“My mother forced me to enter a seminary to become a Buddhist monk. She worried about my future and felt that that offered the best hope,” says Kyaw Swa, who lost his father at the age of 14.
Kyaw Swa and his family made traditional handicrafts for tourist shops—which barely provided enough money for food.
While at the monastery in Burma, Kyaw Swa became disillusioned. One of the leaders tried to seduce him and he observed several of the monks living hypocritically. “I abandoned the goal of becoming a monk and stepped away from Buddhism,” says Kyaw Swa.
Soon after, Kyaw Swa met a woman and they married. But it was not a good relationship. “My wife and I were violent toward each other. At first, we attacked each other verbally, then physically. Finally, we decided to separate and later divorce.”
Lonely and defeated, one day, Kyaw Swa heard a knock on his door.
Two Christians wanted to tell him about Jesus and offered to pray for him. “I thought I had a good religion, so I set out to prove that their belief was wrong.” Kyaw Swa says that no matter how rude he was with the Christians, they gently answered him from the Bible. At the end of the visit, the believers invited Kyaw Swa to trust Christ as Saviour and Lord. “I got down on my knees in prayer. Tears of remorse and joy mingled as my heart was opened and Jesus came in.”
As Kyaw Swa studied the Bible, he began to find freedom. “I realized that if I wanted to follow Jesus I needed to make some big changes. First, I had to quit drinking. I also needed to reconcile with my wife.” Kyaw Swa meditated on Scripture and learned to treat his wife with honour. “I was gradually able to bring my temper under control.” He adds, “Thanks to God’s redemption, I now enjoy a happy family life as I work on repairing my relationship with my wife.” The couple has three sons.
“I am so grateful that God was patient with me, giving me the opportunity to change and become a new person.”
Now, Kyaw Swa, trained to start new churches though your support, tells others about the incredible grace available through Jesus Christ.
“Now, I feel that my life has true meaning.”