MAESOT, Thailand – Civil war has ravaged Myanmar for decades. And since a 2021 coup, the UN reports more than 3 million people have been forced from their homes, most of them children.
After escaping war-torn Myanmar, many of them find refuge by attending Sunday school in a Burmese Christian church.
American Jeffrey McConnell volunteers here on weekends to teach the Bible, English, and social skills. During the week, he teaches in a Christian school where most students are refugees. McConnell tells CBN News how they share heartbreaking stories about Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw’s brutality against their families.
“She was Karen and her father was a worker for the Resistance. You know the fact that he defended his family and his people against the Tatmadaw, from the atrocities of the Tatmadaw.”
“He was wanted for ‘murder,’ and so when the Tatmadaw came into the village, they said this man is guilty of murder and we will execute him. And when he was asked for a final request, he said I would like to see my daughter. So they brought the daughter to him. She held his hand and he was executed,” McConnell said.
Filled with compassion towards these suffering children, McConnell regularly treats
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