MINISTRIES.NET
CHRISTIAN
FATHERS ALLIANCE
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sites devoted to spreading
the message of Christ:
Mission Society for United Methodists
General Board of Global Ministries
OMS International, an evangelical faith mission that reaches the nations for Christ:
in the name of the Father
and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:19
First
United Methodist Church, Joplin, Mo., is committed to
sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the
world.
First United Methodist Church has pledged to pray for the Tunshiang people in China. Raise a prayer for the Tunshiang today.
The
Tunshiang in China
The
395,000 Tunshiang live along the rivers that flow out of the
Qilian Mountains of north-central China. Most of their
villages are located in the Gansu Province. Before 1950, the
Tungshiang were known as the "Mongolian Huihui," a Chinese
name that means "the Eastern Village."
What
are their lives like? Population:
395,700
What
are their beliefs?
What
are their needs?
How
can I pray?
Religion: Muslim 99.9%
Christianity 0%
What are
their lives like?
Farming is the backbone of the Tungshiang economy. Their
major crops include potatoes, wheat, barley, millet and
corn.
The Tunshiang are located in one long spread out valley of the Gansu province. This region is a very dry, desolate place, with a moonlike landscape. It is illegal for foreigners to go there.
What are
their beliefs?
When the Tungshiang came to China, they brought with
them their strong Islamic beliefs; and today, they are still
staunch Muslims. Prior to the Communist revolution,
two-thirds were Sunnis and the majority of the others were
Shi'ites. In 1949, when the Communists took over China,
there was only one mosque for every 30 Tungshiang families,
and one paid Muslim worker for every nine
families.
Today, each village has at least one mosque, and there are more than 500 total mosques in the region.
What are
their needs?
The physical needs of the Tungshiang are numerous. The
quality of health care, housing, utilities and education is
poor. Spirituality, however, their needs are even greater.
The Bible has not yet been translated into Dongxiang; the
Jesus Film is not available; and there are no Christian
radio or television broadcasts in their area.
Because it is still illegal for a foreigner to go into this region of China, there are no missions agencies working amoung the Tungshiang. Though attempts have been made at evangelizing the Tungshiang, there are only 198 known believers among them today. Only 8 percent of the Tungshiang have heard the Gospel; more than 90 percent have never heard the name of Jesus.
How can I
pray?
Pray against the spirit of Islam that has kept the
Tungshiang bound for many generations.
Ask the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of China's government leaders to the Gospel.
Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to go into China and share Christ with the Tungshiang.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of the Tungshiang Muslims to the Gospel.
Ask God to strengthen, encourage and protect the small number of Tungshiang believers.
Ask God to raise up qualified linguists to translate the Bible into the Dongxiang language.
Pray that Christian literature, radio broadcasts and television programs will soon be made available in Dongxiang.
