Once in Malaysia, the only goal Vui had in mind was to repay the loan of both the bank and his family as quickly as possible. Unfortunately Vui’s boss was an unscrupulous person. The labor contract was never honored by the company where he worked. His company gave him half of what they promised monthly.
Vui’s future became hopeless. All the dreams of having a better life were now vanished. He was desperate and depressed. When the company did not have work, Vui was laid off temporarily. He spent all he had on drinking liquor. When the money ran out, he started to borrow from his friends but no avail.
When Vui saw the love and joy from his Christian friends (even among those who were laid off like him), Vui became curious. He started reading all the tracts & the Bible. One story that struck him was the flood story. Vui remembered vaguely the story of the sea-god in Vietnamese literature. The sea-god because his bride-to-be was taken from him by the mountain-god, decided to raise the water as high as he could in order to destroy the mountain-god so he could get his bride back. In the end, everyone in the flood died, only the mountain-god and his bride survived. He felt that the Bible stories were not distant and he came to a conclusion that this is not a western religion but a religion for everyone.
Within 2 months, Vui gave his life to Jesus and was baptized. He loved to witness to other Vietnamese. His employer transferred him to a better position with better pay. He is paying off his debt little by little. He quit drinking & smoking. He is helping to lead a cell-group Bible study and also takes part in the church services.
Vui has already completed his time in Malaysia. He has shared his conversion experience with his family. His mother and siblings are open, but his dad is indifferent. Vui is concerned that he will be labeled as “a betrayer to his ancestors” since he no longer worships the deceased family members or burning joss sticks. In addition, the authority in his village has been giving a hard time to his returned friends who became Christians in Malaysia. In some instances, all their Bibles and materials have been confiscated. Vui is determined to memorize as many Scriptures and praise songs as possible so that he can be an effective witness for Christ even without any written material. He loves to share the story of salvation. He has learned Bible storying through many of the Bible stories. He is praying that his whole family and clan will become believers through his witness and sharing.
It is so important for Southern Baptist churches to engage unengaged unreached people groups. In doing so, the congregation can be more focused and the missions become more personalized. A Vietnamese Baptist Church in the USA came to do the prayer walk, evangelism and training. Non-Vietnamese Christians came to teach English, songs, mime, crafts, to do prayer walk, to give personal testimonies through interpreters …. The volunteers have been great blessings to Vietnamese.
