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When she first met Pastor Yang*, Daisy Htun*—an Open Doors partner in Myanmar—saw a man who was full of life and hope for his ministry. It was before the COVID pandemic ... and before a 2021 military coup plunged Myanmar into violent chaos.
But now, four years later, Daisy barely recognizes the man when she meets him. "When I met him again, I was shocked to see the change in his face and demeanour," she says. "His eyes had lost their usual sparkle, his forehead was riddled with lines, and he had lost weight and wore a tired, serious expression. He looked like a battle-worn soldier or a tired farmer. All this was perhaps the effect of the pandemic that had shaken Myanmar followed by a coup destabilizing the country even further."
Pastor Yang is not alone in his predicament, but his experience shows the reality for many Christians living in this Southeast Asian country. "It is only because of God's protection that we are still alive," he says.
He lives each day knowing that his life could be in jeopardy. So how does he keep going—and how does he keep his trust in God?
When the military coup first took place, Pastor Yang and his wife—newly married at the time—weren't sure what the future held. "I remember clearly that fateful day when the coup started in 2021," he remembers. "My wife and I were out in the market to purchase groceries when we saw some protestors walking past us. My wife took some pictures with her cell phone, as it was an unusual sight."
But the strangeness of the new situation quickly turned into danger. "On our way home, we were interrupted by some police officers who asked for our phones, to check then," Yang says. "When we handed our phones to them, they looked at the pictures of the protests on my wife's mobile phone and started questioning us. Because I was serving as a youth pastor at that time, they suspected me of leading youth members in the protests. They let us off, but we felt unsafe and decided to leave the city."
The installation of a military junta is an all-too-familiar reality for most Burmese people (what citizens of Myanmar are called). Ten years before the latest coup, the country endured a military dictatorship that lasted for nearly 50 years. During that period, there were countless human rights abuses, and long-lasting clashes between the official military government and rebel groups, usually made up of people from specific ethnic groups. The long history of military rule in Myanmar means that many Burmese citizens mostly only know life under the watchful eye of the military.
During the previous military governments, Christians were targeted and abused, enduring coerced conversions, discrimination and persecution. Burmese believers knew the 2021 military coup could bring back that painful pressure Christians had experienced for much of Myanmar's modern history. And Pastor Yang and his wife knew that the questioning they'd endured wasn't going to be the last time they were regarded with suspicion by authorities—the junta has always been quick to enforce its rule, even to the point of violence.
After the scary checkpoint with the police, the initial protests escalated into full-scale war in many parts of the country. To escape the fighting, Pastor Yang and his wife moved to a different town and rented a house there. But the conflict extended to their new city and forced them to relocate once again.
It was clear that Myanmar had changed—and that followers of Jesus were extra vulnerable. Yang's eyes grow dark as he recounts those moments. "Even before the coup, we Christians had few privileges," he says. "We faced many hindrances when we tried to conduct worship services and church activities. We were ordered to ask local authorities and religious offices to grant us permission whenever we wanted to conduct Christian events; the process to obtain permission was a long and tedious one, often fruitless in the end."
But after the coup, things grew deadly. Military airstrikes often targeted churches and areas inhabited mostly by Christians, killing thousands of people and displacing families. Christian leaders like Yang were subjected to harassment, violence and intimidation.
In the new town, Yang began serving as a pastor in a small church. Even amidst the conflict and restrictions, the congregation gathered for prayer fellowships and worshiped God. But his ministry consistently faced opposition. "Once, when we were gathered for a worship service, the neighbors complained to the local administrators that our worship was very noisy," he remembers quietly. "In response to this, our church was closed down by the authorities."
In addition to the threat from the military, Pastor Yang and his church members also experienced persecution from radical groups. These groups are militias who support the government and act as armed henchmen for the ruling military.
"Christians are also afraid of the radical group members, as they are known to harass [believers] by detaining them and demanding ransom money," Yang says grimly. "This year, some radical groups came to the area where I am currently leading a church. Some of the members of my church were blindfolded and forced to lie down [as] guns [were pointed] at them. They were not allowed to speak, while their houses were searched for money or valuable possessions. The radical groups took everything they found to be valuable. In case they found nothing, [the believers'] cell phones and motorbikes were taken away. Such incidents repeated several times. As a result, many church members chose to flee from the village."
