Impact Report: Taiwan Prison Ministry Letter from Trung

Letters from Prisoner Trung

The best day of Trung's 3 years in prison was the day a sister from the church came to visit him.

​He describes the prison environment as a "dark and lonely world" where there are no friends, no relatives, and where each day is a boring repetition of the same machine-like routine.

But everything changed once he received the Lord.

He was like "a withering sprout that came back to life, finding true joy and hope."

Read his letter to discover how he experienced peace and meaning even from behind bars.

October 2013, Joy in Prison

​October 31, 2013

Dear Sister Phuoc,

It’s me, Trung. First of all, I would like to send my wishes of good health, happiness, luck, and peace to you and your family.

Thank you for the chance to meet you today. From morning until now, I am still thrilled with bliss. It’s the happiest day I’ve ever had in these three recent years. You said that you would write me a letter the next day, but I couldn’t wait, so I’m writing to you this very evening once I got home. The joy is still so fresh, and I want to tell you all about it.

Perhaps with you or other people out there, each day goes by with many things to do, many things to think about, many people to meet, and many problems that need to be solved. Maybe this meeting today was just one of the ordinary things for you. But for me, it was a very special, memorable day. It left me a memory I will never forget.

At this place, our lives are like machines, casting the same mold: morning, then noon, then evening, and night, and day after day it repeats its boring chorus! In the beginning, I thought I couldn’t overcome such days like these. In this place where there are no friends and no relatives, many times I truly feel lonely, self-pitiful, and wanting to drop everything.

But everything has changed since I received the Lord. I have received much care and provisions, as well as mental support, from church pastors. Like a withering sprout that has come back to life, I have truly found joy and hope. Thank the Lord for having mercy on my life!

Your visit today was like a present for me. It gives me faith that no matter where I am or what situation I’m in, I still feel there are people who are always beside me—people who never stop encouraging me and who strengthen me to flee pessimism so that I can paint the colors of hope into this life, nourishing my dreams. And so every morning when I wake up, I can feel the peace and meaning of a new day!

It seems like it’s raining outside, sister. At night, the surroundings are too quiet. I couldn’t help but to keep thinking about the short meeting we had today. I regret that there wasn’t enough time for us to share more; even your prayer was interrupted! How many things I wanted to ask and how many more words I wanted to say, but there was nothing I could do! I only hope that after this letter, I will still have a chance to write more letters to ask and to tell you about the unspoken things today.

I want to let you know that every letter and every word of encouragement from you and others are very essential mental nourishment to me. I hope you can spare some time write some words and send them to this dark and lonely world here. Perhaps I should stop my writing here; there is no more paper space left.

To conclude, I wish you will live a happy, good, and healthy life, and that you will laugh and stay youthful and energetic always.

Your little brother,
Trung Quang Le
​
Thank you God for letting me know you!

True Transformation

The prison ministry helps keep prisoners' minds off depression and mindlessness since there is nothing to do in prison. We sponsor food and contests to encourage the prisoners. They write letters, draw pictures, and read the Bible. 

Trung's conversion in prison was life-changing. He was discipled by the pastor and was one of the most faithful students, going through an entire 6-book series on becoming a pastor.

​After Trung was released from prison, he still continued to follow the Lord. This next follow-up letter shows how God has been using him to bless others.

June 2014, Ministry After Prison

​June 28, 2014
 
Dear Sister Phuoc,
 
Last month, many visitors came to my home, and I would like to share a couple of their stories with you. The first is the story about the couple Thien Ngan and their boy Minh Tri. The wife is named Xan-Diu, also known as Giang Nguyen, and she belongs to a small ethnic group of Vietnamese. She came to my house when she was 6 months pregnant. Only one month later, on December 20th, I had to bring her to the hospital to deliver the baby. She has a history of several preterm births. She suffers from an adverse family situation: her husband and father in-law are mentally ill, and her 9-year-old daughter has not started walking or speaking. Therefore, she cannot go to school. The boy was born only weighing only 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds). He was rescued and is 6 months old now. In May, while I was serving God in Tuy Hoa, the news came to me that her husband Dung was lost. I then posted the information to look for him on the internet. We prayed, and finally we found him and brought him home. This is a family with great hardship. Among the 6 members in the family, besides the two children – Trang and Thien Phu, the parents and grandfather all have mental illness. Only the grandmother doesn’t have that problem. They are really in need of help, my sister.
 
Here is another story. Three weeks ago, about 11pm when I was sleeping, I got a phone call from Ms. Ngan, a Christian friend, who reported that there was a 17-day-old baby who needed to be adopted. Since it was late, I didn’t talk much, but told her that I would come tomorrow. The following morning when I was praying in the church, she called again. I asked some barren couples in the church to see if they wanted to adopt the child, but no one had thought of that yet. I didn’t know if the child was a boy or girl at that time. I finally ran over to a hot and tiny dorm room, located upstairs, to see Ms. Ngan, Mrs. Loan, and her newborn girl Thien Nhi, who is a very healthy and easygoing baby. (I thought to myself – she must have known her bad fate: her dad was totally broke after borrowing 10 million VND ($500) for the birth cost and an unpaid rent from the beginning of the year till now. He ended up drinking and violated his wife and wanted to abandon the baby.) In fact, they are not legally married yet. Mrs. Loan is a 22-year-old pharmacy technician student who rents a room to live with her boyfriend. Thien Nhi is a very well-behaved little girl. She sleeps most of the time and drinks up a box of 400 gr milk every 2 days. I took Mrs. Loan and the baby home with me. She couldn’t breastfeed her baby because of the caesarean birth and some other reasons. I have contacted the child’s father and asked him to be responsible for his wife and child. (I have kept the baby’s birth certificate as evidence.)
I will send more information for you in the following letter. Wishing you and your family peace and happiness. I’ll see you later.

January 2016, Meeting in Hanoi

In January 2016, TFish representatives Pastor Bao and Thuy visited Trung in Hanoi, along with Pastor Thu, the prison ministry leader. They saw that Trung is still worshiping the Lord and attending church. We praise God for saving Trung while he was in prison and for using his changed life as a testimony of the Lord's grace. 

Jan 2016: Trung (far right) with TFish representatives (2nd and 4th from the right) and Pastor Thu (3rd from the left).