News / Thoughts

Myanmar: Children’s camp told to keep quiet

We often say that persecuted Christians have to worship in whispers. Christians living in places where it’s too dangerous to openly talk about Jesus or sing out songs of praise, know that keeping quiet and hidden is their only option. And here’s another example. Dan* and his team of volunteers are running children’s camps in Myanmar, teaching kids through Bible stories, games, crafts and songs.

However, Buddhist neighbours have complained about the noise made by the children singing and taking part in various activities, meaning that the children aren’t allowed to sing out loud or make a noise while playing and doing the various activities any more. If they make a noise, the neighbours intend to file a complaint to the local authorities for disturbing the peace in the neighbourhood.

Dan shares, “The difficulty is that the covid-19 pandemic came as a great opportunity for the government to put pressure on the church and Christians ministries under different sections of the law.

“Government services are open, playgrounds are always filled with people who gather for playing, the sports hall is always full of players, and there wasn’t a problem for them, no questions asked! People go back and forth, shops are open, election campaigns go on smoothly. Everything seems fine but sadly, any kind of Christian activities becomes illegal in the eyes of the Buddhist community and the government.

“Now, our children’s ministry is in a difficult situation, the children cannot sing and worship, they cannot shout, play, smile and laugh because our Buddhist neighbours are ever ready to file a case against us, taking advantage of the covid-19 pandemic.”

Since the children cannot make much noise, they sit quietly in a circle while the volunteers tell them stories from the Bible. Despite the neighbour’s threats,  the team persevered. Dan shares, “The children and us had so much joy in learning the word of God… Now the children know the truth and receive salvation through Jesus Christ. When they grow up, they will teach the same to their friends in the villages.”

Akit* (pictured above) comes from a Buddhist family, and he had never attended Sunday school in his life. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ at the children’s camp. Along with him, four other children from Christian families, Kaka*, Hinato*, Pyaing* and Simi*, accepted Jesus as their saviour! Amazing.

In the future, Dan’s plans to reach out to more children. His heart for the children and ministry to bring children to Jesus Christ needs much prayer support.

Pray now…

• For God’s protection for the children and the volunteers in the children’s camp
• For the neighbours, that God will soften their hearts – ask that the Buddhist neighbours will be saved
• That God will touch the hearts of the children and that they will have an encounter with Jesus
• For strength and wisdom for Dan as he leads the children
• For the children that have accepted Jesus as their saviour, that they will be rooted in their faith, grounded and discipled. Pray that God will bless the camp so that the other children will find salvation.

Worship in whispers: Secret Church

Want to experience just some of what it is like to have to worship in a whisper? Download our new, lockdown-friendly, Secret Church resource and run a simple youth session with your group exploring what it’s like to have to meet in secret.

Grab the resource here…