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For more than 12 hours on October 12, Pastor Bounchan* wearily stood handcuffed to a post—his hands bound behind his back throughout the night—in the center of the village where he lived in southern Laos. For each meal, the 49-year-old church leader's wife visited her husband and father of two to feed him by hand.
"You must stay here until we expel all Christians from the community," the village chief ordered.
"We will not recant our faith; the Lord has healed us. Why should we ever forget Him?"
Mr. Chanpha*, Open Doors local partner
By the next morning, authorities had moved Bounchan's swollen and bruised hands to the front. But he remained handcuffed as authorities repeatedly demanded that Pastor Bounchan renounce his faith in Christ. With each ultimatum, Bounchan refused.
The series of events leading to this difficult night began months before when two families were healed from sickness after Pastor Bounchan consistently prayed for them. Immediately, the families accepted Jesus and practiced their faith, despite warnings from the community not to proclaim their faith publicly.
The house church Pastor Bounchan was leading was growing, as every Sunday, he opened his home for worship where many believers joined regularly. People were hearing the gospel from him and the others he led to Christ. And the village authorities were taking notice. Seeing the new believers leave their tribal beliefs angered the community.
The same day authorities cuffed Bounchan to the post, village authorities summoned the Christians in the house church and gave them a choice: "Will you renounce your faith? Or will you leave the village?"
Open Doors local partner Mr. Jai* described the scene: "One of the believers, Mr. Chanpha*, replied, 'We will not recant our faith; the Lord has healed us. Why should we ever forget Him?'" Pastor Bounchan and all the believers affirmed their commitment to walking faithfully with the Lord.
Enraged by their responses, a mob of villagers armed with hammers and knives attacked three Christian families. Pastor Bounchan's house was the first target, and then villagers destroyed each family's home, tearing them apart from roof to foundation.
The believers stood stunned and did not intervene, fearing violence, Mr. Jai says. "The villagers gathered the Christian families—a total of 18 people—in a detention area, shouting, 'You must renounce your faith! We will not allow any Christians to live here.'"
That same day, local authorities detained the three families, including Pastor Bounchan's, in a restricted area. "Believers were not allowed to leave the 50-meter area surrounding the detention house," a local church leader reported. Because the detention house was too small, one family was forced to stay outside in a temporary tent with their three children. The village officer eventually released Pastor Bounchan.
In the detention hall, food was scarce. Knowing they might encounter opposition, Open Doors' local partners made a plan to deliver food and relief supplies, including rice, noodles, canned fish, and other essentials.
As they approached the village, guards stopped them to check their packages. "Who are you," they asked. "What are you bringing?" Thankfully, the guards found nothing suspicious, and the team continued, successfully delivering the goods to the families.
By October 27, believers remained in the detainment center; food ran out quickly. This time, the aid distribution wasn't successful, as villagers immediately confiscated all the supplies, leaving the families starving, Mr. Jai shared.
But knowing the dire nature of the situation and being committed to their mission of strengthening persecuted believers to stand strong in the face of persecution, Open Doors' local partners and area church leaders refused to give up. They created another plan: "We will still send the relief, but we must meet at night," Mr. Sone*, another Open Doors local partner, shared.
Still, this second attempt also failed. While Open Doors' partners waited at the meeting point, believers came to pick up the packages. Mr. Sone recalls the scene: Suddenly, a man carrying a long gun approached, and the leaders fled, afraid he might shoot them.
"It's very risky to deliver things at night," Sone explained. "Sometimes, when we do good in the Christian community, the world rejects it." He recalled the Scripture: "In the world, you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Despite the danger, leaders remained resolved to deliver relief.
The next night, the leaders set a new meeting point near the community. With careful planning and clear communication, the relief finally reached the persecuted believers at midnight. "Praise the Lord, the plan succeeded, and we delivered the relief," Sone says.
Almost a month later on November 10, local church partners and leaders still could not enter the village to bring support. And believers were not allowed to leave the detention area.
"Only women were permitted to go to the fields to harvest rice, but the authorities keep a close watch on them," Jai said.
Local church leaders continued discussions with authorities to secure the release of the Christians from the detention area, hoping the believers could soon return to normal life and freely worship the Lord again.
But the negotiation "went tough," Som said. "The local authorities didn't want to have any words with believers."
Before the end of November, Mr. Jai reported that the three families were finally expelled from the village. "They were allowed to stay in the forest where there's no paved road, making living more difficult for them.," he said.
These Christians were forced to leave not only their birthplace but also the community they had grown up in—the tribe they had relied on for safety and connection. Now they are living in makeshift tents and are not allowed to cut any trees in the area to build shelters.
The authorities issued a stern warning: "These trees belong to the government, and if you destroy even one, the fine will be far more than you can afford."
In the midst of this severe persecution, a sense of hopelessness has crept in. Currently, Open Doors' local partners are discussing plans to send more relief packages, but authorities continue to closely monitor the families.
"Yes, for sure, we can help and even buy timber to build the houses for the families," our local partner says. "But what guarantee do we have that the officers won't harm the believers again? We must plan carefully to support our brothers and sisters in Christ."
Mr. Jai, requests prayer: "Please lift Pastor Bounchan's family and the other two persecuted families in your prayers. Pray for their protection, comfort, strength and for a breakthrough in their situation."
The injustice and destruction that Pastor Bounchan and his church are going through bring us painful and important reminders that persecution and the spread of the gospel go hand-in-hand. Where the Good News of Christ's coming and salvation is being heard and embraced, persecution follows. Please pray with Pastor Bounchan and his church—and all of our sisters and brothers who identify with their experience yet still risk their lives to follow our Savior.
*Names changed for security reasons.
