Ministry Brings Healing and Relief to Needy in Vietnam

Physical and spiritual healing are both important to focus on for ministries with which Intercede International works in many parts of the world. Canadian Christians are playing an important role by praying for these ministries and providing vital supplies to them – such as wells for villages of lepers in Vietnam.  

Ministering to people suffering from leprosy and cancer are key focuses of Intercede partner ministry Vietnam For Christ. There are 27 leper colonies in the Central Highland provinces of Vietnam, to which VFC has access. Most of these desperate people are Christians and have children. Many of them have died, not only due to this terrible disease but also due to their living conditions, reports VFC. Other sicknesses and hunger are a way of life for them. Many have no legs, hands or fingers and cannot work in fields. They eat wild roots and leaves to survive. There is also a great need for clothing and medicine to survive in cold weather and to fight off other sicknesses such as malaria and chronic diarrhea.

The government refuses to assist them, explains VFC. But VFC missionaries visit and help them, also sharing the Gospel with them.

Last February, current VFC leader Pastor Timothy Tran went to Vietnam’s Gia Lai province. It has 18 leprosy villages with 359 people with leprosy, reports Tran. “We came to preach God’s Word, to pray, and support them with rice and food. The people with leprosy are very hungry and they need rice and other food. May you remember to pray for them. We support 27 leper colonies but only 11 of them have gotten a well,” reported VFC founder the late Daniel Lee several years ago. “The others are longing for one. The cost is $650 each. Please pray for these desolate brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Persecution of believers in rural Vietnam continues. In many areas, Christians are barred from using the village water well unless they deny their precious faith. Deprived of fresh water, the basic necessities of life are unmet, and disease is rampant, especially among children. VFC supports these brethren by drilling wells that Christians can access, bringing much-needed relief. VFC is grateful to Canadian supporters of Intercede who donated funds to provide wells for some of these communities.

Ministering to Cancer Patients

There are hundreds of child patients in the few cancer hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. VFC missionaries visit these children often to bring toys and milk and to tell them about Jesus through Bible stories. Due to the hopelessness of their situation, many parents are open to the Gospel, and in some cases, parents and children have accepted Christ, reports VFC. Several children have been healed by prayer and many other parents ask to pray for their children. In 2016, Lee reported that 98 AIDS prisoners, 1,059 cancer patients, 106 lepers and 245 homeless children professed faith in Christ in one year alone. “The staff and children of the Vietnam orphanage we support routinely visit a poor, rural hospital to go bed-to-bed to give food and to minister to cancer patients who are in their last days,” reports VFC. “Many patients have no relatives, or they live far away and cannot afford to travel to them. Most endure painful chemotherapy treatments in isolation. Occasionally, the orphanage group also holds an evangelical meeting, where a number have been healed and saved, although most die soon after arriving at the hospital.

“For only the first few months in 2016, we already brought the Gospel to hundreds of these unfortunate cancer people. Most of them received Jesus as their Saviour just before they went home to be with their Heavenly Father.” Without those visits, some of those patients would die without receiving Christ into their lives.

Please pray for VFC missionaries to reach even farther afield as they bring healing and the Gospel to people with physical and spiritual needs. 

Photo:  Christians with leprosy receive relief supplies from Vietnam For Christ.

Intercede News Service –