Min watched as the shadows of the guards retreated around the corner. His eyes darted to the corner of the dirt floor, and then once more through the bars.
He clawed through the earth with his overgrown fingernails, uncovering the leather-bound treasure. Blowing the dirt from the worn book, he greedily turned the pages, devouring the precious words—his daily bread.
It was all he had, which made it all the more valuable to him. Min, native of Burma, was arrested for preaching the gospel in his country. They tried to stop him, but he would not be stopped.
When the guards were away, Min quietly read his Bible to his cellmates. Many times he looked up from the pages to find that tears had traced paths down the dirty faces of his fellow prisoners.
"Tell me how to be saved!" one man virtually shouted at him.
He was the first. Min will never forget the time he kneeled down next to the sobbing man, and told him how Christ could save his soul. Before Min was released, he had led 72 men to Christ. Several of the men were prison guards, who let Min hold secret Bible studies in the latrine.
Min is one of many devoted disciples of Ronnie Tun, native Burmese ministry leader supported by Christian Aid. In a country rife with poverty, disease, gangs of drug smugglers and a corrupt military junta infamous for its human rights abuses, Tun’s ministry aims for restoration through the power of Christ.
"Our political situation is discouraging, and we are at the bottom economically," said Tun. "Yet ranscending this gloom is a spiritual awakening."
Tun’s ministry welcomes the needy and marginalized into open arms. These groups include women, who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the junta. Many young girls are kept as sex slaves at military bases, and are physically abused or killed should they offend army officers.
The junta, which has ruled the country since 1962, has consistently denied the practice of sexual violence. Action is rarely taken against these rapists; and in some cases, victims are forced to sign written statements pardoning them.
Seeking to subjugate ethnic minority groups, the junta sexually abuses the women of these groups, such as those belonging to the Mon tribe.