Khup

Pastor Solomon’s Testimony 

Pastor Solomon serves as a national church planter in the northern Chin State of Myanmar. He is the son of Pastor Tha Khup, the regional evangelist and coordinator for White Fields in this region. Solomon grew up in a small village in the mountains of Chin, far from the big city. He came from a Christian family and grew up as a pastor’s son while Tha Khup was planting a church with White Fields. He was raised in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When he was in his teens, he told his father that he desired to have a relationship with Jesus and surrendered his life to Christ. He knew he wanted to become a Pastor, and as he entered his 20s, he applied to the Evangelical School of Theology in Andhra Pradesh, India. To attend, Solomon learned English and saved money to pay for his education. While there, he met his future wife, Cing Bawi, a Burmese woman studying child development at the same seminary Solomon attended. After graduating, they married and moved to town to help Solomon’s father with church ministry and evangelism in remote villages.

During this time, our President, Stephen Wheeler, met Solomon on an accountability and stewardship trip through Myanmar. Steve saw Solomon’s dedication, humbleness, and knowledge of the scriptures. More than this, Solomon’s ability to interpret the scriptures using proper hermeneutics and his heart for the Lord left an impression on those around him. Solomon graduated from seminary in 2017 and proved to be an energetic evangelist, leading others to faith. He also led teams into new villages where there were no Christians. He proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has now become the pastor of this church. There are many years in the future for ministry in this village.

Recent Ministry:

This last month, there was rain in our area, and fighting and bombings happened near our place. Some people were killed and injured, but the Lord protected us so that we were all safe. I was hindered by the fighting and could not go out and share the gospel with neighbors, even in our town. I was able to visit the sick people and pray for them. We tried to conduct prayer meetings on Saturdays and worship services on Sundays, and the members still living in the town were able to join us. Praise the Lord.

I continue to fast and pray with my co-workers, Pastor Tin Saw from Kanpalet, Pastor Kui Thang from Bagone village, Pastor Lun Htin from Pa Lung Twe village, and my father whenever the situation permits. We pray hard for our country’s situation and our ministry. We believe that only God can change our country and give us peace and freedom. 

• Give thanks to God for our weekly programs and the safety of our members.
• Pray for my co-workers’ ministry in our area, that the Lord may bless them and keep them from all kinds of evil.
• Pray for all our members’ daily survival. The prices of everything are very high now, so please pray that God may provide all our daily needs.
• Please continue to pray for our country’s civil war that the Lord may give us freedom.

Ongoing Ministry for Your Prayers:

The women’s group met and prayed for three days at my church. We prayed for many special needs: our ministry, our White Fields partners, our safety, and freedom for our country. Our prayer meeting greatly encouraged us.

Civil war has been continuing everywhere. One lady from my members was arrested by the People’s Defence Force. We prayed, and the Lord helped us get her back without problems. The civil war often causes problems for villagers, and the church works to keep them safe.

I could not go to other villages to share the gospel because all the roads were closed. I was able to make home visits in my local community among my neighbors.

I praise God that we were able to conduct three days of training on the Christian life, especially for new believers, at my church. All the participants were pleased and encouraged, and we thank God for keeping us safe. 

In my outreach ministry, I met a Christian family that had been away from church for several years. After I shared, they became interested in attending church. Praise the Lord.  We have formed an all-Christian fellowship in the Saw Myo Area, including Kanpalet, Saw Chaung, Aut-bung-two, and Saw Myo. We pray together once a month with three days of fasting prayer for our country, the extension of the gospel in our area, and peace for our region and country. 

• Pray for new families to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ so that all come to believe in Christ. 
• Pray for all our members’ daily survival and that God may provide all our daily needs. The prices of everything are very high now. 
• Pray for our country during this civil war that the Lord may give us freedom. 

We constructed our church ceiling and floor with the help of White Fields. It was very encouraging for us to complete the work, and now our church building is beautiful and much cooler. All our members are happy and encouraged. More people are interested in coming to church every week because they see how other Christians are supporting us from far away. Praise the Lord.

Partnership with Churches

Solomon’s church is exceedingly joyful about the special support from one of White Fields’ partner churches. Due to the generosity of the church, the building in Myanmar that serves as the worship and training room has received an insulating ceiling tile, which will help cool the room when temperatures reach 100 Fahrenheit. They also installed floor tiles to help cool the room and cover the rustic unfinished concrete. This makes the room far more comfortable for the members and gives a tremendous testimony to their community that Christians from far away are supporting and praying for them.

Solomon has also received a new motorbike. This will allow him to travel farther into the mountain villages to proclaim the gospel and minister alongside our fellow pastor, Lun Htin. The ministry is strengthened when Pastor Solomon can use the motorbike instead of walking or trying to find a shared ride.

Solomon’s father, Tha Khup, has served White Fields, planting numerous churches over the years. He often works alongside his son to guide and conduct evangelism training and gospel rallies in the mountain regions.  Your prayers will help expand the gospel outreach in this area.

Despite the political problems, we continue our Sunday worship services, prayer meetings, and regular member visits. Though civil war has been happening in every area of Myanmar, we try to do God’s ministry.

I went for outreach ministry to two villages, Ukpho village and Ampung village, and preached at a Baptist Church in Ukpho village; they have a good church building. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with the non-Christians in the village. In Ampung village, there is no church or church building. The people are impoverished and under challenging conditions. They are Buddhist; however, when I shared with them about the living and true God and the salvation of Jesus Christ, they were interested in hearing it, so they asked me to come and share again. Pray that they may be genuinely interested in hearing more about the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Please pray for my plan to conduct a three-day gospel campaign during the water festival holidays. We conduct the gospel camping in my church every year and invite non-Christians.

