Jill looking over Ellison Bay at sunset

Dear Timothy C.,

Some of my most treasured experiences have come from sitting by the lake in northern Wisconsin, watching yet another beautiful sunset and sharing the moment with the love of my life. With so many troubles and concerns always on my mind—especially for my students, colleagues, and friends who have been suffering for years in Myanmar, Thailand, and Eastern Congo—taking time in nature is so therapeutic.

When I contemplate the wonders and beauty of God’s creation, listen to the cry of the gulls soaring overhead, and almost feel the velvet-like softness of the rippling waves gently rolling to the shore, I feel peaceful once again.

What is it about being in nature that draws us to God and transforms us? How is it that we can start out weary and drained and leave renewed and reinvigorated?

(Three minutes to read the entire post)

Ministry Update and Prayer Requests

Life in Myanmar is becoming more and more tedious and unbearable for the 53 million people grappling with ongoing fighting in nearly every corner of the country. In the capital of Chin State, for example, the electricity was out for over 25 days, came back on for a few days, and then is out again. People are standing in line for hours just to purchase oil for cooking rice. Myanmar is running out of power, and some gas stations in the major city of Yangon have run out of fuel to sell and cars are stranded on the side of the road. At the time of the military coup, 2/1/21, $1 = 1400 Kyats (the Myanmar currency). This past week, $1=6500 Kyats on the open market. You can imagine how this kind of inflation is affecting the people.

Please pray for God's provision for the suffering people while the civil war rages on. Pray for a favorable resolution to the ongoing crisis and protection from self-serving, malevolent interference from Russia and China. Pray for inspiration and blessing on my online ministry through Facebook to tens of thousands of eager readers.

Pray for wisdom for the administrators of Myanmar Institute of Theology, who are hoping to invite the (approximately 200) theology students to attend classes in person in October, for the start of second semester. Pray for protection and financial resources for students and the ability for faculty and staff to manage amid so many obstacles and hardships.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just when you thought that the situation in Eastern Congo couldn't get worse, it did. The M23 Tutsi rebels have taken more towns and have surrounded Goma, the capital of North Kivu, where I just visited in April. Every day there are fresh reports of fighting and deaths of civilians. And now the WHO has declared a global health emergency over the spread of Monkeypox, whose epicenter is in the Congo.

Due to all the security threats and other ministry related issues, I have postponed my return to the Congo until 2025 (TBD). In the meantime, please pray for our ministries there on the ground, principally monthly webinars and the publication of Saying Yes to God in French within the next few weeks.

As for Thailand, the door is wide for my return there in October and November. Please pray for my teaching seminarians at KHTS, Bible school teachers in two refugee camps, and church leaders in southern Thailand. Pray, too, that my ministry to refugees from Myanmar living in the borderland area will be encouraging and helpful.

Thank you!

~Tim

How can you help?

As we make final preparations and gather resources for the fall ministry season, please consider making a donation now to support our work in Myanmar, Thailand, and the DRC. May God bless you in every way that fits with his good purposes for your lives in the year ahead.