Marc, 21, battled a chronic illness and could not find a cure. He visited doctors and voodoo practitioners, but nothing seemed to help. Then a friend urged him to come to church. When Marc heard the gospel, he became a follower of Christ and was physically healed, later deciding to receive baptism. When he returned home from the baptismal service, his voodooist father had hired people to beat him. His father was upset that Marc, his oldest son, would forsake his duties to the family’s voodoo rituals and told him to leave. Marc stayed at a relative’s house, but some family members locked him in a room and tried to force him to return to pagan practices. Eventually he escaped through a window. Today, he lives with a pastor’s family, is trying to find a job, and hopes someday to preach the gospel. He said, “What made me to have courage is Jesus says in the Bible, ‘I will never abandon you.’”

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Basavaraj, his wife and their six children are the only believers in a village of 200 families. They faithfully share Christ among the villagers. Each family is expected to serve at the local Hindu temple. Basavaraj told the village leaders that he could not perform the idol worship because he was a follower of Christ. At a village meeting, the family again refused to perform temple duties. Basavaraj told the leaders, “Even if you kill me, we will only worship Jesus.” Villagers beat them and continue to harass and pressure the family, poisoning their rice fields, destroying their crops and vandalizing their home. Some of their children are afraid to leave the house and no longer attend school because of the constant pressure and ridicule. Pray for this family to remain strong in the Lord and that many in the village will turn to Christ because of their courageous witness.

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In the summer of 2022, Tien received a call and was told her father had been seriously beaten. He had been evangelizing and then returned home with her younger brother, Thanh. Some men, including one of her uncles, came into the house and beat him in front of Thanh. By the time Tien got home, her father had already died. Thanh has been mute since that day. Tien’s mother, who had a heart condition, was so shocked that she never recovered, dying two months later. Thanh was taken to live with the uncle, who then also claimed the family’s house and motorbike. Tien, now 18, and her younger brothers (Mau, 11, and Dang, 9) live with their maternal grandparents. Remembering her father’s teaching, Tien prays for her uncle’s salvation and for the reunion of her family. VOM is supporting her in cosmetology school so that she can support her siblings.

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