Story Reported From Mekong Multiply
In one Southeast Asian field, Team Expansion has secured a grant from a foundation related to Finishing the Task. We are currently reaching out to 15 unengaged, unreached people groups, and we are currently applying for funding to reach two dozen more. All outreach is happening by equipping believers from the region to act as go-ers. Already, many have accepted Christ and there are now churches among tribes where there had never been any known believers. The work is not without its risks, as seen in the story below. Please lift in prayer the national missionaries and all who are involved.
Danielle and Esther
Saturday morning began rather uneventfully. Danielle and Esther, two of our National Missionary (NM) partners, had spent the night in Phongku village of the Phongku Unengaged Unreached People Group (UUPG). They went around selling their wares and looking for opportunities to share the gospel, looking for a Person of Peace in the village. At one point, they saw some officials come into the village. Always vigilant, Danielle and Esther figured it was time to leave, so they left and went to Mujigao village of the Muji people group.
They had just finished sharing with a man named Mr. Thongdi. Suddenly, motorcycles drove up. The police came, grabbed their stuff and demanded to know what they were doing. The police looked through their notebook until they found the word, “Jesus.”
“Jesus,” they declared, “Do you follow him?”
Trying to Escape
The girls boldly answered that they indeed follow Jesus. The police then commanded them to go to the station. The girls refused, saying if the police had something to say, they could say it then and there. (This is exactly what the girls were trained to do.)
The non-cooperation of the girls seemed to agitate the police even more. They told the girls they had been tracking them for the past month, and that they were sick and tired of following them all over the place.
Suddenly an opportunity to escape presented itself and the girls jumped on their motorcycle and tried to get away! However, they were not fast enough. The police ran over and grabbed the wrist of one of the girls causing sharp pain. (Escaping, when prudent, is also standard training.)
At the Police Station
The police put the motorcycle on a local tractor and escorted the girls to the nearby police station. The station was a dilapidated building with plaster walls downstairs and a jail made up of particleboard upstairs. The police forced them upstairs. After entering the jail room, they locked the door. The girls still had their phones at this time and began deleting pictures, and messaging apps from their phones, which might incriminate them later. One of the girls successfully discarded her SIM card, too. From early that morning, Danielle and Esther had very little to eat. Eventually, the police allowed Danielle to go out to buy some food at a nearby store.
Later, the police began their interrogation. They also confiscated the girls’ notebooks and took pictures of what was written in them. The police demanded, “Why do you follow Jesus? Why do you believe?” The girls gave good answers, following the security training they had been given. The police were frustrated. They threatened them that they would kill them.
At one point, one of the girls told the police, “Our God is the great God.” This angered the police even more. So, they handcuffed the girls, locking them together. However, accomplishing this was a difficult process, as the girls put up quite a bit of resistance. The two girls and several policemen were running around a room together, one group trying to lock the other up, and the other vigorously resisting. It was quite a scene.
During the scuffle, one of the girls lost her cool a bit and told off the police saying, “You’re stupid.” (Not part of standard training). The police grew more furious. Eventually, the police succeeded in restraining the girls and put them into a back room under lock, key and guard.
Answered Prayer
After a few hours, the cuffs were painfully cutting into the girls’ wrists. They prayed to God for relief and strength to endure. Just as they said amen, the police came and removed the handcuffs.
Then the police separated the girls. They were afraid they would not see each other again. The police picked Danielle and made her do their laundry.
The questioning continued intermittently. That evening, the police came and demanded, “Who is your boss?” The girls said they did not have a boss, but that they were just selling their own goods. (Which is true.) “How long have you worked for this group?” Through all the questioning, the girls did an excellent job deflecting questions and not revealing sensitive information.
At one point, Danielle saw one of her classmates from her years in college. She was the wife of one of the corrupt police officers. The girl would prove to be a true friend. “What are you doing?” she asked. When the friend realized the charge against Danielle, she said, “Don’t go preach anymore.” It was this girl’s husband who had confiscated her ID card.
Persecution
The police continued to demean the girls. They made the girls act as waitresses and serve the police whiskey until midnight. The police kept trying to get the girls to sleep with the police chief. If you just sleep with him we will give you back everything and let you go, they promised. The girls steadfastly refused.
So, as punishment, they put the girls into a dark room that was full of garbage, bugs, mosquitos, and which smelled heavily of urine. Thankfully, after repeated requests, they were given a broom to sweep up the room. Danielle’s friend also gave them a blanket and a pillow. Finally, the police gave them a bamboo mat to sleep on. They were forced to stay there until the next morning. During the night, Danielle meditated on the 23rd Psalm, and Esther thought of other verses that spoke about persecution.
The Verdict
The next day there was a long discussion as to whether they would send the girls to the main district station, which would most likely entail a longer sentence. Eventually, the police decided to send the girls to the main road and drop them there. Danielle’s friend helped by communicating with the sending base team and keeping them updated on the behind-the-scenes workings of the police. The friend said her husband was going to send the girls out to the main road but keep all their bags and motorcycle.
The police said they would return all their possessions if the girls slept with them. Of course, the girls refused. But the police continued to pressure them over and over again.
On Sunday afternoon, the police drove two motorcycles (including the team’s bike) to send the girls to the main road. They were very rude and drove terribly, scaring them badly. The girls did not want to go with them, but had no choice.
Free?
The police repeatedly lied to the team. After dropping them off on the main road, the police jumped on both motorcycles and sped away before the girls could do anything. In this way, the police stole the team’s motorcycle. The girls tried to object and called head police officer. However, this proved unfruitful—he just got angry with them and said it was their own fault. The police said they could get their bike back in five days. No one expects this was anything other than an attempt to end the conversation.
The girls did not go quietly. They threatened the police with further action in the higher courts, as the actions of the police toward the girls were way out of line. (This is also standard training.) However, the police kept saying that the girls were in the wrong because of Jesus.
The girls finally started walking back to the city because there was no bus. After walking just a short way, a man stopped and offered them a ride to the next big town. Then a teammate and Danielle’s boyfriend came and picked them up. Danielle and Esther arrived back in the sending base city around 8:30 pm.
True Freedom
In countries like this one, it’s dangerous to be a Christian. And more dangerous to be a missionary. Faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, like Danielle and Esther, take these risks everyday for God’s glory. They take these risks because they have found True Freedom in the True Gospel and they know this precious gift is worth everything. Please remember to lift these faithful servants, and others like them, in prayer.
