Dieu
The man that I’ll be telling you about now, is one of the most special people I have ever met. Dieu, which is his name, comes from a tribal area in Vietnam. He doesn’t understand the meaning of the word sensation, so he’s not looking for one either. He just shares what he has experienced. I sat face to face with him some years back and heard his story, in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City. I asked him all kinds of questions to clarify, because I know many people will have a hard time believing what I’m about to share. To make sure I got all the details right, I met Dieu again after spending some days in Hanoi, and we went over the whole story one more time. In other words, this story is certified – an unless we have a denying attitude to miracles, nothing should stop us from believing and rejoicing over what God has done in this man’s life.
Dieu grew up in a very poor family, in the highlands of Vietnam. His parents couldn’t afford to send him to school, so he could neither read nor write. When some Christian evangelists came and shared the gospel where he lived, he accepted Christ as his Savior. The newly saved man felt a burning desire to learn more from the word of God, but it was really hard for him as an illiterate. His pastor did, however, encourage him to pray for a supernatural gift to be able to read and write. “Just believe, and God will provide” the pastor said. Dieu started to pray. He grabbed his bible with both hands and cried out to God.
One night, Dieu decided to go away from home to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting. He went into the forest and was gone for three days and three nights. All that time, he cried out to God, asking for the ability to read the bible. While he was there, all by himself, he suddenly heard a voice saying: “You are going to know my word”. Dieu confirms to me over and over again that he heard this as an actual audible voice. The voice also called his name: “Dieu, I am going to show you the way”. When he came home the third night, the rest of his family had already gone to bed. Dieu lit a candle and opened his Bible. Immediately he could read the words that used to be unreadable letters to him. He was so excited that he kept reading through the whole night. After reading for a long time, he moved his head slowly towards the Bible until his hair was scorched by the fire. Dieu wanted to see if he was able to write as well. He tried it out, and joyfully he realized that he could do it!
Full of excitement, he told his pastor that he had received the gift to read and write. Now, the same pastor who had earlier encouraged Dieu to believe for a reading miracle, had trouble believing in a writing miracle. It was particularly hard for him to believe that Dieu was able to write – literally overnight. “You’ll have to go with me to the church, and I’ll dictate something for you to write on the board” the pastor commanded. The pastor dictated, and Dieu wrote with a beautiful Vietnamese handwriting on the blackboard. I met David myself in Saigon, and he confirms that this event really took place. That’s not all, the pastor says that they have over 100 testimonies from new illiterate believers who have received the gift of reading and/or writing in that same tribal area.
