Our friend Rova has been an enthusiastic advocate of the use of Clear and Simple Media materials in Myanmar since the beginning. By my first visit to Yangon in 2016, Rova had already translated Simple Truths for the New Believer into Burmese and Mizo-Chin and had printed and distributed hundreds of books.

As we have reported on multiple occasions, life has been difficult in Myanmar since that time. The military seized power in early 2021. Since then, the new government has taken aggressive action against any individual or group that has shown open opposition. Pro-democracy protests have been met with live fire, water canons, rubber bullets, and arrests. There are currently more than 100 political prisoners awaiting execution. As a result, local militias in multiple regions have waged armed opposition. The conflict has caused tension with bordering countries (China, Thailand, Bangladesh, Laos, and India) as refugees have sought to escape the trouble.

In the midst of this, Rova pastors a church in Yangon. Three years ago, he translated the Travel Guide to the Bible into Burmese and Mizo-Chin. That is a significant task under ideal circumstances, and the circumstances in Myanmar are anything but ideal.

In January, Rova became interested in two of our “story books” – Simple Stories from the Life of Jesus and The Jesus Story. Both, he thought, would be good for reaching people in Myanmar with little or no exposure to the gospel. When we discussed doing translations of each book in both Burmese and Mizo-Chin, he hesitated. He hesitated not because he was unwilling or unsure of the value of the project. He hesitated because his computer, a 14-year-old MacBook Pro, had stopped working properly, and Apple (everywhere in the world where Macs are sold) is unwilling to work on computers that are more than 12 years old.

Not having a properly functioning computer is a problem. Rova is not only the pastor of a significant Presbyterian Church in Yangon but also a regional leader of an evangelical pastor’s network, a trainer of pastors, and a writer – in addition to a translator.

We had several conversations about the problem over a number of weeks. One day, we arrived at a solution. The best way to provide both a means to do the four translations and a way to compensate Rova for the work would be to purchase a new Mac laptop in exchange for his work on the translations. Yes, there is a Mac Store in Yangon. So, a week after we made our plan, we wired the funds to a bank in Yangon and Rova because the owner of a 2025 model 16-inch MacBook Pro with Microsoft 365 software and an extended warranty.

We look forward to the day, a few months from now, when we will be able to announce the printing of the new translations in Myanmar. But in the meantime, we rejoice in the privilege of putting a tool into the hands of a true servant of God, which will be used to honor Christ and expand the kingdom every day Rova hits the “on” button.