Myanmar

Pastor Joy David’s Ministry

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” It is a wonderful blessing that God has prepared me to be a church planter in Paletwa to the extension of His Kingdom. It is a great encouragement for me to learn that many men of God around the world are praying for our ministry.

I started a house church in 2013. Our weekly programs consist of Bible studies, worship times, prayer, and evangelism. Though we are few in number, we conduct all of our weekly programs regularly. Some young people from nearby villages come and study at the local university and trade schools in Paletwa; I try my best to reach them with the gospel. If we can reach them with the Gospel, they will go and teach their parents and villages what they believe.

Pastor Joy David Oversees the Ministry of Numerous Pastors Serving in the Mountains:

January 2025:

I thank God I could travel to India to contact my overseer by telephone and messenger and send my monthly prayer report. There continues to be no internet or phone line in our area.

Bong Wee village: Praise the Lord that Pastor Jacob and his church members are doing well in their weekly services and can regularly conduct home cells, prayer meetings, and Sunday worship services. In January, Pastor Jacob shared the gospel with two villages: Tinglat Wa village and Siphalong village. One family from Siphalong Village converted to Christianity and came to know Jesus and His salvation story with all family members. 

Longkadu village: Pastor Lun Pah conducted gospel teachings on January 9 and 10, invited non-Christians, and told them about the living and true God and the salvation of Jesus Christ. They agreed with the teaching and asked several questions. He answered them effectively, and they were interested in hearing more about it. We hope they will believe in Jesus Christ and accept Salvation. 

Paletwa town: I, Pastor David Joy, met a new family from a Buddhist background in January and shared the gospel with them. At once, they accepted the gospel and said they believed in Jesus. They are still in a refugee camp in Mizoram, India, but will join my church when they return to Paletwa town. U Khin’s family lives very close to my house in Paletwa, and he is the one who refused the existence of God. I shared many times about the salvation of Jesus Christ and that there is a living and true God. He is much more open than before and is very close to accepting Jesus Christ. Pray that these two families may genuinely believe in God and be saved. We thank God for our weekly services and evangelism work in Paletwa township. 

• Pray for the families that are interested in hearing the salvation story.
• Pray for members who are refugees, that they may faithfully continue to worship God and serve Him.
• Please continue to pray for peace and freedom in our country. 

December 2024:

May the great God bless you all in 2025. As I mentioned in my previous work report, there is no internet or telephone line in our area, so I went to the high mountain and called my overseer, Pastor Thawng Nei Bil, and sent this work report by message box. Thanks to your prayer help, we can continue our ministry. 

Bong Wee Village. Pastor Jacob and his co-worker evangelist U Lin visited villages and encouraged people with the Word of God. During the Christmas season, they evangelized to non-Christians, prepared gifts, and distributed them to children and people in the villages they reached. One man, U Taoh, was converted to Christ through their sharing.

Paletwa Town: Pastor David Joy (myself). We shared the gospel by young people singing Christmas songs house to house every evening from December 1 – 10 to Buddhist families. We shared about Jesus the Savior, who was born in Bethlehem. The Lord opened more doors, and many were interested in hearing more about Jesus. We celebrated on Christmas day and about 200 people came and joined us. Paletwa township is controlled by the Arakan Army, and they only allow 30-person gatherings, but on Christmas Day, many people joined.

Longkadu Village. Pastor Lun Pah serves in this village. He and some members went through village by village and shared the gospel. They celebrated Christmas on December 24-25 for two days. Pastor Lun Pah taught about the meaning of Christmas and the purpose of Jesus Christ’s coming to earth. Buddhist people also joined and celebrated with us. They are interested in hearing about the salvation of Jesus, but none responded yet. Please pray for those who heard the gospel so that one day they may believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. 

Ye Ta Khun Village. Pastor King Talin ministers in this village. He, church members, and some non-Christians celebrated Christmas Day. We had the opportunity to share the purpose of Jesus Christ’s incarnation. Please pray that many may believe and accept Jesus Christ in the near future. The weekly services are doing well.

• Give thanks to God for our weekly services and evangelism ministry during the Christmas season. 
• Give thanks to God also for the Christmas celebrations in all villages in Paletwa township and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
• Please pray for my members who were moving out from their places as refugees. 
• Please pray for our ministry in 2025. 
• Pray for our plans and visions of more gospel training for non-Christians in the villages.
• Please pray also for our country, we need peace and freedom.  

Fall 2024:

Bong Wee Village Pastor Jacob is working hard in his ministry at Bong Wee Village. Jacob conducted children’s training for four days, which was very helpful and effective. Their parents were pleased and requested him to conduct training for adults, too. Their weekly services are doing well. 

