{"id":474,"date":"2021-06-23T19:09:15","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T19:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=474"},"modified":"2021-10-25T15:59:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T15:59:28","slug":"sharing-jesus-in-a-vietnamese-communist-hero-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/sharing-jesus-in-a-vietnamese-communist-hero-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Jesus in a Vietnamese Communist Hero Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every weekend, Linh and her husband travel five hours by motorcycle to take the gospel to a village Linh once feared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The village, known as a \u201cCommunist<\/a> hero village,\u201d was home to a number of soldiers who died fighting against the United States in the Vietnam<\/a> War. The villagers take great pride in the fallen heroes from their community and deeply treasure their communist<\/a> way of life. Many of the villagers lived there during the war and remember those who died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a country where most of the population practices ancestor worship, the veneration of those who fought and died for communism<\/a> is considered a sacred duty. The fallen heroes are viewed by some to be guardian spirits of the village, and their memory is invoked to promote nationalism and communist<\/a> pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t

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\r\n\t\t\t\"\"\r\n\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t
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Request your free magazine<\/p>\r\n\t\t\tSubscribe<\/a>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\n\n\n

Initially, Linh\u2019s husband didn\u2019t want her to work in the village; he was afraid she would be arrested. Over time, however, he felt compelled to support her, and he continues to pray for her success. Although he travels to the village with her each time, he stays with the motorbike as Linh shares the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just anyone can enter the Communist<\/a> hero village Linh visits. She gained permission in 2007 only because her husband had grown up there. And those living in hero villages must have had at least one family member who served with distinction during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for a stranger to come into the village,\u201d Linh said, \u201cbut if you have friends or relatives in the village you can come through them. They still observe you and … what you are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linh\u2019s family also has ties to communism<\/a>. Her father was a loyal Communist<\/a> Party member and colonel in the Vietnamese<\/a> military. But when he and Linh\u2019s mother became followers of Jesus, the military kicked him out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing in Boldness in Vietnam <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Linh developed her boldness and passion for evangelism through a VOM-supported, two-year discipleship training course that she completed in 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t attend the training course, I wouldn\u2019t be doing this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helped me understand more about the life of Christ and helped me understand God. It also helped me learn how to share the gospel and how to lead people to the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On weekends, Linh goes house to house in the Communist<\/a> hero village sharing the gospel with everyone \u2014 male or female, young or old. She works to establish and build relationships with them, understanding that she is not selling something but rather sharing Someone<\/em> \u2014 Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore I enter a house, I pray for the family inside,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they are willing to accept Christ, I lead them in prayer. If not, I leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they do accept Jesus, she returns regularly to pray with and encourage them, teaching them worship songs and Bible basics. Many who initially reject the gospel become interested later, after their neighbors have accepted Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2007, when Linh started visiting the village, more than 300 people in the village of about 1,000 have accepted Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore, nobody in that village accepted the Lord,\u201d Linh said. \u201cThere were no Christians. That is why God moved me to go there. Even though I was scared, I saw many lost people there, so I knew I must sacrifice myself to preach the gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguing that Christianity is an American enemy of communism, authorities have repeatedly warned Linh that they will arrest her if she continues to preach the gospel and bring Christianity to the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Linh is unmoved in her determination to share God\u2019s gracious gift of salvation. \u201cIf you want to arrest me, then arrest me,\u201d she tells them. \u201cI am doing nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linh varies the times and days of her visits so authorities won\u2019t know when to expect her. She does her best to avoid villagers who oppose her and report her to the authorities, but she remains kind and loving when confronted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough persecution, my faith in the Lord has become stronger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfinished Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Linh has two sons and two daughters ranging in age from 16 to 22, as well as one grandchild. She misses them every weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy children back home don\u2019t have me during those days,\u201d she said, \u201cso that\u2019s a challenge.\u201d She knows, however, that the sacrifice is worth it; her work is leading people into a relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linh is now leading dozens of new Christians \u2014 most are about 20 years old \u2014 through the same discipleship course she completed. She has also started a house church in the village. On average, about 50 believers gather for worship each Sunday, meeting in different homes each week to avoid detection. Increasing persecution from other villagers has kept the group smaller than it could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, relatives of Linh\u2019s husband gave the couple a piece of land in the village so they could establish a banana farm and eventually live and work there. Although they have not yet built a home on the land, they have recently begun staying with villagers through the week as they prepare to farm the land. The harder Linh works to expand God\u2019s kingdom, the more supportive her husband becomes of her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linh asks us to pray that she will be able to continue sharing the gospel in the Communist<\/a> hero village, especially when she is tired or misses her family. And she also asks us to pray for those who have not yet accepted Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every weekend, Linh and her husband travel five hours by motorcycle to take the gospel to a village Linh once feared. The village, known as a \u201cCommunist hero village,\u201d was home to a number of soldiers who died fighting against the United States in the Vietnam War. The villagers take great pride in the fallen heroes from their community and deeply treasure their communist way of life. Many of the villagers lived there during the war and remember those who died. In a country where most of the population practices ancestor worship, the veneration of those who fought and died for communism is considered a sacred duty. The fallen heroes are viewed by some to be guardian spirits of the village, and their memory is invoked to promote nationalism and communist pride. Initially, Linh\u2019s husband didn\u2019t want her to work in the village; he was afraid she would be arrested. Over time, however, he felt compelled to support her, and he continues to pray for her success. Although he travels to the village with her each time, he stays with the motorbike as Linh shares the gospel. Not just anyone can enter the Communist hero village Linh visits. She gained<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[63],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-vietnam","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nSharing Jesus in a Vietnamese Communist Hero Village - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On weekends, Linh goes house to house in the Communist hero village sharing the gospel with everyone, male or female, young or old.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/sharing-jesus-in-a-vietnamese-communist-hero-village\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharing Jesus in a Vietnamese Communist Hero Village - 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