Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
Day One Ministries in Burma
Myanmar (Burma) is a country rich in natural resources, and is a leading producer of gems, jade, and teak. Yet it is marked by the poverty of the majority of its people who are struggling in a failing economy crippled by sanctions imposed upon a military government that has been in power since the early 1960s. In May 2008 the delta region of the country, including the former capitol city of Yangon (Rangoon), was devastated by the Cyclone Nargis, causing at least 146,000 fatalities with thousands more people still missing.
Only 4% of the population are Christians in this predominantly Buddhist country, but the church is growing and there is an increasing number of churches and Bible Schools in the main cities of Yangon and Mandalay. Many of the Burmese Christians are engaged in mission throughout the country, and recently there have been many conversions to Christ. Since 2002, four members of the current Day One Council and Day One authors—Clive Anderson, Chris Hughes, Simon Robinson and Jim Winter—have regularly visited the country, teaching and preaching and distributing much-needed books to the Burmese pastors and Bible Schools. This is an ongoing ministry which, by the grace of God, will continue to expand.
Many Burmese pastors and Christian workers have reported on the increasing number of cases of depression that they have encountered across the country. This is not surprising when we consider the circumstances in which the people live and work. The Day One publication Depression: a rescue plan is used by many pastors in their ministries but, unfortunately, many Burmese Christians do not have an adequate grasp of the English language to benefit from it. However, on a recent visit to the country the author, Jim Winter, was delighted to receive a complete Burmese edition that had been translated by one of his colleagues. It is hoped that this will soon be made available to Christian workers, free of charge, and we pray that this will be of great benefit to those faithful servants of God who are faithfully seeking to win their fellow citizens to Christ.
Day One Diaries - Prison Ministry
As we press on into our thirty-second year of distributing the Day One diary into prisons and Young Offenders Institutions throughout the United Kingdom, we would express our gratitude to all our supporters who have given so generously to this vital part of our ministry. Last December we were able to despatch from our warehouse 178,560 diaries to 176 establishments as far north as the Highlands of Scotland and as far south as the Channel Islands. The prison population continues to rise significantly. Over 85,000 men and women are in custody each day, most of them with no Christian background. One major concern is the rapidly increasing number of female inmates. Holloway prison is now the largest women’s prison in Europe. It is estimated that around 440,000 people were in custody at some time during 2009.
We are only touching the tip of a large iceberg. However, letters are received from both prisoners and chaplains thanking our supporters for the gift of the diary. For most, it is their only personal possession in jail. During December, inmates queue up outside the offices of chaplains eager to receive the diary. Throughout the year we receive numerous letters from prisoners asking for Bibles and other Christian literature. We try and ensure that all requests are met.
The need is great and, with your continued help, Day One will continue this ministry by bringing God’s Word in to our prisons
Day One Publications translated in to Russian
Authentic Biblical Counseling is the Russian translation of two new counseling books written by Dr Paul Tautges and published early in 2009 by Day One (Counsel One Another, Counsel Your Flock). The one-volume hardcover book is being used as a textbook in various training centres and seminaries in the former Soviet Union. Last month, in Samara, 600 copies of the book were given as a free gift to those who attended the annual pastors’ conference with keynote speaker, John Piper. Most recently, Tautges’ book was given to a number of MDiv students at Irpin Biblical Seminary in Ukraine. The book is being well received by our Russian and Ukrainian brethren and meets a real need for biblical resources in their language.