Service Opportunities -
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Published on: 2/21/2006
Last Visited: 2/16/2009
David I Vang was born to Cher and Nou (Her) Vang and August 25, 1945 in the Province of Vientiane in the Country of Laos.
The family engaged in subsistence (survival-type) farming until David's father died when David was six.
The family religion was animism, which involved ancestor worship (worshipping the departed spirit) and the sacrifice of animals to make satisfaction to the devil.
After high school, David joined the Laotian army and rose through the ranks to Major by 1973.
He was assigned as a Liaison Officer to the American Embassy in Vientiane, Laos (1973-74).
David married Pai Her in March 1967.
They were blessed with three children: Kayoua, Bee, and Blong.
Tragically, Pai died in a plane crash in 1973.
David married Xia Her in December 1974.
Their children are Bobby, Mary, Timothy, Jonathan, and Joshua.
Through the work of a Christian Missionary Alliance missionary in Laos the Holy Spirit brought David to faith in the Savior.
In 1968 David and his family moved to the United States.
Eventually settling in Ohio, David worked for the Lutheran Refugee Resettlement Office as a Social Worker and Translator for the Hmong and Laotian refugees from Thailand.
Recognizing his efforts for Christ among the refugees, the Baptist community asked him to serve as a mission pastor in Toledo.
Subsequently, he started nine other mission congregations, including a mission that he shepherded to over 600 members in Fresno, California.
Pastor Vang came to Hickory, NC in 1993 to begin a Baptist Hmong mission.
In 1997 Jim Hunt and Pastor Via Vang visited with Pastor David Vang, inquiring whether he knew of someone who could help us begin a Lutheran ministry among the Hmong people in the greater-Hickory area.
Remembering the efforts of the Lutherans for the Hmong refugee settlement and after considerable thought and prayer, David came to Rev. Richard Schwandt in 1999 indicating that he was interested in leading our effort to bring the good news of Jesus to the Hmong people.
Early in 2000, David began simultaneously a local mission and his studies toward ordination in the LCMS.
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David completed his studies in the Ethnic Immigrant Institute for Theology (ElIT) program earlier this year.
He will continue his work here with the Greater Hickory Hmong Lutheran Church, as well as the mission work he initiated in Mt. Airy and Georgia.
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