Even though he’d recently heard the shattering news about Cyclone Nargis, the principal of Burma’s leading evangelical Bible college remained positive about spiritual hope for his home country as he spoke to a gathering of Australians last month.

Talking to a group of about 20 Christians in the Blue Mountains, Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (MEGST) Principal, Dr Aung Mang, hushed the gathering with his life story.

He described his journey from “jungle boy” to founding the Rangoon-based theological college, which now has over 100 students.

Dr Mang, who has “never even owned a bicycle”, has 15 of the MEGST students living in his home who would otherwise be too poor to afford to study.

He said feeding the students along with his own family takes the bulk of his income, with the cost of rice increasing in recent times from $10 per sack to $40 per sack.

As well as heading up the college, Dr Mang has his work cut out for him as he pastors a local church congregation.

He said he first got news of the devastating cyclone on his travels to Australia, and he “could not control the tears”.

But despite his sadness Dr Mang won’t be abandoning his country for greener pastures.

“Australia doesn’t need me, I need Australians.”

Because of the country’s strong Buddhist leaning, it’s easy to stand out as a Christian, he explained.

“It’s easy for me to witness – to show them Jesus.”

He often encourages his congregation to engage in “friendship evangelism” with their Buddhist neighbours, supporting them in times of need.

With the help of Overseas Council in both Australia and New Zealand, MEGST has been able to purchase the bulk of an apartment block to use as a meeting space, and for student and staff accommodation.

The college aims to send out their graduates with a firm foundation of Christian doctrine to serve either as missionaries or as founders of churches.