Shaping the hope of strangers

Love For Myanmar Ministries Update

Christ Centered, Servant Hearted, Myanmar Focused

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” John Bunyan

Think of all those necessities of life which make survival possible; food, water, shelter, clothing, and hope. We might miss a meal or two sometime, experienced being thirsty for several hours, stayed in the same clothes for a day or two, perhaps slept out in the backyard on occasion. Just imagine starving while pinned beneath hundreds of pounds of rubble from your fallen apartment or crawling out of a collapsed building in the dark eventually finding a resting place only for morning’s light to reveal you are laying on a pile of your dead neighbors bodies or you are one of the lucky ones who escaped the earthquake and tried to help someone whose cries you heard but could not reach.

Trauma finds that moment in each of our lives that sets the course for all that follows. Trauma is hovering over Myanmar that will influence generations unless compassion arises and unfolds in extraordinary ways as evidence that the lives of strangers matter. God’s love is only possible, thinkable, and understandable when Christians express the value of their faith in acts of generosity and kindness towards others. Your help is needed as the Myanmar people are ensnared in nature’s own clock with no one knowing when their time is up.

There is a chaos of information about the devastation of the set of earthquakes which recently hit Myanmar. Nature reclaimed vast swathes of its territory, and in the process thousands of lives have been lost with homes, workplaces, and religious structures destroyed. An immense relief effort faces a corrupt and suspicious junta government whose history of ineptness has the Myanmar people wondering if their suffering will ever end.

For Christians, this is an opportunity to hold up a mirror to the beauty of sacrificial giving; a triumph of the human spirit governed by the harmonizing principles of a loving God. You may be sitting on the other side of the world from Myanmar, but giving has only one boundary, your heart. Please join us in helping to put back together this country. May God challenge the way you view the world, provide a new perspective, and deepen your understanding of how someone (you) 10,000 miles away can help shape the hope of strangers.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19

Gary Watkins, LFM Co-founder

Myanmar coup day 1,536

• Areas hit by the earthquake have received no assistance from the junta, neither in the immediate aftermath of the quake, nor later. More than a week after the quake the junta has yet to demonstrate that it has any effective approaches to managing relief efforts. Instead of actively participating in the rescue efforts, the junta deployed armed troops to the earthquake-stricken areas, claiming that they were being deployed to strengthen security. All the armed troops have done is patrol, they have not helped out and assisted the victims of the earthquake in any way. They haven’t even provided a single bottle of water to the affected locals.
• In February 2025, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing reshuffled key military positions, appearing to be positioning his desired successor. However, Min Aung Hlaing faces unprecedented military defeats, unresolved disputes with major ethnic armed organizations and growing resistance. By promoting younger officers aligned with him, sidelining senior commanders and eliminating potential rivals, Min Aung Hlaing appears to be laying the groundwork for a possible exit.
• The Myanmar military regime has carried out nine aerial attacks on the Mandalay Region since the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay city on March 28. The regime conducted two airstrikes in Singu Township, one each in Madaya and Mogoke, and five in Thabeikkyin despite the fact that the Mandalay Region was hit hardest by the earthquake.
• The commander of the junta’s 77th Light Infantry Division and his team who fled Indaw town in Sagaing Region have been captured in neighboring Katha Township. Large piles of weapons and ammunition including two howitzers and two 120-mm rocket launchers were seized.
• Entire communities have been flattened, forcing thousands to shelter in makeshift camps amid extreme heat and early rains. Critical infrastructure, including homes, schools, health centers, and roads, has been severely damaged or destroyed. The looming monsoon season will worsen conditions for displaced people living outdoors without adequate shelter. The scale of destruction has overwhelmed the health system. Over 13,000 people are estimated to need trauma care, with more than 2,000 seriously injured. Sixty-six health facilities have been destroyed or damaged, and the threat of waterborne diseases looms as safe water and sanitation collapse in many areas.
Categories: Founder’s Note, General