The men and women of the village will have constructed a temporary shelter out of bamboo and thatch, and will spread mounds of straw all around. This will be their “stable” and church as they celebrate the birth of the Christ Child with joy-filled hearts.
Kamphat Village hasn’t always been able to have meat at Christmastime. As one of the poorer villages in northwest Myanmar, they struggle just to get by. Many of the villagers live from day to day, and from meal to meal. Some families are lucky if they get to eat meat even once a year.
Several years ago Myanmar Hope began asking our friends in the West to share some Christmas joy with our Christian family in northwest Myanmar. We asked you to donate funds toward village Christmas feasts which might includes a cow, or a pig, and lots of rice and vegetables.
So many of you have been so generous! A cow can cost upwards of $500.00, and a pig can go for $150.00 to $300.00 dollars. This amount of money is way more than most of these small villages can afford.
A lot of you generously donated toward these feasts, and last year we were able to help nearly three dozen small villages, the poorest of the poor, to have a first class Christmas Feast!
Another great thing about the Christmas Feast is that the Christians can invite their Buddhist neighbors to join in the celebrations. This is the one time of year that the Christians can legally preach Christ to the Buddhists, without fear of reprisal, out in the open and for all to hear.
Unfortunately, our donations have been down this year, so we won’t be able to help some of the same villages again this year. It has been very difficult and sad to have to tell some of the pastors that we just can’t help them with their Christmas feast this year.
Will you please pray for these poor folks who will not be able to have meat at Christmas this year? Some of the poorest of these folks have been eagerly anticipating Christmas all year long. This is the one time of year that they have been able to eat meat, and lots of it, but this year some of them are going to be disappointed.
However, if you believe the Lord is prompting you to help these poor Christians celebrate the Birth of Christ with hearts and stomachs full, you can still make a donation. I’m not sure how we will do it, but if we have the funds soon, we will do everything in our power to get the money to the villages in time for them to purchase what they need for a great celebration.
Christmas in Yangon
MaryAnn and I leave early tomorrow from St Louis. We will be flying through Seoul, and God willing, we will arrive in Yangon very late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. This will be our fifth Christmas in Yangon with Palal, Kikim, Solomon, Cherry, and all of the children and staff of Hope Boarding School.
We also hope to take part in the dedication services at
three brand new church buildings this year! This is the first year that the Myanmar government has allowed new churches to be built, and we are taking full advantage of this opportunity to build up the Body of Christ in northwest Myanmar.
Kevin Hughs, and his son Joseph, will be joining us in Yangon the day after Christmas, and will be returning with us in January. This will be their first time in Myanmar, but they are really pumped up, and we know that Joseph will be a big hit with the kids at HBS.
Please be praying for us as we travel, both to and from Myanmar, and while we are in the country. Here is a link to a prayer calendar (PDF) that MaryAnn put together:
http://myanmarhope.org/documents/prayercalendar2014.pdf
God is doing great things!! We are excited to see our Myanmar family again, and we are so humbled to be a part of this amazingly wonderful work that God has done and is doing.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Charles R. Cherry, Director
Myanmar Hope Christian Mission, Inc.
624 Garvey Lane, Chatham, IL 62629-5086
Web: http://www.myanmarhope.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/myanmarhope
