The four member organisations of the Advent Christian Conference of Myanmar (ACCM) currently care for a total of 271 orphan or underprivileged children. Pastor Joseph’s The Word Mission cares for 79; Pastor David’s Fellowship Bible Church cares for 96; Pastor Timothy’s Advent Christian Church of Myanmar cares for 56 and Pastor Kenneth’s Gospel for Myanmar cares for 40. These children are cared for in the homes of the Pastors and other workers of each of these organisations and are treated as members of the families, with the same care given to them as is given to the families’ own children.
Caring for orphan children became a ministry of the ACCM as a result of the terrible effects of Cyclone Nargis which swept through the south of the country in late April/early May 2008, causing 138,000 deaths and severely affecting 2.4 million people. Among the survivors were tens of thousands of children, orphaned or separated from their parents by the violence of the storm. ACCM members and many other Christian organisations stepped in to assist some of those children.
Subsequently the ACCM members have also taken in and cared for children from other areas of the country who have been affected in other ways – Pastor Joseph explained that they take care of the children “to ensure that they are able to get the best possible education and to ensure the best possible prospects for their futures. … all of the children are orphans or are underprivileged in some way – some children have no parents and will stay with TWM forever, some have mother without father, some have father without mother, some children have been abandoned by their parents, some parents have divorced and abandoned the children. Most of them had no prospects for education in their tribal areas.” The care given to these children of course includes being shown Christian love and compassion and being taught of God’s love for them and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
With a new academic year beginning in Myanmar’s summer in May, there will be many additional and substantial costs for the ACCM members – for admission fees, school uniforms, school-bags, books, pens and pencils, umbrellas (for the sun – very common in Myanmar). Will you please bring these needs to the Lord in prayer and if you would like to assist with meeting these costs, our treasurer would be pleased to receive your gifts and forward them to our brothers and sisters in Myanmar.
In 2014, Pastor David sent these pictures with these comments…
“We are happy to report about materials distribution to our children ministry. Most of children received writing books, pens, pencils, school uniforms, umbrellas and school bags. Now they are ready to go to school. Most of children they never saw this kind of good materials in their life. When they received this materials in their life they are happy and their life is changing now. They never had this kind of materials in their life before they came to our children homes. Now they all are happy. Thanks for your helping for children ministry. Thanks and God bless you.”