Closed country.
This was a term I had heard before but hadn't had any experience with.
In June, this term became real to me.
We spent our month in Laos, a country in SE Asia few Americans have heard of and even fewer could locate on a map. Americans that have familiarity generally connect it with the Vietnam War. What we found was an amazingly friendly country, full of stylish, traditional, and shy people. It is a country on the rise economically, despite it's socialist, corrupt government.
And it is closed, closed to Christianity.
Beautiful Lao skirts make for colorful walks.
It IS legal to be a Christian in Laos, but it is illegal to spread the Gospel. Obviously this distinction is difficult to determine and enforce, and, as we understand, the gray area typically does not go in favor of the Christians. Therefore, the churches are all practically underground.
Although we read Laos was a closed country before we arrived, we had no idea how that played out in the lives of Lao Christians and the ministry of our hosts. We arrived and met our hosts, thinking little of how our presence affected them. After all, they had invited us and agreed to house us. We assumed this was a normal arrangement and similar to ministries we'd experienced in other countries.
However, over the next few days, as our contact briefed us, we started to realize what we had stepped into:
The van we rode in had tinted windows.
We were often not allowed to get out of the car at the house without the gate being closed first. This was so the neighbors would not see us. Seven foreigners going in and out looks suspicious.
Several friends of our contacts had been arrested two weeks prior to our arrival while worshiping. No one knew where they were or what kind of imprisonment they were facing. Our contacts asked us to pray for these fellow believers.
Our friends who were researching new organizations to partner with were told they were wasting their time, since few organizations will easily talk to unknown people because of the danger or being reported.
Spies in the church were a concern.
It was determined to be unsafe for us to be in certain places, such as the school campus, since it would create too many questions.
We were putting our host (and their family) in danger just by being there. Despite this, our host chose to house us with the reasoning "We just wanted to do what The Lord is telling us."
A Buddha garden we visited. Buddhism is the primary religion in Laos.
We realized quickly what a weight and privilege it was to be housed and welcomed into this family. The risk they were taking to have us was monumental, much more than we had realized. They were sacrificing for us far more than we could give them back. But to see their obedience, faithfulness to God, and love of Him and His mission was both convicting and inspiring.
One day when we attended church, the following scripture was shared. The whole church received it with a sigh of deep empathy because they understand. I will never be able to read it the same way again.
"Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules…
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."
– 2 Timothy 2:3-5, 8-10
