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Yatton Methodist Church
A family friendly church
A family friendly church
Last year, Wendy and Ian Bowley from Yatton, spent four months helping at the ‘Tree of Life’ Vocational Training School in the country of Laos. Laos is probably one of the least known countries in the world to English people. It is about the same size as England and Wales and has a population of only 5½ million people. The river Mekong flows from the mountains of China, in the north and down to Cambodia and Vietnam, forming the border with Thailand for much of its way. The northern half of Laos is mountainous, with peaks over 5,000 feet, while the south is mainly flat rice-growing farm land.
In 1975, the Communist ‘Pathet Lao’ overran the country, forced the king to abdicate and set up the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos. Since then, Christians in Laos have suffered greatly – a good number of leaders have spent time in prison.
Despite this opposition, the Christian Church has grown steadily, and now numbers some 100,000. Churches still face strong opposition, Church buildings are sometimes confiscated by the authorities and some 25 or more Christians are currently in prison for their faith. Like Christians down the ages, the more they are opposed, the stronger they grow.
Profile of Laos from Release International - an agency supporting the persecuted church
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