The Far-Reaching Impact of Uncle Som's Testimony

A story from Vietnam.
“If he does it, he will be dead within three months.”
That was the word that was spreading around the village about Uncle Som. For some time he was the main topic of gossip and conversation at the morning market. People couldn’t believe that he was going to publicly renounce the way of the spirits. They said he even planned to remove the altar for his ancestors from the corner of his house and forbid the house spirit to return. The rumor was that the spirits would be angry and would take his life.
For a long time Uncle Som had also lived in fear of the spirits. But earlier in the year he had heard the gospel from other Tai Dam, who were following the one true God. They told him of how Jesus provides a new life for us, one that is free from evil spirits. He began trusting in and following Jesus. However, for several months he still had the ancestral altar in his house and allowed other family members to take part in animistic practices.
Now he was ready to make a clean break from all of it.
Many others fasted and prayed for Uncle Som as he publicly turned away from the spirits and from ancestor worship. Three months passed and he was alive and well, joyfully praising Jesus and telling his story to other Tai Dam.
After about a year, Uncle Som’s testimony was making a far-reaching impact. In a Tai Dam village in a nearby country, a group of Tai Dam families had turned to Jesus. They were realizing that they needed to turn from their old ways but were worried about the response they would face from their community. That’s when a Tai Dam Christian from Uncle Som’s village shared his story with them. Now they are considering the way forward for them and have an example of a Tai
Dam man like them being faithful to God, despite the pressure to follow their traditional ways.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors. -1 Peter 1:18

Ways to pray:

• Praise the Lord for Uncle Som and the freedom he has found in Jesus.
• Pray for God to continue to bless him and use his story to impact other Tai Dam both near and far.
• Pray for God to give courage and conviction to new Tai Dam believers to turn from spirit appeasement and ancestor worship and to give their allegiance to Jesus alone.

This story was originally published on the international OMF Blog, January 23, 2017.