Give thanks to God for the success of my outreach ministry to two villages in Kanpalet township, as the gospel has been spreading around us. Give thanks to God also for our weekly services that we could continue. Please pray for our country’s political problems so that God may provide us peace and freedom from fear. Pray that God opens the hearts of people. Pray for all our members’ daily survival.

Praise God for the completion of our ceiling and floor. Praise God also for our weekly worship service and prayer meetings. Pray for our country’s political situation so that we may have freedom and peace. Pray for all our members’ daily survival. 

A Major Construction Project is Happening

Thanks to a generous donation from a partner church, the progress of building this church is going very well. Even though the church members used to gather in a room without an insulated ceiling, and the temperatures would be extremely hot, they were still willing to gather. However, now they are giving thanks to God for the believers who blessed them with these improvements so they can have worship and Bible training without enduring such extreme heat. This is a prime example of how the members of our local church in a remote village provide hands-on labor, and our financial partners in the US can come together to provide the funding for exceptional projects. When we work together towards a common goal, we can make a significant impact in the community, spreading the gospel.

The next stage of the project will be to finish the floor. Please pray for the workers as they install the tiles and the building is completed.

I conducted a training for three days at our church in Saw Myo. One young man had received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He promised us to attend our Sunday services. Another young lady from another village joined us and said she would join us whenever we reached Saw Myo. She is living in another village. I will attend your church. She said I learned that God loves me and saved my sins from my sins. I am very happy about it. 

Give thanks to God for the success of gospel training and the conversion of two persons. Give thanks to God for our weekly services that we have been able to continue meeting. Pray for my church members’ daily food; they all struggle to survive. Pray for winning souls in 2024 and my outreach ministry. Pray for our country; we need peace. Every day, people are killed. 

Prayer Request:

I give thanks to God for supporting my church-planting ministry through you. The economic crisis and political problems affected everyone in our country, and the price of things is increasing. The economy is worsening.

Though we were in an insecure condition, the Lord has kept us safe till the present day. We could have children teaching for two days; about 25-30 children joined us daily. We all were delighted to do this program. All their parents were thrilled. We taught them salvation stories, Bible stories, and social life, and we played games. The children enjoyed it very much.

Our weekly worship services and prayer meetings were conducted regularly in January. After Sunday worship, we continued the Bible study program, which started in the second week of January.

Give thanks to God for the success of the children’s Bible training in January. Give thanks to God also for our weekly services and outreach ministry. Pray for my church members’ daily food and health needs. Pray for the construction of the ceiling of our church building. Pray for winning souls in 2024 and my outreach ministry. 

New Year Greetings to all of you, my prayer partners. Due to your prayer help, we could conduct Christmas celebrations on December 25, 2023. Though we are in an insecure situation in gathering, the Lord keeps us and provides for our needs. Praise the Lord. In many places in our area, we could not celebrate Christmas.  I had the opportunity to help Pastor Lun Htin’s church Christmas celebrations on December 24, 2023. I had preached the great salvation for everyone, which the angel announced on the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-12). People are interested in hearing the good news. They all were pleased. We have fellowship lunch together. Praise the Lord for it. 

Thanks to God for our weekly worship service and Christmas celebrations under many pressures. Continue to pray for a ceiling for our church building because it is very hot, especially in summertime. Pray for our people in the city; all are in a challenging situation with their daily food. Most of the people had to run to safe places. Pray for our country; we need peace.   I want to express my special thanks to you all for your prayers and financial support. May the Lord bless you all with new blessings within this New Year 2024. 

November Prayer Report

Last month, we could not go anywhere, so we stayed at home most of the time.  Sometimes we are able to gather in groups. However, the Lord is good to us and now we are able to continue our worship service on Sundays. Though we are restricted and unable to go outside the city, we can still share with those who visit us in our house. We spend most of our time at home, I study the Bible and pray for my ministry and members as well as for the change of our country.

• Give thanks to God for the protection of the believers; we are all safe and have our daily food. Our members are struggling for daily survival.
• Pray for members to grow in faith and to be patient in times of difficulty.
• Pray for our country, for God to have mercy on us and to give us peace and freedom. Only God can make the change, we need freedom and peace.
• Pray for our repair of the church building.
• Pray for the ceiling of our church building, Sawmyo is very hot, so we need to install a ceiling so that the heat will be less.
• Pray for our people in the city, all the roads are closed, there is no supply and so the people are facing a difficult situation.

Myanmar has been plagued by violence since the military coup that deposed the civilian democratic government. Our churches remain focused on proclaiming the gospel. As a result, people continue to come to faith and follow the Lord in Baptism. Our pastors live in challenging situations, including the lack of electricity, schools, and food. The churches become the source for the members to help them overcome these struggles. You can help by donating to our Gift Catalog. We send funds to support the churches, so the believers have food and to provide scholarships to our pastors’ children to gather in co-op education groups.

The Psalmist said, May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

Psalm 20:1

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you for all of your prayers and financial support. The political situation in our area is worse and fighting is happening many times in our city. Bullets have hit our church building and made many marks on the walls, but the Lord has protected us and we are all safe because of your prayer help.

Despite these problems, we conducted two days of gospel teaching at our church, and my church members and some new people joined us. They were happy to listen to the story of salvation and the Christian life. We continue our weekly programs but only when the situation has calmed down enough to meet safely. Pray that the Lord will give us peace and good opportunities to serve Him.

Baby Dedication:

A new believer receiving a Bible: Give a Bible.

Distribution of relief goods: