Greetings Family, Co-workers and Friends.

Just wanted to thank you for your prayers. It is Sunday afternoon here in Myanmar.

It is hot, muggy and raining a lot here. We have had several very productive meetings here so far with church leaders, Christian leaders and government officials.

I was at church this morning and had the blessing of speaking about 15 minutes to a church of about 250. What a blessing! It went fine and I enjoyed it.  This evening we will go to another church and will speak again. Many of the songs this morning were in English. It was pretty surprising to me how many songs were in English. The general superintendant of this denomination shared that he oversees 1400 churches and they have 7 bible colleges here in Myanmar.

Please pray as we meet with various church and Christian leaders as well as travel and meet people affected by Cyclone Nargis.  I have heard many very sad stories. And I have met many who have been a great encouragement to those who have suffered.  As I shared this morning with the congregation - we don’t know the whys of everything that happened but what we do know is that in spite of circumstances - God’s grace and mercy and faithfulness are very real and as James mentioned in chapter one - God uses the testing of our faith to produce perseverance and perseverance can make us mature and complete in God’s eyes. I heard one story of a village that had 220 families and 120 died from the cyclone.  All but one house was destroyed and that was the pastor’s home. That has given him a special opportunity to provide housing for many in his village. 

Another story I heard really moved me. One believer who was a student at a Bible College had gone out to a village in the delta area prior to the cyclone as part of her studies. She had an incredible ministry there and many teens at the camp had become followers of Jesus.  She went back to the same village after the cyclone and discovered that over half of the youth and children had died in the cyclone.  She was so moved that she brought 50 of them back with her and her church is helping to provide for them until they can go back.  So this has been a very difficult time for many.  Please pray for those affected and pray for the teams of believers who are going out to the areas to minister - as they meet practical needs, physical needs, emotional needs and spiritual needs.

Yesterday, the first two large trucks of building supplies left for a staging area out in the delta area. They will be used to build schools in 6 villages. Typically school starts here in June, but due to the affect of the storm, they can’t start until clean up happens. Some schools have begun and are meeting outside so the sooner we can get them built - the better.  Our hope is that the six schools will be completed in the next couple months. Then, after that, the community centers will be constructed.  Global Aid Network has also been asked to build three health clinics.  It has been raining a lot here since it is monsoon season so we would really appreciate your prayers for the work here especially as this is done by believers who have the wonderful opportunity to demonstrate God’s love through both word and deed.  Thanks for your love and prayers. 

Blessings.

Duane Zook