In Myanmar, the political and humanitarian crisis “is a very challenging situation for pastors,” says Nang Za Thawn, a pastor and the president of the Evangelical Baptist Conference of Myanmar.
The crisis began in 2021. “Just months away from celebrating its 10th year free of military dictatorship, Myanmar’s fragile progress toward democracy was crushed,” Nang says.
“In an overnight coup on Feb. 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military arrested the country’s elected leaders and set up a provisional government. The people of Myanmar woke to the news that their hopes for lasting freedom had vanished.”
Joblessness, poverty, and crime have resulted in uncertainty, insecurity, and unrest.
“Every day is frustrating for us since the coup military junta forces took the governing power,” Nang says. “I’ve seen and heard about forced arrests. . . .
“Here in Tamu area the unnerving sounds of mortar and airstrike explosions, both near and far, are just that—unnerving, hitting a sore spot of the soul, an instant jolt that something is devastatingly wrong in so many ways. . . .
“Since the coup, more than 1.5 million people in Myanmar have been displaced by the armed conflicts, forced into refugee camps or makeshift jungle homes as their villages were shelled and homes destroyed. Families flee or send their children to safety as militias round up youth to use as soldiers and couriers.”
Nang and fellow pastors are trying to encourage their churches’ members with spiritual and physical nourishment. People in his area need food and medicine to survive, he says.
“Pray that the political situation will stabilize and that God’s work will continue even through chaos,” Nang says. And “pray for perseverance for believers sharing the gospel despite risk and hardship.”