Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Our international team (Filipino, Singaporean, and American) taught over 40 people about Christian media and video production. Our participants were lay leaders and pastors and came from all parts of Myanmar and almost half had very little experience in video production. This is the first nationwide production workshop in our sending organization's history and it was an honor to be a part of such a monumental event in the country's history.
Myanmar is a place that has been in a time warp for almost 50 year. Within the last 18 months, it has begun opening up to the outside world. The country is moving fast away from the typewriters and land line phones I encountered in the markets on this trip and toward Internet cafés and cell phones that are now available in Myanmar at reasonable prices. Myanmar was one of three countries that did not manufacture Coke (Cuba and North Korea being the other countries). Until nine months ago, Coca-cola was only available via bringing it in from Thailand or Singapore and was considered very expensive. We bought a bottle of Coke at a local convenience store and the price was printed right on the bottle, something Coke NEVER does, making it clear that this is a product for the masses.
Just as the Gutenberg printing press drew people close to Jesus at the launch of the Reformation, I believe that media in Myanmar can be the catalyst for change to draw people toward Jesus. There is cautious anticipation and optimism among the people. When we met with national church leaders, they stressed the timeliness of our being here and are hoping the church can creatively take advantage of this moment to bring the Message of Jesus to the people of Myanmar through media. So please, continue to pray for Myanmar so that through media Buddhists may see the light of Jesus.