STORIES
I WILL DIE FOR CHRIST
“Lord, if you truly exist, please heal me. I offer my life to you and will serve you,” Trung prayed one night as he knelt in his room. The message he had heard in church that day about Jesus healing miraculously turned over in his mind, giving him a glimmer of hope. In 1985 Trung was conscripted into the Vietnamese army and sent to Cambodia for two years. He caught malaria and became extremely ill, but medicine seemed to have no effect and he was eventually sent home. Trung’s health continued to deteriorate and he thought he would soon die. One day, childhood memories of hearing about Jesus resurfaced and Trung felt compelled to find a church. After he prayed for healing, Trung lay down and went to sleep. At about midnight, Trung heard the Lord call his name. He was startled and as he sat up in bed, he felt God’s peace come over him. “It seemed to bring healing and in the morning I felt well,” Trung said. “The Lord had answered my prayer and I have remained malaria-free to this day.”
Trung's life has never been the same. He had a hunger to know God and loved to read the Word. His faith grew and it wasn't long before Trung was sharing his testimony in the neighbouring villages. Trung evangelised and preached freely for three years following his conversion without any opposition. His ministry flourished.
In 1991, Trung began witnessing to the mountain tribes of Vietnam and leading them to faith in Christ, but the local police heard of his activities and arrested him. Trung spent 12 days in prison, and was brought before the 'People's Court' and fined one million Vietnamese Dong ($A58). Trung said, 'Why do I have to pay this fine? I have not done anything illegal.' The police replied, 'This is to cover the cost of investigating who the preacher to the mountain tribes is and tracking you down.' Trung had been preaching to the Hre tribe and those who rejected the Gospel message told Trung that he must pay the money as well as buy them a buffalo to sacrifice to their gods. If he refused, they said, 'We will cut off your head!'
The police decided to relocate Trung to another prison where he was interrogated and beaten for half an hour until he was unconscious. Trung was then dumped in a prison cell to wait for the next day when the beatings and interrogation would begin all over again. He was released after 30 days. Most of the injuries Trung sustained were on his torso, damaging his internal organs. Today, Trung still suffers from pain in his chest due to the beatings he received.
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A daring protest and a high-profile funeral here on Monday 25 January for a 12-year-old Christian
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