MIZO CHRISTIAN GLOBAL NETWORK

MCGN is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization promoting spiritual renewal and economic development of the people in Mizoram and the surrounding region by serving them as Jesus did. (Mt. 20:28)

"The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (Mt. 9:37-38)

BULLETIN: JULY 2005

Mizo Readers, please visit the new MIZO SECTION

Telephone Interview with Evangelist Mrs. Lalrinmawii (Mawii)

To God be the glory for great things He has done!

By
Liana Mualchin

Pi Lalrinmawii (Mawii) was born in Mizoram, India but lives in Tahan, Myanmar most of her life. She was saved at the tender age of 9 and was called to serve the Lord at 15. She has completed 21 years of productive ministry among Buddhists in Myanmar.

She went to Bible school for 2 years and served the Lord any way she could. She was a pastor with the Assembly of God for 7 years, possibly among the most productive workers

She distributed Christian tracts for 3 years and yet still no satisfaction. Along the way, God used her life in many ways. She is heavily involved in organizing retreats for Buddhists, mostly near her home town of Tahan. At the first event, out of 76 participants, 75 received Christ as their Lord and Savior. This enraged the Buddhists and they tried to kill her. She was invited for a meal and much poison was put in the chicken curry served to her. She ate but nothing happened to her! That completely amazed them and they did not understand how she could be alive. They confessed to her what they did. She responded and they listened to her message, and the result was all were saved!

We did not have time for a detailed testimony but discussed some highlights. Buddhists people tried to stone her and to hurt her with pellets but all attempts failed. The story became widely known throughout the town.

In another incident, a group of young Buddhists were angry with her because some of their friends and family members became Christian through her ministry. They tried to kill her with knives at her meeting-house while they were praying. Somehow, Mawii felt something was wrong and opened her eyes. Lo, she saw the young men with their weapons! Before they hit, Mawii shouted and used her karate skill to defend herself. Her prayer partners overcame the young men and Mawii escaped the death trap.

One night, they waited to kill her on the road they knew Mawii would take on her way home from a meeting. As the Lord wills, Mawii went home by another road and escaped another trap. Not long after this incident, the believer group feared for her life and did not let her go home from the night meeting. The young group went to her house that very night. They broke and vandalized her house but she escaped a deathly encounter. After few days, the people apologized to her. Mawii forgave them and witnessed to them. By the grace of God, they all accepted the Lord!

Some nine older Christians and she started a group, Witness Christian Mission Fellowship (WCMF). They have home meetings and the Lord continues to use her in a mighty way.

Mawii and her husband have no official support. God faithfully supplies for their needs. Their lack of transportation makes ministry very difficult. In her 21 years of witnessing to Buddhists, some 1,400 were baptized. They organize retreats, usually for one week, where they distribute Bible only to who are receptive to the Gospel. They never have enough Bibles. We heard about her when we went to Thailand in February 2004. We gave money to a Mizo pastor to purchase Bibles printed in Thailand to give to Mawii’s ministry. As of now, bringing Bibles in Burma is prohibited by government. Last year, Burmese officials burnt Bibles brought on two occasions. In the first case, 1,500 Bibles brought to a Burma-India border town were seized and burned at the check point. At another incident at a different Burma-India border town, they burned 3,000 Bibles. Somehow, Gideon’s group can get Bibles, maybe from Thailand. It is painfully true that they can never get enough Bibles because of so many rules, regulations, and restrictions. Pray for the Lord to provide Bibles to Burmese people!

Mark 16:15-18
Jesus said to his disciples... “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and baptizes will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these things will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in a new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

BULLETIN: JUNE 2005

It is good to hear from friends inquiring about our long silence in posting our Newsletter. God understands why we cannot continue our monthly newsletter. Also, we can no longer write extended news of MCGN or personal articles that we really wish to do. Pray that we will be able to continue in a new format.

Praise the Lord the Mizo e-Bible is nearly finished. An American missionary went to Mizoram and brought us a CD copy of the e-Bible. Liana looked at it and found minor items for correction. It looks really good. We faced satanic attacks against this project but our God is watching over. There are no short cuts for high quality products and this is very true for our Mizo e-Bible. We believe that this will be helpful for Mizo speaking people, especially for young people. The CD also includes a search tool and a concordance.

