Dear Friends,
This week, please intercede with us for Saralen Tran in Vietnam.
Shaped like an elongated “s,” the Socialist Republic of Vietnam forms the eastern and southern borders of the Southeast Asian peninsula. Though a Communist country, Vietnam allows for freedom of worship in its constitution. Nevertheless, religious organizations are subject to government control, and Christian converts, especially from among ethnic minorities, face persecution from local authorities. According to 2019 data, 74% of Vietnam’s 100 million people are irreligious, while 15% practice Buddhism, 9% are Christians (mostly Catholic), and 3% adhere to modern Vietnamese religions like Hoahaoism and Caodaism.
Saralen is pursuing a PhD in Educational Studies from Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (Philippines). Her research will develop effective educational strategies for training theology students from ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, where ethnic minorities will represent over 80% of Vietnam’s Christian population by 2030. Since the school’s inception in 2013, Saralen has served as a lecturer at Hanoi Bible College, where 85% of the student population is Hmong.
Saralen shares the following message:
Thank you very much for your prayer support.
My name is Saralen Tran. I lecture at Hanoi Bible College, a denominational institution of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North). I teach classes on Christian education and research methods. My husband is a community development worker at Samaritan’s Purse. We currently live in Hanoi, Vietnam.
I am also a PhD student studying transformational learning at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (Philippines). My research seeks to propose a culturally sensitive theological educational approach for Hmong students at Hanoi Bible College.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for the 39 students who will be graduating from Hanoi Bible College this December. These students will spend a year as interns at their local churches before they can be officially ordained. May the Lord sustain them and their families, supplying all their needs so that they can grow their compassion for the lost and embrace their calling to serve His church without giving up.
Secondly, pray for the completion of Hanoi Bible College’s new campus construction project so that we can move in next semester. We were expecting completion earlier, hoping to settle arrangements for learning activities and student lodging. The current venue is insufficient for the full operation of school activities.
Lastly, please pray for my studies as I will finish my coursework in 2024 and should be ready for the comprehensive exam. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by all the course requirements. May I grow, step by step, into deeper understanding of God through this journey and become a lifelong learner.
Thank you, and may God bless you all,
Saralen Tran