Remembering Ko Tha Byu in Pathein

Early Saturday morning, the Bostroms and I joined the KBC General Secretary, Dr. Greeta Din, for about a four drive west from Yangon to the city of Pathein.  Pathein is home to the largest association in the KBC and includes the home village of Ko Tha Byu.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ko Tha Byu, he was a notorious Karen criminal purchased from slavery by Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson.  Ko Tha Byu later became the first Karen believer.  Like the Apostle Paul, Ko Tha Byu was so transformed by his encounter with Christ that he spent the rest of his life sharing the Gospel with Karen people.  Within a few years of his conversion thousands of Karen believed and were baptized, formed churches, and sent out Karen Baptist missionaries to other people groups throughout Myanmar. Today, the Karen call Ko Tha Byu the Karen Apostle.

Ko Tha Byu bust in Pathein Assoc. Building

Not surprisingly, the name of Ko Tha Byu is held in great honor among the Karen Baptists across Burma, but especially in Pathein.  While in Pathein we visited the Ko Tha Byu Theological Seminary, a B.Th. granting institution sponsored and supported by the local Karen Baptist association.  There I met Thra Doh Dr. Lincoln who has visited us in Utica on several occasions while studying for his D.Min. degree at Palmer Seminary in Philadelphia.

Mark with fellow Palmer Seminary alumnus Dr. Lincoln

While in Pathein we also visited several ministries of the local Baptist Association.  The association sponsors a small hospital at which Sgaw Karen is spoken. Burmese is language at the government hospital in Pathein.  As some Karen do not speak Burmese, if were not for the Karen language hospital, they would not seek or receive medical care.  We also visited the Women's Department which offers young women instruction in weaving.  Once they have mastered this skill, they are able to earn income selling their cloth and garments.  They also are able to instruct others in their village who want to learn to weave. This work is very typical of Baptist congregations, associations, and conventions in Burma.  There is a strong commitment here to both proclaim God's good news in Christ and reach out in Christ's love to ease suffering and improve the situation of those most in need.

Young woman learning to weave.

On Sunday morning we joined our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Ko Tha Byu Karen Baptist Church (across the street from the association compound) for worship.  The church building is large and was filled to capacity (perhaps 1000 in attendance). The service included great lay leadership and several choirs. I was given the honor of preaching to the largest assembly I have addressed in my ministerial career!

Looking from the pulpit into the sanctuary before the service.
The church is cross shaped.  There are two arms on either side of the platform
of equal size.

We also did a couple of touristy things in Pathein.  We visited the picturesque riverfront and an umbrella factory.  Apparently, Pathein has been a center of umbrella manufacture since ancient times.  In Myanmar,  traditional umbrellas are made from bamboo, paper, and silk.  They protect the user from the rain, but even more importantly this very hot and tropically climate, they protect the user from the sun's rays.

Umbrella factory worker holding large umbrella.