Many of our praying and supporting friends have asked to see more pictures and updates on the Kimas than we are able to do in the monthly Missions Banner. So we have prepared this photo journal to chronicle some of the highlights of 2007 and give some ideas on the year to come. Thanks for your prayers and interest in the Kimas' ministry!

If you have been watching the news in recent weeks, the name "Myanmar" has become familiar to you. The Southeast Asian country is in great turmoil due to the totalitarian military junta in power there. To date, the military has killed or imprisoned many, and made great efforts to silence voices within from sending information to the wider world. What information has leaked out is not good. Human rights abuses have been prevalent ever since the junta refused to acknowledge democratic elections of ten years ago that would have removed them from power. Now, curfews, meeting restrictions, price increases, the use of force to quell demonstrations are the substance of the news on the subject. They massacred thousands of Buddhist monks in the uprising ten years ago: the situation is ominously similar today.

In the midst of this turmoil sits a small minority of Christians. Among them is our own minister, Rev. Kima, his wife and family, and the church which the Lord has allowed him to gather. The chaos is the most severe in Yangon, apparently, but is also widespread throughout the country. Restrictions have now been placed upon believers trying to meet in Inle Lake by the local authorities, and the fledgling church can no longer meet out on the lake in Kay Lar village. [Personal visits by our evangelist in the area in homes are still able to take place, and the church has been meeting on boats out in the floating farms.] Communications have been cut off nearly entirely thus far as the government tries to shut down the Internet and all outgoing media. Many have asked about the status of the Kimas and the churches they are trying to establish, and we can confidently say that they are in God's hands. They are all fine, though burdened with the doubling of the prices of all commodoties that are affected by the price of fuel, which the junta doubled arbitrarily to raise funds for their military action against the freedom movement. We have just received word that the Kimas are the proud parents of a new baby girl, born on September 28! So we rejoice with them. For the time being, we will refrain from providing pictures of our friends, since the military is now regularly photographing anyone suspected of being in the opposition party. Myanmar reportedly has the most severe and thorough censorship on the Internet of any nation on earth at present. We do not wish to provide faces for the enemies of God's people. ("Kima", by the way, is a shortened version of our brother's name which he has used for our benefit -- we wouldn't be able to pronounce his legal name! -- and so in God's providence it is safe enough to use the name with which we have become familiar.)

Please pray for the Kimas and all believers in Myanmar. Pray for their safety, and for their courage as they seek to find ways to meet in spite of the restriction of no more than five persons meeting at any one time in any one place. [This restriction has now been lifted, and Sunday services are able to take place -- praise the Lord!] We will keep our constituency informed of developments as we learn of them. Pray, too, for the Kimas' support. They need regular monthly supporters badly. We are still able to get funds to them so far: pray that no obstacles would arise to that situation. Thank you.

February, 2008, #225

 In this issue:

• VBS in La Paz, Bolivia
• Kima's Expanding Myanmar Ministry
• Baldwin Report from Cambodia
• Team Timothy USA Preview
• News to Know

July-August 2--7, #220

Inside this issue:

• Paauwe Report from Australia
• Miriam Update from Asia
• Baldwin Update from Cambodia
• Kima Update from Myanmar
• Pastor Installations in the US
• Knoxville BPC VBS Report
• La Paz BPC building project update
• News to Know

 Thanks for your interest in this ministry!

June 2007, #219 In this issue:

• Mark Baldwin's moving experience
• In memoriam: Rev. Martin Freeland and Rev. Earle White
• Brinegar installation in Scappoose
• PMU's new Missions Assistant

Thanks for your interest and support!

PMU Summer Prayer Requests July-September, 2007

• Miriam F – Asia. Praise for the Lord’s sustaining grace through recent health challenges. Semester of teaching English is over for now, and personal work will demand much time and effort. Pray for safety (her field is clamping down on Christian workers with renewed vigor), and continued support.
• Mark Baldwin – Cambodia. Praise for a new apartment and means of transportation (a 100cc moto!). Praise for progress in language studies, which are going very well. Mark is able to fellowship with a BP church plant in another part of the city, for which we are grateful. Pray for opportunities to connect with local people; for evangelistic doors to open; for good health and endurance in the great heat of Phnom Penh. Mark will travel to Florida in August for Synod, so please pray also for the Lord’s journey mercies upon him.
• Ed and Lehia Paauwe – Australia. Ed is recovering well from back surgery in May. July will see him and Lehia traveling to Melbourne to do some ministry there. Ed has been able to return to preaching on a limited basis. Praise for their good support, and progress in the development of Evangel Bible Institute. Praise for the good ministry of the Word of God in the Perth congregation.
• Khawl and Mawite Kima – Myanmar. The work in Myanmar continues to expand and flourish, in the midst of a country that struggles to maintain equilibrium and order in the face of a totalitarian regime. Praise for the thriving church in Yangon; the new orphanage location in Yangon; the church plants in other parts of the country; and interest on the part of many in the BPC of Myanmar. Pray for more regular monthly supporters for their account.
• Len and Karen Pine – Home Office, USA. Praise for God’s faithfulness in travel and opening doors. Praise for leading Karen to work in the office as the new Missions Assistant, as Mrs. Ruth Pine (Len’s mother) retires from her faithful service. Pray for more regular monthly supporters; for minor surgeries during the summer for Karen and Eli; for preparations for summer camp and Synod.
• Team Timothy Brazil – Praise for all funds raised; for good preparations; for all visas received. Pray for travel mercies for July ministry; for open hearts to receive the Word; for safety and good health for the team members as they undertake the hard physical labor of church construction; and for sweet fellowship in their labors together.

May, 2007 #218

• Myanmar Summer Camp Report
• Mark Baldwin gets reacquainted with Cambodia
• Miriam's ongoing work in China
• Columbia BPC calls Brinegar to pulpit
• Lots of "News to Know!"

April 2007, #217

In this issue:

• Bolivia pastoral leadership team report
• Team Timothy Brazil Update
• Mark Baldwin's Cambodia News
• Burmese Westminster Confession of Faith finished!
• Paauwe news

March 2007, #216

In this issue:

• Report from PMU Council Member Kevin Backus on his ministry in Burma (Myanmar)
• Report from Miriam on her recent work on the field
• Report from Ed and Lehia Paauwe on their ministry in Burma and Australia
• News to Know in Home Missions and Mark Baldwin's return to Cambodia

February, 2007, #215

• In this issue: End of year report from Kimas in Burma (Myanmar)
• Dr. Pine's spring itinerary
• Bolivia pastoral leadership team
• Team Timothy USA in Zephyrhills
• Team Timothy Brazil preparations