Quitting the Graveyard Shift

14 Feb

Kap Thang is convinced that by empowering his fellow Christians to do business they will no longer live in poverty.

“Business is for non-Christians! You can’t be a Christian and run a business.” That is what has been said hundreds of times by pastors and Christians in Myanmar. Because of so much corruption there, pastors have always encouraged their parishioners to stay away from business. That thinking has meant that many Christians have also stayed away from legitimate opportunities that they could have used to support themselves and the work of the kingdom of God.

Kap Thang, a teacher at the Focus Business School, told me, “The only business my people know how to do is to sell their home. They sell their house, move to a more impoverished area, use the profit until it runs out, and then repeat the cycle all over again. Eventually they buy homes that surround the graveyards, the land no one else wants.”

“Angela” Za Par Sung recently graduated from the Focus Business School. She takes care of 9 orphans in Yangon, Myanmar, and because of her poverty, Orphan’s Tear offered her a chance at generating income to support the children. We offered her a $1,000 loan to start a small business…with one catch: she must first attend FBS. We know that if Angela receives some practical business principles, her likelihood of succeeding at her business and repaying her loan will be much higher!

Angela’s graduate certificate

FBS is a 3 month program that destroys the myth that Christians can’t run a successful business with integrity and godliness. They teach business principles straight from the Word of God.

After sending Angela to the Focus Business School she wrote:

By the grace of God I have completed the course and can graduate Business course. I would like to say thank you very much for your support to attended the Business course because this is the great opportunity for me. I have dreams to be come success business woman since my childhood but I don’t know how to do business and all of my relatives also there is no one business women or men. But fortunately you support to go business course at that time I realize that God open the way for me to complete my dreams through you. And I really thank God and praise to His Name and very thank full to you and your organization may God bless you all. Now I preparing for small income business in selling purified drinking water.

We hope that Angela will soon be on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a successful business woman! And as an additional blessing, we are excited to see how she passes on her newfound business sense to the future entrepreneurs in her care.

Helping people become self-sufficient is a wonderful thing! Thank you for being a part!

Elisabeth Walker
Director of Orphan’s Tear

Graduates of the most recent Focus Business School with their teacher, Kap Thang (seated at the center of the second row in the dark blue shirt)

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1 Recent Comments

  • Patricia Schneider

    Hello, Elizabeth!
    What terrific news, and so thrilled for Angela Za Par Sung!
    What does concern me is the thinking of some pastors & Christians in Myanmar toward “staying away from business.” I mean, WHOSE version of God’s Word
    are they living by? Why would those pastors actually encourage their people to stay in poverty?
    As a born again Christian myself, I have learned that evil has even
    invaded God’s Word, twisting the TRUTH to turn people away from
    God, making them afraid of our loving Father. My hubby Gary & I
    are thankful to Father for terrific organizations such as ‘Ophan’s Tear.’
    Thank you all for doing what Jesus told us all to do, love our neighbors.
    Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus ~ Patty Schneider

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