Tribal Foundations
God has led Max through an amazing and diverse journey and allowed him to build an adaptable ministry that supports children and their families in his people group, and others in need, across multiple countries.
Max’s first experiences were formed around his upbringing and education in the Indian state of Manipur. Equally important was the heritage into which he was born – both ethnic and faith-based. Max is part of the Zo people group, which exists in North East India and parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar, as well as a large diaspora in the USA and worldwide. Broadly speaking, “Chin,” “Zomi,” “Mizo,” and “Kuki” are additional names by which the Zo people group is known.
Due to God’s mercy, many Zo people were evangelized in the 19th and 20th centuries and Max was born into a Christian family whose father was a tribal leader. Max was influenced early on by the work of Herbert Cope, a Baptist missionary who focused on literacy and education as he ministered in the Chin state in Myanmar (Burma); this created a platform for the Gospel and the first translation of the Bible in the local dialect, leading to many conversions and improvements in livelihoods.
The Lord opened Max’s eyes to see the challenges in the children’s lives in India, particularly in his home state. The entire region of North East India has been beset by internal tribal crises, and conflicts with the central government for many years.
Additionally, it is geographically located near the infamous ‘golden triangle’ where drug production and trafficking thrived, and accompanying societal ills such as prostitution, poverty, violence and disease were prevalent. After his undergraduate studies, Max did volunteer work in a home in the border area which served children made orphans by AIDS. He returned to Manipur and continued to be actively involved in social causes, including independent journalism, while he partnered with his local evangelical Presbyterian church to support their outreach to at-risk children.
Max was sponsored by his church to obtain further Biblical training in Singapore and while there he was also able to provide support to the Zo diaspora in Kuala Lumpur who was often victimized by unscrupulous employers and officials. He continued to learn about the effective delivery of social services by partnering with organizations such as the Catholic Relief Services and MSF/Doctors without Borders.
Max had been praying for over a year and a half for guidance on his next step in God’s journey. In partnership with the church and other volunteers, he created a residential program that continues to provide loving “family” support to 15 to 18 underprivileged children and teens who have no nearby family structure. It includes education through local private schools, additional tutoring, and skills development training. The home remains open to children of all faiths; its social goals include building positive relations between children of different faiths while also joining the local church in celebrating those children who have come to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Max is married and has two young children. He became fully based in the US during COVID and also became an American citizen. He has focused strongly on Tribal Mercy, responding to COVID impacts on the Zo community while still providing guidance and direction to the local leaders of the residential home and building networks with other Zo members in Asia through Tribal Society.
Max and his family primarily support themselves through their secular vocations, but he is also a missionary as part of his work serving in the USA and providing guidance to some overseas efforts (outside of India). Modern Day Missions is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) and it provides all documentation for tax-deductible contributions to Max’s work.
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