Church unites to support Vietnamese who lost their home overnight

It was a night like no other for Long and his family in Vietnam, with their home cruelly taken away from them. Christians both near and far have since rallied to care for them, reminding them that, despite everything, Jesus will never be displaced from their hearts.

It was the middle of the night when Long* and his wife, Ha*, woke to shouts from their village elder. “Go! Leave the village right now or we will destroy your house!”

Only months earlier, the couple from the H’re tribal group lived undisturbed in their village in central Vietnam. That all changed when Pastor Han* reached their home to share the gospel. They became Christians, began attending gatherings with believers from other villages and, in an enormously courageous move, stopped participating in their village’s religious traditions.

The H’re people, who are mostly subsistence farmers, follow animism. The belief systems holds that everything – from stones to plants, forests to weather systems – have spirits that, in some cases, make them idols of worship. Animists believe that if anyone in the community abandons the village traditions, the village elder won’t be able to summon these spirits to their village – the spirits that are supposed to bring luck, health and wealth.

Helpless and homeless

This is why Long and Ha faced hostility from their community. Despite growing pressure, they continued to embrace Christianity as they were discipled by Pastor Han. But then came the awful night when the village elder – accompanied by the village chief, police officers and a baying crowd – disrupted not only the couple’s sleep, but their whole lives.

• What’s it like to be a Christian in Vietnam?

The village elder and the police demanded that Long and Ha leave the community. When they refused, the mob tore down their home in a matter of moments. Long, Ha and their young son had no choice but to flee in the dead of night, leaving their belongings behind. To make matters even more fraught, Ha was eight months’ pregnant.

The family are far from alone in the ordeal they faced. Open Doors researchers have found evidence in the past year of Christians being forced to leave their homes in 78% of the countries on the World Watch List. In some countries, like Myanmar and Nigeria, the number of affected believers is enormous. In Vietnam, this form of persecution is relatively rare – but every forced displacement is, of course, devastating to the Christians facing this cruelty.

Caring church

Pastor Tan and his church are rallying to support Long, Ha and their family, helping them find temporary refuge. Unable to provide new construction materials, church members bravely returned to the family’s destroyed house to salvage anything they could find to build the family a temporary shelter. Open Doors local partners are also providing food and clothing.

Despite fleeing their village, opposition remains in a different form, with the authorities now blocking them from officially being part of another village. This is making it difficult to look for jobs, receive social services support and enrol their son in school.

But with the constant care and encouragement of Pastor Tan and their church, and Open Doors supporters like you, Long and Ha are persevering in their faith. They know they aren’t alone but have a worldwide family who are standing with them.

*Names changed for security reasons