Jail ministry is going strong. Each time we talk with Mizoram MCGN Operator, Ms. Partei, we hear good news. Praise God for opening the hearts of jail inmates and for those willing to serve them.

We visited our long time friends, Ed and Kaji Burgess in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit Pastor John Kless of Glenside as his place is too far from Johnstown. We pray that will happen in a future trip. It was a refreshing time for us. The land is beautiful and seeing good friends is a wonderful thing. They took good care of us. We also met their parents, Rev. Harold and Mrs. Lynn Burgess, their daughter Esther and her husband Roy. Harold retired from pastoring a Methodist church in Johnstown.

On our way back to California, we stayed one night with Pi Biaklawmi’s family in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Her husband, Rev. Biakchhunga came from Burma to study at a Bible college in Pittsburg 10 years ago. Now, the family also came to settle with him in USA. We are glad to meet them but missed Rev. Biakchhunga as he was away in Maryland, starting a new Mizo Methodist church.

We re-visited friends and different churches in May and June. One of the churches we visited, Adventure Christian Church in Roseville, about an hour drive from our home, is huge. They have about 6,000 members. We were greatly encouraged by the sermon on missions focus. Such missions sermons from the pulpit are rare these days! It was a simple but moving message; we were impressed!

It feels great to connect by phone with Evangelist, Pi Lalrinmawii (Mawii) from Burma. We heard reports from various sources that she is reliable and working hard for the Lord. Remarkably, her ministry is free from denominational constraints. Her main ministry is distributing Bibles to Buddhists. As mentioned before, printing and selling Bibles is prohibited in Burma. It is difficult and most painful to get Bibles to Burma but there are ways. If anyone wants to help, you can do so by financial contributions through Mizo Christian Global Network. Your contributions are tax-deductible. Remember, someone there is always willing to distribute but must have funding to purchase Bibles. The recipients, converted Buddhists or new Christians, cannot afford to buy and your contributions help.

BULLETIN: MAY 2005

Memorial Day

In USA, the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. Everyone observes this national holiday. All local, state, and federal offices are closed. This is observed in honor and memory of those who died for the country. In California’s state capital, Sacramento city, there is always a jazz music festival during this time. People came from all over the world. Wherever you go, you can hear jazz music; it is the most fun you can have if you love this music.

Every year when Memorial Day comes, I recall Jesus having the Last Supper with His disciples telling them to do it (the Supper) in remembrance of Him. Besides, I can imagine how families will remember their loved ones who died in war.

This year, we got a surprised email from a well-known retired Presbyterian missionary, Rev. Harold Kurtz of Portland, Oregon. To celebrate his 85th birthday, Harold went sky diving!. It was a great treat for him, being a pilot himself during Second World War and yet he never experienced such a jump before. We are even more surprised that Harold did not tell his wife, Polly before his jump. When Liana got Harold’s email, he shouted and Ngeni ran to the computer room to see what happened. Then, Ngeni rushed to the living room to show Lisa the news. As always, we all are very proud of Harold but we all said he should have told Polly first!

Since Liana, Ngeni and Lisa are free from supporting Perspectives class this month, Liana and Ngeni went to rest a week near the beautiful Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Many things to catch up especially for the MCGN, and we found that wonderful things happened every month in Mizoram MCGN during the period from December 2004 to May 2005, as stated below.

Mizo e-Bible

Completing Mizo electronic-Bible is not an easy job. MCGN did not have money to hire experts to do it. We spent a bit already for typing and corrections. God brings Mizo experts together to finish the difficult project. We are anxious to see this completed!

Myanmar Ministry

With God’s provision, we were able to send money to help an orphanage in Myanmar and to buy Burmese Bibles for distribution by Evangelist, Pi Lalrammawii (Mawii). We are glad to find in her a good worker for the Lord and she is free from denominational control. Giving out Bibles, the Word of God, is the main thing disciples should do. Preaching and sending missionaries may be possible in some places but may not be possible in other places due to restrictions. There, we need to provide the Bible to the people who are interested and willing to study the message that can lead them to the Lord.

