Laos

The lives of the Khab family changed dramatically when they placed their faith in Christ. They no longer feared the gods and evil spirits that others in their small Laotian village tried to appease, and their newfound freedom was obvious to the other Hmong villagers. Soon, two other families turned to faith in Christ. Village leaders, however, were nervous about the “foreign religion” taking root among them. They worried that it would anger their gods, causing crops to fail or bringing other calamities on the village. After agreeing that they had to take action, the leaders demanded that the three Christian families renounce their faith. When the families refused, they were expelled from the village and forced to move into tarp tents in a rice field. When three other families witnessed their strong faith, they, too, placed their trust in Christ, bringing the Christian community in the rice field to a total of six families composed of 32 individuals. They are not permitted to leave the field unless a leader from another village allows them into their village. One day, a family from the Khmu tribe noticed their tent camp and asked them why they were living in a rice

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.

Keo wasn’t surprised by the village leaders’ decision. In some ways, he expected it. Keo, his wife and their five children became Christians in communist Laos in 2011, and they have been denied basic needs ever since. Village leaders even prevented them from accessing the public water system. Laos is a volatile area for Christians, as the gospel offends the country’s traditional, animist spiritual practices. Conversion to Christianity is seen as a rejection of family and tradition; it is believed to anger the spirits tied to ancestor and idol worship. Christians are often harassed and evicted from their homes and villages. They are denied education and work opportunities, and they are sometimes arrested and forced to deny their faith. Despite the hardships, Keo and his family refuse to abandon Christ. “I knew becoming a Christian would be difficult and I would have persecution,” Keo said. Convinced of God’s Power Keo and his family became believers after witnessing the power of prayer. Keo’s son, Khamphuy, 12 at the time, had struggled with his breathing for months. Keo spent all his money on spirit doctors, who told him to kill certain animals to atone for wrongdoings that may have caused the boy’s