a prayer mountain

A cross was built and placed on top of a small mountain near a village in central Burma . The young pastor and his congregation built the cross as a place for people to pray and fast; they called it a prayer mountain and named it “Zion Mount”. It stood atop the trees, away from the hardships and pains of life, overlooking the beautiful countryside – a place of solitude. The pastor and two of his church members were the first to spend a three day retreat fasting and praying at Zion Mount. On the third day their camp was visited by three Burmese military soldiers. The soldiers cut down the cross, burned it, and severely beat the Pastor and his two friends. After the soldiers had finished their destruction, they began descending down the mountainside. The Pastor pulled himself up and tried to reach his friends who were severely hurt. During this process, he slipped on a rock, which rolled off the side of the hill. The rock hit one of the military soldiers square on the head and killed him instantly. This was an accident. The remaining two soldiers didn’t see it that way. They ran back up the hillside and began to beat the pastor until he was unconscious. The soldiers killed the other two men; and left all three at Zion Mount.

The Pastor awoke in a hospital bed a few days later. He didn’t recall how he got there, but he did remember what had happened. He was in a military hospital and guarded by a soldier. After spending over a month in the hospital recovering from his severe beatings, he was arrested and brought before the court. The Pastor was accused of killing the military soldier and his two friends. He was then sentenced to twenty years in a labor prison camp.

Two years passed and the Pastor continued to be mistreated and worked hard in the labor camp. His family felt pity on him and sold all their possessions to bribe him out of jail. The military took their money; but they did not release him. Luckily the Pastor had befriended a guard at the prison; who later allowed him to escape at dark. He fled to the jungle and ran by foot to the capital city, where he was able to hide with an uncle for a few weeks. Once his escape was discovered, the military began their search for him. They visited his home several times, harassing and severely beating his wife. She was soon arrested and imprisoned for not revealing the whereabouts of her husband.

The Pastor and his wife sat before me last week; their two children beside them. He told me this story in a very humble manner. As the story unraveled I had trouble keeping eye contact with him; it was difficult to hear his story and not show a terrified emotion of disbelief. The way he told it made it sound as if it came straight out of the Bible. However, truth is it happened just a couple years ago. And he now sat at a table across from me. What really surprised me with this family was not their concern of the pain in the past, but rather how proactive they could be in creating opportunities for their future. The pastor’s concern was for his sons who had missed two years of school. (In Malaysia , refugees are not allowed to attend school.) And that was really important to him. He wanted his boys to grow up with the education and opportunities to share the peace and hope of their faith with others. He wanted his boys to build prayer mountains of their own in a place where they would not be persecuted for their faith. The boys were young; 8 and 10 years of age. They sat listening to all of this in much detail. They never took their eyes of their father. And they smiled. In spite of the hardship and the pain and the persecution; they were able to smile. They have a hope that better days are coming. :-)

For those of you who share the Christian faith of this Pastor and his family, I’d encourage you to pray for the persecuted church in Burma . Many have not been so lucky to escape and are suffering for their beliefs every day.