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You helped Chien when his house was burned down

You helped Chien when his house was burned down

Chien and his family were left homeless when villagers burned their house down – but you stepped in, and your prayers and support have put a new roof over their heads.


Chien and his family were able to rebuild their house, thanks to you

When you go to a Bible study, you hope to learn something, and to connect more deeply with God. You don’t expect to come home and discover your life has changed drastically for the worse.

When Chien* and his family came home from leading a Bible study in another village – near theirs, in northwest Vietnam – they had a terrible shock. The villagers had burned down their house and all their belongings and food stores. “Let’s see if you can still live here!” one villager shouted.

Finding Jesus and trying to spread the word

Chien’s community is strongly animist, and that was Chien’s faith for many years. But, in 2018, a relative told him about Jesus – which led to Chien and his family deciding to become Christians. After going on a Bible course in a local city in 2019, he was filled with enthusiasm for sharing the good news of the gospel with his neighbours – but it was received very badly. The village chief threatened to expel Chien and his family if they continued their ministry.

While his own community wouldn’t listen to Chien speaking about Jesus, a neighbouring community were more receptive – he was able to start a house church there, and that’s where he was leading a Bible study while his house was being destroyed.

Chien and his family faced relentless persecution

It was a shock, but not completely a surprise. Even though Chien’s ministry was in a nearby village, his only community were furious about it. They’d twice previously tried to evict the family and, when that didn’t work, subjected them to continuous mockery and threats. They’d blocked the water to Chien’s farm so it couldn’t be irrigated, thereby severely damaging the family’s livelihood. His daughter was bullied at school. But this arson attack was the hardest thing the family had faced.

Even worse, when Chien reported the incident to local authorities, he was ridiculed: “Pray to your God! He will take care of you!”

God uses you to help rebuild

When the local authorities said that, they were mocking Chien. But that’s exactly what God did – took care of the family. And He did it through your support and prayers.

A local church provided them with a piece of land and a few materials to build their new home – and Open Doors partners in Vietnam were able to provide Chien and his family with roofing materials and money to pay the builders. The house is now nearly complete.

“I thank the Lord and I thank you for helping our family during this time,” says Chien. And he hasn’t given up on sharing the good news, even after the persecution he has faced – he adds: “Please pray that my family will be able to plant a church in our area.”

*Name changed for security reasons

Source: Open Doors

Photo: pxhere