The CHIN People

The Chin are an ethnic group who reside in the Chin state of western Myanmar (Burma) and eastern India. As a mountainous region, there are few transportation links and Chin state is considered the most underdeveloped state in Myanmar with a poverty rate of 73% [1].

There are a number sub tribal groups that make up the Chin people in Myanmar.  These include the Tedim Chin (also known as the Zomi or Kuki), the Falam Chin, and the Hakha Chin (also known as the Lai).

Because of their Christian faith, Chin Christians report that the government keeps the region economically underdeveloped. A contact recently reported that, "our government excludes Christians and therefore the Chin people from advancing in society. After high school I wanted to join the army, but the government did not accept me into the military. We are kept in poverty, because we are Christians. But God keeps in His hands those who trust Him".  As a result of this poverty, many Chin Christians don't have the monetary resources to own a Bible or replace Bibles when they wear out. Additionally, because of the remote location, there are no opportunities to purchase Bibles were the finances to be available. Very few Chin own a Bible, including many of the pastors. Can you imagine pastoring a church without your own Bible? We estimate that the need for Bibles amongst the Chin people to be between 200,000 and 300,000.

As a result of this poverty, many Chin Christians don't have the monetary resources to own a Bible or replace Bibles when they wear out. Additionally, because of the remote location, there are no opportunities to purchase Bibles were the finances to be available. Very few Chin own a Bible, including many of the pastors. Can you imagine pastoring a church without your own Bible? We estimate that the need for Bibles amongst the Chin people to be between 200,000 and 300,000.

A number of years ago the first 10,000 Bible were brought and given to the Christians of one of the Chin tribes. When word was spread that Bibles were going to be given out, Christians donated money for their pastors to purchase a bus ticket to travel from their hill communities to the distribution center. The pastors and other Christians who received Bibles were overwhelmed with gratitude and said that in the history of the Chin Christians, they had never received a blessing like they received that day.  One Chin pastor writes of that day, "I have a Bible, but it is very old and some of the pages have fallen out and been lost, but I still use what I have. I wanted to get a new Bible with all of the pages, so I have always been praying for a new Bible. I heard that in this town the Bible would be given away for free, so I borrowed money so I could buy a bus ticket to town so I could receive a Bible. The Bible is more important than anything else in the world." another Chin pastor reported, "I have a Bible, but I need one for the village church that I started. There are nine families and all without Bibles. I became very happy when I heard we could get a free Chin Bible."

Biblia Global continues to work to meet the need of Bibles for our Chin brothers and sister and other believers in the region. It costs between $3 and $4 USD for the printing of one Chin Bible*. Your gift to our Bibles for Asia project will help us in this ongoing effort to get Chin Christians and other persecuted Christians in Asia their own copy of God's Word. 

We have a limited number of Bibles available for believers in North America in Chin dialects. Please contact us for more information.

Pictures and testimonies, 2018

Biblia Global donors funded 3,623 Bibles for Chin believers which were delivered in 2018.  The following pictures are from the 2018 delivery (names, locations, and sub-tribe are changed for security reasons):

Samuel

My name is Samuel. I am a high school student from M Village. I was raised in a Christian family, and when my grandfather was young, someone gave him a Bible. We still have that Bible in our family and it is the only Bible we have in our family. But it is old and worn and getting hard to use. But from when I was born again I have been reading this Bible and I really love to read the Word of God. But because our Bible was so old and worn I asked my parents to buy us a new one. But they replied that they didn’t even have enough money to keep me in school. The family has to skip some meals just to keep us in school. So there was no way we could ever have a new Bible in our situation. And Bibles were not even available for sale in our area. So since then I have been praying to God for a new Bible. I didn’t know where there were any Bibles available and even if we found one we wouldn’t have the money to buy it, so all I could do was to pray to God and trust He would do a miracle for us.

Then one Sunday we went to church and there were Bibles on the front table near the altar. I asked my pastor if I could have one, and he said, “We are all going to have new Bibles today.” I was so excited to hear this, and during the service the pastor gave a Bible to each family. From that time on I have read this Bible every night before I study my school lessons. Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The word of the Lord is really changing my life and teaching me how to have a better, solid relationship with God.

From the bottom of my heart I am thankful to those who provided the Holy Bible to my family. Thank you so much for providing this spiritual food to my soul.

Pastor Elise

I am Pastor Elise from STZ Village. I am ministering to more than 20 families in the village. I am thrilled to write this appreciation letter to God’s beloved servants who have generously contributed to us.