The persecution spread to affect Yang and his family. "The radical groups also came to my home and took my motorbike," he says. "They also stole 150,000 kyats (about $75, nearly double the monthly minimum wage in Myanmar), which was our emergency fund.
"But this was not the end of it. They came back a few days later to loot our house again. We then decided to move to [yet another] new location."
Even beyond the day-to-day struggle for survival, what's been hardest for Pastor Yang is seeing what the uncertainty and the violence have done to his family. "The burden of moving from one place to another with very young children weighs heavily on me and my wife," he says. "Since the coup, our lives have been incredibly tough; we have had to live amidst the sounds of gunfire and bomb explosions. All this deeply traumatized my wife. She was extremely terrified whenever she heard explosions at night; she also developed heart problems because of this. My children fear the loud sounds and noises. As a husband and a father, sometimes I feel helpless that I cannot make my own family feel safe."
"It is only because of God's protection that we are still alive."
Pastor Yang
He feels the pain and burden of living and following Jesus in Myanmar. "Living in the conflict area and going out for daily chores in the day is equally stressful," he says. "Every time we ride our motorbikes, we remember God's promises in Scripture. We remember God for small things because we feel we can be killed at any moment. Even when I step out of the house to buy groceries, I pray: 'God, help me come back home safely so that I can see my wife and children.'"
Pastor Yang sees God's hand at work in his life and knows He has kept His promises. "Despite feeling desperate and hopeless at times, we know God is with us," Yang shares. "He has kept us safe until now, and we are still able to serve Him. Our family prays together every night, asking God to give us the strength to go through this Red Sea in our lives. We recite Psalm 23 before we go to bed."
After Pastor Yang and his family moved into their current home, they were exhausted and defeated from the repeated upheavals. It was around that time he met some Open Doors partners. They invited him to attend a persecution preparedness training. That was just the beginning of a deepening relationship.
"I was overjoyed to meet the Open Doors partners," Yang says. "[They are] so passionate to serve persecuted believers like me; I soon partnered with them in reaching out to the displaced believers. After attending the persecution preparedness training, I also attended a fellowship for pastors and leaders conducted by them. I realized this training was essential for me because many times I used to feel lonely and separated from fellow believers as I could not communicate with them, due to inconsistent phone connections and disrupted internet services. I now facilitate workshops for church leaders and pastors because I know, like me, they need this time of fellowship for encouragement."
This pastoral ministry, however, is extremely risky. "I have encountered the military many times during my journeys to these meetings," Yang explains. "I have to answer their questions wisely, or else they can turn suspicious and imprison or kill us."
Yang has already experienced the danger firsthand. "One day, some of my fellow pastors and I were on our way to a training program," he remembers. "We were stopped by soldiers, who made us kneel on the ground beside the road. Our bags were searched, and guns were pointed to our heads. They questioned us repeatedly regarding the purpose of our travel. Thankfully, I was able to come up with a reasonable answer, and we were allowed to leave. We know the prayers of believers all around the world protect us."
The coup has also led to widespread poverty and as a result, Pastor Yang's family faces significant financial challenges. "Despite our desperate financial situation, we try to help our church members and other fellow pastors as much as possible in this time of economic hardship," he says. "In the past, I could not do so, and it made me extremely sad."
That's why Open Doors partners have helped Pastor Yang and other Burmese believers with practical aid. He and his wife received support to start a small business. "My wife can now earn some money through this business," he shares happily. "The profit margin is quite low, but it is very helpful to keep our family afloat in these trying times. In fact, now we can extend a little help to others through our income."
Though Pastor Yang and his family have some support to meet daily needs, the constant threat of violence and the ongoing harassment by military radical groups continue to make their lives extremely vulnerable. His face and countenance have indeed aged and grown weary in the four years since an Open Doors partner first met him.
But his joy continues to shine through the darkness. He hopes to continue to be a light for Christ, even among the extreme difficulty of following Jesus in Myanmar. "I hope and believe that one day there will be peace, justice and freedom in our country," he says. "It is my dream and prayer that we would have the freedom to share the gospel and worship freely, and that every person will hear and know Christ."
*Names changed for security reasons.
***
Update on Pastor Yang:
By God's abundant grace, the place where Pastor Yang and his family reside was not badly affected by the recent earthquake. Pastor Yang shares: "My family is safe and sound. The place where we are staying is not really affected by the quake, so there was no structural damage." However, Pastor Yang and his church community are affected by the drastic price increase of essential commodities.
