Testimony
To God From Idols
Phan Grice
I was born and raised in Sai Gon, Viet Nam where I never heard the gospel message which is the good news about Jesus. I was brought up in a Buddhist family who faithfully worshipped idols and our ancestors. I had been told and taught at a young age that if I do good deeds for others, follow all the expectations and rules of clean and good living, in return the Buddhist gods would bless me and guide me to a safe journey in this life and the after life. However, it didn’t matter how hard I tried, that did not give me peace in my heart.
The gospel was introduced to my family by some old neighbour friends back home who became Christians in Canada. They invited my family to go to church in Vancouver, B.C. One of my older brothers got saved before me and started to tell me the good news about the Lord Jesus. I said to him that Jesus is for white people only, and is not for our Chinese people. He told me that I was just ignorant and that I was wrong. He explained the good news about Christ, but I refused to believe what he said.
I then met my boy friend Dan at work whose mother, Mrs. Ruth Grice, was a God-fearing Christian. His parents invited me to gospel meetings with them and his mother gave me a Bible with John 3:16 written on the front page.
I didn’t know what that meant, nor did I even bother to look it up. I didn’t know it was such a vital message for me that God loves me and gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
One evening, on November 11th, 1989, Dan was soul searching and troubled by his own sin. Though he was not saved yet himself, he told me about how God so loved that He sent His only SON to suffer, bleed and die on the cross for sinners. He shed His own blood to wash all our sin away, then arose from the dead on the third day.
Blood is very essential and it gives us life. As a young child, I had been taught not to give my own blood away. When I heard that the Lord Jesus shed His precious blood to wash all my sins away, I took it all in. As a guilty sinner before a Holy God, I believed by faith that He bore my sins in His body on the cross, then died for me and rose from the dead. I accepted Him then as my Lord and Saviour.
Afterwards, Dan was also saved and became my husband.