Our Needs:

We have listed some of the financial needs of Ancient Words in the paragraphs below.  We are so appreciative of those who have propelled this ministry forward, and we are seeking others who have a heart for this type of work.  If you are interested financially partnering with Ancient Words on a regular basis, we would love to hear from you and answer any of your questions.  Becoming a mission partner is a great way to support the work of Ancient Words, as it allows us to budget for future needs and spend more of our time in the work, rather than in support-raising efforts.

On the other hand, we are also very thankful for one-time gifts if that better fits your style of giving.  Once again, we would love to hear from you and answer any of your questions about our work.

• As we mentioned in our December update letter, Ancient Words is now partnering with Julie & Steven, who are our boots on the ground in Myanmar.  They are both Myanmar nationals and have lived there all of their lives.  Thus, we are able to retain their services at Myanmar rates, rather than having to pay the much higher rate that would be needed if they were US-based missionaries.  Julie & Steven are both mature and fervent in their faith and have proven themselves for decades in their ministry work.  They have been a true god-send to AWM!
  
  
• ‍It is important to the Ancient Words Board of Directors that we compensate them in a way that they, as a family of three, can live safely and comfortably, although not extravagantly, in Yangon.  Even though we are able to retain them at a much lower rate than US-based missionaries, the additional support needs have placed our budget in a declining direction.
  
  
• Since Myanmar is entrenched in poverty, most of our students are unable to pay for books, notebooks, pens, highlighters, and other study materials.  Because of this, Ancient Words has adopted the MO of other mission organizations, wherein we pay for student transportation to and from the classes, usually about $2/day, and for student lunches, which are also about $2/day.  It is not uncommon for students to commute two-hours each way for our classes.  These costs are in addition to the cost of renting a classroom, which has been around $80/day.
  
  
• ‍Ancient Words is constantly seeking ways to trim our costs and increase our productivity by balancing the workload among ourselves.  Thus, we are helping Julie & Steven improve their computer skills and providing them with additional equipment that enables them to modify our Word documents and PowerPoint slides in Burmese.
  
  
• ‍Julie and Steven are preparing to teach their first Principles of Bible Study class in another city in Myanmar.  They have translated the PBS book as a team and have attended and interpreted for us in the classes that we have taught in Yangon.  After a little more coaching, they should be ready to teach a group of church leaders sometime in April at another location in their country.  This is a great way to leverage the capabilities of our staff, but it still involves expenses for transportation, meals, and student materials, plus transportation, meals, and lodging for Julie & Steven.
  
  
• ‍As we have been teaching PBS to Myanmar church leaders over the past year, we have identified some high caliber students who have expressed a desire to teach PBS to other groups of teachers.  Our plan is to develop an intensive teaching course for these students that will verify that they truly understand the material while also teaching them to teach it.  Once they have completed the teachers’ course and organized a group of qualified students, the burden will fall on Ancient Words to provide them with textbooks for their students, along with the other student materials.
  
  
• ‍Two of our excellent students, who are Bible school teachers, told us about their plan to teach 100 students this spring.  Although we do not know the details about the travel & meal expenses, we will certainly need to pay for textbooks and materials for the students, which have been about $10 per student for each class.

Ancient Words is giving much thought to the best way to teach PBS to the church leaders of Myanmar and we have been seeking the advice of other mission organizations in the country.  Obviously, we believe that these efforts will be well worth the cost, since this is what Ancient Words is all about!