Long Kadu Village Pastor Lun Pah is also working hard together with his members as they try to meet the needs of their members. They also share the gospel with their neighbors and people in the village. They encourage those who are suffering from diseases because of the civil war. In this village, pastor Win Naing and I conducted gospel training. Nineteen people came and joined the training; amongst them, three of them confessed that they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Praise the Lord

Ye Takhun Village Pastor Kin Kalin is serving in this village. For three days, he taught the gospel to twenty-three young people. The young people were interested in Christianity. One man accepted Christ and was baptized. Praise the Lord. The young people have requested to have gospel training again.

I traveled to India to see and give encouragement to refugees from our people. There, I contacted my overseer and sent some pictures of the Paletwa area ministry.  

Pastor Jacob. Bong Wee church’s weekly ministry, which includes home cells, prayer meetings, and Sunday worship services, has been doing well. He traveled for outreach evangelism, visited Siphalong village, and shared the gospel for one night. People were interested in hearing the gospel and invited him to visit again after the rainy season.

Pastor King Talin serves in Yetakhun village and labors hard to extend the gospel to his neighbors. He visited and shared the salvation of Jesus Christ with Lepan Pyi village. They were happy to hear him and invited him to join their harvest festival and share the gospel again. 

Pastor Win Naing serves in Auh-Te-ma-wa village. I (David Joy) joined him to evangelize Ngapui village and share the gospel with them. Seven families were interested in joining the church. We praise the Lord. 

Pastor David Joy, I serve in Paletwa town and do my best to reach new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks to your prayer help, we can continue our weekly services. Praise the Lord. Most of my members have run to safe places and have not returned. Pray for them. 

To send our monthly report to our overseer, I need to go to Kyautdaw City, a seven—to eight-hour drive by boat along the Kaladan River. The internet and all telephone lines are blocked. It is tough here because of the fighting and bombings.

I thank God for faithful prayer partners who always pray for us. Thanks to your help, we are all safe. However, we cannot yet unite all our members because of the political crisis and natural disasters such as floods, landslides, etc. We tried our best in our ministries, each in our field. 

• Give thanks to God for our weekly services and outreach ministries.
• Pray for my members who live in different places as refugees and pray that they may hold firm in faith and love. 
• Pray for those who have no Shepherd. 
• Pray for our country; we need peace and freedom.  

In Paletwa town, I try to feed my members spiritually as they are hungry. Because of your prayer help, we can have our weekly programs regularly. I praise and thank God that one woman and five young people were converted to Christ during April and May. My members in Paletwa town are in a difficult situation because any time bombing can happen by military fighters.  They need prayer help. 

Pastor Jacob reports that the Bong Wee church ministry is doing well in weekly prayer meetings, home cells, and worship services. Pastor Jacob and U Tun Lin evangelize the people, share the gospel, and encourage and pray with them whenever the situation permits. Some families and young people from his members have run to Mizoram State, India, as refugees because they are afraid of the bombings.

Pastor Lwin Pah visits his members and encourages them despite their difficulties and can conduct regular weekly programs. 

Yitakhun village has weekly programs, but no one can visit another village. Evangelist Kin Talin is working there and leading the church. They conduct worship services and prayer meetings weekly. Praise the Lord. 

Through Pastor Win Naing’s ministry in Auh Te-Mawa village, he reached a new family and shared the gospel with them several times. They were from a Buddhist background, and the whole family accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. They promise to attend church services regularly. Praise the Lord. 

Give thanks to God for converting six people and pray that they may grow in their inner lives and stand firm in faith. Give thanks to God also for the protection of God and for ensuring that we all were safe. Please pray for members who are in India as refugees. Pray for our daily food; all praises are very high now. Please pray continually for our country, Myanmar, for peace and freedom. 

Update from Past David Joy

God is faithful in answering prayers that we all were safe till the present day. Since we came back to our hometown, some of them have stayed at the refugee camp because the city is not secure enough. Please continue to pray for them so they may return home safely.

Pastor Jacob and his members are doing well and continue their weekly services, such as worship service, prayer meetings, and outreach ministry in their village. It was very encouraging for us that U Htun Lin’s family, five people, were converted to Christ, and joined Jacob’s church. U Htun Lin said, “We found a true and living God; we can have the freedom to worship Jesus and to believe in God.” Praise the Lord.

After returning from a refugee camp, Pastor Win Naing continued the weekly worship service, prayer meetings, evangelism, and prayers for his members and their families. During his visits, he met U Min Kyi’s family. After he shared the gospel with them, they were interested in hearing the gospel of salvation, and they said they would try to attend the church. Pray that they may come to know the salvation of Jesus and be saved.

Pastor Lun also tried to continue the weekly services and evangelism with his young members. They have worship services and prayer meetings regularly. Praise the Lord.

Joy David reported that he could not continue weekly services for three months, from January to March, because of the war. All ran for safety to the jungle. After some of them returned, he continued weekly programs with members who had returned home and encouraged people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord.

