CHAPTER 1 –
The Golden Time - 1956 to 1999
In 1957, the first Workers arrived in
Vietnam. They were Fred Allen from Queensland, Australia and Maurice
Archer from New Zealand. In early 1960, the first Sister Workers
arrived. They were Bonnie Dahlin and Phyllis Munn from Western USA.
The natives were impressed that the Sisters spoke Vietnamese so
beautifully and fluently. The Sisters stayed in Vietnam from 1960-65
when it wasn’t considered safe for them to be there; and returned
again in 1971-75.
In 1958, Fred and
Maurice began holding Gospel Meetings in their bach at 123 Ba Huyen
Thanh Quan Street, District 3, Saigon. This Mission lasted for
several years. Maurice only stayed a short time and then Fred’s
brother Edwin Allen arrived. The Workers had no jobs and didn’t
attend a school.
In Saigon in 1961 in the Gospel Meetings of Phyllis Munn and Bonnie
Dahlin, Nguyễn Thanh Hoa and Vu Ngoc Châu and were the
first natives to profess. Both men were 21 years old and were from
Saigon. Uncle Châu was a Protestant English teacher from North
Vietnam. Uncle Hoa was from South Vietnam and worked in an imprint
factory. Uncle Hoa wrote: Châu and I both professed the same
night in a sense, but later on he told us that he did not raise his
hand when Phyllis tested the meeting, so they kept him back after
all went home, and they talked him to profess after a few hours
later. Yet, his mind was not set until some months later in that
year...
Uncle Châu introduced Mr. and Mrs. Nguyễn Huu Bau to Fred Allen
and they came to the Gospel Meetings. At the time, they were
32 and 28 years old and had five children. Two more children were
born later.
Mr. Bau wrote: By chance I met the Way of God, and both of us
professed on the same night in 1961. After 6 months, my whole family
came to the Gospel Meetings, not only to hear but also to ask many
questions that many other religions couldn’t answer! The principal
thing that touched us to profess was the image of God that we could
see through the living lives of the Workers. Seeing the very simple
and friendly Workers, my wife said, ‘I saw Jesus in their life.’
Both of us used to belong to the Protestant way. I was disappointed
in the Protestant way which I had grown up in since a little boy. I
respected and feared the Lord with all my heart, because I felt that
was the way of God. I learned by heart many chapters in the Bible. I
worked with all my best in the service. I became the famous Chief of
the young people. Owing to many good results I got a big reward from
the Chairman, but the more I worked, the more I saw there are many
things that were not suitable with the Bible. So I issued a magazine
to ask the leaders to correct things to the right way as Jesus
taught. They refused and forbade! This is the main reason I got away
from them! Today, I am faced with the same thing!!
In June, 1961, the first Sunday Fellowship Meeting was held at
“the Brothers’ bach at 378D Đien Bien Phu Str, District 3, Saigon
(from June to November because there were a few Friends with four
Workers). We were the first married couple in The Way in Vietnam. In
December, 1961, our home also was the first place for the Fellowship
Meeting with bread and cup. There were present “only Châu,
Hoa, two of us, and two or three more, but they stopped soon!”
Eventually, four of my children also opened their houses
for Fellowship Meetings with bread and cup.
After Mr. Nguyễn Huu Bau and his wife professed, the Workers did not
ask them to make any changes in their appearance because we know
very well so long time how to live please the Lord. So now, we just
put it into practice. They gave us no rules, only preaching. The
wearing long hair in buns is a custom for Vietnamese females. People
consider it is charming. In God’s Way, Workers continue to encourage
female Friends to wear long hair with buns. The Sister Friends and
Workers wear skirts and drive motorbikes wearing skirts.
Mr. Bau wrote: Because I myself understood that it’s the Way
of God, Fred didn’t tell us anything about 2x2 history and about
when the way started. They preached and lived in The Way that was
nearer with the Bible than other ways I had met. Through the
past 50 years, he had the great privilege to meet thousands of
Friends and hundreds of Workers in 9 countries such as London,
Paris, Australia and USA...and to send email letters to 50 ones
within 18 places throughout the world. Especially we had a very good
opportunity to welcome many Workers and Friends from abroad,
particularly the American soldiers by the time the war in Vietnam.
