The MTM Teaching Team @ Pokhara, Nepal February 2-6, 2026 Left to Right, Raymond & Naomi Burkholder, Edna & Earl Peachy The very first/top Photo is all the pastors on their faces before a Holy God …Search me OH God, Am I really ready, Perhaps today, the Lord Jesus will return MARANATHA? It has been…
Yes, We Have Been On The Move, Raymond & Naomi Burkholder Are Transitioning Out of Macedonian Teaching Ministry, and once again we are commencing a new ministry. Stay tune to this new website
It has been very humbling to hear the testimony of this Nepale pastor that since MTM began teaching this series there, have been a total of 11 new indigenous churches planted among these remote M_______m villages of Nepal. BLESSED BE GOD ALONE!!! At this most recent Cry of Ishmael Conference a pastor who had traveled a long way from a distant village begged me to come to his region of Nepal and teach this series. He said there is a large population of these people in his region. Thus, God continues to open the way to propagate His heart for this Gospel unreached people group.
After the three different conferences & three different locations on the same subject in Vietnam and after two-weeks of conferences, Raymond & Naomi Burkholder traveled on to Delhi, India and then we forwarded on to Sikkim State of India where we caught up with Jay & Amy Smoker who were prepared to serve as MTM guest teacher for our two conferences in this state of India. Our first event was a scheduled youth conference in Gylashing in Sikkim State of India April 23-26, 2024.
Ps. 68 clearly reveals when God Comes all needs are met and in vs. 6 we find in God’s Presence He sets the solitary (desolate or lonely) in families. And so it was on our MTM spring Tour in Vietnam and in India.
We spent the 1st week in Yangon,Myanmar. We enjoyed worshipping with Pastor Toe’s congregation on Sun. Monday we were back at his church for a 2 day conference. Then on Wednesday we went to Reaching the World Bible School for a 3 day conference. Each day was filled with 2 teaching sessions in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with a nice lunch and fellowship in between. We were encouraged to see their desire to grow and learn more from God’s word regardless if the electricity was on or off(powerpoint and fans) during the hot afternoons. Through their many smiles and appreciation there was a deep concern for their country and the civil war waging in the north. We spoke with one pastor who had fled to Yangon 2 weeks earlier with his young family, leaving behind his village in the hopes of preserving life. Since we have gotten home things have drastically changed for the dear people in Myanmar. On Feb 10th the military demanded mandatory service for unmarried men and women. This has brought much fear and despair for the future…..they are asking us to pray for them!
Chuck Colson said, “Every enduring marriage involves an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person.” Nearly fifty percent of couples in America reject the unconditional component and end up in divorce courts. This results, according to one data source, in a divorce every 13 seconds in America. This swells to 6,646 divorces per day and 2,419,190 per year. On the other hand, Nepal has only 1.2 divorces per 1000 marriages according to the latest figures I could find. So why should we hold conferences in Nepal on the permanence of marriage? Are we “preaching to the choir”?
Four weeks and Four Teaching Assignments
Elvin joined as a guest speaker for conference in Surkhet a town in Far-Western Nepal and at a youth conference in Nepalgunj. Elvin spoke on Biblical Leadership from the life of three Kings. Stephen spoke on Biblical Finances. After Elvin flew back to USA Stephen continued teaching at a pastor conference in Jumla a remote town in the mountains of western Nepal, and teaching at a Bible school in Nepalgunj.
In the early 1900’s Canadian Baptists brought the gospel to Gajapa, Odisha State in the beautiful tropical mountains of this region of India. There were challenges in bringing the gospel to the jungles. Sadly, a missionary was killed by a cheetah and the decision was made to move the mission to the village of Serango. The first church was established in 1917, and a bit later in 1928 an Eye Hospital was built and opened. The village of Serango was the setting of the 3rd Odisha Youth Advance Conference from May 16-19, 2023. As we journeyed from Bhubaneshwar out into the country and on into the beautiful mountain region, we were secretly hoping to see a bit of jungle wildlife like an elephant, cheetah or monkey. However, later we learned, that although at one time they were there, there are no longer any left. But there were beautiful rice paddies and water buffalo and misty mountains. As we arrived at the guest house at the New Hope Hospital compound, it felt as though we stepped back in time to the early 1900’s with peaceful echoes from the past welcoming us to continue the Lord’s work in this region of India.
“If I would use one word to describe the people of western Nepal, I would choose the word “community”. I have been to few places on the planet where the whole culture is so interactive and interconnected in daily living. We could learn much from our brothers and sisters there!”
