The signs of harvest season are spreading across the Dong areas: scorching work days out in the fields cutting and threshing rice, news of harvest festivals, and a general sigh of relief that the crops came in again this year. The Dong people spend their lives in tune with the seasons, yet fail to perceive the organizing, life-sustaining Power behind those seasons. They sweat and toil in the shadow of mountains and clean their implements in the streams, but do not seem to question the Origin of all things.

Recently, in a worship service mixed with Christians from the village and those from the town, the thanks given brought out this realization. The town folk were thankful for an opportunity to spend a day out in the village, where they felt so much closer to nature and the Creator. The village folks, laughing, said they were thankful for the opportunity to come into town and get away from the unceasing labor of the village.

All of the Dong areas would have been able to view the solar eclipse today (morning for them). The northern parts of the Dong areas would likely have seen a total or very close to a total eclipse, and even in the southernmost areas, an obvious partial eclipse, including a darkening of the sky, would have been visible.

In an e-mail yesterday from a reader living in the Dong areas, a Dong person was quoted as sceptically saying, "We will just see if the sky goes dark tomorrow," as if it were not a mathematical certainty. To them, though, this is not about astronomy or mathematics; the Dong worldview would not divide this occurrence into some scientific category in order to explain it, but would lump it together with their spiritual understanding of the world.

That is not to say they believe "a spirit hid the sun" or any such interpretation, but rather to say that from a Dong mindset, this is something that completely does not fit within how they understand, and no amount of talk on the national news will make it any different.

In reality, though, this is indeed a spiritual occurrence (not just scientific as our Western-trained minds might suppose), for One, holy, all-powerful Creator holds all this in his hands, and he can and does use it for his glory.

A couple years ago, Chinese Religious Affairs officials surveyed counties in one area, including some Dong counties, to determine if an open church (Chinese Three Self) would be established in the county seats. If they found enough Christians in the county seat, a church could be opened. Sadly, the Dong counties did not obtain permission.

Most efforts to share the gospel with the Dong people have been aimed at villages, and that certainly makes sense, but in an effort to hit the heart of the Dong people out in the villages, these efforts have bypassed the county seats. The problem we now have is that the gatherings of Dong believers have very little connection to one another. They may know each other, but there is no practical tie between them that would allow them to have regular contact and fellowship with one another.

For most of us, we do not sit around trying to figure out how to establish more authority in our churches. Unity maybe, but not authority. Either our churches have it or they do not. And for some, the word "authority" is even seen as a negative, because it is taken to mean building a hierarchical church structure, which is a big negative in many Protestant churches. Whether the answer is hierarchical structures or not, the Dong church does need some spiritual authority to tie them together.

Sure, they may have Jesus as their high priest, and those passages from Hebrews are in their chronological story set which is now starting to be used in churches, but they do not have anyone else. They do not have elder, experienced, Christ-like examples who can help them walk the way of Jesus. Individual churches do not even have leaders who could identify weak areas that need growth or even shepherd the flock in general.

Most Dong churches (we cannot speak for all, because we do not even know all) are groups of believers with no mutually-accepted leadership. And besides those, probably half of the known Dong Christians are individual believers with no gathering at all. It is not impossible for them to grow in Christ, but certainly close to impossible.

A new and hopefully helpful media project is now "hitting the streets" in the Dong areas. It is stories from the Bible, told in the Dong language, and recorded. Now, the many Dong people who struggle reading the Bible in Chinese have a few of the stories retold in their own language.

There are many potential uses for the stories, but the primary use is the building up of the Dong church. It is an aid to the many churches who right now must rely on interpretation from Chinese to Dong for Bible study. It is not the whole Bible, by any means, but does have a core set of stories chosen around a theme of redemption.

Let us pray as these stories begin to be used:

Many of our prayer requests are centered on the gatherings of Dong Christians (the churches, villages, and families), but today, we want to focus our prayers on the many individual Christians who are totally isolated from all Christian fellowship. Not only do they not have encouragement and guidance in their walk with Christ, but there is a danger of allowing their relationship with Christ to slowly falter.

