"The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
He upholds the widow and the fatherless,
But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin."
~Psalm 146: 8-9
God is calling.
Yes, He is calling you and me unto Himself through His soft, quiet voice and through His Word. But He is calling U Moe Myint of South Okklapa, Yangon in a very literal way - through his cell phone.
In the outskirts of Yangon, there is a quarter of South Okklapa township that is home to the poorest of the poor. These are people who have continually been displaced by the government - who have been pushed out of their shacks when new developments are built. They are refugees in the sense that they have nothing and they have no legal place to call their home. Alternatively, they seek permission from the Yangon minister to clear trash from dump zones, to have an area to rebuild their huts. This is the story of many families of South Okklapa. Within this quarter of the township Buddhism is strong, yet there is one Christian household where neighbors are finding a beakon of light.
Yesterday, I followed a friend to this quarter of South Okklapa - to see God working, to shine more light, and to bless and observe. It was during this morning that I had the privilege of visiting U Moe Myint in his hut, a man who is spiritually and physically blind. Besides my local college-aged friend and her Sunday school partner, there is no one reaching out to this region. These people are very much unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, how does God tell of his Name? How does God proclaim His message of hope? How does God reach a blind man that has no chance of physically reading God's word, whom no one is ministering to? God calls him on his Nokia cell phone.
For a few months now, U Moe Myint - a stark and stubborn Buddhist and worshipper of the spirits - has experienced an amazing display of God's relentless pursuit. Every Monday or Tuesday, between 9-10am, U Moe Myint receives a call, from a voice he does not recognize. At this time, his phone begins speaking by itself - he doesn't need to press any buttons. It reads out Scriptures from the Bible, in his Burmese language. Others have found a picture of Jesus in his phone, and on some occasions it sings Gospel songs.
Upon receiving his first phone call, he called to his wife, in confusion. She explained to him that it was a Christian God, and they decided to take the phone to the Christian family in their quarter to seek guidance. They ran to the family, who affirmed that God wanted to speak to him.
U Moe Myint refused to listen to the messages of hope he received. Even so, his phone continued to ring every Monday or Tuesday morning. At one point, he sold his phone for a time when in need of extra money. Though he has now received it back, he is often hesitant of receiving those calls and turns his phone off. U Moe Myint attests to having no understanding of the Scripture readings he has heard, though it is apparent that he does understand and simply does not want to admit it, because he is set on his beliefs.
U Moe Myint was born healthy, previously had a successful business, and a growing family. When the cells around his eye began to die and the blindness set in, U Moe Myint lost everything. They sold their property for an eye operation which was unsuccessful. Since that time, his family dove into poverty, with nothing to seek except the healing power of the Buddhist nats (37 spirits that are heavily worshipped in Burma).
Sitting on the floor in U Moe Myint's dilapidated home, I listened, and I asked questions.
While my eyes saw a man in physical blindness, my heart felt his spiritual blindness even more so, and I cried out for God to open his eyes.
It was very clear that U Moe Myint was not ready to accept the message of Jesus Christ. His heart is hardened, and he wants to remain in his old ways. Gently, I expressed my encouragement that God has a plan for U Moe Myint,
"God is calling you... to talk to you. I think that when the phone rings you should try to talk to God. Say, 'What do you want'?"
He was open to the suggestion. He explained that he had kept his phone off recently, but would turn it on this next week during Monday or Tuesday to check it during the usual time.
"Ask God to heal you," I prompted. "Ask him to heal you of your eyesight, and see if He does... God wants to give you eyesight, God wants to open the eyes of the blind, but first you must believe."
At the end of our visit, I placed two chicken dumplings from the corner tea shop in U Moe Myint's hands, and he smiled. I thanked him for opening his home, for meeting with me, and asked him if he wanted me to pray for anything. He did. He requested prayer for the welfare of his family, the education of his children, his business, and his health. So we sat there in his Spirit-filled hut, and prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit to come and open his eyes, for God to continue to provide for him and his family and powerfully reveal himself. I asked God to remind U Moe Myint of the words he had heard that day, so he would not soon forget.
We said our goodbyes and left with lightened hearts, though God's work is not nearly done in U Moe Myints life. My friend Angela and I believe that once he turns unto to Lord, God will heal him. She explains it well:
"He needs to welcome God. God is right beside him, he needs to talk to Him... He has been communicating with him through the phone, so he needs to see that, and answer it, and really welcome Him into his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The question is also posed - Are you answering God's call in your heart and in your life? Is God also beckoning to speak something important to you? We so easily grow numb with a fast-paced life full of distractions - I know, because it happens to me, too. But God is still right beside us. So keep the line open. God will open our eyes as we open the ears of our hearts.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
He upholds the widow and the fatherless,
But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin."
