Places of Persecution

I’ve written here the stories of two pastors from a heavily persecuted country nearby. One was used by God to bring the other to faith, and they both work with V currently to reach as many people as possible with the gospel.

The first pastor lives in a city, and works as a pastor there.  He really has a sense of humor, a great, warm smile, and loves to laugh. One would never guess all that he has been through. On top of all the persecution he is facing, he has cancer, and is currently undergoing his third treatment for it.

He has two adult daughters and a wife.  He grew up in a Christian home, and his father was also a pastor. When he was young he went to Russia to study to become a pilot and entered the military Air Force.

In 1992 the government came to talk to him.  They saw that he had a Christian background but gave him a choice to change and go a different way, offering him a promotion if he chose another religion.  They promised to take his job if he didn't. They gave him some time to decide, but meanwhile, to add a little incentive, they put him in jail for a week, and on house arrest for a month.

He talked to his pastor and his wife. He told the government that he was not against them, and asked them why, if he did such good work for them and they saw that all his family were good citizens, did they ask him to deny Christ?   “The government wants control, and they believe that Christians are the enemy.”  Finally, he told them that he would not deny Christ, and lost his job.

After that, government officials followed him wherever he went.

In 1994, he  traveled  to Thailand to study theology.  In 1995 & 6, he went to different provinces to preach Christ, including Siem Reap. The government shut down many churches and planned to arrest him.  He tried to go into a certain region, where instead they put him in prison for six months.  Twenty other pastors were in the prison, but he was in isolation.  A pastor’s wife brought the other pastors food, so he told her tell the others not to worry, "I am here.”

In the late 1990’s, the country opened up some as the government changed. Christians were allowed to worship and gather.  The Church grew and grew and it was a rich time.  They copied many portions of scripture by hand. Then, the country became closed again.

His friend taught in government schools, but left that job to bring others to Christ. He had a family of four children.  He was thrown in prison four times for preaching, the last in 2002.  In 2004 he had an ‘accident’.  Travelling to the mountain villages with his three year old son,  he was riding on a motorbike going over a bridge and someone shot him in the hand.  He fell off the bridge into the river and was injured.  This left his wife to care for the family; months later his wife died because she could not get food while he was recovering. 

He went to the mountains again with his 17 year old daughter riding in front of him.  He was shot in several places, including through his chest.  That  shot also went through his daughter. He died hearing his daughter crying out for help.  Farmers found them, and sent word to his friend [telling the story], who came to ensure they were buried well.

He then brought the three remaining children to his own parent’s home, and cared for them for six years. It was very difficult for them during those years.

At that time many Christians left the country.  It was difficult to worship.  Many died.  It was difficult to rely on God and believe; hard to trust anyone. 

Before he and V met, V was trying to work in this country; after a long time, he was finally able to get in. He tried to find churches in the country, and came to one village where he couldn't find anyone. Then he saw the pastor of the church, walking across the street, and introduced himself.  They shared their heart with each other, and V got him started on a children's ministry and gave him the materials. V encouraged him greatly in his vision.

He says, “We have an enormous vision, but we can trust God to be faithful and work through us...for many years we planted seeds slowly, slowly, slowly, through Project Philip, through church planting, etc.. But now it is growing, growing, growing, again. About 1500 go through Bible instruction and training every month.

“The government has had problems with fighting and unrest for years, and the Christians are helping to create more stability. They help each other as good neighbors, and become better citizens.” 

When asked where he learned English, he told us that while he was in Russia, his wife said he should learn English so he could speak and understand it. “I knew Russian, but English was hard and I didn't want to learn. But I went at it and began.  Then my daughter told me, ‘Dad, you need grammar to speak English, otherwise no one understands you.’ But people know what I say!  I can talk with you and you understand my words!    He laughs at himself, making everyone else laugh with him.

The second pastor is 58, and has 15 children, 10 of whom died before he became a Christian.  There was an evil spirit in the village and he didn't know what to do.  His daughter (the eleventh child) got sick, and the hospital couldn't do anything. His Christian friend came and prayed for her in the hospital, and she got better. After that, his whole family believed.  Others in the village came to them and wanted to know why this thing had happened. Two hundred people believed after hearing him tell about what God had done. He continued to tell people about Christ, and eventually a thousand people in his village came to faith.

Government officials came and wanted to know who was causing these things to happen. They told him if he did not promise to leave, they would destroy his home. He must leave immediately without waiting even a couple days to pack.

He talked with his wife and children, and asked what his wife and children thought. They said they couldn't stop now; and if they died, they would go to heaven.

No one came to his house the next day.

He and another pastor were both arrested two weeks later. The other pastor was released after a little while, but they kept him and beat him. They slammed his head down on the cement floor. He was finally sent to the hospital for a big cut on his head. It was so serious he was sent to Thailand for medical treatment.

After coming back he went to his family.  He kept preaching, and more and more people came to Christ. Money was sent to help him; but he gave it to the other believers.

One month after he’d returned, police came to his house and talked to him, trying to trick him into coming with them so they could arrest him. They threw him into jail again.

After five months he was released, and taught more and more people to come to Christ. A lady had an evil spirit and he prayed for her and it left.

He was out of jail nine months, then the local authorities came and told him that he was an enemy because he was at cross-purposes with their ambitions.  They threw him in jail again.

The cells were two meters, and eight people were in one at the same time.  He said "You can't sleep, only sit all day and all night.  We got a little rice, and they put chains on our hands."  His wife sent rice and food, but the police would not give it to him, instead eating it themselves.

His district has 55 villages and now 25 have church bodies. About two thousand people believe.

“Praise the Lord for Pastor Vibol and for all the materials we use train people. The situation is better now, but there is still opposition."

Every week people come into his home with diseases, needing help, and so his house is called ‘the hospital’.  He asked prayer for three specific families he knows: in one family the husband is paralyzed, and then the son had an accident and is in the hospital, so the wife is left to take care of things.  In the second family the husband was shot in the head, and cannot remember anything.  In the third, the wife is paralyzed from the waist down, and the father and daughter were in a bus accident.  The road to his home has been blocked by the authorities so it is hard to get to his house.

But most importantly, he says, "We have a problem because we have many new believers, and we have a tremendous need to get more material; there are not enough Bibles, literacy materials, or hymnals.”