Many people in the city would say that everyone can buy a Bible if they really have the desire to have the Bible. But I do not agree with those who think this way, because people living like us in the village have a hard time to merely survive. We work and work and sometimes don’t even have enough to eat. There are some people who live without any money at all throughout the year. They grow their farms and they live off of their farms, and they don’t have any money at all. So it is very difficult for us to get a Bible for [nearly US$ 4]. So we don’t have Bibles in our church.

Then one day we received some Bibles in our church and I cried and was filled with joy. I gave one Bible to each family in my church and I encouraged them to read the Bible at home and to bring the Bible to every worship service. We have added a Bible study class each Thursday night. Some believers even carry their Bible when they go to work on the rice fields and they will read the scriptures during their lunch breaks. I have seen significant spiritual growth and discipline after the believers have been reading the Word of God.

Thank you so much for these Bibles. May our good God continue to bless you and your ministry.

Ruth

My name is Ruth. I attend Phual Church. I have never had the Bible before, as it is almost impossible to come by. But I felt that my spiritual life was not strong and I was missing much of what God wanted for me and from me. But I received a Bible at the Chin Bible give-away and I want to thank you for it. I love it and it gives me strength when I am weak. I have been longing my whole life to have a Bible for my personal use. So I have prayed to God and God has answered my prayers through you.

I read my Bible every day and I meditate on what I read. It lifts my life up again and brings me hope when I am going through depression. I came to realize the greatness of God through reading His Living Word. How precious! Reading the Bible made me understand about God’s wonderful creation of man. Even me! I was created in the image of God and allowed to live a life with purpose.

There is nothing more to say than the words “Thank you.” Thank you very much. Because of your labor I now have the word of God which is changing my life and encouraging me every day. God bless you and your ministry bountifully!

Lian

My name is Lian and I live in K Town. I am now sixty years old and all my life is so misery. My wife and I had eight children, but all of them died. When my children died I said to myself, “If God is really there, He would not harm me so much. So it is better to go back to my ancestor’s religion. Because the God whom I worship now cannot bless me.”

Whenever our pastor visited our home I said, “There is no God and I will never go to church.” One Sunday our pastor came to our home and he invited me to go to church and he said, “Today we are going to give you a Holy Bible.” So I just did what he said and I went to the church. During the worship service our pastor encouraged us to read the Bible saying, “All the answers of your doubts will be found in the Bible.”

After the service was over I went home with a Bible and I just threw the Bible on the couch. My wife took the Bible and started reading it. Some days later she asked me, “Are you are really so against reading the Bible?” I grudgingly opened the Bible and it opened to the Book of Job. From the first chapter I became very interested, because Job’s sufferings and mine were similar. This helped me to stop feeling so sorry for myself. After reading more of the Bible I realized that there is a God and He does things according to His own will, not the way I want it all the time. But He wants us to become stronger, and that can happen through hard times. So reading the Word of God strengthened me and brought me back to faith in Jesus Christ. My greatest thanks go to those who brought Holy Bibles here to be given away for free. Through this Bible God has turned me away from my sin and back unto Jesus and has saved my soul.

Mr. Kham

My name is Mr. Kham.  My church is M Evangelical Baptist Church in K Town.  My family does not have the whole Bible, but only a New Testament.  Many times I tried to buy a Bible at the Christian Bookstore, but they did not have a full Chin Bible for sale. They only had Burmese and English Bibles for sale.  So I have prayed for many years in order to have a whole Bible version in our Chin language.

Then unexpectedly my church pastor gave me a free, full, Chin Bible with both the Old and New Testaments.  I was overjoyed.  Now my family and I can read the whole Bible.  I asked my church pastor, “Where did you get this Bible?”  He replied, “It was a present to the Chin people from a missionary abroad.

I am very thankful to you and to the people who are working for this great distribution.  May God bless you more!

Reverend Nang

My name is Reverend Nang and I am the pastor of S Evangelical Baptist Church.  My church is a new church.  It is only five years old.  Since we started our church, no one could afford to buy a Bible, but also there has not been any Chin Bibles even for sale at the bookshops for many years.  I have one Chin Bible and there are no more in my church.  So it is so difficult to grow up the church members in the word of God if they cannot read it for themselves.

But now we have been given one Bible for each of our families and we are all happy for that.  This letter is their thank you for your donation.  We all pray for you that more Bibles will be given to other believers who do not have a copy of the Bible in their hands. 

Pictures and testimonies, 2016

Biblia Global donors funded 2700 Bibles for Chin believers which were delivered in February 2016.  The following pictures are from that delivery (names, locations, and sub-tribe are changed for security reasons):

Mr. G.T.