Jail Ministry

It is going well. The Lord brings dedicated people for this special ministry. Casting out demons happens from time to time. Volunteers pray together a lot. Lovingly and willingly, they give their time, and contribute financially. May God bless them!

Jail ministry volunteers are Ms. Sangpari, Mr. Zawma, Mr. Zela, Ms.Saithangi, Ms. Lalhriatpuii, Ms. Tepuii, Ms. Lalmuani, Ms. Lalremmuani, Mr. Zonunsanga, Ms. Mahmingi, Mr. Rina, Mr. Tanpuia, Ms. Sangpuii, and Mr. Jakob. They are from various backgrounds – medical doctor, university professor, college lecturer, counselor, motor driver, business-person, government worker, Christian organization worker, etc.

All are dedicated people that God can use. We praise the Lord for His power! They have weekly prayer meetings. Remember them in your prayers. We are able to send money to operate Jail ministry for 4 months. As we cannot provide adequate funding for transportation, we can use your contribution. Generally, people there do not own cars or are able to drive so they must hire vehicles to commute. Hiring a taxi for one Sunday is $ 25-30. You can write a check to Mizo Christian Global Network and your contribution is tax deductible.

We also sent money to help an orphanage operated by Lairam Isua Krista Baptist Church in Lawngtlai, southern Mizoram.

BULLETIN: APRIL 2005

God’s Wisdom

Celebrate His Faithfulness, Mercy and Love which endure forever!

By
Ngeni Mualchin

As we grow older, we naturally have more experiences in life. I see more of the reality of God. His Word is eternal. His plan is for forever. He is the eternal God. I thought a lot about man’s ways and God’s way. Our God is not just any god. Jesus, our God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Savior of the world.

Looking at the life of believers, we go to church to worship, we bring gifts, sing hymns or praise songs, pray to God, and listen to His Word through the preacher. The preacher, usually a pastor, talks about lifestyle, love, giving, etc. People bring their tithes (10% of income) but the amounts are not the same. Leaders in the church seem to appreciate those who give more money. Large givers look better outwardly and are usually given authoritative position rather than poorer people even though both groups give 10%. In the eyes of God, there is no real difference between the two groups! Man makes them unequal and treats them differently. A similar thing happens with spiritual gifting. Believers get spiritual gifts exactly the same way from the same Holy Spirit. Yet, those with healing gift seem to be appreciated more by the people!

It always amazes me how our Lord Jesus called the 12 disciples to carry on His ministry in this sinful hostile world. He could have a selected persons from popular groups like community leaders, priests, synagogue leaders, political leaders, and rich or well known families. Rather, He called common people like a tax collector - Matthew; fishermen - Peter and his brother Andrew, John and his brother James; a Zealot party member trying to overthow the ruling Roman power - Simon; etc. Only after three years with Jesus, they all changed so much with the exception of Judas Iscariot. He also had a chance to change, but he made the wrong choice.

When Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well, “…Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth“ (John 4:23, 24). I wonder if those disciples were looking for the Messiah in their heart even though they seem to be different from those who expected a visible and powerful Messiah to overthrow the worldly Romans rulers!

If the 12 disciples can do mighty things for Jesus after only three years with Him, how long have you and I known the Lord Jesus, how long have we had Him in our life, and how much have we changed? I think we need to be totally commitment in our life to be used by the Lord. Though Jesus may not live with us physically today, He is with us in the Holy Spirit; and we are in the same position as the 12 disciples in our life spiritual journey.

When I heard this story from Liana, my thought was on 1 Cor. 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Many times, we are discouraged in our sacrifice because we did not see the result as expected. Well, we know that discouragement usually comes from the enemy. Let us not be discouraged because in due time we will reap, as Apostle Paul said. Let’s keep on doing good things even if we do not get the results now. If we do even little things by faith and trust in God, He will not let it be in vain. We see in Eph. 2:10 that “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

If we want to worship or follow Jesus whole heartedly, in spirit and truth, there is no reason we can not see the power of the Lord in our ministry. Instead of making so many plans and budgeting, why not do what we can with what we have? God only asks for what we can do by what we have. Why not seek first His kingdom and righteousness and He will provide for His ministry?

