COVID-19 continues to infect many individuals throughout Asia and has caused most of LHM's ministry centers on the continent to close their offices and staff to work from home. Due to continued government lockdowns implemented in many of these countries, face-to-face ministry activities have mostly been prohibited.
Though this ongoing situation has provided challenges over the last year and a half, it has also opened doors for LHM ministry centers to use innovative strategies through mass media and digital programming and platforms to reach people with the Gospel during this time of stress and uncertainty.
In addition to dealing with the effects of the pandemic, LHM-Myanmar has been forced to adapt its ministry efforts due to ongoing unrest and violence within the country in response to last winter's military coup. Although Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and some websites are currently banned by the military, LHM staff has been able to share the Good News with followers and subscribers on these platforms through a virtual private network (VPN).
Now, LHM-Myanmar has launched a free app for children that can be installed on Android mobile devices through the Google Play store. The Hope for Kids app, which does not require VPN to use, debuted Sept. 30 and includes reading, video, and audio options for content such as children's Bible Correspondence Courses, children's songs, puppet shows, and children's booklets. The courses and booklets contain moving images and can even be downloaded to read offline.
We thank and praise God for providing this new way to share the Good News with children in Myanmar while churches and schools there remain closed.