UBS-Laos Partnership

For Christians in Laos, the Word of God has truly become part of daily life - the only thing that can be relied on in good and bad times. This is due in part to the persecution of Christians that started in 1975, when the communist regime came to power. Churches were shut and many of the country’s 40,000 Christians fled the country.

Dark years

“During those dark years, we learnt to pray and live according to God’s Word and we applied the Scriptures to our every activity,” says Dr Khamphone. “We saw God’s mercy at work on the people who were against us. The police, for example, would send undercover agents to infiltrate our meetings.

“They took part in our worship services and Bible studies and therefore were exposed to God’s Word almost every day. They also saw that we had nothing against the authorities and that we even prayed for those in power. As a result, some of these agents became Christians.”

Since 1990, when restrictions on Christianity eased, the Church in Laos has grown significantly, and there are now 145,000 Christians – 100,000 Protestant and the rest Roman Catholic. And the centrality of the Bible in the lives of Laotian Christians is continuing to attract non-Christians to the faith, according to Dr Khamphone.

Good testimony

“It is still difficult for Christians in some parts of Laos to share their faith,” he explains, “but because they pray openly about everyday situations and use Bible verses to help them, it is a good testimony to non-Christians because they can see that God always provides and always answers prayer.

“Although there are still problems for Christians here, we try to see the situation in an optimistic way, as our identification with Christ’s suffering. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:12, ‘Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (NIV).”

Dr Khamphone is one of many church leaders in Laos who are eagerly awaiting the completion of the Revised Common Language Lao Bible in 2010. The New Testament was published in 2007. The revision project was undertaken by UBS’s Laos Partnership in 2002 at the request of the churches.

“We appreciate the support of the UBS in undertaking this project, which was beyond our capacity,” comments Dr Khamphone. “We are confident that this will be a good translation that will be used by the Church both collectively and individually.”

Young people

The Lao Common Language Bible, although only published in 2000, was the result of a translation project that began in the 1960s, but was interrupted in 1975, when the communists came to power. It was eventually completed by Laotian translators in Canada and the USA, but churches in Laos have found that some improvements are needed in order to make it more acceptable and understandable for local Christians and for young people in particular.

Laos Partnership is also working with the Church to develop materials to help different audiences engage with Scripture.