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Judson 200th Anniversary Celebration
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Celebration Audience - One level below, hundreds more were watching the event on giant screens.
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Steve and Nancy with the medical staff at the Wesley hospital in Kalaymyo, Chin State.
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Steve and Nancy with Pwo Karen leaders, Myanmar people with whom Nancy's parents worked.
Last November and December Steve and I were privileged to take a wonderful trip to Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).
Why did we go? We went for three reasons:
1. We joined with Christians from all over Burma (Myanmar) and around the world in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Ann and Adoniram Judson’s arrival in Burma in 1813 and the growth of the church since that time.
Imagine over 40,000 people from different tribal groups from all over Burma gathering in celebration and commemoration of the gospel message coming to Burma and its impact on their country. The worship services were full of inspiring messages, beautiful music and ethnic dances representing the different tribes, costumes and languages. The Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) did an amazing job organizing and planning this historic gathering. The focus was on what God has done, yet also looked to the future to what God will do together with His people. We were challenged to continue partnering with the MBC by their invitation to send missionaries to work in Myanmar. As missionaries from Haiti, we were able to represent the Haitian Baptist Convention (HBC) at the celebrations and give thanks on behalf of the HBC to the MBC and the Christians in Myanmar for their sacrificial monetary gift given to help those suffering in Haiti after the earthquake.
2. We went to rediscover the Judson heritage through an American Baptist sponsored tour group that visited the important sites in the life of the Judson’s and the missionaries that followed after them.
After the celebration Steve and I, along with 20 others, were thrilled to be a part of the Judson Tour that traveled to Yangon, Mandalay, and Mawlamyaing to visit some of the historic sites relating especially to Ann and Adoniram. One of our stops was at the prison site where Judson was imprisoned for two years. Our group paused for silent reflection and a prayer circle to thank the Lord for the Judson’s witness and sacrifice. Days later, and hundreds of miles away from the prison site, we stopped to visit Ann’s grave. The influence of the Judson’s continues to this day in Burma with Adoniram’s Bible and dictionary translated into the Burmese language as well as a thriving church.
3. We went to gather information, network with the Christian health ministry in Burma through the Myanmar Baptist Convention, and provide medical services if needed.
Steve and I were able to visit several Christian hospitals while in Myanmar. We toured the Karen Baptist Hospital at Seminary Hill, Insein, the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Mawlamyaing, and the Wesley Hospital in Kalaymyo in Chin State, where we were able to network with Christian health care providers as well as consult patients. We were also able to visit the Kwai River Christian Hospital, near Sanglaburi in western Thailand and the Burma border, where Steve had volunteered in 2004. Each of these hospitals is providing important work in bringing holistic health care to the people they serve.
What hopes from this trip do we have? How do we see ways God may use this experience in the future for his kingdom?
We will share with partners in Haiti and USA what we learned from and experienced with Christians in Myanmar and Thailand including both the nationals and the missionaries working there. We will share this through our letters and talks to churches and groups in both Haiti and the US. We will challenge ourselves and our partner’s in ministry with stories from the Judson witness.
We will serve as a resource for others, medically or otherwise, who may be seeking to partner in ministry with their brothers and sisters in Christ in Myanmar and Thailand.
Thank you everyone who played a part in our being able to take this trip, for those who contributed financially and those who prayed for us from start to finish! Many, many thanks!
“ I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because of our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.”
1 Corinthians 1: 4-6
If you would like to receive a longer, more in depth report on our time in Myanmar, please let us know by clicking on the link below, and we would be please to share a copy with you.
snjames8@yahoo.com
Steve and Nancy
Why did we go? We went for three reasons:
1. We joined with Christians from all over Burma (Myanmar) and around the world in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Ann and Adoniram Judson’s arrival in Burma in 1813 and the growth of the church since that time.
Imagine over 40,000 people from different tribal groups from all over Burma gathering in celebration and commemoration of the gospel message coming to Burma and its impact on their country. The worship services were full of inspiring messages, beautiful music and ethnic dances representing the different tribes, costumes and languages. The Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) did an amazing job organizing and planning this historic gathering. The focus was on what God has done, yet also looked to the future to what God will do together with His people. We were challenged to continue partnering with the MBC by their invitation to send missionaries to work in Myanmar. As missionaries from Haiti, we were able to represent the Haitian Baptist Convention (HBC) at the celebrations and give thanks on behalf of the HBC to the MBC and the Christians in Myanmar for their sacrificial monetary gift given to help those suffering in Haiti after the earthquake.
2. We went to rediscover the Judson heritage through an American Baptist sponsored tour group that visited the important sites in the life of the Judson’s and the missionaries that followed after them.
After the celebration Steve and I, along with 20 others, were thrilled to be a part of the Judson Tour that traveled to Yangon, Mandalay, and Mawlamyaing to visit some of the historic sites relating especially to Ann and Adoniram. One of our stops was at the prison site where Judson was imprisoned for two years. Our group paused for silent reflection and a prayer circle to thank the Lord for the Judson’s witness and sacrifice. Days later, and hundreds of miles away from the prison site, we stopped to visit Ann’s grave. The influence of the Judson’s continues to this day in Burma with Adoniram’s Bible and dictionary translated into the Burmese language as well as a thriving church.
3. We went to gather information, network with the Christian health ministry in Burma through the Myanmar Baptist Convention, and provide medical services if needed.
Steve and I were able to visit several Christian hospitals while in Myanmar. We toured the Karen Baptist Hospital at Seminary Hill, Insein, the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Mawlamyaing, and the Wesley Hospital in Kalaymyo in Chin State, where we were able to network with Christian health care providers as well as consult patients. We were also able to visit the Kwai River Christian Hospital, near Sanglaburi in western Thailand and the Burma border, where Steve had volunteered in 2004. Each of these hospitals is providing important work in bringing holistic health care to the people they serve.
What hopes from this trip do we have? How do we see ways God may use this experience in the future for his kingdom?
We will share with partners in Haiti and USA what we learned from and experienced with Christians in Myanmar and Thailand including both the nationals and the missionaries working there. We will share this through our letters and talks to churches and groups in both Haiti and the US. We will challenge ourselves and our partner’s in ministry with stories from the Judson witness.
We will serve as a resource for others, medically or otherwise, who may be seeking to partner in ministry with their brothers and sisters in Christ in Myanmar and Thailand.
Thank you everyone who played a part in our being able to take this trip, for those who contributed financially and those who prayed for us from start to finish! Many, many thanks!
“ I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because of our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.”
1 Corinthians 1: 4-6
If you would like to receive a longer, more in depth report on our time in Myanmar, please let us know by clicking on the link below, and we would be please to share a copy with you.
snjames8@yahoo.com
Steve and Nancy