We did enjoy so much in God’s Way. How wonderful it is! We were
satisfied by the deed of both sides, spiritual and material. We were
so happy to tell to some of our friends and relatives about knowing
the Way of God.
First Baptism: In early 1962 at a swimming pool in
Saigon, the first baptism was held. Approximately 10 people had
professed by this time and were baptized, including Mr. and Mrs.
Nguyễn Huu Bau, who were re-baptised, having been baptized
previously in a Protestant church.
First Conventions: The first Conventions were held at the
Brother Workers’ bach in Saigon from 1962 to 1982, and at the Youth
Hostel at Dalat from 1963-1966. After 1982 there were no
Conventions held in Vietnam because the government didn’t allow us
to hold a big gathering such as a Convention.
First Native Workers: The two first Vietnamese natives
to offer their lives for the work were Nguyễn Thanh Hoa in
April, 1967 and Vu Ngoc Châu in August that same year.
Uncle Hoa wrote: Before I met with the Gospel, my
family was just like the great crowd of Vietnamese who practise the
worship of our ancestors and grandparents. I never called myself a
Buddhist. My younger brother brought me to Phyllis Munn and Bonnie
Dahlin's batch in order to study English [they used the English
Gospel text to teach in their classes]. Then they brought me to Fred
Allen, who had many English classes and Gospel Meetings. The deepest
impression from Fred's meetings was ‘letter kills, but the Sprit
makes alive.’
When my brother and I professed, my widowed mother felt sad at
first, but she professed one year before her death at the age of 86.
One of my elder sisters and a niece also professed. My younger
brother did not raise his hand but he went to the Wednesday meetings
with all who professed and kept coming with the group. A few years
after 1975, Bonnie Dahlin told him to stop coming to meeting, so he
has kept away since. He is now in the USA. My professing mother and
sister died many years ago. Now my niece professes but gets upset
with Darrel T and spends her time to study in a nursing school over
in America. She keeps the faith in her heart but doesn't come to
mtg. I don't blame her. Now I have no professing relatives alive in
Vietnam. Nevertheless some of my unprofessing relatives keep giving
me hope, as they are happy whenever I stop over at their homes to
see them.
Uncle Châu read in a magazine about the history of
the formation of the Protestant church during the Year of Jubilee
(1975). When he realized it was founded by man, he decided it was
wrong and so he left the Protestant church and began to follow the
Workers Way.
Uncle Châu’s parents had 10 children and they all belong to the
Protestant church. Only Uncle Châu is the only one who professed and
he is the only one still living in Vietnam. Some of his siblings
left VN after Liberation Day (April 30, 1975), and some left some
years later.
Vũ Trung Hiền, Uncle Châu’s youngest brother wrote: “A
few years before she went to be with the Lord, in 1992, my mother
wrote to Brother Châu: "My dear son, I have 10 children, and I have
given you, my precious pearl, to God, as my tithe.
I have no regret in offering you to him although sometimes, I
can't help wondering who will take care of you, especially when I am
half the globe away from you, and you are living under difficult
situation over there."
Minh Thanh wrote: All foreign Workers had to leave VN in
1975. Châu and Hoa continued to keep the folks very well, safe and
increasing in all ways! Uncle Châu is a friendly, easy to get close
to man and everybody esteemed Uncle Hoa, who was a quiet man filled
with the Spirit of God in his words and deeds. For 50 years,
everything kept running well on the foundation that we do enjoy. In
1990, our country opened the door to foreigners, so the foreign
Workers came here again and most were Canadians.
Giving the Church a Name: In 1967, Fred Allen registered
the church with the Vietnamese Government as the Christian
Mission in Vietnam ("Sứ Mạng các Thánh Đồ") and gave his
name as the responsible leader. The four Friends on the
managing committee are: Miss Lan, Đào Hữu Phỉ (passed away), Nguyễn
Huu Bau, and Nguyễn Thanh Hoa. The Vietnamese Friends “don't mind
what the name is. We just want the leaders should follow what is
taught in the Bible and have the image of Jesus Christ in their
life.
