Derek Prince Ministries is at the forefront of doing amazing mission work into remote parts of South East Asia. In November, two outreaches were held in Vietnam, led by pastor “D” and his team.
Worshipping idols
Pastor "D" reports: “We travelled to the H’re tribe, an ethnic group in a mountainous area in Vietnam. Traditionally, the H’re people worship idols (‘Yang gods’), believing that they decide on things such as harvest, and people’s health. H’re people also worship their ancestors. We were able to reach out to about 50 H’re women and God touched them, saved and healed them. We gave the women several proclamation cards and taught them how to use it to strengthen their faith. In their remote villages, these women may have been overlooked or forgotten by men by not by God!”
People of the Living Water
A second outreach was held among the Jarai tribe. “It took a long ride (including one night on a sleeping bus on bumpy roads) for our team to reach the village. Here, through the help of local believers, we helped organize an outreach for 200 children and hold Bible seminars for 40 pastors and leaders. These seminars were also attended by 30 church members. We taught from Derek Prince’s books The Divine Exchange and Fatherhood. God touched the children and their leaders deeply. Many of them cried out to God.”
Pastor “D” shared that the Jarai people were really hungry for God's Word. He also expressed the need for discipleship among this tribe. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior need to learn how to walk with Him.
We are grateful for all our those who support our outreaches with their prayers and donations to reach out to the Jarai tribes. The name ‘Jarai’ (ចារ៉ាយ - Charay) means "People of the Waterfalls" or "People of the Flowing River". We pray that they will soon become known as the People of the Living Water, because of their faith in Christ. In this area, many leaders and pastors have been put to jail for 4-8 years because of preaching the gospel.
“I met a man from the Jarai tribe, who was 68 years old”, pastor “D” shared, “who was put in jail for eight years just because of preaching the gospel to his tribe. He went from village to village to preach Jesus. That formed the evidence against him. However, after eight years of imprisonment, he was stronger for the Lord. And now, in his 68th year, he is still leading a church and helping young men fight for their faith. What a challenge for us to keep fighting for our faith."
Persecution doesn’t Stop the Gospel
Those words are rooted deeply in reality. Recently, pastor “D” himself was arrested and interrogated by the authorities. He was sharing the Gospel message with 60 students, when three policemen entered and videoed the meeting. They arrested pastor “D” and his team with the aim to find out where pastor “D”’s churches are located and to put a stop to their meetings.
In these challenging situation, Pastor “D” and his team were encouraged by the words from Acts 4:29-31, wich says,
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Pastor “D” felt this to be a powerful prayer in times of persecution, because it is asking God to:
- Consider the threats.
- Give us great boldness to keep preaching the Word.
- Stretch out His hand to perform miracles.
- Fill us with His Holy Spirit to testify for Him.
- Shake the powers of darkness to open doors for preaching the Gospel.
Pastor “D” reported: “It is tough, very scary and tiring to go through persecution, but the Lord encourages us that there is a special grace for that. We are given grace not only to believe in Him but also to suffer because of Him. Thanks to this grace we can go through suffering with joy. During our recent outreach trip, 20 souls were added to the kingdom of God. So no matter what is going on with the authorities, when they persecute us in one place, we go to another. Isn’t our God amazing?”
Thank You For Your Help
In spite of challenges and persecution, the gospel is bearing fruit in Vietnam. The hunger for God's Word is huge and people are open to receive the Lord. We are so grateful to see the Lord is providing increased opportunities for us to reach the Vietnamese people, both in the cities as well as in remote villages. The wonderful partnership you have extended through your prayers and financial gifts is a huge blessing to our Derek Prince Ministries Vietnam team. Will you please assist us as we increase the impact of Derek’s teaching in this nation? We send our thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
