Lao Pastor Released!
By Judy Aitken
July 21, 2010
On July 11, 2010, Pastor Cheng Moua* was arrested by police officials while in the middle of preaching a funeral rite for a Hmong believer in a village in Laos. The officers in this particular village are known for persecuting Christian minorities who live among them. Lee was accused of preaching Christianity which is against the law in the communist-run country of Laos.
Cheng Moua, a modern day Apostle for Christ, has been arrested two other times for preaching the gospel and was imprisoned for five years. With great faith in the Lord and Paul-like boldness, he continues to pastor a growing church of eighty members and is involved in planting churches in many Hmong villages throughout Laos. ASAP donors have been blessed to support him for the past seven years.
Miraculously, Cheng Moua was released on Thursday, July 15, 2010. We sincerely thank all prayer partners for intervening on his behalf. We also are grateful for the leaders in the Lao Adventist field and for James Standish, Associate Director of the General Conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department, who showed concern and a willingness to assist in his release. We praise God for the blessings that resulted from this trial because the local government officials are now willing for the SDA church workers to conduct religious programs.
Please consider giving a thank offering today, to express to the Lord your gratefulness for the freedom you have to worship Him and to thank Him for delivering one of His faithful workers in Laos. ASAP is waiting and praying fervently for the funding needed to support the missionaries in Southeast Asia this month and your thank offering WILL make it possible for missionaries like Pastor Cheng Moua to persevere in spreading the Gospel.
*Name has been changed for the safety of God’s servant.