Bangladesh
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6
Getting to Mohadevpur, Bangladesh is a long journey, but the Spirit of the Lord is just as alive there as where we came from. Our connection to Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Cambodia was through Pastor Bill Moberly and Awakening Lives to World Missions, ALWM.
Swapon is the leader of the Lutheran church in this area of Bangladesh. He works as a high school teacher to cover his living expenses and his father has been an evangelist for many years. Swapon brought 25 leaders from five different areas together for this oral training and they embraced this new strategy energetically. Their desire is to start 15 classes. Some of those will be for their churches; some will be divided between the men, women, and children; and some of them will serve as an outreach to new villages.
In Bangladesh, 90% of the population identify as Muslim. The Christian believers need to be careful about how they live out their faith or how they share the hope that they have found in Jesus. They felt that using these oral stories would be a natural way for them to reach out to people.
The temperature while we were there in January was 45o-65o. They don’t have heat because so much of their year is hot, so the nights were cold. Their love for Jesus and for His Word was evident in spite of the cold temperatures. Worshiping and studying God’s Word highlighted the unity in the body of Christ regardless of what part of the world you are from. As we expand into new areas, we develop friendships and relationships with members of the Christian family that we had not known before. Let’s pray for them as they start these classes, as they reach out to new villages and as they grow in God’s Word. Let’s also pray that we can continue to strengthen these believers through future training.
Cambodia and Myanmar
For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits… A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.. 1 Cor 16:7-9
In Cambodia and Myanmar, the love for Jesus and His Word is strong but they also face dangerous obsticals.
The war between Cambodia and Thailand made international news a couple of times during 2025. The direct fighting has stopped, but Thailand is building up their forces on the border. Some of the leaders from this training came from the area where F16s are dropping bombs. On the other border, Vietnam allows limited worship in registered churches but sharing your faith will lead to time in prison. The Cambodian leader was imprisoned in Vietnam until two of his disciples took his place so that he could be freed.
Myanmar has been fighting a five-year civil war. The February 2021 military coup overthrew the ruling government and split the country in half. Pastor Martin is not able to visit several of his churches.
The three-day oral training included 40 leaders, 35 of them came from different districts in Cambodia, and 5 came from Myanmar. It is clear that Jesus can unite people from different countries and different backgrounds. It is the gospel that can bring real and lasting peace. It is the Word of God that can give hope to those in hopeless situations.
The killing field museums and the leaders who lived through those years of genocide in Cambodia are testimonies to the importance of sharing the transforming power of God’s Word with people. We are capable of horrific acts toward one another, and we need the transformative power of God’s Word to change us. Pray for the spread of the gospel in Cambodia and Myanmar. Pray that these students would find receptive hearts among the people they teach.
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