“Stay away from Burma!” That was the advice given to Adoniram and Ann Judson by everyone they respected. “The dangers were too great, the prospects too dim. Go somewhere else where the ground is more fertile and the living conditions more acceptable, especially for a young family expecting your first child.” But Adoniram wrote in his journal:

"The poor Burmans are entirely destitute of those consolations and joys which constitute our happiness; and why should we be unwilling to part with a few fleeting, inconsiderable comforts, for the sake of making them sharers with us in joys exalted as heaven, durable as eternity! We cannot expect to do much, in such a rough, uncultivated field; yet, if we may be instrumental in removing some of the rubbish, and preparing the way for others, it will be a sufficient reward. I have been accustomed to view this field of labor, with dread and terror; but I now feel perfectly willing to make it my home the rest of life" (Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, Judson Press, p. 166).

And that is what Adoniram Judson did. He spent 38 years of his life in his new homeland. He suffered the loss of his first child and two wives, almost two years in prison, and countless other hardships along the way, but he persevered for the sake of the Gospel. It was six years before he saw the first Burman come to Christ, Maung Naw, but not long after his death in 1850, there were over 200,000. And today there are over 2.5 million Bible-believing followers of Christ in Myanmar (the current name of the nation that Judson knew as Burma). And even today, the preferred Bible translation in the national language of Burmese is the one that Judson completed in 1834.

New Directions International (NDI) continues the work in the nation of Myanmar that the Judsons began 197 years ago. Recently, NDI’s Vice President for Ministry, Matt Smith, spent a week in Yangon, Myamar, with NDI partner David. (Due to intense oppression and persecution of Christians in Myanmar, we are not able to give his full name. There is a current law in Myanmar that no more than five people can gather in one place, which means that members of any church gathering could be imprisoned. The military-led government is systematically trying to wipe out the church in the rural villages, many Christians have been arrested, imprisoned, and never heard from again.)

Matt taught a class on 1 Timothy at the Canon Theological College (CTC) for the third and fourth-year students. CTC was started by David in 2005 to prepare the future leaders of the church in Myanmar. They will be having their first graduation ceremony next week. The motto of the school is “Preparing Servant Leaders,” and that is what David is doing along with his staff of four full-time teachers. Each student is engaged in hands-on ministry throughout their four years of study.

In addition to training leaders at the school, David equips the grassroots church planters that are working in the remote regions of the nation. Each year he brings in 20-30 of these pastors for on-going training and encouragement. He will be using NDI’s portable, audio seminary (the LAMP Player) to continue training these grassroots church leaders. They will be able to carry back to their villages a wealth of biblical and theological training on one audio player that they can listen to again and again. One of the dangers of the church in Myanmar (or any church for that matter) is the growth of false teaching. Many in that country have been led astray by some who are teaching a works-based salvation, so it is important for these grassroots leaders to be grounded firmly in the Word of God.

As NDI fulfills its 2020 Vision of equipping 20,000 church leaders and caring daily for 20,000 at-risk children, David and his work in Myanmar will play a large role. He is currently in the early stages of a building project for CTC, a facility for the church-planters training, and a home for those orphaned by Cyclone Nargis, which hit last summer.

Just as Adoniram Judson wanted to go where the Gospel had not been heard, it is also NDI’s desire to work in the unreached areas of the world, and in places where entire people groups have not heard of Christ's love for them. Myanmar has 49 unreached people groups, the largest of which is the Burmese (27,430,000), and three unengaged people groups with a population over 100,000 – the Golden Palaung, the Rumai Palaung, and the Hindi. See www.joshuaproject.net and www.finishingthetask.com for more on unreached and unengaged people groups.

Please continue to pray for David and his work of equipping church leaders to reach the unreached and unengaged people groups of Myanmar. What a joy to see how God began his work in Myanmar through a humble servant like Adoniram Judson, who was willing to forsake all for the cause of Christ. And now that work continues through humble servants like David and others, who are proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ and raising up others to do the same. To God be the glory!