The end vision of DongTeam.org is an indigenous, reproductive Dong church solidly founded in Christ and the Bible, living in the freedom that comes through Christ and sharing that freedom throughout their own and other people groups.

When we say we want to see an indigenous Dong church, what does that mean? Just recently, DongTeam was sent some thoughts by a fellow prayer warrior on that very topic, and we felt it would be helpful to share those thoughts with all of you.

Everybody in China is excited about the Olympics. Obviously, it is a big thing. The Dong are no different. In villages, basketball courts are the effective village square. Table tennis is common among school children and adult workers alike.

In the Olympic spirit, DongTeam.org wants to share a couple of new computer desktop backgrounds to help encourage sports related prayer. Let's pray that sports will be a bridge of common interest through which the gospel can be heard.

We have one last video to share with you all. This song is a very famous Dong song, sung and re-sung at competitions and performances.

We share these videos with you for the fun of it or just for some easy prayer update. As we pray, sometimes we just want to have some specific information or a deeper understanding of the people for whom we are praying. It makes sense, right? It is hard to pray for somebody you do not know. In these videos, we can look into one aspect of Dong life that Dong people themselves highly value: music.

DongTeam.org has a new video for you...well, more accurately, we have another video from YouTube to share with you. We did not film these ourselves, of course, but they are excellent resources to find out a little more about the Dong people without needing to visit them yourself.

This video is of a Dong man playing the lusheng (pronounced 'loo-shung'), an instrument used by many of the minorities of Southwest China. It is made out of bamboo; thus, its alternate name, bamboo pipes. Small metal reeds are at the head of each pipe and provide the vibration which makes the sound, and air can either be blown or sucked to create sound (as you will see in this video...he never stops for a breath). It is made with varying number of pipes, anywhere between one and more than two dozen.

We do not usually do book reviews around here, but every once in a while, an extraordinary book comes along well worth a mention. Because The Shack so vividly explains who God is through his relationship with the book's main character, it is actually (though you might not think so at first) an excellent book to develop our skills of incarnational ministry.

So, first I ask: What is the essence of incarnational ministry? Our pleasure as Christians is to honor Jesus by joining in the world around us, to be a light in that darkness, so that other may know who he is and what he has done to redeem them from their sin. That may not sound like an answer to that particular question, but what is important is what is not in the answer.

We have something a little different this time. Recently, a friend sent DongTeam.org a links to a Dong minority video on YouTube. After a brief look, we realized there were actually several Dong videos available. So, over the next few days, we will post some of the nicer ones here on the DongTeam.org website.

Today's feature video is a well-known Dong song about the cuckoo ushering in Spring.

Here is a summary of a recent testimony from a couple of fellow believers who lived among the Dong people and struggled to proclaim the good news to them:

The first year was really rough. We saw little progress, and asked God for a certain number of people. And God gave those. Seeing his work, we felt we really should have prayed bigger!

It has been a while since DongTeam has made a new desktop background available for you all. Our hope is that we can provide simple prayer reminders which we can incorporate into our everyday lives. Visit the Media Page to download the newest background.

As much as we may try to understand it, the love of the Father remains a mystery to us. Even if we see a perfect example, our view of love is distorted by our past experiences with humans, who cannot love fully and unconditionally.

In chapter 14, we saw Jesus dining with the Pharisees, which did not go so well. Whether they were trying to persuade Jesus over to their side or just to figure out where he stood, by chapter 15, they have a much better idea of what they think of him. Now, they are grumbling about his choice of friends.

If we long to see the Lord work wonders among the Dong people and establish his Church among them, how do we go about such a huge task? We would do well to look to examples in the past. One of the most successful movements of Christ among the minority peoples in China was undoubtedly among the Lisu people in the early 1900s.

J.O. Fraser served the Lord among the Lisu people of Yunnan Province and, in letters back home, wrote some incredible insights into how the work of God progresses among the unreached:

Even though Israel had hundreds of years to prepare for their king, they were still surprised when he actually did come. Dozens of false messiahs came and went before Jesus hit the scene, all starting their own rebellions.

Then, out in the local barn, the savior is born. His family was not prestigious and the surroundings were far from grand. The triumphal announcement was even made known to a few random shepherds minding their own business in the fields. Jesus was quite a surprise.

As the celebration of his birth approaches, let us be in prayer for the Dong people. Even the knowledge of his birth is still coming to them; most still have not heard it. Let us pray that this Christmas season will be an opportunity for the gospel of his coming to reach hundreds of Dong people.

In Luke 12, Jesus reminds us, "Life is more than food and the body more than clothing." Birds have all they need and the flowers are so beautiful, but neither does anything to make it so.

We all so easily lose sight of our loving Lord. We feel blessed when we have good clothes, a nice house, and a little extra stored away in savings. Those things are fine, but Jesus tells us here to store up our treasures above instead of here on earth.

"Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The case against the Christians in one particular Dong county now has too many witnesses to not be conclusive. The first suggestion that money was a problem came from some of the more experienced foreigners.

Then, as time moved on, almost every foreign visitor to this county who met Dong Christians could see some degree of the desire for money. The root of the problem may lie in a combination of the perceived "richness" of foreigners coupled with the generous attitude of the Christian foreigners who come, but it has now spread to more than just relationships with foreigners. Now, the attitude pervades to relationships with Chinese nationals.

In the past decade, one of the biggest changes in how the Western church has approached cross cultural missions is the emphasis on short term missions, whether that be two weeks, two months, or two years. Much has been accomplished on such trips and many have felt God's calling through such experiences, but what of the traditional role of the sending church?

It is easy for us to see our modern missions efforts as superior to those of old, but much has happened in the past which we would do well to remember. In the early 1900s, a lone missionary from England struggled year after year among a people group in the rugged mountains of China with almost no progress. An incredible movement of God broke out, and it was clearly not because of the missionary or his well devised strategy. It was prayer.

Christians still face struggles from the authorities in China. Here is a quick update and prayer request from some Christians working in an area where Dong Christians are facing just that:

Maybe asking new Christians whether they are willing to follow Christ even if they are taken in, beaten, or worse is something to think about. And, maybe we should talk to them about if they're questioned or taken in, to be ready to suffer so that others don't need to—as in not giving any names or info—no matter what. All of those questioned here gave each others' names, because they said the police knew anyway. Sure the police already knew, but if they hadn't said the names, it wouldn't be on their record that they said them. But, when you don't give info they get very mad, and may very likely try to make you say it.

Really the young believers all handled it pretty well. They really have grown in many ways they wouldn't have otherwise. They even said so themselves. So, trouble shouldn't be feared; God definitely uses it.