When Nasay* received the order to close his church, he refused. The district governor in this part of southern Laos had notified the church that the building would be closed and handed over to the village as a multi-purpose hall. But Nasay and other leaders simply encouraged church members to continue attending regular worship services.

This infuriated the local authorities. They summoned Pastor Nasay and other leaders and told them they had to sign a document acknowledging the closure of the building. They left without signing anything.

A few weeks later, two trucks carrying soldiers, the governor and extremist Buddhist monks arrived in Nasay’s village. The church leader was again ordered to come to the government office. There, he found himself surrounded by the soldiers, and the governor was particularly furious about Nasay’s unwillingness to sign the document.

“Christianity is not our religion, and we should keep Buddhism as our national religion,” the governor yelled at Nasay. “You should renounce your faith and shut down your church.”

A police officer warned: “If you don’t follow the command, then be careful. Your daughter is still young. [Your family] might live without you. Aren’t you afraid?”

Pastor Nasay remained silent until the meeting was over. After he was released, he called for a prayer meeting and shared what had been discussed with other leaders in their congregation.

“The leaders suggested that Pastor Nasay shouldn’t travel alone, and someone should take care of him,” says Kaithong*, an Open Doors local partner in Laos who shared this story.

Pastor Nasay’s experience shows just how difficult life is becoming for believers in parts of Laos. 

Difficulty in Laos

Our local partner Kaithong shared about another incident in southern Laos, once again highlighting this reality.

A believer named Sone* was found dead in a forest—and local Christians believe Sone was murdered because of his faith in Jesus. Before he followed Jesus, Sone had had some psychological and mental issues—but he experienced a miraculous healing. His sanity was restored, and Sone began to share about his new faith, telling others what Jesus had done for him. He led three families in the village to Christ—which led other villagers to begin to despise Sone.

His parents and family were completely against his new faith, yet Sone continued to live for Jesus. But one Sunday, Sone didn’t show up for church and when church members searched for him, they couldn’t find him. A few hours later, a villager came and told the other Christians that Sone’s body had been found—they raced to find his lifeless corpse under a tree.

“According to the information we’ve got from the community, he was out hunting in the forest,” Kaithong said. “The villagers said that he fell from the tree, but church leaders were convinced that he was killed purposely and did not fall accidentally. The church leaders who took, cleaned, and buried his body saw a lot of bruises and found a hole behind his head.”

When local believers requested an in-depth investigation, other villagers refused. One of the church leaders said: “Based on the police officer, if the church leaders pursue the investigation, the church leaders must pay for the [investigation]. And the officials from the district denied it and didn’t want to be involved.”

These two situations may seem isolated—but given that Laos has historically had little violence against believers, the incidents (and others) suggests an alarming trend.

Pray

Our local partners have asked us to pray with our sisters and brothers in Laos. Here’s how:

•  Pray for protection for Pastor Nasay and his family.
• Pray for church members to remain steadfast in their faith despite being under surveillance from local authorities.
• Pray for the believers in Sone’s community. May they not be anxious and scared. And pray that God will give them peace of mind, knowing that He will protect his people.
•  Pray for the members of Sone’s church, that they will stand firm in their faith despite the horrible incident that happened to Sone.
•  Pray for believers in this part of Laos, that God will protect and help them to be able to follow Him, even when it’s dangerous.
  *Name changed for security reasons.