Suan Za Lian's story

Suan Za Lian's story begins in Tiddim township, Chin State, Mynamar (Burma). He was born into a strong Christian family. When Suan Za was 5 years old, he was a recipient of clothes given by American donors to his American Baptist Mission (ABM) Church in Burma. This gift touched him deeply. He asked his deacons, "Where is America?" They replied, "We do not know."

When he was in elementary school his teacher showed him on a globe where America was located. As a little boy growing up in a small village in Burma, He always wanted to thank the American people for their generosity. Little did he know the plans God had in store for his life.

Suan Za received Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior when he was in his teens. Through the influence of an Assemblies of God church, Suan Za received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Shortly there after, he heard the voice of the Spirit of the Living God whispering to his soul, "But you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)." At the time, Suan Za was not planning on becoming a full-time minister; he wanted to be a successful businessman.

In eighth grade, he felt compelled to start preaching the gospel. He took nothing but a guitar and a Bible. He enthusiastically traveled from one village to another and from one town to another preaching the good news. Food was scarce and often times he went without food or water. Over the course of three months, he had walked more than five hundred miles proclaiming Christ to anyone who would listen.

The following year, the Holy Spirit inspired him to compose a gospel song based on Amos 8:11. The Lord gave him the opportunity to sing this song for the first time at an Assemblies of God crusade meeting in front of 10,000 members. At this meeting, a drunk man testified that the moment he heard the song, he felt the Spirit of the Living God touch him. He was so afraid of facing the future without Jesus Christ that he repented and received Jesus Christ as His personal Savior and Lord right then and there.

In 1978, Suan Za read a small book titled Miracle of Seed Faith by Dr. Oral Roberts. It planted a seed in his heart to meet Dr. Oral Roberts and to study God's Word at Oral Roberts University. At the time, he was working as a custodian for an Assemblies of God church in Tiddim. His monthly salary was equivalent to fifty cents. However, he simply prayed and believed that one day the Lord would lead him to America.

In 1982, Suan Za with the help of his friends started his own business of buying rubies from Burma and selling them in India. The business prospered. Then, in 1985, two events led Suan Za to re-evaluate the course of his life: the unexpected death of his mother and the devaluation of the hundred-note currency by the government of Burma, which caused his business to fail. He was heart broken by those events and spent much time in prayer with the Lord. During this time, the Lord reminded him of the call He had given him ten years earlier to preach His Word to the ends of the earth.

In 1986, Suan Za committed his life totally to the faithful service of the Lord.

In preparation for full-time ministry, Suan Za prayed that God would open the door for him to attend Southern Asia Bible College in Bangalore, India. He had spent all he had to sponsor a conference for 70 pastors and church leaders, as well as hold an evangelistic crusade in Saizang. His prayer during the crusade was "Lord, I spent all the money that I had for your Kingdom. I believe you will provide my financial needs for my study in Bible College." And the Lord did provide four years of tuition and boarding fees.

After graduating from Bible College, he served as an associate pastor at Full Gospel Assembly Church in Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar. While there, he was able to preach and to sing throughout Burma, as well as in parts of India, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan.

Sixteen years later, God answered Suan Za's prayer regarding attending Oral Roberts University. He had come from a poor and less educated country to the richest and most highly educated country in the world. His finances and knowledge were limited. However, with the Lord's help, he graduated from Oral Roberts University with a Master of Divinity degree.

The Lord put on his heart to return to Myanmar (Burma) to host a pastor's conference. Many of his friends laughed and told him it was an impossible task. However, in the summer of 1998, he returned to Myanmar (Burma) and conducted a conference in which over 400 pastors were able to attend free of charge.

In 2000, Suan Za founded Burma Christian Mission, Inc. in order to continue to serve the spiritual and physical needs of the people of Burma.