This landlocked, mountainous nation between Vietnam and Thailand gained its independence from France in 1953. Backed by Vietnamese rebels, the Communist Pathet Lao (Land of Lao) guerrillas then began their quest to topple the monarchy. In 1964, Laos was drawn into the Vietnam War, with North Vietnamese forces operating out of Laos. After the Communists gained control of Vietnam, the Pathet Lao seized power in Laos in 1975, resulting in a one-party Communist state under the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

In Laos, the state openly encourages Buddhism and Buddhist organizations. The government has put extensive restrictions on all other religious groups. Christianity is seen as a threat to national unity; it is considered seditious for Christians to refuse to take part in state-organized religious events and some evangelists have been charged with treason. The government recognizes only three churches: the Lao Evangelical Church (LEC), the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, even some of these churches have been oppressed.

Laotian Christians have been arrested, forced at gunpoint to renounce their faith and even killed. On July 21, 2008, residents of Katin village in Saravan province killed a Christian man by pouring rice wine down his throat. Eighty local Christians were then arrested by authorities. Four days later, officials rounded up 17 Christian families in the village and detained them in a local school compound, denying them food for three days in an attempt to force the adults to sign documents renouncing their faith. Ten families eventually signed the documents and were allowed to return home. The remaining families were evicted from the village. In early August 2008, Pastor Sompong and two other Christians were arrested in Baulkham village, Savannakhet province for "believing in Jesus and worshipping God." The three men were released on October 16, against the wishes of the village chief, who had threatened to hand Pastor Sompong a life sentence at a maximum-security prison.

• Pray for Christians who continue to face pressure and imprisonment for their faith.
• Pray for the government of Laos -- that those in power will continue to improve policies and activities, recognizing the need for freedom for all their citizens.