Tuesday, July 13 marks the anniversary of the arrival of Adoniram and Ann Judson in Burma. They set out and landed in India where they officially became Baptists (and were baptized by William Carey). Their story is a tale much like some of our own. They loved and lost. However, through it all they served God hopeful that God was at work in the country they came to love. Despite losing children, battling illnesses, learning the Burmese language, and being in prison during the war they continued. It was only through Christ’s strength and the Holy Spirit’s  intervention were they able to share the love of Christ to Burma. Because God loves Burma, and the Holy Spirit was moving before they arrived. Our live journeys are marked by things like this but the question that remains is will we continue? Will we follow Christ and rest in the Spirit’s work? Eventually, the Judsons moved from the capital of Burma to the jungle and began ministering to the Karen tribe. It was there where a Karen slave named Ko Tha Byu was converted to Christianity. Ko became an evangelist that spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the Karen people as many began following Jesus. What is remarkable is that FBCL gets to see the fruit of the seeds that the Judson Family helped to plant, and the way Christ watered them. We celebrate and remember this day with full hearts that the same God that worked in that small beginning is the same God at work in our building. We rejoice in God’s providence and hope that lives have been, can be, and will be transformed through the gospel of the Risen Jesus Christ. We give thanks for our Karen brothers and sisters. May we be fearless like Adoniram and Ann. May we serve Christ in all things. May we remember that we are invited to be part of this grand story of redemption for the world. The Kingdom of God reigns. Remember there are still seeds to be sown, sprouts to be waters, and fruit to be rejoiced.     Happy Anniversary Church! Now, get to work!

“In joy or in pain,

Our course be onward still;

We sow on Burma’s barren plain;

We reap on Zion’s hill.”- Adoniram Judson, 1819

Hopeful,

Pastor Joy