Right after Liberation Day, Uncle Hoa made a declaration to the
Government that Uncle Hoa and Châu were continuing the Christian
Mission in Vietnam. Uncle Châu and Uncle Hoa were and still are the
registered leaders with the VN government. The Church is registered
one time with the VN government. The house owners register their
church affiliation one time. When there is a new place of gathering
(a Meeting), the house owner has to register it with the local
authorities. Foreigners are not allowed to preach to native
Vietnamese--only to foreigners.
First Native Sister Worker: In 1970, Ho Thư Anh from
Saigon professed. In 1972, when she was 22 years old, she was the
first native Sister Worker to enter the work, and Phyllis Munn was
her companion. She left the work ten years later in 1982. Băng
Ngoc was another native sister worker in the early times. One
time she visited friends in a very strict area and was captured and
put into prison. After many months they let her go free. After
prison she stopped the work because of fear. She later married and
moved to Canada. The two native brother workers still kept on
through many hard conditions. Uncle Hoa contracted tuberculosis and
recovered.
The Overseers of Vietnam from 1957 to the present have been:
Alex Mitchell (from New Zealand?), Fred Allen (from Australia), Vu
Ngoc Châu and Nguyễn Thanh Hoa (from Saigon, Vietnam), Cliff Toane
(from BC, Canada/Hong Kong), Jim Chafee (from South Dakota, USA/Hong
Kong/China.)
Hong Kong evolved into a staff that covered all of China, including
Vietnam. It was when Overseer Jim Chafee left that VN became
a separate jurisdiction from China and the Canadians took
over--which was the beginning of the present distress. Starting in
2009, Darrel Turner (from Alberta, Canada) and Lyle Shultz (from
Saskatchewan, Canada/India) have been Vietnam Overseers.
When Fred Allen went to Vietnam, Alex Mitchell
was the Overseer over Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, Thailand and
Vietnam until 1974 when his memory failed and he returned to New
Zealand, where he died in 1980 at the age of 84. In 2014, his
brother Edwin Allen is still living in Queensland, Australia. Edwin
also preached in Vietnam.
Recently when he learned that Alex Mitchell had been the VN
Overseer when he professed, Mr. Bau wrote: Truly to say, I didn’t
know Fred and Edwin had an Overseer! The VN natives viewed Fred
Allen as the Missionary who brought the Way of God to them. Until
“the Canadian Workers came, we never knew there is a position in
God’s Way of "Overseer." We just heard that the younger Worker will
obey the older, and the Friends obey the Workers, and the Workers
are under the leading of Holy Spirit and live as Jesus taught in the
Bible.
1975 to 1990
The Evacuation until VN again Opened its Doors to Foreigners in
Early 1990s
Fred Allen was the Head Worker in Vietnam from 1957 to 1975 when
he and all the foreign Workers had to evacuate due to the communist
occupation of South Vietnam. At that time, Fred handed the
responsibility for VN over to the native Workers, Vu Ngoc Châu and
Nguyễn Thanh Hoa.
Uncle Châu wrote: It’s been over 8 years since you left us,
but looking back I see it’s almost recent. We still try to picture
out how things were like during this time 8 years ago. I remember
one afternoon I sat by myself near the place we put our bikes along
the side of Fred’s room. Phyl came to me and you got another chair
and sat by my side. You told me you’d have to go and how things
would be hard for us, then you gave me some advice. Even until then
I still couldn’t believe it’d come true. Then I remember the tearful
meetings we had and the goodbyes we said to you. It all seems just
like yesterday (May 1, 1983 Letter by Châu)
These two local Workers Nguyễn Thanh Hoa and Vu Ngoc Châu, are
respected very much by God’s people. They devotedly took care of the
Friends, even in the most difficult times. All who knew Uncle Châu
would agree that he is a loving and tender Worker and Overseer. (My
family knew Uncle Châu's family when I was just one year old.) At
least six Sisters entered the work and stopped; and 3 Sisters
remained until the Canadian Workers arrived in the early 1990’s.
We never knew we were under any system of man but GOD’s system
given to us in the Bible. After Liberation Day (April 30, 1975,
end of Vietnam War) we weren’t able to connect with Workers or
Friends around the world…till Cliff Toane came in 1992 (18 years
later).
