“To be a Christian is to be persecuted,” said Thanh, the teenage daughter of a pastor in Vietnam. Thanh also told worker from The Voice of the Martyrs that she feels sad.
Thanh is sad because her father is persecuted for his Christian activities. When her father is mistreated, she and her mother cry together.
But her feelings don’t stop her from loving and serving God. “A young girl can do a young girl’s work,” said Thanh. “She can hand out Bibles; she can teach younger children.”
Punished and Blessed
Officials punished Thanh’s father by making him stand all day with his arms outstretched. They hung a full bottle of water on each of his arms to make it harder.
The authorities brought Thanh’s father to a community court and asked him to deny his faith in Christ in front of many people.
He refused. “That’s why the Lord is blessing him now,” said Thanh. The church that Thanh’s father has pastored since officials released him now has 300 members. Thanh believes the Lord has blessed the church because her father remained faithful to Jesus under pressure.
Thanh asks for prayer to help her not be afraid and for freedom for everyone in Vietnam to worship the Lord freely.
(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)
Note: At Christmas time this year, remember children in Vietnam whose fathers are in prison for their faith.