Jesus did not ask for a lot to feed 5000 people! If we trust or have faith in Him, He will do great things with the little things we have. This is our theme at MCGN. If we have adequate money for our ministry’s projects and yet do not have faith, it will not last. The fruit will not last and not be of eternal value. In all we do, let’s do it for the glory of God, that the world may know the Savior of the world and Messiah, Lord Jesus Christ.

On April 30:
Liana, Ngeni and Lisa went to see Bruce and Rosemary Logan in Napa, California. The photo displayed in their living room looked very interesting for me. It was a grapevine without leaves and no branches. It was trimed. They said it belongs to their grandparents. This one had produced as much as the sum of vines in one acre! That is why they called it the “Grape Vine”. In the parable of Jesus on sowing seed, some that fell on the good soil can produce 60, 100 times. One person can produce a lot if he is obedient to God. The productive way of doing minstry is to trust and obey. In the time of Jesus, whenever they obeyed Him they produced much, like feeding five thousand, turning water into wine, healing sick, raising persons from death, and even catching fish.

BULLETIN: MARCH 2005

MCGN Special Board Meeting

Place: Mualchin’s residence, Placerville, California
Date: March 4, 2005
Present: Andrew Florio, Juliet’s brother; Aleata Florio, Juliet’s mother; Marc Florio, Juliet’s father; Jakob and his mother, Carrie Stockton; Patricia Macy; Marian Hanna; Lisa Mualchin; Ngeni Mualchin; and Liana Mualchin.

We had dinner, fellowship, sharing, and prayer. It was a blessed meeting again.

Liana gave a report on Jail ministry in Mizoram, Juliet Florio Scholarship, Purpose Driven Life translation in Mizo, possibility of introducing Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class in Northeast India, plans to translate the Study Guide book of Perspectives course in Mizo, and activity in the ministry of a Mizo lady missionary, Pari Ralte (Pari) in China. Patricia joyfully contributes finances to support Pari

Jail ministry in Mizoram is moving forward beyond our expectation! We believe that this is God’s timing. The harvest is plentiful and we are praying for the Lord to send workers in the field. The Lord brought workers in Jail ministry, sooner than we expected, for which we thank and praise Him.

Marc and Aleata shared how they informed their friends the way MCGN scholarship was named after their (late) daughter, Juliet. They checked our files to see how we run the scholarship program. After we explained, they understood that the systems in USA and Mizoram are far apart; simple things here can become very complicated in Mizoram. Moreover, we told them that we do not have volunteers to do all that we want to do and action is slow. We have no money to hire workers for MCGN and we operate by using volunteers. We need more such people!

Ms. Carrie Stockton shared her personal testimony and her desire to go to India for a short-term mission. Her testimony was a moving and wonderful story, especially how the Lord saved her life from a horrible car accident. Her son, Jakob is a student of the spring 2005 Perspective class held in our church ‘Church of the Foothills’, Cameron Park, California.

Liana informed the meeting why and how we decided to change our monthly Newsletter format. We will post articles, information, and prayer requests quarterly instead of monthly. We decided this because of limitations in manpower. We used a significant part of our time in introducing Perspectives mission class in our community. We believe that this course is one of the best for promoting missions to individuals and churches, a vision of MCGN ministry.

BULLETIN: FEBRUARY 2005

Family Reconnected After 37 Years - God’s Miracle Through MCGN!

“….Your labor in the Lord is not in vain…” (1 Cor. 15:58)
By
Ngeni Mualchin

Our story starts in Park Community Church (PCC), Cameron Park, California. In 1999, we met Jeff Mead who introduced us to his church, PCC and later developed a website for MCGN. The church kindly invited us to share MCGN ministry at their Sunday morning service. They gave a love offering. From that time, Patricia Macy continues to be one of the faithful supporters. On that Sunday morning, Jerry Kaehele gave us an audio tape duplicator even though we had no idea how it would be used by MCGN.

