Vietnam happenings / Ps D, Vietnam Leper Ministry

Like everywhere else, the leper centers also were affected by Covid-19, and since 2019 we have not been able to visit the centers regularly. We only managed to visit the Thai Nguyen and Phu Ly centers. There were a few deaths during this year’s lockdown period. The lepers died because of various complications as well as old age. Five patients from Thai Nguyen passed away; three of them were believers and had been baptized. Two from the Phu Ly center were also believers. Praise the Lord for saving these precious souls.

We were not able to do our usual summer programs with the children of the lepers; however, we organized bible studies, various games and outdoor activities like swimming for them. The children are always happy to participate and we show them that we care for them no matter who their parents are. Praise God that seven children accepted the Lord during the summer events.

In spite of the hardship families of lepers’ face, six students have overcome all odds and are now studying in the university. We praise the Lord for blessing them with this opportunity. Four of them are in Hanoi and two in Thai Nguyen.

Lepers are ostracized still but God loves them and sees their struggles. One testimony that I would like to share with you reminds us how we never know when and how God will answer our prayer but, regardless, we need to continue to trust and leave our prayer requests in God’s hands. Hien (our co-worker) and I prayed for a student and his grandfather (a leper) for the infilling of the Holy Spirit about four years ago. His grandfather was baptized in the Holy Spirit but nothing was heard from the student again. Recently, he contacted me to ask for a Bible as he is now at a university in Thai Nguyen. When asked, he mentioned that his teacher who is a foreigner has continued to share the Word with him and he is now a believer who attends church regularly. Thank God for His faithfulness. We sowed the seed and another Kingdom connection watered it and helped it grow.

During the summer, we also managed to share some gifts with the lepers at both centers. Thank you for your support because they were really in need of support as they have felt lonely and isolated. They were so happy to see us. Though they are mainly segregated from the outside world for most of the time, they did have some family and friends visit them. However, due to Covid- 19, many people stopped visiting them out of fear and also because there was an increase in the number of Covid cases. Interestingly, we’re noticing that people have started using the term 'leper' to describe how they feel as they navigate life during this pandemic - keeping distance from people, being unable to leave their home or do the things they usually enjoy. People are discovering that this new way of life of having to self-isolate can be very lonely at times.

This year (2021), restrictions due to Covid-19 were once again reimposed during the lunar new year season. As a result, we could not celebrate with the lepers. We managed, however, to make last-minute visits to them before the lockdowns took effect. The staff at the centers were quite reluctant to receive visitors but we succeeded in persuading them to allow us in for just a short while to drop off the new year gifts and wish the lepers all the best for the new year. We would like to share with you the testimony of this wonderful woman of God:

Aunty Nguyen Thi Nhi, 87 years old, had a heart problem and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. The doctors said her heart was very weak and the family were informed that she did not have long to live. A heart operation was not an option as she was too old and weak. Her granddaughter, who is a student at the Hanoi University and goes to a church in Hanoi, prayed for Aunty Nhi. While she was praying, the Holy Spirit caused her to pray in tongues for an hour and she cried for a long time. She didn’t know why she felt that way but continued to pray. After that, Aunty Nhi was sent home to die. I visited Aunty Nhi with her granddaughter. Her granddaughter stayed home to help and continued to pray for her daily. God worked a miracle. Aunty Nhi became stronger and stronger and now she enjoys good health and can walk around the village! Praise God!

At a time when the world seems to be filled with fear and uncertainty, let's make sure that we treat people affected by leprosy with dignity and understand the struggles they face. I think our own isolation has given us an insight as to how they must feel.

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. “