Mission to Myanmar
Grace Missions director Rev Ross Rennie visited Myanmar in June 2009 to speak at a pastors’ conference organised by Advance Inland Mission Today (now known as Active In Missions Today) and held in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar. Ross was accompanied by his friend Greg Dixon, director of International Friends of Compassion (Europe).
God’s hand was on the preparations for the trip. For example Ross and Greg obtained their visas to enter Myanmar without any challenge from the authorities, in spite of being completely up front about the purpose of their visit. They continued under God’s protection while undergoing surveillance and police checks after their arrival in Myanmar.
Although Ross had experienced high temperatures and humidity before on trips to Cambodia, it was nevertheless a shock to his system to have to teach at the conference (with no air conditioning) for hours at a stretch with only short breaks. He consumed up to 15 bottles of water a day! The personal cost to Ross of the trip was not confined to heat exhaustion. Towards the end of the trip he contracted food poisoning and had to make frequent visits to the bathroom!
The pastors were attentive to the message of grace that Ross taught and he was excited to hear from them how they were already living out some of the principles he was explaining. Ross and Greg were touched by the sacrificial dedication of the church-planters they met who make long and arduous journeys off the beaten track to make disciples in the remoter regions of Myanmar.
Ross felt privileged to follow in the footsteps of Adoniram Judson, one of the first missionaries to Burma, and was delighted to meet up with a descendant of George Müller in Yangon. An even greater joy was to spend time in fellowship with his hosts Philip and Dante and to see first-hand how God is working powerfully through the Myanmar national church.
God provided for all the expenses of the trip before Ross and Greg left for Myanmar. However, before returning home they felt led to leave a gift of US$1,000 (about £700) with Advance Inland Mission Today to pay for their next mission trip into the interior of Myanmar. If you would like to help meet the cost of this gift, please contact us.