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An International Missionary Outreach Dedicated to Evangelizing the Lost By Sharing The Gospel According to the Scriptures
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Myanmar February 2016 |
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It has been about one week since I have returned from a ten-day trip to the country of Myanmar where I was able to visit with children and leaders of all the Understand The Times Bryce Homes that have been established there. In total, there are over 150 children and 40 leaders in eighteen Bryce Homes. All of this has happened since 2006 when the first Bryce Home in the world was established. This trip marked our tenth anniversary of the Bryce Homes Program that began in Myanmar. I have tremendous joy in my heart as I attempt to sit down and summarize the highlights of this trip. It would not be possible to describe on a written report the fruit of the ministry of Bryce Homes International. In order to touch on some of the highlights, I am breaking this report into several subheadings with a few photos. Later, I plan to post videos on our YouTube Channel so our supporters can see the children first hand and see for themselves how their investment in lives is making a big difference in a very dark country. Bryce Homes in the Yangon Area Yangon, formerly called Rangoon, the largest city in Myanmar was formerly called Burma. This is where the Bryce Homes program began in 2006 which started with one Home and 20 children. At that time, the United Nations classified Myanmar as a “UDN” – underdeveloped nation. The poverty within the country and the hopeless situation for children touched my heart. As well, I saw multitudes of children being recruited by Buddhist monks to become puppets of a religious system that was leading them to hell. This was the impetus behind the establishment of a program in Myanmar for children in memory of our son Bryce. Bryce was 27 when he died. He was a young single man who had a great love for people, particularly those who were labelled as “underdogs,” as he called those who were not as fortunate as others. This program would have never happened had it not been for his sudden, premature departure to heaven.* Our family can now proclaim, “God works all things together for good to those who love Him.” There are nine Bryce Homes within Yangon and the surrounding area. On this trip, I visited eight of them. I had the leader of the ninth come to Yangon to meet me as his family was unable to make the journey. I spent several days visiting all of these Bryce Homes, sharing with them, hearing them share testimony and sing songs, and bring greeting to all of them from their brothers and sisters from around the world who support them faithfully. All of the children are extremely gifted. Now that they have been given an opportunity that gives them hope, they receive education, food, clothing, and shelter plus a Christian upbringing. Most of them speak at least three languages. They are being taught English, which will also give them an open door for employment now that the country is moving towards reform. Below are photos of Bryce Homes 1, 2, 3, and 5, all of which are in Yangon.
Click On A Picture To See It Larger
Bryce Homes in Mindat Area Bryce Homes 4, 9 and 17 are located in an area of Myanmar known as southern Chin State. In order to get to Yangon, the leaders must travel by foot, boat and bus for two days. As it is not possible to bring the children to Yangon, the leaders were brought to meet me while we are in Yangon. While I have not been to this area myself, we receive reports and photos from our leaders in Yangon who visit the area at least once a year. Andrew and his wife, leaders of Bryce Home 4, attended Bible College in Yangon in the past. Andrew’s brother and his wife are leaders of Bryce Home 9 which is located 12 miles away. He is also a pastor in this region of a church and has a very effective ministry to children. They are in the midst of a group of people who are nature worshipers (animists). They have taken animist children into the Bryce Homes Program where they have come to the Lord and are now evangelizing their parents. Click On A Picture To See It Larger
This brings up a very important point. While the program was initially established to care for the needs of the needy, over time it has expanded so that now our Bryce Homes children and graduates are ministers of the gospel. All of our Bryce Home leaders are strong believers, grounded in the Bible, and zealous to reach the lost. The children they have overseen are, likewise, dedicated strong believers. We perceive this program has the potential to expand and make a very significant difference in the lives of many. This is not a matter of speculation. What we are observing each year we go there is amazing. While the interest in Bible-believing Christianity dwindles in North America and Europe, Christianity is alive and well in one of the darkest places on the planet. Bryce Home 16 was added recently following the terrible floods that devastated Myanmar last July. Two of our leaders, Elisha and Habbakuk, distributed funds from our Myanmar Flood Relief Program into hard hit regions. In one area, a young mother lost her life when she was swept into a river, leaving her husband and three small children. We adopted this family into our Bryce Homes program and paid for the husband to travel to Yangon to meet me. He shared how God had answered his prayer as he had no possible way to support his children until God sent Elisha and Habbakuk to his region and offer help. Click On The Picture To See It Larger
Bryce Homes Gathering in Yangon Each year when I visit Yangon, we try to gather all the children and leaders from the Bryce Homes in the region for a Sunday afternoon gathering. Each Bryce Home shares in the program with singing and Scripture memorization. The leaders of the Homes are introduced and give a word of testimony with regard to how the program is working in their areas. At the end of the meeting, I bring greetings from their sponsors and bring them up to date how the Bryce Homes Program is developing on a worldwide basis. I also share with them a short message explaining how the program started and encourage them from the Bible. After taking a group photo, the children are treated with a meal and a drink then transported back to their respective places. Every year the number increases. This year we had 12 of our 18 Bryce Homes represented. Click On The Picture To See It Larger
Bryce Homes in Tachileik Area Last year we made a trip by air from Yangon to a city called Tachileik. This city is on the border of Thailand also very near the country of Laos. As I first traveled to this location in 2005, I now have a number of contacts there. Our leaders in Yangon taught several young men and women from this region when they attended Bible college in Yangon. Some of them have now become leaders of Bryce Homes in the Tachileik area. Over the past year, the Lord has opened a door for us in this region to establish eight more Bryce Homes through these leaders.
This means we have added an additional 16 leaders to the Bryce Homes Myanmar Program and over 40 more children. We will be specifically looking for sponsors in a few weeks to help us cover the additional costs. Also, later I will be producing a short video documentary on the Bryce Homes in this region. S. K. Lian and his wife have 25 children besides their own children in Bryce Home 11. While I was visiting them, I gave a one-hour PowerPoint message on the topic “What Happened to the Dinosaurs?” These children who all came from families riddled by drug and alcohol addiction were the most attentive audience I have ever spoken to in all my years of ministry. The work that this young couple are doing in Myanmar is unprecedented. Click On A Picture To See It Larger
Bryce Homes Graduates and the Future As the program now enters the tenth year, we can look back and see what has developed, with much joy and gratitude toward to the Lord for His faithfulness. Several Bryce children have graduated and are now in college. Others have attended and graduated from Bible college and plan to go back to their villages and reach their relatives and neighbors. Others, when they find a spouse, have decided they want to replicate the Bryce Homes model. Now that the country of Myanmar is developing industry and employing trades, several have plans to educate themselves further and join the workforce. One boy, who is now a young adult, plans to set up his own computer business and website design. Another is already attending medical college and will be serving his people in this capacity.
The Future of Bryce Homes The future of the Bryce Homes Program is in God’s hands. What once was a dream has become a vision in action and has the potential to spread worldwide. Bryce Homes are expanding in the Philippines, Kenya, South Africa and Mexico. In a few weeks, we will be announcing the establishment of our first Bryce Home in the USA. As people recognize what God is doing and they get on board, the program grows. Many are frustrated with their hard-earned donor dollars ending up in the wrong hands. For those who want to invest in lives that have the potential to bring about true spiritual change in their countries, and for those who want to give to actual people in need rather than church-growth programs and church buildings, we hope you will consider partnering with the Bryce Homes Program.
*You can read more about Bryce’s homegoing in Let There Be Light, my autobiography.
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Thank you for reading these reports. We thank those who are making this program possible
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Understand The Times is an independent non-profit organization in
Canada and the United States.
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