VIETNAM
PRO-LIFE MINISTRY
At Easter we
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus which marks the beginning of a new covenant
between God and man. It was indeed the biggest event in Bible history - Jesus
gave His life so we may be saved and have LIFE! Life is such a precious
gift from God. We do not have absolute autonomy over our own
lives but are stewards of the life given to us by God. In Psalm 139:13-16
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I
praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was
made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in
your book before one of them came to be.” The lives of all humans, their
own and others are to be cherished and guarded.
I was recently
reading a report from our Pro-Life ministry in Vietnam and was appalled to read
of the number of abortions performed there, estimated at about 1.5 million per
year! Vietnam is the 3rd to 7th highest ranking county
(statistics vary) in the world for the number of abortions and the highest in
Asia. About 40% of pregnancies in Vietnam are aborted and abortion is the
biggest challenge in Vietnam in the field of reproductive healthcare (according
to a World Health Organization report).
Secret abortions
are performed on teenagers aged between 13 and 19, said Nguyen Thi Hoai Duc,
the director of the Institute for Reproductive and Family Health. In Vietnam,
getting pregnant before marriage remains a taboo. A young woman who gets
pregnant without being married is likely to face harsh backlash from not only
her own family but society too. As a consequence, unmarried women turn to private clinics to have abortions. On
average, one woman dies every week because of unsafe abortions. However, it is
not only unmarried women who abort their babies. Statistics show that married women with one or two
children (some statistics show one or two daughters), have the highest rate of abortions.
The guilt of
killing their unborn children affects many Vietnamese women who believe that
the soul of their unborn child cannot rest in peace. So they go to online grave
sites on the internet and insert a tombstone, name their baby and ask for
forgiveness. Besides this online grave site there are also real grave sites for
giving foetuses a proper burial. It has been reported that in grave sites
outside the city of Hanoi more than 100,000 foetuses have been buried. This
does not reflect the true number of abortions however, as many more are simply
discarded in the most convenient place or manner.
Our missionary
in Hanoi, Pushpa Waters was heartsick to learn of the growing number of
abortions and she prayed to the Lord to show her a way to save these unborn children
and together with others the Pro-Life Ministry was born.
From a slow
start with varying degrees of success to reach women at risk, the PL-Team
(Pro-Life Team) in Hanoi is now growing in number and in the scope of their
ministry. Last year (2017) Passion Life from the US came, (thank you AO
Malaysia for introducing), and conducted their first ‘Four Questions –
Answering the Crisis of Abortion with the Gospel of Life’ (4Qs) Training in
Hanoi. They returned in March this year teaching in several more churches, then
David (Pushpa’s husband) was invited to teach the 4Qs to the Hanoi Christian
Medical Fellowship in April and later David and Hue (his secretary) taught the
4Qs in their church. About 130 believers in Hanoi have gone through this one
day abortion awareness training.
After the second
visit by Passion Life in March, a pro-life team (PL-Team) made up of local
believers was formed, adding momentum to the pro-life movement. They have now
finished translating the 4Qs materials, and are challenging the local team to
train churches. They have also just completed translating ‘Forgiven and Set
Free – A Post-Abortion Bible Study for Women’ by Linda Cochrane (introduced by
Jeanne Pernia) and are set to begin their first restorative group in the coming
days. This is important, since many of the women who have a heart for pro-life
have had abortions themselves, and they need to be set free in order to serve
well.
Since March, one
doctor in the PL-Team has created a website and written a pro-life booklet
specifically aimed at non-Christians and has invitations to teach this to
students in the medical universities. This same man has also offered the land
he inherited just outside Hanoi as a refuge centre for women in pregnancy
crisis. He already has the legal process underway and plans drawn up to build a
legal orphanage/women’s refuge centre. This will be the first Christian women’s
refuge centre (that we know of) in North Vietnam.
One lady pastor
in the PL-Team has been taking care of four women in pregnancy crisis, even
though she is poor (a single mum) and her house is very small. Two of the women
are staying with her. Several other women have plans to reach out to women in
pregnancy crisis as they enter or sit in crowded clinics. Many go there looking
for abortion, but the reality is, in their time of need – in their crisis –
they simply don’t know anyone who can help them. Many don’t want to abort but
feel that they have no choice and are pressured to do so.
One woman was
told by her pastor to attend the first 4Qs training and after the session she
was determined to keep her baby – she was convinced she should abort when the
doctor told her that her baby would most likely be born handicapped because she
has high blood pressure. Her families were forcing her to abort. She is married
with one child already. Praise God she did not abort.
Lan Anh, a
university student in David and Pushpa’s church faced a difficult time when she
was pregnant. She had to take a year off from studying when she became
pregnant. She was abandoned by her boyfriend and disowned by her parents,
however with help she was able to stay in her rented room in Hanoi until the
baby was born. After the birth of her baby her mother softened and came from
the countryside to visit, finally her whole family softened and welcomed her
and her little child back into their home. Lan Anh returned with her baby to
her family in the province and there met a nice young man. She is now married
and has had another baby already!
The PL-Team in
Hanoi have three main areas to serve in and to develop:
1. Awareness – starting with the church then
mobilizing the church to pro-life action. Giving a clear understanding of the
sanctity of human life, the humanity of the unborn child, the moral evil of
intentionally killing innocent human beings (born or unborn) and the clear
calling to the church to rescue the innocent.
Connecting
the church to God’s truth on life and abortion.
2. Women in
Crisis – developing
people and practical ways to minister to women in pregnancy crisis – through
personal presence and care, offering understanding, hope, safety and practical
support in their time of crisis. Opening Pregnancy Help Centres and Women’s
Refuge Centres.
Connecting with those in need.
3. Post-Abortion
Healing – Offering
real healing and freedom from guilt to the many women affected by abortion.
Connecting women with Christ and the forgiveness he offers.
Pray for every woman
facing a pregnancy decision, that they would choose life for their unborn
children, and be surrounded by a supportive family and community to make a commitment
to family and life. We pray that all will look upon human life as a great gift
from God and be accepted and loved, not an unwanted burden to be destroyed. We
pray for the Lord’s help for the efforts of those in the pro-life ministry of
promoting the dignity and value of all human life, in particular the unborn. As
for those women who have already aborted their unborn children, we pray they
will seek His forgiveness and find peace and comfort in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 24: 11
“Deliver those who are drawn toward
death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.”
