Jesus in Vietnam Ministries

GOD’S LIFE CHANGING LOVE

One of the many joys we have serving our Lord here is to see how God works in the lives of the children who come to know Him, especially the children living in our orphanage/love houses. We would like to share with you one of those stories about a boy named Thien. A couple of days before the start of our VBS Camp 2018 we sent Lan up to Tan Hung (the town 7 hours from Binh Chau that we visited last summer (2017) and 33 people asked Jesus into their heart) to pick up the kids there who wanted to attend our VBS. Lan called us stating that 2 brothers (Nguyen age 9 and Thien age 8) who wanted to come were running around it t-shirts only and she couldn’t bring them with her. We asked her to buy them each a set of clothes so they could come and we would buy them some more when they got to Binh Chau.

During VBS we heard their heart tugging story. Since Tan Hung is a small town, there are not a lot of job opportunities. So, their mother travels a long way to another town for work. Since she has no relatives in Tan Hung (no father involved), she leaves Nguyen and Thien with “friends”. However, the boys seem to have no supervision and run around town all day long with their friends, sometimes with very little clothing on. They told us when they come back at night often there is no food except what’s put outside for the dogs (scraps left from the dinner table). That would become their dinner. Thien has never been to school and Nguyen is already a grade behind. We were told last year that around 50% of the people in Tan Hung do not know how to read or write. Nguyen and Thein were definitely “rough around the edges”, but we soon learned they both had tender hearts. Their mother, Tri, who accepted Jesus last summer, actually came to VBS to serve. Tri knew about our orphanage/love house from her visit to Binh Chau last year. She pleaded with us to take her 2 boys to live in our orphanage/love house. We agreed and the 2 boys stayed with us as their mother went back to Tan Hung.

At first, the school system here wouldn’t accept Thien into first grade due to his age. Thank God, after a heartfelt plea from Kim, they allowed him to start school. Thien adjusted very well in his new environment, but his brother Nguyen struggled. He wanted to go back home. After several months, his grandfather came and took Nguyen back to Tan Hung.As we got to know Thien better, he began to open up to us. He shared a heartbreaking story to us that one night his mother’s drunk boyfriend tied him in a gunny sack and threw him in the river, which they lived next to. We asked Thien how was he able to survive. He said he guessed the man was so drunk he didn’t tie the knot very well and he was able to get out and swim to shore. Praise the Lord as He brought Lan to Thien’s house to rescue him. As a young boy, Thien was so sweet and such a joy to be around. He did struggle in school for a while, but ended up doing well as a student.

The more we showed Thien the love of Jesus, the more he flourished over the years, especially in our nightly Bible reading/study time. He surprised us more than once with his understanding of the Bible at such a young age. Thien was always one of the first to answer questions during our Bible drills at Children’s Church. As we write this story, it’s hard to believe Thien will be 16 years old in a few days. He just finished 8th grade (due to his late start in school). Thien has excelled in his walk with the Lord and now serves as one of our youth leaders, sings in the youth choir who lead Worship on Sunday mornings, and goes out with the youth witnessing teams each Sunday afternoon. Thien also teaches the middle/high school class sometimes at Children’s Church. His prayers will melt your heart too. Thien also has become quite the handyman around the church. And yes, he has remained as sweet as a teenager as he was as a child. God is so good! All the time! Please take joy in knowing how God is using your faithful prayers and financial support to impact lives such as Thien (and many, many more) for Christ for His glory.

VBS CAMP 2026 UPDATE

We praise God and thank each of you who prayed and/or financially gave towards our VBS Camp this summer. We are excited to share we have 50 children registered to attend and all are now sponsored. THANK YOU JESUS!! We have moved the dates up a few days.Our VBS Camp will now be held from June 17-20.

FIRST CONVERT

Last Sunday an elder from an ECV church in a nearby town brought a man (Ngoc) to the Binh Chau church who wanted to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Pastor Phuc Tien confirmed Ngoc’s understanding of the Gospel and then led Ngoc in a prayer asking Jesus into his heart. Please pray Ngoc will be the first of many who come to know Christ through Pastor Phuc Tien’s serving in the Binh Chau church.

VISITORS FROM SAIGON

A group of about 100 volunteers at Pastor Hung’s church in Saigon had just completed a 3 day training session at a town about an hour and a half from Binh Chau. On their way back to Saigon, they stopped by the Binh Chau church to pay us a visit. Upon Pastor Hung’s request, we spoke to the group giving them some background on God’s work over the years here in Binh Chau. Everyone was praising God for establishing His church here and all the wonderful things He has allowed us to do for Him over the last 22 years. One of the pastors prayed and we had a short time of fellowship before they headed for Saigon.

Please pray for the 12 people coming from Pastor Hung’s church to teach and lead Worship at our VBS Camp. May their passion and enthusiasm for Jesus fill the hearts of the children attending with a deeper love for Him.

FUTURE PRAYER WARRIORS

We have a Prayer Service every Wednesday night from 7pm to 8:30pm. Sometimes we break into small groups to pray and other nights we ask people to come forward to pray. Without fail, the children living in our orphanage/love house come forward to pray. What joy to see how the Holy Spirit is working in these precious children’s lives to learn the power of prayer at such an early age. The 2 pictures here show Kien (age 7) and Thanh Tin (age 9) praying. What a blessing! And, another way God is using your prayers and financial support to build His kingdom here one child at a time.

Please pray these children will grow up to be adults who love Jesus, have a heart to serve Him, and boldness to tell others about Him. Just like He has with Quang, Viet, and Khanh who grew up in the church and now able to preach God’s Word as young men.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Plans for our upcoming VBS Camp this summer are almost complete. As previous stated it will now be held on June 17-20. ECV will provide the teachers this year, along with a team to lead Worship. Please join us in praying for 70 or more children to attend this year and God will draw many non-believers to attend this year, open up their hearts to understand the Gospel, and pray to ask Jesus into their heart.

Please continue to pray God will grant us wisdom and discernment this summer as we take the next steps in this transition to the Evangelical Church Vietnam. May we be guided by the Holy Spirit in each and every decision to be made. We will be meeting with Pastor Hung after our VBS Camp for further discussions.

Over the last 15 years we have started 3 Bible studies in 3 different homes in Suoi Bang (a farming community about 15 miles from Binh Chau) only to have Satan bring disruption as we grew in numbers and end them. We still pickup children from Suoi Bang each Saturday for Children’s Church and about 10 people on Sunday morning for Sunday Worship Service. We have asked one of these ladies, Mrs. Ha, to pray about hosting a weekly Bible study in her home. Please join us in praying God will touch Mrs. Ha’s heart to open up her home so more people in Suoi Bang can hear the good news of the Gospel and be discipled through studying His Word.

In a recent visit to Tanh Linh, God confirmed to us the need for the new believers there to be discipled or they will fall back into their old ways of believing in false idols. Please continue to pray God will provide a Vietnamese missionary or missionary couple to move to Tanh Linh to become part of the community, show the love of Jesus, and start to disciple the many new believers there (over 120 in the last 3 years though our VBS Camps/Christmas Outreaches).

“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you.” I Thessalonians 3:9