Links in the Chain By Sandra Stebenne
Many years ago, a missionary’s kindness to a refugee family sparked a chain reaction that continues today, spanning two continents and more than three decades! In the early 1980s, the Sihavong family made the difficult decision to flee their homeland of Laos and seek asylum in the Napho refugee camp in Thailand. The Laotian government had been taken over by a communist regime that brutally oppressed its citizens. The Sihavong’s possessions were seized, and they were forced to labor in a rice field; Mrs. Sihavong’s uncle was killed, and she and her family were afraid they might be next. So, despite having four young children and a fifth on the way, the Sihavongs chose to flee their homeland and seek asylum in Thailand. Life in the camp was better than it had been in Laos, but not by much. The Sihavongs lived in a single room packed with ten people, and necessities like clothing, blankets, and even food were scarce. But it was there that they crossed paths with Judy Aitken, founder of ASAP Ministries. Judy was serving the Lord in the refugee camps in Thailand, ministering to spiritual as well as physical needs. One of the things she provided for the refugees was Bible lessons in their own language. At Christmas, there was a celebration in the camp; Mrs. Sihavong was seated in the back row, and as she listened to “Mother Judy” tell about how Christ came to Earth to die for our sins, she burst into tears. The idea that the Creator of the earth loved her so much that He chose to die for her touched her heart, and she became eager to learn more about God. Eventually, she and her husband accepted Jesus Christ into their lives, and they and their children were baptized. This was an answer to Judy’s persistent prayers. After nine years in the refugee camp sharing their faith with their fellow refugees, the Sihavongs resettled in Sacramento, California. They soon began reaching out to other Lao refugees “He who becomes a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost.” The Ministry of Healing, p. 105 8
