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May 21, 2008 Update

Little has changed in Myanmar. Emergency supplies are getting into the country, but the ruling generals are still not allowing any more than a trickle of aid workers into the country.

The king and queen of Thailand have sent aid and a group of 30 Thai doctors are presently in Myanmar and carrying out emergency medical attention in the delta region.

Here is an email message I received from one of our Legacy Institute graduates in Yangon:

Dear Aj. Leon,
Mr. U Myo Zaw is doing fine now as well as everyone at the house.
From SaKangyi people are doing fine. we know and heard that who
went to Sakangyi. and Seng Awng who is Seng Mai's brother will go
to Sankangyi in two days. after that we will let you know again.
but in Sakangyi there are many people who came from difficult places
and who are in trouble people from cyclone. currently it is very
difficult to go to Sankangyi.

Your student,
Haung Dau

While God has mercifully seen fit to save and protect our COG brethren so far; many are suffering from lack of food, water, shelter and medical attention. Many thousands are crowded together in makeshift shelters that scarcely protect them from the heavy monsoon rains.

Legacy has been able to get some money into the country which will be distributed to COG members, relatives and as many others as can be helped. They can use this funding to buy food, water and more building materials to construct temporary structures. Please pray for the innocents who are suffering so much.

In Jesus’ service,

Leon Sexton

May 13, 2008 Update

Here is an email message from Legacy grad Haung Dau who is staying in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar:

“Dear Aj. Leon,
we heard that COG people in Sakangyi are doing fine.
no problem there. we heard about that from someone who
knows about that. the phone line or access is not good yet.
we will try to find out about Sakanyi as soon as the phone access is
good for sure. currently U Myo Zaw is feeling not well so pray for him.
we will let you know again. this is all for now.
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
your student,
Haung Dau.”

I received this message in reply to my request to reconfirm the information that the Living Church of God congregation in Sakangyi was safe. Please pray for the deacon in Yangon, Myu Zaw who is now sick. He has had health problems for some time now. This disaster could only make his health worse. Both Myu Zaw and his wife Tu Mar are very fine Christian examples for all the brethren in Myanmar. They are constantly helping others and usually 3 or 4 COG brethren and relatives are staying with them while they visit Yangon. Myu Zaw also helps young people with scholarships from his personal funds. Please pray for his health. He is an important church pillar in Myanmar.


We will continue to keep you posted as news comes in.
In our Lord Jesus’ service,
Leon Sexton

Sunday Evening, May 11, 2008 Myanmar Cyclone Update:

We received very good news this morning. Seng Mai, one of our students at Legacy Institute in Chiang Mai was able to get through and speak to Myu Zaw, a COG deacon in Yangon (Rangoon). He said that a member from Sakangyi village had arrived with good news. All the members of the Church of God in Sakangyi are safe (This is Saw Lay Bey’s old church area). They still face the same problems as others in the Delta such as lack of food and portable water, but God spared them from the worst ravages of the cyclone that swept through only one week ago.

We thank God that He protected His people.

Electricity is still out in Yangon and safe water is scarce. The price of bottled drinking water is way beyond what the average citizen of Yangon can afford. The military junta is still blocking aid workers from entering the county. They will accept aid from the outside but confiscate the shipments as soon as they arrive at the airport.

King Bhumibol of Thailand has sent his own aid shipments to Myanmar and has sent one of his chief aids to talk to the military leadership to ask them to open up the country to more aid and trained aid workers.

Please pray for the poor people of Myanmar. Some estimate that the death toll will surpass 1million.

We will keep you posted as more information comes in.

Leon Sexton

Sunday Morning, May 11, 2008

One of our Legacy Institute students was able to get through to Deacon Myu Zaw by celphone. It seems that the damage to his roof was more extensive than at first reported and they are still in the process of fixing it. They have no electricity and no water. They must get water from another source. Apparently, the home of the sister of Myu Zaw’s wife was completely destroyed. Food is still available, but scarce and food prices are greatly inflated.

There is still no word from the COG congregation in Sakangyi.

Leon Sexton
Chiang Mai, Thailand

May 10, 2008

Unfortunately, because of communications being hindered in the current situation, most of the information we are receiving is similar to what most others are able to receive even though we are here in Thailand, right next door to Myanmar/Burma. The best news we have is an e-mail report from Haung Dau, a Legacy Institute graduate, about the brethren in Yangon. Following are a few images constructed by the BBC and the UN showing affected areas and estimated damage. The map of Southeast Asia is provided by Wikimedia. The Sakangyi Church of God congregation in the Irrawaddy Delta, are located near Myaungmya, indicated (on the detailed UNOSAT map below) on the bottom left,  right of Ngaputaw and above Labutta. We can only hope and pray that the indications on this map are realistic in estimation and that the damages in the Sakangyi congregation's area are minimal. Whatever state our brethren may be in, there is no question of the incredible destruction this cyclone and the incidental surge have caused. The speculations on the loss of lives range from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. Leon Sexton will fly to Myanmar/Burma as soon as he is able to obtain a travel Visa, which the Myanmar government has been very reluctant to release to many foreigners wanting to travel into Myanmar to provide aid. It seems that the Myanmar government is finally allowing some aid agencies to bring needed supplies into the country, however all of these supplies are then being impounded by the Myanmar Military and distribution is then controlled by them. Several agencies are in talks with the government but nothing is resolved as of yet.

If you would like more detailed, updated, global reports, we recommend http://news.bbc.co.uk/, http://www.ap.org, as well as http://www.cnn.com, http://www.nbc.com, http://abcnews.go.com, http://www.foxnews.com, etc. You may find that reports vary from station to station. As for personal reports coming to us directly from COG members, or friends and families of students, we will keep updating on this page as we receive them.

On a final note, we think it is important to mention that given the time of year in this area of the world, we can expect the monsoon and the coming of heavy rains which will surely create even more difficulties for all those in Myanmar affected by the recent cyclone and the destruction it has caused. A major concern as a result of the uncounted decaying bodies and the impending monsoon is a certain increase in disease, which will cause even more suffering and death. There is much to be done and much help needed, if only the amazing amount of help available can be allowed into the country.

Images from a NASA satellite show the impact of Cyclone Nargis on southern Burma. Before it hit, on 15 April (top image), features are sharply defined. In the aftermath on 5 May (bottom image), much of the Irrawaddy river delta region is clearly flooded.

To download the file of this UNOSAT image for more details and ability to zoom in/out... Click Here