Daily life in Paletwa town is much more difficult than last year. Prices have increased because all roads have been closed for almost one year. I thank God that my overseer, Pastor Thawng Nei Bil, and his church members helped us to survive.

I plan to do gospel camping and discipleship training during the water festival holidays, discipleship training for three days in September 2024, and women’s group training for three days in November 2024. Pray for us.

Thanks to God for stabilizing our weekly programs in several villages and Paletwa town. Give thanks to God for one family’s conversion to Christ in Bong Wee village and pray that they may grow in faith. Please pray for my plans of camping and discipleship training. Please pray continually for our country, Myanmar, for peace and freedom.

Previous Ministry:

Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to praise and thank God for the safety of all our members. We all ran to safe places because the fighting in Paletwa township was so severe that all were requested to run.  We were all about 700 people who had been living together in a safe place for almost two months. There were no phone lines or internet lines. We all were out of contact. Therefore, I have been unable to write my monthly facts to you for the past two months. The Lord opened for us that the Arakan Army allowed us to go back to our places, but only some people went back, and most are not going back. We could return to our places in Paletwa township on March 10, 2024. But some of my church members have not come back yet. By now, all of Paletwa township is controlled by the Arakan Army. 

During the fighting in the first week of January 2024, all ran away, and some people hid in the caves. We found each other and ran to safe places when the fighting was over.  The Lord protects all our church members till today.  Praise the Lord. 

We could not contact Pastor King Ta Lin in Yetakhun village; please pray for him and his members so that we can contact them. Even today, only a few people have returned to Paletwa town; the town is very quiet. The furniture shops and house material shops are closed, and some houses were destroyed and burnt during the war. The price of things is very high, so people are in a very difficult situation with their daily food. I thank God for my overseer; he gave us some relief, which was very helpful. 

Thanks to God for returning to our hometown and for sharing the gospel with refugees. 

Pray for the rest of our members who were spreading different places so that they may be able to come back home and unite with us all. Pray for peace; everybody is not secure, and pray for our daily needs; we are struggling for daily bread. As we are under the Arakan Army’s control, they are also trying to get young people for the army. Therefore, please pray for young people too. Pray for our weekly programs so that we can continue soon. 

There is no way to contact Pastor David and Jacob, who minister in Paletwa township. Telephone lines and internet lines are still closed. The fighting in the war has increased in their area. Many are killed and injured there.

Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus Christ. Due to your prayer help, our training was completed successfully from November 13-18, 2023. Unfortunately, many young people from villages could not join us because the road was closed three days before our training day. So, only 21 people joined us; they were from Paletwa town. Two pastors, Kyaw Myint Htay and Paw Oo taught them about salvation and discipleship courses. They did very well. Thanks to God for the success of gospel training.

As the political situation has worsened in our area, fighting has been happening even in our town so we could not have worship service on Sundays. Many people run to safe places in the jungle and rural villages. As all the roads were closed, our two pastors had no road to go back to Yangon. However, we sent them by footpath through the jungle to Sit Twee City.

Kyaw Myint Htay and Paw Oo were able to reach Sit Twee City. They took a flight from Sittwee to Yangon and reached Yangon safely on December 9, 2023. Praise the Lord for their safe journey.

In Paletwa town, villages are still battlefields, and all internet lines and telephone lines are closed; we cannot contact David Joy & Jacob. The news said that all are in a difficult situation. Please pray. Pray for the people, especially our mission members in Paletwa township, for their daily food. They are all refugees.

Bong Wee Village:

Pastor Jacob and his members are working hard to repair their church building work. Their weekly programs are doing well. They visit their church member’s houses and pray for them regularly. They conduct fasting prayer every Friday; this time of speaking with the Lord is effective for my members and ministry.

In Long Kadu Village:

Pastor Lun Pah and his members were doing outreach evangelism in their village regularly. They share the gospel with those who are willing to listen, and they distribute tracts.

Pye Chaung Ye Takhun Village:

Unfortunately, Mokha storm destroyed the roof and wall of their church building. Pastor King Talyn and his members repaired it last month. Some houses of the church members were also affected, and we are doing our best to help them rebuild. Pray for the repair work of the church and the houses.

Aut Temawa:

Pastor Win Naing and his member’s weekly ministries are doing well. They are conducting prayer meetings, group discussions with non-Christians, and worship services. They are also distributing gospel tracts to non-Christians.

In Paletwa Town:

My co-worker U Khin Maan and I worked together for evangelism this summer. We conducted a two-day gospel rally. Praise the Lord. Unfortunately, soon after that, the storm destroyed many houses and people were facing difficult situations. We distributed some relief goods from our church. Praise the Lord.

• Give thanks to God for all my member’s safety and weekly programs.
• Give thanks to God for the reconstruction of the Bong Wee Church building.
• Pray for a new church building in Paletwa, we have land and need to build a two-story building.
• Pray for our country, we need peace and freedom.