Laos / Vietnam: Standing Firm

Hmong believers in Laos and Vietnam face opposition from village authorities because of their faith in Christ. Within the past month, authorities in several villages have expelled at least six families that converted to Christianity. The believers are struggling to farm and earn a living.

Three families were expelled from their village in Cao Bang province, in northern Vietnam, because of their recent adoption of Christianity. Each family came to faith after a Hmong Christian worker prayed for an ill family member and the family member recovered from illness. The families, which include a total of 13 people, must find a new place to live because officials will not allow Christians in their village.

A house church meeting in Vietnam

Likewise, in Thai Nguyen province, also in northern Vietnam, a Hmong family was compelled to leave their village because village leaders opposed their Christian faith. One family member was very ill, but she recovered after moving to a Christian village and receiving prayer.

On Feb. 18, authorities visited a village in Luang Prabang province, Laos, in hope of persuading Christians to return to ancestor worship. When the Christians refused, authorities expelled them from the village, stating in a letter that they “don’t like the Christians,” according to a VOM source.

Christians in this part of Laos are not allowed to work for the government, and students are frequently persecuted by their teachers. A teacher recently told one group of students that they would not find a job because they were Christians.

Sources: VOM contacts