Updates
April 2025
Several months ago, we planned a trip to visit churches in a couple of cities 400 miles north of us, each with church planters sent from the church we are assisting in Yangon. The purpose was to conduct evangelistic outreaches and fellowship with the pastors. Little did we know that three days before our planned trip, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake would devastate one of these cities, Mandalay – the second largest city in Myanmar (population 1.6 million).
Despite numerous detours due to buckled highway roads and damaged bridges, we arrived safely at each of the two cities. Since the buildings where the churches meet were not significantly damaged by the earthquake, the pastors wanted to move forward with the evangelistic services. Both Jennifer and I shared the gospel with children and adults with the help of interpreters, and we believe the Lord blessed. Many people accepted gospel tracts as we walked through the devastated areas.
Due to the generosity of several supporting churches, we gave hundreds of gospel tracts to each church, and we purchased a week’s worth of rice for the members of the churches in Mandalay. We made the decision that all financial gifts sent our …READ MORE
February 2025
Mingalabar! (traditional Burmese greeting) We are blessed to surpass the one-year mark of our time in Myanmar. As is true with so many people our age, time flies by, and there is always so much to be done.
We recently accompanied Pastor and Mrs. Thaung by van on a one day, 500-mile round trip to spend time with an elderly, faithful member of the church. He had brain surgery and will face additional surgeries shortly. How he lit up when he saw his pastor! We spent time talking, encouraging, and praying. I’m certain he and his family would appreciate your prayers for him at this time. His name is Oo La Win. Along the way we drove past hundreds of towns and villages, from urban to rural in character. It was a visual reminder of the vast fields “white unto harvest” in Myanmar.
“Summer break” for schools coincides with “hot season” in Myanmar, which is March – May, and so we are just a few weeks away from the end of another school year. Jennifer works throughout the year with the different age levels in music and phonics. I help them with Bible and speech. We are preparing the students for their special closing program. There will be lots of music, and several students will share the Bible stories they told in the second annual Bible story competition. Preaching and a simple meal will round out the schedule that day. Please pray for continued…READ MORE
December 2024
Merry Christmas from Myanmar!
The church we assist gave us the opportunity to conduct the Myanmar Teen Advance on November 22. I preached twice, and Jennifer and I taught “split sessions.” Group games, Bible trivia, and delicious food rounded out the day. About 50 area teens attended. Please pray that the Lord would raise up a generation in Myanmar that will serve Him completely. We look forward to next year’s Advance.
Most in Myanmar know of Christmas, but few know the “Christ” of Christmas. Throughout this month we are distributing gift bags to hundreds of people. They include a candy cane, a homemade chocolate chip cookie, and a thorough “Christmas-themed” gospel tract in Burmese.
On December 26, we will return to the US for a short time. Our home church is providing our way. I will teach a one-week module course at Fairhaven Baptist College the week of January 13. We will also speak at our church’s “Heirs Together” marriage retreat the week prior to that. In addition, Dan’s Mom just came through an intense surgery from which she is attempting to recover. We will see to her needs in this matter. And we will, Lord willing, spend a little time with our kids and grandkids. I return to Myanmar the third week of January.
Two important outreach events lie before us this month. On December 20, the Christian school will conduct a Christmas program entitled, “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” The gospel message…READ MORE
November 2024
Hello from Myanmar!
Since the start of November, the prevailing rains have subsided, for the most part. The months of November through February are considered the most pleasant of the year.
After some lengthy delays, our “Books for Burma” shipment has arrived with everything intact. Numerous Bible visuals, books for children, and Bible study resources for preachers will be put to good use. We are grateful for our missionary friends who managed the shipping logistics.
Recently we submitted our requests for visa renewal. We praise the Lord that our visas were renewed for 12 months. This is a big answer to prayer for us, especially during these difficult times.
The October calendar in Myanmar includes a multi-day national holiday. Pastor Thaung decided to host a two-day “Children’s Camp” at church during this time (“Children’s Camp” is comparable to a Vacation Bible School). The theme was “True Riches,” with Matthew 6:20 as the theme verse. We organized the church teens and older orphans, preparing them each with their place of responsibility. Transportation went to some area neighborhoods. An interpreter was used for all lessons…READ MORE
September 2024
Hello from Yangon,
At present, uncertainty overshadows all aspects of Myanmar life. Destructive flooding, rapidly increasing inflation, and lengthening power outages erode the prospects for a better future. Pray as we do our part to share the truth of the hope found only in Christ. As we see believers here holding fast to their profession, we are encouraged.
You might imagine what a wonderful time it was to have our kids visit for three weeks. Luke and Annette helped teach in the Christian school, the Sunday School class, and Sunday Bible Club. They returned to the states mid-August with Jennifer’s mom (who we were blessed to have with us for about seven weeks). We sure had a wonderful time with them and are happy to see them continue on for the Lord.
Luke and I took a short to trip to Mandalay, a large city in central Myanmar, where we fellowshipped with two young pastors. We also spent time at two special places in Baptist missions’ history—the sites where Adoniram Judson was imprisoned from 1824-1826. We have added a QR code below that will take you to a video we made at the site of the first of these, the Le Ma Yoon prison.
