For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

Several years ago Jesse and his wife Erin fled their Kachin village in Burma after the army burned it to the ground. They made their way to Thailand, where they lived near a refugee camp and gathered with a few people to worship on Sundays. Word about the church spread, motivating Jesse to pick up people from nearby villages using his scooter – thus dubbing this growing congregation of over 100 The Scooter Church. (Read more about the Scooter Church here and here).

Jesse has recently heard from his sister and explains,

“At the present time a war is going on between the Kachin people and the Burmese Military Government, the Burmese Government would like to get their hands on the natural resources in that area (uranium, jade, rubies, gold, timber, etc.). The Kachin people are determined that their homeland should not be robbed. The Kachin Army of 10,000 men, armed with a few old weapons and a small amount of ammunition is facing the full force of the massive Burmese Army of 400,000 men with their high-tech equipment. 50 of my friends have already died in the fighting. My sister is in the army and she sent a message to say that in one day her camp was bombed 20 times by Russian built MIG jet fighters. Amazingly very little of this news gets into the outside world, and what news does come out is often inaccurate.”

Jessie asks that you Please pray:

• For peace, and pray that the Kachin people will be able to retain their own homeland
• That we will be shown how to respond to the massive orphan children problem that is developing.
• Also for our many Christian friends and Christian high-ranking officials who live in the area.
• For the Scooter Church to reach more people in the area with the Gospel.

Please leave your prayers for Jesse’s sister and the Kachin people below. We will forward your encouraging words along to them.

To provide the Kachin with food, medicine and other supplies, please donate now
Read a heartfelt appeal from the Kachin here

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 (NIV)

In the past few weeks, the (primarily Buddhist) Burmese Army has attacked villages in the predominantly Christian Kachin State. Burma’s government has denied any wrongdoing, blaming some attacks on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and blaming embassies, media, and aid groups for “fabricating news”.

Our sources in Kachin have relayed the following tragic story:

“29 January, 2013 The Burmese Army fired on the town of Mayan, killing a mother and her nine year old son, and injuring three other family members. The town was under government control, and villagers are shocked and angry because the government has blamed the attack on the KIA. In fact, the KIA has not been in Mayan for over a year.

Locals reported that some Burmese Army (BA) troops were drunk and fired their guns. The BA artillery unit 372 was alarmed by the shots and reacted by firing artillery into the town, which directly hit the Jangmaw house. Since then, the army unit has offered 300,000 Kyat to the family (about $350).

Please pray:

• For the friends and family of the Jangmaws. That as they lean into their faith, God will comfort them.
• For the constant fighting in Kachin State to end.
• That the truth of Kachin State is made known. The battle for the state is not one of governmental control, land, or even natural resources; it is a spiritual battle. Pray for God’s army to completely overwhelm the forces of evil with the love of Christ.

(Please share your prayers for the Kachin people, and specifically the Jangmaw family below. We will be sure to relay your prayers to the family.)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

Fighting between the Burmese government forces has intensified this week in the western state of Kachin. Helicopter and jet attacks have been reported almost every day for the past three weeks. There have been numerous casualties, including some unintended ones.

The funeral for three Kachin boys, killed when a bunker they were playing in collapsed Jan 15, 2013.

Camps designed to shelter the tens of thousands displaced by they Kachin conflict have fashioned earthen bunkers to provide some protection against aerial attacks. International news reported the story of three boys who were killed last Tuesday when a bunker they were playing in collapsed on top of them. The boys’ families are friends of an Alpha Relief operative.

The funeral for the boys, Labya Gam (13), Kareng Tu (11), and his brother Lahpai Tu (12), was held Wednesday.

Please pray:

• For the Gam and Tu families. That they sense God’s comfort and peace in their loss.
• That through this continued time of war, their faith in the Lord grows deeper.
• For the ceasefire penned by the Burmese government, and that the Burmese Army honors its government’s decree
• For successful negotiations between the Kachin and the Burmese government

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
(3 John 1:4 NIV)

Once a month, forty children walk for two hours through the landmine-infested jungles of Burma to reach a predetermined meeting place, on the border with Thailand. Once there, they are supplied by Alpha Relief operatives with enough rice, eggs, chicken, vegetables, cooking oil and fish paste to feed them for the next month—and then the children walk two hours back to their home in Burma.

Christian caregivers are now the guardians of these dear children. Their parents were killed by attacks on their villages by the Burma Army, but through His faithfulness, God provides for them.

Please Pray:

• For the children’s continued growth in Christ through the support and dedication of their caregivers.
• The children’s safe passage each month as they collect their monthly food supplies.
• For sponsors to emerge who will fund the $400/ month food costs.