Asia Heartbeat

The Burma Connection, a team of nine from Texas just returned after spending an incredible week with children from numerous orphanages. Here is their report… On July 10, 2009, our team traveled to Myanmar to minister to nine Christian orphanages we sponsor through Myanmar Compassion Project (MCP) and Asia Heartbeat. In addition, we evaluated the progress of our neighborhood school projects in remote villages in the upper part of the country. Finally, we met with and evaluated the five micro-finance teams we started in very poor sections of Yangon.

We have been traveling to Myanmar the past six years and the living conditions in the country continue to deteriorate each year. The price of food continues to escalate, while wages remain below the poverty level, thus making the situation for people there more difficult by the year.

Yet, while the living conditions are poor, we found the children in the orphanages we sponsor to be well cared for. Since their nutrition is poor, the team brought in approximately 300 lbs. of vitamins to supplement their diet. There were three homes we could not visit, because of restrictions from local township authorities, so we rented a facility and brought the children to us.

The children at the orphanages face an on-going barrage of trauma; The saffron demonstrations in August 2007, the cyclone in March of 2008 and this year, the possibility of closure of orphanages by the local authorities. As a result, one objective of our visit was to bring a little laughter and hope into their lives. Our team cherished the time we spent with the children.

Another team of four from Colorado, including an 85 year-old woman (retirement is not mentioned in the Bible J) is currently on site delivering the healing, loving compassion of Christ to children in other orphanages.

A medical and dental team recently delivered much needed care to 5 remotely situated orphanages in Kayah state in east-central Myanmar.

We recently had the privilege of dedicating a new primary school building that was constructed with funding from Tear Fund-Switzerland and a Norwegian donor in a small village about a two hour boat ride from Bogale in the Irrawaddy Delta. The entire village came out for the dedication and the children are thrilled with their new school.

We recently dedicated a new building for Zion Orphanage outside of Yangon. This project was done in partnership with the Mercy Foundation in Thailand.

MCP and Asia Heartbeat continue to provide relief and rehabilitative services to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. We just opened up a youth center in Bogale township.

One of our national staff members was just released from prison because of his faith and gave a powerful testimony of how God used him to share the hope of the gospel and encourage his fellow prisoners.

With the recent purchase of a new offset press, we will be able to print good quality Christian literature to help strengthen the Church in Myanmar. In addition, we will be able to print school notebooks for the children in the orphanages.

Despite the global economic crisis, God continues to use our organization to provide essential services for orphaned and abandoned children as well as to many other needy people in Myanmar.