Safe Harbor International Ministers to the Needs of Church Leaders and Communities Affected by Typhoon Mirinae in Vietnam

Over 40 church leaders met in a small room in Vietnam for a three day pastor’s conference in the wake of two devastating typhoons that destroyed all of their homes and crops.  God gave Safe Harbor the opportunity to minister through His Word to pastors who were suffering and who would be returning to congregations that had also lost most of their possessions.  By God’s grace, the time was filled with joy, worship, prayer and standing in awe of our sovereign Lord.  These pastors shared of the extreme persecution they faced over the last few years and prayed for each other and the persecuted church throughout the world.

Through God’s provision, Safe Harbor was able to deliver relief facilitated through the local church in Vietnam.  Our persecuted brothers and sisters were able to meet some of the needs of other Christians, unbelievers, and even those who persecuted the church severely for over a decade.  Bridges were built as the Lord used typhoon relief to soften the hearts of those persecuting the church.  Many of the pastors said that the relief enabled the Christians to meet with government leaders, for the first time, without being interrogated, beaten, or imprisoned.

However, less than one month after the pastor’s conference, Safe Harbor was notified by our Vietnamese contact that 10 church leaders had been arrested and thrown in jail for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ during an open air Christmas service.  Several of the church leaders arrested had recently attended Safe Harbor’s three-day pastor’s conference.  One of the church leaders, who was just released from prison after serving a 2 year sentence, shared how they would be forced to perform hard labor for 8-10 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If caught sharing about Christ, they were beaten and/or refused food and drink.

Prior to departing the conference, the pastors asked that we pray for them, knowing that they were to face severe persecution upon their return home.  The pastors performed the Christmas service in public knowing that there was a high risk of being arrested…

…400 hundred people attended the Christmas service.

Days later, after a call to prayer was sent out both in the United States and Vietnam, the church leaders were released from prison.

During the conference, the pastors asked us to pray for the church in Vietnam in the midst of looming persecution.  We have included some direct quotes describing their lives over the last few years.  Please hold our Vietnamese brethren up in prayer.

One Pastor said,

• God called me as a Christian and it changed my life…the people saw the change in my life and 140 people converted to Christianity…I began pastoring house churches…and the government arrested me.
• They beat me…they put a gun in my face…and said the beating was because I was following the American religion.
• Since 2008, there are over 75 people coming to church again…regardless of how they might be persecuted.
• …please pray for us because we are still meeting and we think we will be arrested when we go back home.

Another pastor said,

• In 2002, there were many people coming to know Christ…and they burned down our houses.  We moved to another province and started a church.
• We had ten people at the new church and they tore down the house and beat the believers.
• In 2005 they beat one of the Christians in our group so brutally that 15 days later he died.
• Authorities try to force the new converts to give up their faith and if they refuse…they are told that they will no longer receive any government aid.
• Please pray that God gives us wisdom in conducting ministry.

Another pastor said,

• Once, an entire communist family accepted Christ…the authorities arrested me and tortured me with electricity for 40 days…I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore.
• For many days they would not let him eat or drink anything
• Just recently I taught my 90 year old mother what it was to be saved by faith alone.
• She called me one night at 1:00am and asked me to baptize her immediately…she said that she didn’t need anything material…she was satisfied with Christ alone.  One month later she went home to be with the Lord.

Another pastor said,

• They have beat me with rods and hammers.
• They say, “Why don’t you cry and ask your God to help you.”
• They follow me everywhere I go to scare the families we evangelize.  They even have tied new converts to trees so that the ants will come and bite them…please pray for us.

Another pastor said,

• I was in prison from 2005 until  2007 for being a Christian
• They beat us in prison because we used the bible to answer their questions.