The Cigarette Sermons
Linh Dao, Vietnam, 1991
Four police officers suddenly burst into ten-year-old Linh Dao's home. They forced her father, as underground pastor in North Vietnam, to remain seated while the authorities ransacked the home, searching for Bibles.
"I remember when the police came," Linh Dao recalls. "They searched around the house all of that morning and asked many different questions. It was scary to talk to the policemen, but I knew what they were looking for, so I concentrated and tried my best not to be scared or nervous." As the police questioned her parents, Linh courageously hid some of the Bibles in her school knapsack.
When the police asked her about the contents of the knapsack, Linh simply replied, "It is books for children."
Linh Dao's father was arrested that day and sentenced to seven years of re-education through hard labor.
"When the policemen decided to take my dad away, all of my family knelt down and prayed. I prayed first, then my sister, then my mom, and last of all, my dad. I prayed that my dad would have peace and remain healthy and that my family would survive these hard times. We were all crying, but I told myself I have to face what's happening now."
Word quickly spread about the arrest, and neighbor children began to ask Linh about the crimes her father had been arrested for. She told her friends, "My father is not a criminal. He is a Christian, and I am proud of him for not wavering in his faith!"
As each day passed, Linh Dao made a mark on her wooden bookcase as she prayed for her father. She remembers, "I cried almost every single night, because I worried how my father was doing in prison and how the policemen were treating him."
"Before my dad was in prison, I was just a child. I didn't need to worry about anything. It was a lot different after my dad left. My mind got older very quickly. I told my sister that we had to help Mom do the work around the house, so she could continue to do my dad's work in the church."
"I prayed every day and every night. My faith grew very fast. I knew one thing that I had to concentrate on, and that was spending time learning from the Bible so when I gre up, I could be like my dad, sharing and preaching. When I think about this, I feel my heart burning inside me, pushing me, telling me this is the right thing to do."
Finally, after more than a year, Linh, her mother, and her sister were able to visit their father in prison. When they reached the compound, they were separated by a chain-link fence. Linh quickly discovered that she could squeeze into the prison yard through a chained gate. She ran to her father and hugged him tightly. The guards watched the little girl but, surprisingly, left her alone. What harm can a little girl do? they must have thought.
Little did they know! Armed with innocence and a childlike faith, children are a secret weapon against the kingdom of Satan. During that first visit to her father's prison, Linh was able to smuggle him a pen, which he used to write scriptures and sermons on cigarette paper. These "cigarette sermons" traveled from cell to cell and were instrumental in bringing many prisoners to Christ.
Linh Dao's prayers were answered. Her father was released early, before he had served all seven years of his sentence. "It was a big surprise when I came home from school one day and saw my dad had been released from prison. I ran and then gave him a big hug. We were so happy. I was proud of my family, and I wanted to yell and let the whole world know that I wasn't scared of anything, because God always protects each step I go in my life."
Linh Dao is now a teenager. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her father and be a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She knows firsthand the dangers of sharing her faith in Communist Vietnam and remains determined to obey Christ rather than men. In spite of a "grim future," she spends her time in intense Bible study.
Don't underestimate what you--as one person--can do. God will work through anyone--of any age--who is submitted to Him, to accomplish His will on earth. One man or woman willing to obey God can change the destiny of millions.
