This is a story of God’s love and faithfulness.
I remember so clearly the day, 15 years ago, when my wife, Hong, and I were baptized! We were the first married couple in the underground Vietnam church, and we had a three-month-old boy. In those days it was hard for people to become followers of Jesus. The pressure of persecution was so intense that many left the church. The congregation was a few years old and there were 23 members.
The situation may have been strained, but we were happy with our new direction. Our lives certainly did totally change – partly cause we repented and imitated Christ, and partly cause the persecution cost me my job. (I had been a popular movie actor and my wife had previously been a fashion model.) Our salary decreased but our happiness increased! We moved 15 times over the years.
The first house we rented after downsizing was actually a small room in the top floor of a three-story house, 12 square meters. (There were many people living on the three floors). The roof was very thin – it felt like a sauna when the sun was shining, and became a swimming pool when it was raining. We tried everything to keep our three-month-old baby comfortable. I tried dipping a cotton towel in water, and hanging it on the window to get a bit of cool air. It helped, but I had to repeat every 30 minutes cause the sun was so hot, the towel would be dry in half an hour! Then I improved my “homemade air conditioner” by poking small holes in a plastic Coke bottle and putting it on top of the towel. It would slowly leak water onto the towel and keep it wet for longer – we could go four hours without refilling the Coke bottle!
We obviously didn’t have much money at that time but we still wanted a place we could use to reach out to the lost, so we picked this place cause it came with a huge patio terrace right outside our room that we could use for free. We decorated the terrace nicely, like an open-air coffee shop, so we could spend time with friends and help them to study the Bible. Once the sun went down, our little paradise looked much nicer and was definitely cooler.
Minh Hieu, our oldest son, has faced many such challenging situations, and he has happily supported our family’s evangelistic lifestyle. God gave him a gentle heart and a spiritual mind. Our son loves to read the Bible; he finished reading through the entire Bible when he was only seven years old (Adult Bible, not a Kids’ Bible). He remembered many stories and names; sometimes when I prepare lessons, I ask him information about some of the characters in the Bible and he really helps me! He finished reading the Bible through a second time when he was nine years old and a third time when he twelve!
The hard times we have experienced during our time in the ministry, Minh Hieu has been there to see and witness all of them. A few years ago, our congregation was preparing to celebrate the 15th anniversary of having a church in Vietnam, and I was about to be appointed an evangelist, and my wife would be named a women’s ministry leader. We were getting ready to leave our home for the service. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, but one of the disciple’s parents came to our house and beat me up in front of my wife, my mother and my sons. Our oldest son asked afterwards, “Daddy, are you ok? Why are those people so angry with you?” My wife answered the question, “When you make Jesus your Lord, sometimes these things happen.” Then Minh Hieu hugged me and said, “I’m so proud of you, Dad, don’t worry. You make the Bible become reality.” Then we all went to the service together.
After that, we made a decision as a family to leave our comfort zone in Ho Chi Minh City (HCM) and lead the mission team of 16 people to Hanoi. Even though he would miss his friends in HCM a lot, our son said he was happy. He quickly built new friends in Hanoi. After three years, our mission team had doubled and we needed to move back to HCM because of the needs in a more mature church. Once again Minh Hieu willingly left his close friends and followed us. On the day we arrived back in HCM, I asked him: “What city do you prefer to live in more? Hanoi or HCM?” He replied: “HCM was for my childhood, but Hanoi helped me to grow. I learned so many things in Hanoi. I became more mature in Hanoi with you. I love this family.”
One month after being back in HCM, Minh Hieu asked me if he could study the Bible. “I know many uncles in the church are really good at studying the Bible with people, but Daddy, could you please help me and lead the study for me? I want you to be the first person I confess my sin to.” On that night he confessed his sins to me, and then I began to teach him about Seeking God and about Jesus. Other brothers in church did some other Bible studies with him, and I helped him with a few toward the end. At the beach we had one more heart-to-heart talk, then I baptized him! Praise God, the God we have followed wholeheartedly is always awesome, and always faithful.
Now in our family, we have three disciples! We still have two more sons to help, but we believe that this is a good start. Thank you for your love, support and prayers. To God be the Glory.
Hung and Hong Tran
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
