A Place Where It Is Better to Be a Prostitute than a Christian

Huddled in a small, smelly bathroom in the house church she was attending, Sonxi listened closely to muffled voices outside. She had been hiding in the bathroom ever since being warned that her parents were looking for her. She tried hard not to make a sound, but it wasn’t easy. Still, being able to attend church was worth the trouble.

Sonxi’s parents hated her new Christian faith, but she knew they were just afraid because of the trouble it could bring their family. When she tried to tell them about Christ, they would say, “We can’t believe in this religion because we are afraid of the police. If there weren’t any police, we would believe in Jesus.”

Eight Christian families lived in Sonxi’s small village in communist Laos, but she had never paid much attention to them and certainly never imagined she would become one of them. All she really noticed was that they were different from the other villagers. They didn’t gossip, they were humble, and they encouraged her when she talked to them.

She had no interest in Jesus until one day when she discovered a small booklet lying on the ground as she walked through the jungle. After picking it up and beginning to read the worn pages, she was immediately drawn to its message.

“One day Jesus will come back,” she read. Those words filled her young heart with a hope that she had never before experienced.

As soon as Sonxi returned to her village, she visited the Christians’ leader. After he told her more about Jesus and what it means to be a Christian, she prayed with him and placed her faith in Christ.

Quiet Faith

Sonxi knew that her newfound faith would upset her parents, so she decided not to tell them. She also knew that if her parents caught her with a Bible, they would burn it.

After she had been a Christian for a while, however, some friends encouraged her to be bolder in her faith. “If you believe God is real, He will help you,” one assured her.

She began attending the house church in her village, but neighbors soon noticed and told her parents. Furious about her secret conversion, her parents tried to prevent her from going to church. “I need you to collect firewood every Sunday morning,” her mother told her. “If you don’t, then you cannot live here.”

At first Sonxi didn’t know what to do. But when she awoke early on Sunday morning, she decided to ask a Christian neighbor if she could borrow firewood from her and replenish the supply later in the day. The neighbor agreed.

Sonxi gave the firewood to her mother and then got ready for church. Her mother was shocked that she had returned with the firewood so soon.

Impending Danger

The more Sonxi attended church, the angrier her parents grew.

They started beating her and tried to shame her by saying things like, “You are a very bad girl because you don’t listen to your parents!” They sometimes locked her in her room so she couldn’t attend church and refused to give her food. One day, her older brother even threatened to kill her with his hunting rifle.

But Sonxi remained faithful to Christ. She kept going to church and continued to show her family the love of Jesus.

When her parents finally threatened to send her to the city of Vientiane to be a prostitute, Sonxi knew it was time to leave. Trusting in Christ, she fled to a Christian friend who in turn helped her connect with some VOM workers. Although Sonxi’s parents disowned her as their daughter, the VOM workers made sure her needs were met. They helped her enroll in a sewing school and later complete a course in a Bible school. VOM has also supported training that will enable her to help churches in Laos establish their own children’s ministry.

VOM continues to provide vocational training, housing and additional help to young people who are forced to leave their families. We also sponsor short training seminars for Christian youth outside the country.

Sonxi later led a younger sibling to Christ, which upset her parents. “Just pray for my family one day to know Jesus,” she said. “Pray for all my future. … I want to serve God.”