There are no other known Christians where these individuals live. We have heard reports of Christians in almost every Dong county, but most of those counties have less than five: one here and maybe two there. There are very few "meeting points" of worshippers. Most of these heard about Christ either from tourists passing through or as they were in the bigger cities studying or working.

It is truly difficult to pursue the Lord in total isolation. However, the Spirit is everywhere. To all those individuals scattered throughout the Dong areas, the Spirit can fill, console, guide, and strengthen. Let us pray a prayer used by Christians for hundreds of years, but pray it for them:

DongTeam just received this in an e-mail:

Just yesterday, I was talking with some friends trying to explain the difficulties in the struggle to reach the Dong people for Christ. Though most folks have heard this before, I thought I would send in this e-mail so it could be shared as a journal entry there on DongTeam. Even if it is old news, they still need new prayer.

I was explaining to my friends the problem with financial dependency. Even when Dong Christians are offered only bus fare and lodging to leave their villages to attend a training, they always come and often even bring along other "interested" family members. They will have to attend training all day; it is no vacation. But there is the catch: to a poor farmer who never gets out, even that offer translates to them as an all expense paid vacation to the big city.

And that is only the beginning. What these non-local trainings have (quite accidentally) brought about is an expectation for compensation for any Christian activity. Well, they do not think of it that way, but that is what it is. Never do we hear about locals just going to the next village to share or anything simple and without cost.

None of us wants to lose our spiritual mentor. Many of us have never had one. For whatever reason, losing that person who invested in us and helped us grow is hard. Sometimes, we never fully recover and end up spending years not fervently seeking the Lord, and rarely does that happen without some effort on our part (or someone pushing us).

Remember Clement from the last entry and his exile. Many followed him into exile, exactly because exile was better than losing that spiritual guidance and community. There were plenty, I am sure, who did not go into exile with Clement, and stayed behind. Many Dong people are in that exact situation right now.

It has happened before and is happening again. The Lord is moving spiritual mentors out of the Dong areas, strong Christians who were helping young Christians grow in the faith. It is easy for us to feel this is a negative situation, but knowing God has all things under his control and wills only good for his children, let us pray that his will be done for the Dong Christians left without that spiritual guidance.

As with many other times with our open communication of sensitive prayer requests here on the Prayer Journal, this request requires you to pray with understanding and insight. This history of the Apostle Clement of the Seventy can help us pray for others enduring similar circumstances today.

Clement was baptized by the holy Apostle Peter and became his zealous disciple and constant companion, sharing his toil and sufferings with him. Shortly before his own sufferings and death, Peter consecrated Clement as Bishop of Rome.

The virtuous life, charitable works and prayerful activity of Clement converted many to Christ. He once baptized 424 people on the day of Pascha. Among the baptized were people of all social classes: slaves, officials, and even members of the imperial family.

The pagans, seeing the success of his apostolic preaching, denounced Clement to the emperor Trajan (98-117), accusing the saint of insulting the pagan gods. The emperor banished Clement from the capital, sending him to the Crimea, to work at a stone quarry near the city of Cherson. Many of the saint's disciples followed after him voluntarily, preferring to go into exile rather than live without their spiritual Father.

April 5th is the Qingming Festival this year. Dong families will head back home, join together, and head to the mountains where their ancestors are buried. It is much more than just a time to clean up the grave sites from the year's growth, but is a time to pay respects.

"Grandpa and Grandma, here are your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We come to pay our respect to you and to ask for your blessing on us. Bless us in our business, in our families, in our studies, and in every way."

The Dong people live under the deception, passed down through many generations, of who is God and who is god, a deception of who is Creator and who is created. Pray that during this important festival time, many will see the uselessness of praying to fellow creatures, but that they would finally seek the Father who created them and yearns for a relationship with them.