~Psalm 146: 8-9
God is calling.
Yes, He is calling you and me unto Himself through His soft, quiet voice and through His Word. But He is calling U Moe Myint of South Okklapa, Yangon in a very literal way - through his cell phone.
In the outskirts of Yangon, there is a quarter of South Okklapa township that is home to the poorest of the poor. These are people who have continually been displaced by the government - who have been pushed out of their shacks when new developments are built. They are refugees in the sense that they have nothing and they have no legal place to call their home. Alternatively, they seek permission from the Yangon minister to clear trash from dump zones, to have an area to rebuild their huts. This is the story of many families of South Okklapa. Within this quarter of the township Buddhism is strong, yet there is one Christian household where neighbors are finding a beakon of light.
Yesterday, I followed a friend to this quarter of South Okklapa - to see God working, to shine more light, and to bless and observe. It was during this morning that I had the privilege of visiting U Moe Myint in his hut, a man who is spiritually and physically blind. Besides my local college-aged friend and her Sunday school partner, there is no one reaching out to this region. These people are very much unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, how does God tell of his Name? How does God proclaim His message of hope? How does God reach a blind man that has no chance of physically reading God's word, whom no one is ministering to? God calls him on his Nokia cell phone.
For a few months now, U Moe Myint - a stark and stubborn Buddhist and worshipper of the spirits - has experienced an amazing display of God's relentless pursuit. Every Monday or Tuesday, between 9-10am, U Moe Myint receives a call, from a voice he does not recognize. At this time, his phone begins speaking by itself - he doesn't need to press any buttons. It reads out Scriptures from the Bible, in his Burmese language. Others have found a picture of Jesus in his phone, and on some occasions it sings Gospel songs.
Upon receiving his first phone call, he called to his wife, in confusion. She explained to him that it was a Christian God, and they decided to take the phone to the Christian family in their quarter to seek guidance. They ran to the family, who affirmed that God wanted to speak to him.
U Moe Myint refused to listen to the messages of hope he received. Even so, his phone continued to ring every Monday or Tuesday morning. At one point, he sold his phone for a time when in need of extra money. Though he has now received it back, he is often hesitant of receiving those calls and turns his phone off. U Moe Myint attests to having no understanding of the Scripture readings he has heard, though it is apparent that he does understand and simply does not want to admit it, because he is set on his beliefs.
U Moe Myint was born healthy, previously had a successful business, and a growing family. When the cells around his eye began to die and the blindness set in, U Moe Myint lost everything. They sold their property for an eye operation which was unsuccessful. Since that time, his family dove into poverty, with nothing to seek except the healing power of the Buddhist nats (37 spirits that are heavily worshipped in Burma).
Sitting on the floor in U Moe Myint's dilapidated home, I listened, and I asked questions.
While my eyes saw a man in physical blindness, my heart felt his spiritual blindness even more so, and I cried out for God to open his eyes.
It was very clear that U Moe Myint was not ready to accept the message of Jesus Christ. His heart is hardened, and he wants to remain in his old ways. Gently, I expressed my encouragement that God has a plan for U Moe Myint,
"God is calling you... to talk to you. I think that when the phone rings you should try to talk to God. Say, 'What do you want'?"
He was open to the suggestion. He explained that he had kept his phone off recently, but would turn it on this next week during Monday or Tuesday to check it during the usual time.
"Ask God to heal you," I prompted. "Ask him to heal you of your eyesight, and see if He does... God wants to give you eyesight, God wants to open the eyes of the blind, but first you must believe."
At the end of our visit, I placed two chicken dumplings from the corner tea shop in U Moe Myint's hands, and he smiled. I thanked him for opening his home, for meeting with me, and asked him if he wanted me to pray for anything. He did. He requested prayer for the welfare of his family, the education of his children, his business, and his health. So we sat there in his Spirit-filled hut, and prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit to come and open his eyes, for God to continue to provide for him and his family and powerfully reveal himself. I asked God to remind U Moe Myint of the words he had heard that day, so he would not soon forget.
We said our goodbyes and left with lightened hearts, though God's work is not nearly done in U Moe Myints life. My friend Angela and I believe that once he turns unto to Lord, God will heal him. She explains it well:
"He needs to welcome God. God is right beside him, he needs to talk to Him... He has been communicating with him through the phone, so he needs to see that, and answer it, and really welcome Him into his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The question is also posed - Are you answering God's call in your heart and in your life? Is God also beckoning to speak something important to you? We so easily grow numb with a fast-paced life full of distractions - I know, because it happens to me, too. But God is still right beside us. So keep the line open. God will open our eyes as we open the ears of our hearts.