Entire Village Turns to Christ in Laos

This just in from VOM Media...and after reading this all I can say is, "Up from the Grave He Arose!  A mighty Triumph over his Foes!"  Read this, be encouraged and then ask yourself this question - if you were one of those two original families who received the Lord...would you have produced the same fruit :)  May it be a challenge to us!

Until 2004, Laos’ Huaphan province was completely closed to the gospel. Even today, it is extremely difficult for Christians to evangelize in this region where they suffer much persecution at the hands of the government. Six Khmu believers from this province came to a VOM Bible training seminar beginning on January 4th. The six, including four new believers, were fearful to share the gospel prior to partaking in the training. However, after their involvement in the seminar, they returned home on fire for the Lord, eager to boldly witness their faith in Christ to anyone.

A couple months later, VOM received a report from some of these believers who have a house church in a northeastern Lao village. A few years back, this village had only two believing families, but now the church there has grown. After embarking on a five-hour walk at 5:00 a.m. from their village to a neighboring city to learn more about Jesus, 18 Khmu Christians were stopped by police, who seized their Bibles, song books and other study materials. They were given the verbal ultimatum to either renounce their “Jesus religion” or leave their village. Following these threats, the Khmu Christians were harassed further and urged to give up their faith. One believer responded to his persecutor, “Sir, even if you kill me, I won’t stop believing, for now I am set free from the evil spirits.” Despite the intense opposition, the believers remained in their village and saw many come to Christ as a result of their witness. After reaching out to another village, the persecuted believers led its entire population to follow Jesus, including the village chief and the witch doctor.