‘I was searching for a god who I could know personally’.

Vietnamese people grow up with a mixture of traditional ancestor worship and folk Buddhism, plus the more recent communist atheistic teaching. Ong Troi, god of the heavens, is believed to be the god who created the heavens and the earth and continues to influence daily life, rewarding the good and punishing the bad. Though Buddha may be worshipped and other deities and spirits believed to exist, Ong Troi is considered to be the highest-ranking and most fundamental power.

Lan was searching for a more personal spiritual power in her life, feeling that Ong Troi was too distant a god. She had searched earnestly for something more personal- she became devout about attending the Buddhist temple with her mother, but there she found only religious practices that failed to meet her longing.

Thuy grew up in a communist family where all mention of religion was pushed to one side. But she had heard of Ong Troi and understood him to be the creator of the world, so when she faced problems in life she would pray for his help.

One day Lan was invited by a friend to go to a meeting at the local church and she was struck by one man’s testimony- he described coming to know Duc Chua Troi, the Lord of the heavens, who had not only created the heavens and earth but had expressed His personal love for us through the sacrifice of His only son. This was what she had be thirsting for and she happily accepted Christ into her life.

When Thuy heard of Jesus’ sacrificial love for her she understood what it meant to have a personal relationship with God who was more than just someone to turn to in difficult times.

Like Lan and Thuy’s experiences , the concept of Ong Troi is a recurring link in the stories of Vietnamese people coming to know the true living God. Christians are able to use this existing understanding as a bridge to share the full truth about the Lord God of Heaven.

Praise that Vietnamese churches are understanding how to use these bridges to reach people who are captive to superstitions, beliefs and bondages that ancestor worship creates.