Vietnam is a cl0sed c0untry, meaning that we are not allowed to ev@ngelize or talk about G0d to locals. When we first got here, I wondered how we were even going to be doing m1n1stry. But G0d has put some special people in my path who have blown me away with their faith. One man in particular shared his inspiring story with me:
This month, we are working at a café where we help the staff and host “English time” where locals can come and talk to Americans (us) for free to practice their English. It is fun for me because I love to talk and meet new people.
The first time I worked at our English time, a local man, (we will call him Ben) came up and started talking to me. Ben and I talked for a bit and I learned that he LOVES Harry Potter, something I could relate with. He had even picked up an English accent from watching the movies so much. For the first 30 minutes or so we just talked about family, life in Vietnam, and Harry Potter.
The conversation changed abruptly when he asked me “are you a Chr1st1an?”.
I was shocked. I had been informed we were not allowed to talk to locals about Je$u$, and here is this man asking me about my faith in public. I lowered my voice and asked if it was legal for me to talk about Je$u$ here. He laughed and informed me that since he was already a believer that it technically was not ev@nge1izing. Plus, no one in the present area could speak English. He assured me it was safe, however, I knew talking about G0d was still risky because it could look like ev@nge1izing to others around me. But I saw something in Ben’s eyes. He was hungry for knowledge. He was dying to talk to me about Je$u$. I could tell he wanted to know everything that he could about the L0rd. So quietly, I started to share my story.
Ben had a lot of questions. He wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit, more about prayer, and more about the Father. I was blown away by how much of a desire Ben had to talk about the Lord. I also thought it funny that he wanted me, a complete stranger, to tell him everything I knew about Chr1st. I answered his questions the best way I could and I told him all about my relationship with the L0rd. He soaked up every word. Then I began to ask him about his walk and how he found Chr1st. I was blown away by his story.
Ben told me about how hard it was for him to be a Chr1st1an in Vietnam. He only knows a small group of Vietnamese people who believe in G0d. They meet in secret every week at his pastor’s house. His family and friends are not believers, and he told me that they have no desire to learn about G0d. He had to ask one of his friends to smuggle in a Bib1e from another country just so he could have a Bible for himself. But Ben was willing to risk all of this because he loves G0d. He told me that he feels lonely at times because no one wants to talk about G0d. He also has a hard time gathering information and wants to know everything he can.
After my conversation with Ben, I realized how much I take my Chr1st1an1ty for granted. In the states, and even in other countries, it is so easy for me to be a Chr1st1an. There are over 100 church for me to choose from in the city where I am from. I can go to any bookstore and purchase a Bible. Dev0tionals are in abundance in America and they are all in my native language, English. I can talk to anybody, anytime, and anywhere about G0d without worrying about being caught and deported from my country.
Let’s face it, it is EASY to be Chr1st1an in America.
Now, I think it is a blessing that we are not persecuted in our own country. We have a wonderful freedom to worship G0d. However, I think at times we take our relationship with the Father for granted. I am guilty of this as well. We have so much information about G0d at our finger tips that we can choose when, where and how much time we feel like devoting to our Lord. We are not hungry and striving to read our Bib1es, go to church, or pray for others because we can do that “any time”. We can claim to be Chr1st1an but then follow the world because the world does not persecute us for calling ourselves “Chr1st1ans”. We don’t have to risk our lives for the L0rd, so then we don’t trust the L0rd with our whole lives.
I have a new respect for Chr1st1ans living in closed countries. They have to risk their livelihoods for what they believe. If they want to truly follow Chr1st, they have to risk their lives just to find out more about Him. They have to turn against their family and friends to believe in G0d. They have to go to extraordinary measures to find Bib1es, ch3rch3s, and other believers. Their faith can feel lonely, risky, and scary, but their trust in the L0rd is so strong because they have to lean on Him for everything. Those who follow Chr1st in these countries are on fire and passionate about Him because they have to sacrifice their comfort and sometimes their lives just to believe in Him.
There is power in pr@yer, so pr@y for your brother and sisters in Chr1st who are risking their livelihood to believe in G0d. Pr@y that they feel His presence, that they can find a community of believers, and that they will not feel alone because they have the Creator of the universe in their hearts. And also, pr@y that we will not be a country that takes G0d for granted.
