Myanmar pioneer retires after 30 years
Robin Seia, the founder of the Church of the Nazarene in Myanmar, retired in January after serving as district superintendent for 30 years.
Born in Kalaymyo in 1944 to a Buddhist family, Seia accepted Christ as his personal Savior at 17. While this created quite a stir, it would eventually lead to his mother accepting Christ, followed by his entire family.
Seia travelled to Chennai (Madras), India, in 1964 to pursue further Christian education. While there, he read the book Why I am a Nazarene, which was his first introduction to the denomination's holiness message.
After returning to Myanmar in 1969, Robin worked for the Evangelical Fellowship of Burma for 12 years. He then followed the recommendation of John Stott from London and headed to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, USA, where he studied until 1984.
“I will never forget Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene,” Seia said. “The first Sunday that I walked in the door, they welcomed me in an incredible way. There was a man there by the name of Dr. Herald King. Here I was, a foreign student, a stranger, but Dr. King picked me up every Sunday; he treated me like a son.”
In 1984, Robin returned to Myanmar and officially registered the Church of the Nazarene in cooperation with then Asia-Pacific Regional Director Donald D. Owens.
After 30 years of work, Seia's legacy includes 22 established churches, more than 2,000 members, and a Bible college.