My name is Mr. G.T.  I am 29 years old.  I was not born into a Christian family.   But God touched my life on the night of April 8, 2002 and I became a child of God.  Once I was born again, my life began changing in unbelievable ways.  And many tensions arose in my family because of my faith, and some family members ignored me because of my new faith.  But now my immediate family members have also believed in Christ.  We all take our part in serving the Lord.  I have also faced difficulties because of poverty.  But God helps me in various ways, and I can pass through all difficulties, because of God’s help.

I have never had a Bible before.  Since the day in 2002 when I received Christ as my personal savior I have desired to have a Bible and since that day I have prayed for a Bible.  When I heard we were going to get free Bibles, I was greatly overjoyed and I prayed for those who are concerned for us and who work for us to have Bibles. I put salvation first in my life, so where ever I go I have shared salvation to others. 

Reverend N.H.

My name is Reverend N.H.  I am 32 years old.  My family has been Christian since the time of my grandparents who were the first in our lineage to accept Christ.  Since I was young I have been familiar with God’s salvation, love, and mercy.  I praise the name of the Lord.

The heaviest burden in my life is poverty which is suffered because of politics and the definite separation of religion and politics.  But my hope is realized when through the Lord I overcome poverty and difficulties.  In family and individual life, difficulties can be faced with the Lord.  I experience the love and goodness of God in my daily life.  But the goodness and love of God cannot be expressed with words.  I praise the name of the Lord.  I do my best to spread the Gospel in my village.  The greatest work is to spread the Gospel. 

I have never had a Bible of my own.  I read the one community Bible that we have for the whole church.  It is not easy for me to buy a Bible, and it is also very difficult to even find a Bible to buy.  But I am happy now, because I have my own Bible.  I really give thanks to those who work for our Chin people to get free Bibles

Mr. N.S

My name is Mr. N.S.  I am 56 years old.  I was born into and brought up in a Christian family.  My trust in God increased especially when God saved my child from a serious illness.  My son had fainting spells and one time he fell down and he had no heart beat.  I quickly prayed that God would give me my son back, and then I breathed into my son’s mouth and God showed His grace and my son came back to life.  And not only that, but God healed my son from his fainting.  This caused us to have great strength in God.  Now I participate in God’s mission by praying.

I have a Bible, but it is now old, and I have been praying every month for two years to have a new Bible.  I greatly rejoiced when news came about the free new Bible giveaway.  I will give my old Bible to someone who does not have a Bible.

Mr. Z.N.

My name is Mr. Z.N.  I am 39 years old.  I was brought up in Christian family.  But it was one night in 1994 when God touched my heart and let me know by a real experience from Him that He died for me.  It was then that I truly became a Christian.  After being born again I rejoiced in meditating on God’s word.  God called my father through sickness.  He committed himself to God in his life and also when he was near death.  But he recovered from his sickness. 

We have faced difficulties because of our faith, but the Lord helps us to overcome them.  When I face difficulties in the family, I prayed to God.  He always led me to overcome the difficulties.  God sees me as His child and He answers my prayers and keeps me in times of grief and sorrow.

I have a Bible, but one is not enough for all my family members.  The news to receive a free Bible surprised my mind, because this has never happened in my life time.  I thank those who gave this Bible.  May God bless you all.

Mr. N.L.

My name is Mr. N.L.  I am 43 years old.  My family raised me in the Laipian Pau Cin Hau Pasian Religion.  In ancient times, most Chin people were Animists who feared and served the evil spirits which we call dawis.  The village priests whom the Chin people called Dawi Tuulpi or Dawi Siampi would tell the villagers what they must sacrifice in order to appease the spirits.  To the rich people this was not a burden, but to the poor Chin people, they often spent everything and would sometimes fall into slavery, because of the poverty caused by the many offerings demanded by the dawis.  The Chin people also believed that if they killed their opponent in this life, then in the afterlife the one who was killed would be the slave of the one who had killed him.  So many conflicts arose due to these beliefs.

Laipian Pau Cin Hau was born in 1859.  When he was 17 years old he supposedly began receiving almost daily dreams and visions from a powerful spirit called Pasian.  Because of these visions, Laipian lead many Chin people to stop serving the dawis and to stop acting violently towards each other.

During my childhood my whole family left the Laipian religion and accepted Jesus as our Lord and savior.  We left our past way of life.  I have lived until today with the life that I received from Jesus. I face sufferings because of my faith.  I was in shame because of poverty.  Until today I work for the Lord in the name of Christ.  The Gospel is the best means of comfort in times of grief. God looks at me with his eyes and he takes me higher and he always gives me strength.  We have witnessed God healing the sick people in our church when we pray. Some time ago in faith I gave my Bible to my friend who had never had a Bible, because it is almost impossible to get.  Now God has provided me with a new Bible.  Praise the Lord.  I really thank those who worked to give us free Bibles. 