Cliff Toane took the oversight of Vietnam and Châu and Hoa
cooperated with him. Cliff was from Canada and was preaching in
Hong Kong. Right after Cliff’s visit (1992) and report,
Uncle Fred wrote a letter on 14th February 1993. By chance we had
this copy...Here is a part of it...
After discussing the Vietnamese question with Cliff Toane,
...We have greatly appreciated all that Hoa and Châu had done
there these 18 years since the Workers left there. Cliff has been
very pleased with all he has found...
... So while Cliff can go in and out he will have the general
oversight.
... Châu will be responsible if Cliff not able to be there.
Signed,
C.F.W. Allen
Cliff Toane
Robert Doeke
copies of the above forwarded to:
Eldon Tenniswood
Willis Propp
Paul Sharp
Ray Corbett
## LINK:
http://professing.proboards.com/post/558123/thread
From 1992 to 1999, Cliff Toane and Jim Chafee came to Vietnam
for very brief visits, “sometimes in a year, both of them
couldn’t stay even one month!” During those years, Châu was the
designated responsible Overseer. However, the Overseers ruled from
afar.
In 1997, Cliff Toane’s health failed and the responsibility for VN
went to Jim Chafee, originally from South Dakota, USA and the
Overseer of China, which included Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
Sadly, after a few visits, he
(Cliff) disappeared...much later we found out he went back to
Canada and married.
When Jim Chafee left, Vietnam became a
separate jurisdiction from China and the Canadians assumed the
Overseership of VN, and that was when the present trouble began. Jim
Chafee is now preaching in South Africa.
The Canadian Overseers Arrive
In the early 1990s the government opened the doors to the
country, and two Canadian Workers, Darrel Turner and Morris Grovum
could stay in Vietnam under the name of learning, teaching or
working...but not preaching. The word “Overseer” was first heard by
us at this time. Reportedly, one Worker gave “Missionary”
as the reason he wanted to enter Vietnam and was denied entry.
At first when the foreign Workers came, everyone welcomed them
because they came as helpers to local Workers. Gradually though, the
foreign Workers began to have more influence owing to they had a lot
of money and spent a lot of money to rent apartments, restaurants,
transportation, etc. They exclusively decided to call and approve
new Workers (recruit the workers). At last we were surprised to find
that the native Workers were in charge of the church only on paper
(in front of the authorities), and that the real power is in the
hands of foreign Workers. The gradual transition was transparent.
Mr. Bram, a professing Australian businessman helped the Workers get
into Vietnam after it went to a market economy in the late 1980's.
When the Canadian Workers first came to Vietnam, an Australian
Elder Friend opened an English school in HàNội, to support these
Canadian Workers. The school operated only a few years then closed.
We don't know the name of the school and why it is closed, because
it was in the north and we live in the south. The school owner is a
businessman, his name is Bram. He is a very godly, friendly and very
close Friend of ours, coming to our house many times, and he also
came to our daughter’s wedding.
In early 1995, the responsibility for the Oversight of Vietnam was
assumed by Darrel Turner from Alberta, Canada. A few years later, in
1999, Morris Grovum also from Canada went to Vietnam. Morris was
born in 1943 in Saskatchewan and started in the work in there in
1969, and remained there (except for 2 years in Alberta 1986-1988)
until he went to VN. He returned to Canada sometime before 2012 for
health reasons.
Soon after they arrived, the Canadian Overseers, Morris G. and
Darrel T. began to use their authority to change many things,
without discussing anything with Châu and Hoa! When the Canadians
first came here we thought they came to help the local Workers, but
gradually we see that they are overthrowing the leadership of Uncles
Châu and Hoa. The Overseers told the younger Workers not to listen
to Uncle Châu, who labored for a long time in this country. One day
Uncle Châu was asked to give some advice to some young Sister
Workers. Uncle Châu replied, ‘They do not obey my advice any more.
They just obey Darrel T. You may speak direct to him.’ Day by day we
learn that there is a power over us by these new Overseers!!!
In 2011 until the present (2014), Lyle Shultz from Saskatchewan,
Canada has been overseeing VN. Lyle had been preaching in India, and
it is not known how long he will remain in VN. He is the brother of
Dale Shultz, the Western USA Overseer.
In 2013, both Uncles Châu and Hoa are 73 years old and have been
professing for 52 years; and both men had been in the Work since
1967.
|