Vietnam Christian Faith Trumphs Over Magic

As a fifth generation sorcerer, Minh’s exalted position in the community and belief in his magical powers resulted in hatred for Christians in his village in Vietnam.

But privately, Minh’s idol worship and sorcery were utterly ineffectual when it came to his daughter’s health. She had been physically wasting away for years, and despite Minh’s efforts—as well as those of the best doctors, hospitals, and other sorcerers—all were unable to treat her disease. The worse she got, the angrier Minh became.

"I was afraid of Christians..."

As the girl drew near to death, a Christian friend who had been trained by Bible League International came to her bedside. Sensing the end was near, the friend urged her to pray with him and trust the Lord for salvation. She hesitated because of her father. "All my life I was afraid of Christians because my father hated them," she explained. "But even though it would anger my father, I prayed and asked Jesus to save me."

The Great Physician

From that moment, miraculously, she began to regain her strength. Her health improved enough that she was able to begin reading the Bible her friend had left. "The more I read God's Word and prayed to him, the more my health became renewed. Jesus was healing me!"

His daughter's recovery attracted the attention of Minh, who had been told that not even Buddha could save her. "I found a New Testament in her belongings, and I immediately confronted her. She confessed to converting to the Christian God," says Minh.

She told me, "Jesus had died because of her sins and it is His power that makes her well." I responded, "That may be, but I cannot change my faith or my occupation."

"She then glanced to the sky and said, 'Many thanks are to my Lord because my father has agreed to let me follow You.' This left a deep impression on my mind," says Minh. "But even after all this, I still did not believe in the Lord."

A hard heart

"Many years of stubbornness continued even as I clearly saw the Lord Jesus healed my daughter. I knew my ways were false but the dark power of this world still bound me under the demon's yoke that made my heart hard."

Years later, Minh met with a friend who had an idol in his home. "I lectured him on the futility to worship such an idol. The more I talked, the more I became excited to talk about the Lord. I tried to remember all the verses in the New Testament that I had heard from my daughter,” Minh says.

"My friend asked me, 'How long have you accepted the Lord as your Savior?' I was stupefied and then told him I had not yet believed in the Lord. 'Amazing!' my friend responded. 'You deliver your testimony as a true Christian.'

The power of God

"I felt such shame and remorse because of my long stubbornness to the Lordship of Jesus," Minh recalls. "I rushed to the church where they teach the Bible, crying out loudly, 'Oh my Lord! Oh my Lord! Save my soul! Save my soul!' I succumbed to uncontrollable weeping for the Lord to accept me and give me the right to become one of His children," remembers Minh.

“From that time I have experienced the power of the Lord and His great love for my life and for my soul. I gave up my job as a cheating sorcerer and now I study His Word for more understanding.” Please continue to pray for Minh and other Christians in Vietnam as they come to know the love of God for them.