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Dieu* and her family in front of their house.
Dieu* continues to receive threats to her life since she became a Christian and refused to give in to the pressure of the local authorities and villagers who repeatedly asked her to renounce her faith. Her access to water was also cut, but she remains steadfast in her faith.
Dieu* lives in one of the hotspot areas for Christians in central Vietnam. She experienced how hostile people can be when she received Jesus Christ, the source of living water, as the Lord of her life.
Last Christmas, she converted to Christianity and began attending a church in the area.
Her family, composed of herself, her husband, and two little children, faced a lot of harassment and discrimination from their neighbors and local government because they were not happy with her decision.
“They kept coming to threaten me and that if I do not denounce my faith, they would beat me or even kill me,” shared Dieu.
Come Tet (Vietnamese New Year), in January this year, she and her family experienced more persecution.
Dieu said, “My neighbors came wanting to stab me because I am a Christian. I tried to call my pastor but one of my neighbors said if the pastor comes, they will beat him too.”
When his local pastor, Pastor Thach* cannot visit them, he sent Dieu’s brother in his stead. He is a church leader from another village and was the one who shared the gospel with Dieu and her family.
One night while they were having dinner, a neighbor came and called her brother outside and told him, “You are the one who helped them to follow God? How dare you did that.”
Dieu’s brother replied bravely, “Yes, you want to hear about God too? I can share with you.”
The neighbor was enraged and responded, “No, I don’t want to know about God. I just want to beat you.” Then he beat him in the face.
Aside from the threats and her brother’s misfortune, Dieu’s family was removed by the local authorities from the list of those who should receive food allowance allotted by the government for the Tet holidays.
Then, their access to spring water was stopped.
Their waterpipe was cut so their small children were the ones to fetch water from the spring since threats to her life is still there.
“My neighbors cut and destroyed the water pipe that my family uses to collect water from the spring nearby because they said it crossed their land,” she said. Their water pipe has been there for a long time, but it was left untouched until she became a Christian.
The pressures from her neighbors and local authorities still keep happening. However, she remains faithful to the Lord.
She said to her neighbors who came to threaten her again, “I will never give up my faith, so please do not force me to say anything because I don’t want to lie about it to please you.”
Meanwhile, Open Doors’ local partner in the country has helped Dieu’s family.
“We have provided funds for their food and for a new water pipe,” shared Athan*, OD local partner. However, until now they are still not allowed to set up their water pipe.
Athan added, “During the night, they send their children to get water using small containers just enough for their cooking. They take a bath in the river. Dieu and her husband do not dare to get the water themselves because the threat is still there.”
Pastor Thach on the other hand is also working with the local authority about Dieu’s situation.
He shared, “Their faith is very simple and pure even though they have just followed Jesus recently. God helps them to stand strong and not fear these threats. It is God who is sustaining their faith. Please pray for these people."
*Names were changed for safety and security purposes
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