The Impact of the GLS in Yangon, Myanmar | Where God Works at His Creative Best

“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.”

In Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, that truth has come to life in the most amazing of ways. One such story is that of Rowena Hein.

“I have come to the Global Leadership Summit every year, since the beginning,” the diminutive 70-year-old woman said in a humble whisper. “This is where God gives me my boldness.”

The boldness she requires is for a mission only God could orchestrate. Rowena’s story of GLS-infused boldness goes back many years, and covers many chapters of heartache.

“I lost both my children to tragic accidents. Following the death of my last child, my husband died of a heart attack.”

While the overwhelming sadness of these tragedies remain, with her next thought a faint smile came across her face.

“But out of that pain, God has brought me opportunities to serve Him.”

Rowena explained God gave her unique serving opportunities as one way to heal her pain.

“I am an English teacher,” she said. “And God has given me favor to teach English to a group of Buddhist monks in Yangon.”

Myanmar is 90 percent Buddhist, and opportunities for Christians to share the love of Christ with their Buddhist neighbors are not easy to find. But God has provided Rowena with a unique opportunity to share her faith.

“These monks love me,” she said with a growing smile, “And I love them. They call me Mommy. When I teach them English, I introduce them to words that point to God’s love for them. For example, I recently taught them the word, ‘resources.’ I said, ‘Now, do you know where your resources come from? They come from God!’”

By subtly introducing lessons about the God of the Bible through these English lessons, Rowena has seen many of these monks become very open to the message of the love of Christ.

“They text me and leave me messages on Facebook; these are not questions about English. These are questions about Jesus!”

While God has used these opportunities to help heal the pain of the loss of her family, she has also needed ongoing courage to carry on and to serve God in this way.

“One of the most important ways God has provided me with hope and courage is through the GLS,” she said. “That is why I come every year. That is why I will keep coming every year.”

“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.”

In Yangon, who would have thought that some of those “winners” would include Buddhist monks, being taught English by a 70-year old widow.

Scott Cochrane serves as the vice president of International at Willow Creek Association. An insightful and genuine leader, he travels the globe mentoring international teams. Prior to joining WCA, he was the executive pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, British Columbia and provided leadership to the WCA Canada.