On March 3, the BBC reported 38 protestors killed, while Davidson Lay Beh, a Burmese UCG deacon living in England, said local sources report 54 being killed. There was also a report of military aircraft dropping bombs in a northern township of Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar. The BBC is also reporting that the military is now using automatic weapons with live rounds in certain areas against protestors. Communications are shut down at night so that the protestors cannot coordinate. Evening raids on perceived organizers are regularly reported, as are reports of looting by the military.

Many Burmese young people in their late teens and early 20s state that they are willing to die so that Myanmar can be a democracy in the future and not return to military rule. There is hope that the United Nations, the United States and other western nations will send soldiers to come help, but that has not happened yet.

Our members are still safe. Most of our brethren are in the south, but we have a handful that live in Yangon and the surrounding area. Davidson has reminded them that they should not participate in the protests but rather stay away from widespread areas of conflict as best they can.

With that said, one young member has been the first member of UCG to come close to danger. She is a 17-year-old and had just graduated high school in Yangon with training in first aid. Last week, her high school asked her to come and help staff the first aid station at the school to help those hurt during the protests. Last Thursday, the military entered the first aid station with guns pointed at the workers and threatened to kill them if they were to help the protestors.

We ask for continued prayers of safety and wisdom for our brethren. Satan is certainly looking to destroy whom he can. But we are reminded of the promise and hope in Romans 16:20: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. . .” We look forward to that.