In August we organized a Bible quiz competition for the Christian school. Ten teams of four students quizzed against each other until only two teams were left. Tensions were high as the final quiz ended in a tie, taking the quiz to one final question to determine …READ MORE
July 2024
Many have prayed for the delayed “Books for Burma” shipment. We are glad to report the totes of books are now enroute! We are grateful for the fellow missionaries that are spearheading this effort. We hope to have them in our possession by our next update.
The Christian school is off and running (the school year runs June through March). We assist by teaching special classes—Phonics, Music, Bible, and Speech/Writing. We are seeing the “good problems” that accompany an expanding ministry. With many new students comes the need for more classroom space and student desks. Despite limited space and a limited budget, God has been good. Pastor Thaung continues to move the church and school forward by faith.
We are thankful for every opportunity to visit in …READ MORE
May 2024
As we pass the three-month mark of our time in Myanmar, we are filled with gratitude to be serving the Lord and gratitude for the opportunity to serve Him here in Myanmar. Problems, difficulties, and desperation country-wide continue to increase. An estimated 3 million people have moved from their homes to somewhere safer within the country. Many have converged on Yangon (Myanmar’s largest city and the city in which we live), believing it to be more “insulated” from conflict.
We have been blessed with good health and have nearly “weathered” our first “hot season” (March – May). Now, we prepare for the “rainy season” (June – October).
Pastor Thaung is faithful in “showing us the ropes.” From him we are learning culture, language, and mindsets. We also accompany he and his
March 2024
We’ve now crossed the six-week mark of our time in the country. We are indebted to each of you who prayed for us as we arrived and worked to get settled. In a short time, we have secured housing and started Burmese language learning classes. Both are answers to prayer.
We’ve met a lot of people these past weeks. Store clerks, taxi drivers, food vendors, groups at bus stops, boys playing soccer, and many people literally scratching out an existence. Our daily walk to school takes us past neighborhoods that would bring tears to your eyes should you see them and contemplate what life would be like to live there. These are all souls for whom Christ died, and we desire to share the gospel with each of them.
While learning Burmese, we are helping in a Christian school. The students are learning English, and the curriculum is in English. One of our responsibilities is to lead the student body each morning from 8:00-8:45. I teach them a new song (Jennifer plays the piano) and then share a Bible message. I cannot help but think as I’m up in front of them of the teachers that invested in Jennifer and I through the years at our respective Christian schools. We count it a great blessing to have the opportunity to influence these young people while we are learning the Burmese language…READ MORE
February 2024
Warm greetings from the Golden Land of Myanmar! Since our last prayer update, we finished the last of our deputation meetings, taught two week-long block courses at Fairhaven Baptist College, received a commissioning send-off charge from our home church, and said a lot of “temporary” goodbyes to dear friends and our family. We left for Myanmar on Monday, January 31 and arrived February 2, when we were graciously met by Pastor Thaung and his wife.
By God’s grace we have been blessed with good health, safety, and progress in “getting settled” here. Our first few days consisted of the expected logistical matters such as securing housing and establishing accounts. I was given the tremendous opportunity to preach our first Sunday in the country at Bethany Baptist Church, with Pastor Thaung as the interpreter. What a joy that was. The following day I spoke in the morning devotional to the students of the Christian school. They are all working to learn English; so, this talk was not done through an interpreter. Another great privilege—to speak to children and teens. Our prayer is for a generation of Myanmar young people to commit their entire lives to the Lord and His service.
We look forward to helping in the Christian school as we work our way through our language learning. Many of these children are orphans with no living relative to care for them. How can …READ MORE
December 2023
2024 with all of its uncertainties and opportunities is upon us. We praise the Lord that we have an unchangeable, omnipotent heavenly Father to guide us through the time in which we live.
In our last prayer letter, we requested prayer that our visa applications would be accepted. We wish to thank each of you that prayed for this. We recently received approval for these visas. Praise the Lord!
We also shared in our last update that our departure date for Myanmar is Monday, January 29–a date that is fast approaching. Our support level is currently at 88%.
In addition to seven more meetings, I will teach two classes (Baptist History and Biblical Language Tools) in a weeklong module format at Fairhaven Baptist College prior to our departure.
We are thankful for blessed meetings in Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Florida, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in the month of December. We also collected (primarily through donations from our home church) 10 large totes filled with Bible study resources and visualized stories for use in the work in Myanmar. …READ MORE
November 2023
Since our last prayer letter we have had the opportunity to speak in 14 churches. We also spoke in several Christian school chapels and a Spanish church service. I also had the opportunity to do some street preaching while out in the state of Washington. We pray for lasting fruit from each service and outreach opportunity.
While in meetings in the western part of the United States, we received word that Jennifer’s father would soon be placed into hospice care. We decided to have her travel back to her parent’s home in West Virginia. She was with her father and mother when he passed into glory. The funeral service honored both the Lord and the memory of Jennifer’s dad. I am grateful for his godly influence on my life. Pastor Mike Edwards, Jennifer’s pastor throughout her teenage years, shared the message at the service. We praise the Lord for heaven!
