We received word of the brutal rape and murder in Myanmar (Burma) of two Kachin Baptist women, volunteer teachers in the Kachin Baptist education mission. Maran Lu Ra, aged 20, and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, aged 21, had been commissioned by the Kachin Baptist Convention to teach in a village school and had been engaged in this volunteer mission for about two years. They were attacked in their hostel bedroom on the Kachin Baptist church campus in the village by soldiers of the Burma Army the night of January 19.
On Friday, January 23, 2015, American Baptist Women's Ministries sent a letter of protest and advocacy for the protection of the rights of the vulnerable in Burma to Secretary of State John Kerry. See the link below to read the letter.
On Tuesday, January 27, 2015, American Baptist Women's Ministries emailed a letter to the Kachin Baptist Convention Women's Department expressing our condolence and prayer support for our Kachin sisters and brothers. Click below to read the letter.
In February, ABWM’s coordinator of the Western Section, Gail Aita, also shared the letter with the sister of one of the murdered victims when Gail visited a camp for internally displaced persons near Myitkynia, Myanmar. “It was quite moving and emotional for everyone,” said Gail.