About a year later, MARC (Mizo Action Research Center) team came in our ministry. When the research team was getting ready to go to Mizoram, we prepared common Mizo words and sentences for the team members to practice so that they can speak some Mizo to the people. For this, Jerry’s duplicator became very handy! In addition to words and sentences, we also audio-taped a popular Mizo song. We gave the tape to all team members. We realized that God provides for our needs even before we know of them. Neither Jerry nor we knew our needs beforehand.

Not long ago, Liana reconnected with Jerry and visited him at his home in California. Jerry told Liana an incredible story about his long-lost sister, practically disappearing from the family circle due to great disappointments in life. She is the youngest in the family, and Jerry took special care of her when they were young. None of them knew where she lived. Jerry’s sister is very bright, a professor in an university in the eastern USA. She refused to listen to the Gospel and is not a Christian.

One day Jerry’s phone rang, and he picked it up. It was Jerry’s sister calling him after 37 years! Do you have any idea how this connection happened? Naturally, Jerry was very surprised and asked her how she found his phone number.

Here is the miraculous story. Jerry’s sister had just retired and as she is getting older, was trying to locate her family and relatives who live mainly in the western USA. She searched Jerry’s name on the internet and saw his name in MCGN website under Thanks & Praises section of MCGN Newsletter. In that Newsletter, we thanked Jerry for contributing a tape duplicator and she found that very information by searching Jerrys’ name on the web. Jerry himself does not use information technology such as email and the like. After she found where Jerry lives, it was easy to find his phone number. So a sister found and called her brother after 37 years through the information on MCGN website! Jerry told Liana that he wants to share with her the Gospel in indirect and practical ways. Pray she will come to find the Lord! We thought you might like to know this wonderful story.

May the Lord continue to bless your zeal and use you for His kingdom. Thank God for using MCGN in unexpected ways!

BULLETIN: JANUARY 2005

NOTES

We apologize for not being able to continue the Monthly Newsletter. We were glad to receive emails inquiring about our Newsletters. Thank you for your interest and support. Due to pressing demands on us, we cannot continue posting lengthly Newsletters. From now on, we will post in a more creative format, mostly in article form. Send us your burdens and interests in missions, in English and/or Mizo, for posting on our monthly feature.

A BLESSED NEW YEAR, 2005!

New year, new month, new week and a new day! People make resolutions for the New Year. Most people do not keep them. As we approach 2005 what is your resolution? In USA, many people need and try to lose weight. What do you have in mind?

As a Christian, there is so much to thank for God’s faithfulness in our life. At the same time, we think about what we will pursue for the ministry in the future with a vision. We can expect again God’s faithfulness here as well. We need a lot of prayer and commitment. As we plan for Liana’s retirement from government work, we are looking at new ways of serving. In August, 2004 we visited Harold and Polly Kurtz and spoke about retirement. Harold suggested that we don’t do anything and just relax for one year. We believe this is a wise counsel from God and intend to live that way. Thanks to Harold!

The New Year is coming and the plans for 2005 are more than ever! We don’t know but believe that it is God’s plan for us. Our focus is bringing in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class in our community to promote missions beyond 2005. We also want to introduce this class in Mizoram and NorthEast India. Most people planning for retirement talk about traveling to see the most beautiful and famous places on earth. Ours is dedicated to serving according to God’s will. We really want to visit various mission fields and contribute whatever we can.

How about you, do you have any plan? Or you will go as God’s calls. A friend told us that after their children grow up and they are free from family responsibilities, only then they will try to contribute to ministry. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Therefore, if we don’t act now, we may never. If we don’t give now, we may never have anything to give. Now is the only time we have! Let’s live with Jesus daily and do what we can today, because tomorrow may never come.

Pray that all Christians will commit their life to live every moment for Jesus in 2005 and the years to come. May the Lord continue to bless you as you serve faithfully.

---IDEAS, ADVICE, AND COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME---

MCGN International HQ: USA: Lalliana Mualchin (Email: mualchin@hotmail.com)

News Compiler: Ngeni Mualchin (Email: mualchin@hotmail.com)

Editor: Patricia Macy (Email: pamacy@netzero.net)