Blessings and prayer requests:
- We are thankful for safety in travel as we drove from Indiana to the West Coast of the US, and then back.
- We thank the Lord that Jennifer’s father knew the Lord and is in His presence now.
- We are grateful that we are now at 80% of our support level. We have purchased our plane tickets to Myanmar. Thank you for your interest and investment in this work. Our departure date (pending visa acceptance) is Monday, January 29. …READ MORE
September 2023
In August and September, we shared the field of Myanmar at eighteen churches and two Christian school chapels. We had services in Indiana, Alaska, Ohio, Ontario, Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, and Maryland. Jennifer had the opportunity to speak in a ladies meeting. Along the way we chronicled some people and places from Baptist history, including:
- Ida and Ernest Roscoe in Kodiak, Alaska
- Henry Alline and the Haldanes in Canada
- The Wightman family in Groton, Connecticut
- Adoniram Judson, Obadiah Holmes, and Hezekiah Smith in Massachusetts
- William Screven in Kittery, Maine
- The First Baptist Church in Washington D.C.
We are grateful that our support level continues to increase. We are now looking at plane tickets to Myanmar just four months from now. The final paperwork …READ MORE
August 2023
James 4:14 asks, “…what is your life?” A pointed question seeking a personal response. Since our last prayer letter, several dear friends (some older, some middle aged) passed on into eternity, reminding our family of life’s brevity, and in so doing, life’s worth. Time and effort are either invested in the eternal, or are eternally lost. May we all live by this undeniable truth!
Last month was filled with meetings, as August also will be. We were refreshed at our home church, attending midweek services around the time of our daughter’s wedding. August introduces much change in our family. We saw our oldest daughter Juliana get married …READ MORE
July 2023
When missionary Adoniram Judson arrived in Burma (present day Myanmar) in the early 1800s, the population was about 4 million people. Today, over 55 million souls live in Myanmar. The pioneer missionaries to Burma wrote home frequently explaining the great need for laborers for their field. No doubt you sense the urgency of this hour when the population is ten times more!
We praise the Lord for the opportunity to speak in six churches in June and another eight in July. We have enjoyed sweet fellowship around the word and the work of the gospel. Praise the Lord we saw several young people saved in June while participating in a vibrant VBS and missions conference in Alabama. The last Sunday in April began a string of thirty-five consecutive Sundays in which we will present our work in a different church, taking us through the end of 2023.
Please pray for:
- Safety in travel and opportunities to share the gospel.
The working of the Holy Spirit to convey …READ MORE
June 2023
This update comes to you from the “South,” where we will be for much of this month. Our meetings include stops in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia. To start this month, I was blessed to share about our mission field at the church I grew up in (this month’s update video was taken there). Each meeting we meet believers faithfully serving the Lord where He has them in their churches.
We “closed up shop” (essentially) on our home of many years at the end of May, and now are full-time “on the road.” We are thankful for the Lord’s blessing for safety as well as for a good schedule of meetings through the end of the year. Through the commitments of several more churches, our support level stands now at 36%. …READ MORE
April/May 2023
Since our last update we were able to share our burden with Berean Baptist Church in Ogden, UT; Bible Baptist Church in McConnellsburg, PA; Bible Baptist Church in Dubuque, IA; and Hannahstown Road Baptist in Cabot, PA. We were able to spend time with many great friends at each of those places. We praise the Lord that we are now at 20% support coming in, with several other churches indicating that they will begin soon. We are grateful for a “nearly full” schedule of meetings through December.
I enjoyed the opportunity to briefly visit a couple of churches in the Indianapolis area where many Burmese live. Recently we were made aware of an evangelism tool to reach Burmese speaking people. It is a high quality, 16-page booklet that presents a thorough plan of salvation. Bible Tracts has printed a number of these, and I will have access to a large number of them shortly. If you have Burmese speaking people in your area, please let me know and I will be glad to mail some of these “salvation booklets” to you. We pray God will use this …READ MORE
March 2023
While selecting a website name on which to put our missions information, I was struck by the thought that the very first pronouncement after our Savior’s birth was a message of salvation for all the world, and that this good news was to be shared with all mankind. The Scriptures are replete with the truth that the provision of salvation is a message for all the world. Isaiah 59:19 says, “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun.” And so, we chose goodtidingstoall.org.
Since our last prayer update, while continuing to serve at Fairhaven Baptist College, we had the privilege to speak at First Baptist Church in Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Maranatha Baptist Church in Lyons, New York; Grace Baptist Church in Urbana, Ohio, as well as in our home church. In addition to sharing the field of Myanmar we were blessed by wonderful Christian fellowship at each church. The missions conference at Grace Baptist in Ohio allowed us time with our son Levi and his wife Bethany…READ MORE
February 2023
Hello from the Armacost family! Thank you for supporting our efforts for the country of Myanmar. As we continue to serve through May at Fairhaven Baptist Church and College, I am again teaching my favorite course, Baptist History. We continue to work with the college students and assist Pastor Mitchell.
Throughout the next several months we will share our burden for the country of Myanmar with several churches. We have been in four churches so far; two in Pennsylvania…READ MORE