By Mark Ellis —
Pastor Luke leads a church of about 150 in Kachin State. Normally, he wouldn’t be out at night, but he was organizing prayer meetings for pastors and churches to come together in the area.
On his way home two motorcycles began following him. Each motorbike carried three young men, a relatively common sight.
“One of the bikes came up and tried to push him off the road,” says Pastor Jim Davis, founder of Pastoral Training of Asia. “Then they blocked the road and forced him to get off.
“I am a Pastor and I have no money,” Pastor Luke told the men, but they wouldn’t listen.
The six young men beat Pastor Luke and then used a machete to cut off three of his fingers on his right hand. “They stole his motorbike and left him bleeding and suffering.”
Later, Pastor Luke was able to walk to a house and the people inside took him to a hospital. “Five of the men were caught as they continued their crime spree. At the court hearing, Pastor Luke held up his hand and showed the court what was missing.”
Then Pastor Luke did something dramatic, inspired by the example of Jesus.
“He told the court and the men he forgave them. He gave them all Gospel tracts in Burmese and he’s raising money to buy them Bibles so they might hope in the Word of God and have a changed life in Christ,” Pastor Davis reports.
“I’m sad to say his index finger was greatly damaged and permanently bent. Being right handed, this has created a problem, and so he is learning to write with his left hand.” Pastor Luke never retrieved his motorcycle.
Pastor Davis has worked throughout Asia for many years and trained many Christian
leaders. “I’ve seen every kind of minister and Pastor Luke is one of the good ones. He loves the Lord and he’s fully dedicated. The floor of his home is dirt. His parents are in their 80s and live with them.”
Pastor Luke hosted a recent Pastoral Training of Asia seminar in Kachin State. “The pastors and church leaders were grateful and disciplined in completing all their assignments,” Pastor Davis reports. “Pastors came from several different tribal groups. It is always remarkable to see the attentiveness of the participants during the heat and humidity of the day.”
For more information about Pastoral Training of Asia, go here
