Hi, my name is Irene and I am fund-raising for pastors in Myanmar. The situation has been extremely difficult for many months now because of the political situation and increasingly worse Covid infections.

These are some people we know there and their situations:

Pastor Sein Kyi as a friend and colleague who works closely with my husband Phil as the main organiser of Langham Preaching training for Myanmar. He has been very active in training across the country to support pastors as they lead and teach their congregations. Pastor Sein Kyi and his wife, Ruby run a home for 30 + children from a tribal group in the countryside. They are in the city for better education. They also pastor a church and he teaches at a seminary.

They have shared with us some of the needs of the churches in Myanmar.

Rice and Oil for those in need

As there is no end in sight in the conflict and pandemic, many people are needing food. Crops have been destroyed and animals shot in certain country areas.

Pastor Sein Kyi and other pastors we know say within their congregations are numbers of families without work, and are needing help to buy with food. Others have families in the tribal areas where there is conflict and have had their villages ransacked & burned, people & farm animals shot and killed, Bibles and hymn books destroyed and much more.

Buddhists are also coming to the churches to ask for help.

The cost of rice and oil for a family is $62 AUD ($45 USD) per month.

That's the cost of a pizza once a week in Australia.

To support 20 families for a month is $1200 AUD ($900 USD)

Pastor Sein Kyi's medical bills

Pastor Sein Kyi has also been very sick with Covid recently. Most of the children at their home had been sick with flu then staff at the home got Covid. Eventually Ruby and Sein Kyi also caught Covid and he was the sickest. He finally went to see a doctor and was required to go on oxygen. So far he has already used 6 cylinders of 40L oxygen (blue tank, pictured). Furthermore, his diabetes worsened, with his blood sugar levels extremely high, requiring insulin. Although he has recovered from the worst of it, he still requires more insulin and oxygen. He has been very sick for a month and has still not fully recovered requiring continued medication.

His medical bills were about when he last wrote $1400 AUD ($1000 USD).

Earlier in the year, Phil and I were able to send funds for Pastor Sein Kyi to distribute to 9 pastors who also work with Langham Preaching. Although the banking system there has often been blocked, we were able to send funds via Western Union.

As we prepare to send more funds we are asking others to also consider contributing the these needs faced by our brothers and sisters in Myanmar.

The Risk

Please know that there is some risk if you consider contributing because of the reliability of the banking system. However, when things are working it seems that Western Union is the most reliable and safest means of transferring funds at the moment.

The picture below shows Pastor Sein Kyi and the 9 pastors ( from Langham Training) who shared the funds we sent in May.

If you donate, we will send confirmation of the money which we have been able to send through Western Union. The funds will be sent in batches given the urgent need for the purchase of food.

Thank You for considering helping these brothers and sisters in their time of need.

I am happy to talk with you further if there are any concerns or queries.