entitled "Program to destroy the Christian religion in Burma", the incendiary memo contains point by point instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state. The text, which opens with the line "There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced", calls for anyone caught evangelizing to be imprisoned. It advises: "The Christian religion is very gentle – identify and utilize its weakness."

Its discovery follows widespread reports of religious persecution, with churches burnt to the ground, Christians forced to convert to the state religion, Buddhism, and their children barred
from school. Human rights groups’ claim that the treatment meted out to Christians, who make up six per cent of the population, is part of a wider campaign by the regime, also targeted at ethnic minority tribes, to create a uniform society in which the race and language is Burmese and the only accepted religion is Buddhism.

In the past year, an estimated 27,000 members of the predominantly Christian Karen tribe were driven from their homes in eastern Burma. In Koh Kyi village, in Arakan State, a monk backed by the military burnt down the local church. In another state, 300 monks were allegedly sent by the regime to forcibly convert the populace, all of whom belonged to the Chin ethnic group, which is mostly Christian. But the weapons it uses - starvation, terror and forced labor are just as effective. There are no bodies or mass graves - the regime knows better than to leave evidence of murder for outsiders to see.

People are living in fear for their lives everyday. Will you pray and help. Please pray that believers and churches may stand firm in the faith and the gospel would go forth in power. Faced with persecution with ever-increasing tenacity, the need for prayer cannot be over-emphasized.

Please pray for the persecutors that the Lord may open their eyes to see the light of the gospel. Also, please pray for the work ahead to continue in full strength so that the lost may get a chance to hear the gospel of their salvation.

We thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are all partners together in this work and your support and sacrifice speaks much in what you see. Thanking you again for your partnership. Because of your faithful prayers and generous gifts, the Lord is blessing our efforts in the frontline. As the Holy Spirit directs you, make a special gift. We would love to hear from you. We thank you so much for your dedication. May the Lord add His rich blessings to you today.

In Christ,


Benny C. Mathews
Executive Director
Alpha Ministries