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Love For Myanmar Ministries Update

Christ Centered, Servant Hearted, Myanmar Focused

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” Hebrews 10:24-25

Only God knows the genuineness of our faith. Only God understands the nature of our mistakes, and the conviction behind our corrective efforts.

Regrettably, so very often too many of us rely only upon what we can see, the outward evidence to prove another’s faithfulness, justness, or trustworthiness. No matter how charitable, ethical, or responsible someone may appear, it is difficult to know the inner workings of their hearts; private opinions, buried deceptions, disguised beliefs. Sadly, we live our lives trying to convince one another of our perfection.

Intuitively, we protect our character and unfortunately in the process become imposters. How many of us are willing to open ourselves to being discovered, to allow others to connect with us, listen to us, and accept the authentic us? Intimacy has its cost but, oh the rewards if we are willing to endure the uneasiness of transparency, to help one another peer over the walls of our hearts.

It is saddening how faceless we have become, how impersonal our interactions have become, how pulseless our worship has become, how static our witness has become; mostly because we are preoccupied with calculating how much of ourselves to jeopardize to the perspectives of others. There are so many “rights” to be learned among all of the “wrongs” in our lives; so many deadends that can become bends around which we discover more of ourselves if Christians are willing to be spiritual lifelines for one another. Do you think God intended for Christianity to be just a matter of private interest?

Gary Watkins, LFM Co-founder

• Prayer Request: (Myanmar coup day 1,496)
  Please pray that God blesses the Myanmar people with the spiritual bravery and perseverance to bind them together so they can stand against the oppression and violence dividing their country.

1. After the Myanmar military enacted conscription laws in early 2024, tens of thousands of people flooded into Thailand in a matter of months, both in search of better economic opportunities and to escape being arrested and forced to fight in a war against those trying to end military rule. A new Thailand process requires Thai employers or agents hiring Burmese workers to “prepare documents for submission to Myanmar officials” and would require their embassy in Bangkok to “examine and endorse” the documents. This new policy will expose millions of Myanmar workers to conscription risks from their country’s military regime.
2. The Ministry of Defense recently issued the People’s Military Service bylaw which includes a provision that a person who has received an order from the township organization for civil service is not allowed to travel abroad without the permission of the central organization. It is stipulated that if a person who is required to serve in the military service is a member of a political party, he or she shall be deemed to have resigned from the relevant party during the period of serving in the military service. Recently, government employees have been asked to surrender their passports which effectively bans any international travel.
3. In a record year for internet shutdowns, countries in the Asia-Pacific region imposed the most restrictions, according to a new report by the digital rights group Access Now. Myanmar is the worst-affected country worldwide, with 85 shutdowns last year.
4. The junta began registering women for military service in Taunggyi City in southern Shan State for the first time. The junta is increasingly targeting women for conscription as the pool of young men decreases. Young people are at risk of abduction by junta soldiers in civilian clothes who are roaming the city.
5. 112,485 houses were burned down throughout Myanmar from the start of the coup until the end of December 2024, according to a report by Data for Myanmar. Just in the month of December 2024, a total of 4,323 houses were burned down across nine regions and states in Myanmar. People returning to their homes and villages following arson attacks are warned to first carefully check for landmines and unexploded ordnance before they resettle.
6. The Blood Money Campaign, a coalition of anti-coup activists, has documented 2,257 people killed and 3,417 injured in 4,022 airstrikes across Myanmar since the start of the military coup. It is calling on the international community to ban the sale, export, or transfer of aviation fuel to Myanmar, as well as a monitoring mechanism to be established and enforced by the U.N.
7. Myanmar will start sending workers to Russia in April, according to overseas employment agencies. The two regimes have been working on a memorandum of understanding to employ Myanmar workers in Russia’s manufacturing, construction, and agriculture and livestock sectors. Three years into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is facing a massive economic crisis with severe labor shortages and currently needs some 400,000 workers. The first batch of around 10,000 workers will be employed on construction sites.
8. The Myanmar junta has garrisoned dozens of monasteries across Naypyitaw, turning the religious buildings into military barracks while fortifying their positions in other temples across the country, according to sources.Military troops occupying village monasteries in Naypyitaw territory have turned them into junta housing, relying on locals for food while extorting money from businesses and, at times, civilians.