Release Date: November 26th, 2025Called to the Jungle, A Journey of Hope in Myanmar
“I don’t know why I felt compelled to go,” says Pastor Sai, “but I knew I needed to go to Myanmar, even though it didn’t make sense.” Thing Sai is pastor at Kitchener Emmanuel Church, an MCEC congregation of people from the Matupi area of Chin State in Myanmar.
Under cover of darkness, during a time of war and unrest, he and his young guide slipped into the jungles of Myanmar on a small scooter. They met people who had fled bombs and the military, finding refuge deep in the jungle. To their surprise, they were waved through all checkpoints without question. In each community, Pastor Sai offered hope. “That’s what people are looking for—hope and peace. I preached the love of Jesus.”
Civil defenders soon joined them for protection in dangerous areas. More than once, strangers greeted them along the way saying, “We knew you were coming,” though no one had told them or even knew where they were. In one village, locals warned him not to enter because “everyone who goes in doesn’t come back.” What he discovered was heartbreaking—every home empty of life, its people killed instantly by some type of attack. It was a painful sight, and an even more painful story to share later with a church member in Kitchener whose family was from that very village.
"I carry my Bible and share the gospel ... I can at least bring hope"
In another settlement, weary from travel, Pastor Sai hoped to rest. But as soon as he arrived, the people began to gather. “We’re going to have worship, and you’re going to preach tonight!” they told him excitedly. “I don’t speak your language,” he replied, hoping it might delay the service long enough for him to sleep. It did not.
As he introduced himself, someone exclaimed, “We know your father!” Pastor Sai was astonished. His father, also a preacher, had been killed more than 30 years earlier for refusing to stop preaching and building the church. “It really made me happy,” he recalls. “It was like seeing my father again through their stories.” He preached until midnight, answering questions until 3:00 in the morning. When he finally lay down to rest, he was urgently awakened and told to leave before dawn.
Hours later, on the road, he met an old man waiting for him. “Thank God you are here. I have been waiting for you.” Once again astonished, Pastor Sai followed him down a narrow path deeper into the jungle, though he feared they might be walking into an army trap. Instead, they reached a makeshift clearing where the sound of singing filled the air. There, a hundred people—hiding from danger—were waiting for a preacher. They told him they had no food and were learning to fast. Pastor Sai stayed and shared the hope of Jesus with them. When he finished, the old man smiled and said, “No one is going to stop you now. You can go peacefully.” And so he did.
Thing Sai slipped out of Myanmar as quietly as he had entered. Looking back, he sees God’s hand in every step—from the moment he was granted time off work to the strangers who seemed to expect him at every turn, to the echoes of his father’s faithfulness and the remarkable protection he experienced along the way.
“The people are living in makeshift villages, afraid for their lives. Fathers can’t feed their children; people are starving,” he says with urgency. “I long to go back and bring them the hope of Jesus. I carry my Bible and share the gospel. I don’t have anything else to give them—but I have the Word of God, and I can at least bring hope.”