MINISTRY IN MYANMAR | January 2011

On 5 December one of our leaders in Myanmar sent me the following message

Dear my brother in Jesus
On 6.12.2010 I will go to see my father in my village. I got telegram from my sister about my father, my father was so seriously getting sick and ready to die.  Please pray for my father and my trip to my village. Thank you for your prayer support.

(Name withheld)

On 30 December I received the following message

Dear Sir
I came back to Yangon on 30 December this morning. Thank you for praying for my father. He is better.
(Name withheld)

Praise the Lord for His answers to our prayers.

On 4 January I received the following report, together with a dozen pictures. Some of the pictures are shown but the rest cannot be published for security reasons. If you would like to see the other pictures please contact me at ernie.schache@acmissionz.org.nz

Please keep praying for this brother and his group and for all the workers and ministries of the Advent Christian Conference in Myanmar.

In His love,

Ernie Schache

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Dear Ee

Thank you for praying for us. See some photos of unreached people group in border of Bangladesh and Myanmar. There are many unreached people group in border of Bangladesh and Myanmar like Lemro, Mru, Asho, Myo, Khumi, and chin Pum. Please pray for ChinPum people.

I went two days and one night by bus, then three days by boat and four days by foot. I stay three days only in my father house. Other days are for outreach that I spend. On the way, I use to give Gospel tract and preach the salvation of Jesus. Some are accept Jesus as their personal savior. Many are reject what I preach to them. But I believe one day God will open their heart to Jesus.

ChinPum People

ChinPum People are from Southern Chin State, Myanmar. The ChinPum is one of the 53 Chin tribes, which have been not registered nor know by the government of Myanmar since 1890

1. The Origin of ChiPum The origin of ChinPum appears to be from Mongolia stock of the Tibeto-Burmese family
2. Location (MyitPia District, Rakhan state; Kaplet District, Chin State; Saw District, MaGyew Division). ChinPum land is a part of Southern Chin State of Myanmar which is located on the mainland of South-East Asia. It is bound by India to the North, Bangladesh to the West and Magyew Division to the East and Rakhain State to the South. It is also located between North Latitude 20’3 And 21’3, and between East longitudes 93’ 10 and 94’ 10. The ChinPum land is mountainous and situated between 800 m to 3200 m above the sea level. ChinPum land has got thousands of slope ranges of mountain, brooks and streams.
3. Population The overall ChinPum is estimated somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000.
4. Village There are more than 50 villages in ChinPum land. The villages range from 25 to 40 houses.
5. Languages ChinPum language is the mother tongue of all ChinPum tribes. ChinPum people can speak other languages those ethic groups who live near their region such as Matu, Dai, Kaplet and Burmese.
6. Literacy ChinPum people do not have literature (the Alphabets). They have only language. They are forgotten people in Asia (Myanmar). The (name of organisation withheld for security) had a vision and common to work for one of the many groups in Myanmar that did not have a Bible in their own language, and many, like the ChinPum, not even a system of writing.
7. Education In ChinPum land there are only basic education primary schools (from 5 years to 15 years). Basic Primary School is newly opened in only some villages, but the local people cannot learn properly and functionally.
8. Health There is no government clinics and dispensaries in ChinPum villages. People go to the nearest Burmese villages and the Town to buy some drugs. There are no doctors in ChinPum land. There are rarely found to be given vaccination to ChinPum people in this area are Malaria, dengue fever, Flu, gastric pain, broncholece, diarrhea and hepatitis.
9. Festivals, Ceremonies The Dry bones Celebration and Demonic Sacrifices are the most popular festivals  and Ceremony. The tradition says that when a man or woman died, they burn their body and keep his/her bones over’s one year or one and half years. Then they did  celebrate for bones in great ways and as great days within   the traditional festival and  ceremony Chin Pum people used to dance and sing songs. The musical instruments are gongs, cymbal, flutes, drums, bamboo claps and so.Recent 25 years ago Chin Pum people are animism. Most Chin Pum people  have converted to Christianity within the last two decades. In Chin Pum Land there are some Christian denominations such as Baptist, N T Church, AG, Anglican and Mara evangelical church so on. But there are many Chin Pum people who believe in evil spirits. Still most Chin Pum people worshiped to  demon as their gods.
10. Agriculture Hundred percent of Chin Pum people earn their lives by practicing shifting cultivation. In Burmese, it is known as “Taungya” derived from the two words “taung”, “a hill”, and “ya”  “cultivation.” The native name for shifting cultivation is “Lou”. It is widely practiced in Chin Pum land. Cultivators cut trees, bamboo, grass, burn it, and raise agricultural crops for one or two years before moving on to another site and repeated the process after 7 or 10 years old.Shifting cultivation is practiced once a year moving from one place to another. They start cutting trees in December and January, burn down the cutting trees in March and begin to sow at the end of May. Their harvest time begins in the early week of November. If the cultivating area is far from the village, house for shelter “Chapu” is built for resting, cooking and sleeping when felling the trees for “taung ya”. Rice, beans, millet, maize, chili, turmeric, potatoes, gourds, sesame, cucumber, pumpkin, ginger, etc are popular crops usually cultivated. The cultivation method is only depending on raining
11. Economy Generally Chin Pum land is one of the most using remote mountainous land  system that the least developed regions inhabitants by indigenous hill tribes of    Myanmar. Plantation and gardening are only for their survival and diet food because there are no transportation systems and markets in Chin Pum land.  Besides that Chin Pum people get some money by cultivation of chillis.
12. Trees There are a lot of bamboo and fir, pine several of trees in Chin Pum land. Chin Pum land is a paradise of trees with thousand of species.
13. Animals
    Land Creatures: Leopard, jungle cat, red wolf, fox. wild dog, bear, bonkey, deer, tortoise, chameleon, land-leech, hog-deer, sandbur, bison, goral, wild pig.
    Birds: Varieties of birds’ species are found in Chin Pum land, more than 200 species of birds’ inhabitant there. Owl, Horn bill, Parakeet, Crow, Cockatoo, Parrot, Peacock, Partridge, Swallow, Cuckoo, Pigeon, and Jungle fowl, Dove.
    Snake: Varieties of snake species, both poisonous and non-poisonous are found in Chin Pum land, Boa constrictor, Hamadryad, Viper, Cobra.
14. River The rivers and streams contain various types fish species. There are two important Rivers and small streams in Chin pum land.
15. The Way of Worship & Offering They worship their god evil spirit by offering Dog, Cow and chicken and rice  beer.
16. The way of Marriage Chin Pum man can get marriage more than two or three women. Polygamy was  accepted
17. Transportation There is little development of transportation in Chin Pum land. To reach one village to another village they have to spend 4 days or 7 days. They go on foot even at all the time

Prayer request and projects for Chin Pum People

1. Please pray for our Chin Pum student that they will go to plant church in their village where there was no churches at all.
2. Pray that more Chin Pum people will open their heart for Jesus.
3. Pray that The (name of organisation withheld for security) will reach  more un-reached people of Chin Pum in Chin Pum land.
4. We need a chilli field inside Chin Pum which is 3 acres big. For this chilli  field project God needs US$2500.
5. We need US$50 for church planter in monthly support.
6. We need US$ 25 for monthly support for the children of Chin Pum people.

Thank you for your prayers and gifts for Chin Pum people.

(Pastor’s name withheld)