Mr. D.K.

My name is Mr. D.K.  I am 45 years old.  I was born into a non-Christian family.  My parents are not Christians, but all of their children became Christians in their childhood.  Even though my parents were not Christians, they encouraged us to go to church.  I became a Christian by reading Christian booklets and by hearing sermons from some deacons.  I now am also a minister of the Gospel, but I am without any educational background.

Based on my faith I served the Lord and my spiritual life grew much.  My joy in His service also grew.  But I have been falsely accused and disgraced for matters that I had no part in.   Sickness in the family is another difficulty.  The power of the Holy Spirit is in me and He has lifted me up higher than I am worth.  He chose me rather than choosing someone else who is more qualified than me.  I am not good in preaching and spreading the gospel, but to share the gospel to others is my responsibility which given by Jesus.  So I will do my best. We have been praying for a Bible for each of us to have.  I am so happy when I received the powerful Book of His word which I have been praying about two years for.  I thank God and the people who I do not see—the same people who do not see us—and we who receive this gift know that your contribution is great.  

Mr. K.A.

My name is Mr. K.A.  I am 45 years old.  I was born into a Christian family, but I didn’t always live the way God wanted me to.  God called me to work for Him from when I was a teenager and I was born again.  After I was born again I stopped drinking alcohol.  Now I do my best to share and serve and give.  My father was the first in my family to accept Jesus, and his life was very much blessed. Our church members do not have Bibles, but now they will have their own Bibles to read.  Our church always prays to have Bibles.  I thank God for answering our prayers.  I am so surprised to have a free Bible for each family in my church

Mr. S.L.

My name is Mr. S.L.  I am 22 years old.  I was born into a Christian family.  God opened my heart to receive Jesus as the redeemer and savior.  When I was born again in Christ my heart changed.   Since then I feel love for others and I seek good for them. I have faced temptations since I have been saved.  God at times has whipped me when I was disobedient.  Even when I went away from Him He did not leave me behind.  I praise His name.  God loves me so much that when I pray with a broken heart He hears my prayers.

In the past I envied those who had a Bible.  Today God arranged a Bible for me as a free gift.  I did not spend a single kyat (Myanmar currency) for this Bible.  May God bless those who provided Chin Bibles for us freely! The Scripture portion I love most is Psalms 121.

Mr. E

My name is Mr. E.  I am 39 years old.  I was born into a Christian family.  My past way of life was changed when I was born again.  From a life of worldliness my life changed to a life of good conduct, Bible reading, prayer, going to church, giving tithes etc.  I enjoy doing these things.  I was the first one in my family to accept Jesus.  I was born again at a Bible preaching campaign.

I had a little suffering due to my faith.  I was born into a Catholic family, so there arose different concepts of practice in my family.  From the Catholic family I joined the AOG church.  God helped me to lead my family members into a single church.

God has helped me at times when difficulties have come.  He answered my prayers to convert my family members.  He reveals Himself to me when reading His Words.  He has touched my heart to tell others about redemption.  It is also necessary for us to worship in silence.  We must worship whole heartedly and wait for His timing, and be in silence in order to hear His voice.

I have a Bible, but it has become worn and torn from use over time.  Pages have fallen out, but I keep the pages because I love them so much. I was filled with great joy when I heard of this free Chin Bible Distribution.  This is a great gift.  I am so happy.  

Notes:

[1] Arno Maierbrugger, “37% Jobless In Myanmar, Study Finds,” investvine, investvine.com [home page on-line]; available from http://investvine.com/37-jobless-in-myanmar-study-finds/; April 21, 2015.

[2] Sam Bagnall, “Burma's 'forgotten' Chin people suffer abuse,” British Broadcasting News, news.bbc.co.uk [home page on-line]; available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8626008.stm/; Accessed October 8, 2016.

[3] Joshua Lipes, “Chin Christians Persecuted,” Radio Free Asia, www.rfa.org [home page online]; available from http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/chin-09052012132942.html; Accessed October 8, 2016.

*Your gift to Biblia Global and our Bibles for Asia Project will pay for the printing of Bibles to our Asian brothers and sisters in the hardest to reach places of the globe. Unfortunately we cannot preference gifts to go to an individual people group's Bible printing; we instead pool the money given to the Bibles for Asia Project to fund the next Bible printing for Asian tribes in greatest need of Bibles. Printing costs are usually $3 - $8 per Bible and transportation cost are roughly $1 per Bible.