Nani and Nha Phong remain faithful against incredible opposition
Seventeen-year-old Nani and 16-year-old Nha Phong are sisters who both received Christ in Laos.
Amidst the religious squeeze of Buddhism, animism and communism—these precious sisters made the difficult journey of faith. And they found Jesus worthy of their hearts, even their lives.
Nani and Nha Phong knew the risk they faced for placing their faith in Jesus. But they never expected the danger they’d be forced to endure…
Nani and Nha Phong: Two sisters share their story of faith in their own words
Our cousin is a pastor in a village not far from ours. He’s the one who shared the good news with us, and walked with us as we learned more about Jesus.
We loved what we heard. It was an easy choice to make. But we both knew the commitment was heavy.
God was there for us. His love was so great, it filled us up. And we needed it. We needed Him.
Threatened
Because when our family found out, they were angry. Our father told us we were forbidden to attend church. And he threatened us.
But we still went. How could we not? We were so new in our faith. We had to be together with other believers. One morning, many of our family members followed us secretly to see where we were going. They probably already knew, but had to see for themselves.
Attacked
And as church began, they rushed in and grabbed us—tying us up and dragging us out. Our dad was violent—and kept us tied for several days. Our family said they wouldn’t let us go until we renounced our faith in Jesus. After four days, our dad finally released us. But life wouldn’t be the same.
We don’t like disobeying our father, who is the head of the family. But we want to obey Jesus more than anyone. We know that Jesus died for us, and we do not want to go back to our old religion. Even if it is difficult, we want to follow Jesus. And our strength to stand firm is a gift from God. God gave us the passion to believe.
Escape
Defying our father was one thing. But then the village leader took matters into his own hands. He sent the authorities to our house to arrest us. Thankfully, we were able to escape to live in hiding with our cousin in his village where he serves as the pastor.
Future
The future is unclear to us. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring. We hope our family will someday accept our new faith. But we may spend the rest of our lives in hiding.
There is a Bible verse in Ephesians 6. When people fought in the past, they used a shield. And we want to have faith like a shield. When the evil one tries to shoot arrows at us, we will use the shield to protect ourselves. The "shield of faith." Our faith, in Jesus.
Seventeen-year-old Nani and 16-year-old Nha Phong are sisters who both received Christ in Laos.
Amidst the religious squeeze of Buddhism, animism and communism—these precious sisters made the difficult journey of faith. And they found Jesus worthy of their hearts, even their lives.
Nani and Nha Phong knew the risk they faced for placing their faith in Jesus. But they never expected the danger they’d be forced to endure…
Nani and Nha Phong: Two sisters share their story of faith in their own words
Our cousin is a pastor in a village not far from ours. He’s the one who shared the good news with us, and walked with us as we learned more about Jesus.
We loved what we heard. It was an easy choice to make. But we both knew the commitment was heavy.
God was there for us. His love was so great, it filled us up. And we needed it. We needed Him.
Threatened
Because when our family found out, they were angry. Our father told us we were forbidden to attend church. And he threatened us.
But we still went. How could we not? We were so new in our faith. We had to be together with other believers. One morning, many of our family members followed us secretly to see where we were going. They probably already knew, but had to see for themselves.
Attacked
And as church began, they rushed in and grabbed us—tying us up and dragging us out. Our dad was violent—and kept us tied for several days. Our family said they wouldn’t let us go until we renounced our faith in Jesus. After four days, our dad finally released us. But life wouldn’t be the same.
We don’t like disobeying our father, who is the head of the family. But we want to obey Jesus more than anyone. We know that Jesus died for us, and we do not want to go back to our old religion. Even if it is difficult, we want to follow Jesus. And our strength to stand firm is a gift from God. God gave us the passion to believe.
Escape
Defying our father was one thing. But then the village leader took matters into his own hands. He sent the authorities to our house to arrest us. Thankfully, we were able to escape to live in hiding with our cousin in his village where he serves as the pastor.
Future
The future is unclear to us. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring. We hope our family will someday accept our new faith. But we may spend the rest of our lives in hiding.
There is a Bible verse in Ephesians 6. When people fought in the past, they used a shield. And we want to have faith like a shield. When the evil one tries to shoot arrows at us, we will use the shield to protect ourselves. The "shield of faith." Our faith, in Jesus.
