Meeting with Laotian ambassador opens pathway for ministry

For years, Kuaying Teng has patiently nurtured a vision in which a new generation of Laotians in Asia and North America would lead their wounded land into an era of healing, reconciliation and lasting peace.

A recent meeting between Teng and the ambassador of Laos, whose elders remain pained by war during the 1960s and 1970s, has opened a key pathway for which Teng had been praying.

Teng, the denominational minister of Asian Ministries for Mennonite Church USA, met July 18 with Ambassador Seng Soukhathivong at the ambassador’s home at the embassy in Washington, D.C. After several meetings over the years with Laotian top officials, this meeting was a vital step in securing a diplomatic visa as well as crucial government support for his ministry of reconciliation among the Laotian people.

“The purpose of the meeting was to let the ambassador know that when the Laotian people become Mennonite, their perspective changes from what it was before in terms of commitment to peace,” Teng said. “I want the ambassador to understand how to help me promote peace among the Laotian people there and in North America.”

The Laos Civil War from 1953 to 1975 was a central battleground in the Vietnam War. The communist forces, backed by what was the Soviet Union, eventually won in Laos, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, families torn apart, and a country nearly destroyed.

The United States played a major role in the conflict, dropping more than 2.5 million tons of munitions on Laos, according to the U.S. Department of State. An estimated 30 percent of the bombs did not detonate at the time, but continue to explode today, causing deaths every year. As a result, distrust and even hatred toward Americans remains, Teng said. He shows Laotians that many Americans protested the war on religious grounds.

Teng, who is shared staff between Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA, supports networking and church planting of Asian Mennonite churches in the United States, and connects these churches to Mennonite churches in Asia.

He also aims to build young Laotian disciples for peace from among the sons and daughters of those who lived through the war, through direct training and by taking youth of Laotian decent, both from the United States and from Laos, on intercultural exchange trips. 

He is currently translating Palmer Becker’s  What is an Anabaptist Christian? and The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective into Laotian, as well as writing the history of Laotian Mennonites.

Laotian officials recommended Teng talk with the ambassador regarding a diplomatic visa, which would grant Teng the opportunity to travel to Laos freely and securely.  This is important in visiting a country where Christians are not always trusted and have been persecuted. Teng was initially worried the meeting wouldn’t happen.

“When I first called, his secretary didn’t seem to trust me, but then all of a sudden, the ambassador called me right away and told me that he wanted to meet with me,” Teng said. “We sat in his living room and he was very happy to see that Laotian people have worked more than 20 years with Mennonite Central Committee to help the people in Laos. He was very kind.”

Teng was notified that the process for his visa has begun.

Teng said that he appreciates and needs prayer support for his work. Working through government channels is complicated, as too close of an association with the government could trigger distrust and anger from citizens, while his work to change the attitudes of young people could be misinterpreted and viewed suspiciously by those in the government.

Teng, 46, said that Laotians who are part of Generation X can be a bridge to the future. As children born during the war, they understand and can interpret the deep war wounds of previous generations, but can transfer healing to the next – the Millennials.

“Those people who were born in Canada and the United States, they don’t have any experience of what happened [during the war],” Teng said. “I don’t think it would be best to pass the experience from the first generation to the third. The important thing is our calling to be citizens of God, committed to democracy and nonviolence. This is what the second generation should do for the future. ”

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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.