As Easter approaches, we prepare ourselves for the greatest event in all history, the event that changed history forever and, more importantly, gave the world assurance of God's power to resurrect his children too. Hundreds of thousands of Dong people still have no idea the resurrection ever happened, though.

In this season, I often think of the twelve disciples. They too had no clue what was going on, even though they were frequently told quite clearly by Jesus. And when I think of how the Dong people will ever understand, if it took the disciples so long, I have to wonder how Jesus did it.

It was a wonderful combination of three years of daily witness, completed by the trial, death, burial, and resurrection. Of course, the disciples still did not understand immediately, but with instruction and the Lord opening their eyes to the meaning of the Scriptures, they did finally get it. In these last weeks before Easter, remember the journeys of the disciples, their paths to understanding the gospel, and pray the same will happen among the Dong people.

In February, Chinese government officials and Chinese house church leaders met together to discuss the house church situation in China. Rarely do we at DongTeam have such a great opportunity to talk about the greater events concerning Christianity in China, and even more rare still would we even know about such things, but when this news arrived in the mail from a reader, we had to share it with all of you and ask for prayer for the Dong.

Every aspect of the house church movement in China was discussed and papers presented on numbers, growth, history, distribution, trends, and more. Other discussions included the current system of administration of Chinese Christians and possible improvements.

The simple fact that such a symposium would even take place, including both government officials and house church leaders, is amazing. Changes in policy toward house churches at a national level would obviously have direct effect on Dong churches, because very few Dong Christians are able to function within the government sanctioned system, simply because they do not live near state sanctioned churches. Let's pray.

"So, why can't the Dong people just use the Chinese Bible?" Good question. The majority of Dong people do speak Chinese, so it is a reasonable question. We have talked through this issue before, and there is more information to be found on the General Info page, but a recent e-mail to DongTeam serves as an excellent reminder of the needs among the Dong people and also shares a couple requests:

Many of us have been praying for a very long time for more scripture materials to be available to the Dong people. Since 2006, a written New Testament has been published, but to provide scripture to the hundreds of thousands of Dong people who cannot read, we will need audio/visual scripture materials in the Dong language as well.

We are extremely excited to announce some of these materials are now finished! Now the issue is how to really provide them for the use of Dong people. Please join together in prayer for the unique issues facing those who seek to find the best way to give these portions of scripture to the Dong people.

Some of our Dong brothers and sisters are under increased pressure and watch from their local authorities lately. As we have mentioned before, God is working both in the hearts of the believers and also in the hearts of the authorities themselves. So, let us pray that this increased pressure with both strengthen and deepen the faith of the believers and also shine as a clear witness of who Jesus to those who are watching.

In Revelation 3:5, the Lord Jesus says this:"The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."

The past couple weeks, we have been praying against cults and for the people in them who want out. In the absence of more updates for that specific topic, we should now turn to a directly related topic of prayer: how to prepare Christians against the deceptions of cults.

The answer is quite simple, even if the practical working out of that answer is difficult: the Word of God. When taught to identify counterfeit money, trainees do not try to learn all the ways a fake can look, they are taught to know the touch, smell, texture, and feel of real money. When we know the truth, the lies are obvious.

With the Dong, however, this is a particularly difficult problem. They cannot just start up Bible studies to reaffirm the core truths of the gospel. A very small segment of Dong people have access to scripture in any form in their own language. If they did, most Dong people cannot read Dong, anyway. Even the scriptures in Chinese, which are difficult to understand for most, are not readily available in the Dong areas. What is to be done? This needs prayer.

We received an update on SP and MT, how prayers are being answered, and the truth is overcoming the deception of the Eastern Lightening cult:

"MT from the beginning had some doubts about the Eastern Lightening people, but was drawn in because they were so nice and seemed to really care for him. Now that he realizes it is Eastern Lightning he is ready to get out. So, please pray for him, especially that he would find fellowship with true brothers and sisters (and there are many in his area).

"I do not know what any of you have read about Eastern Lightning, but had started to think that all the horrible reports I had heard were a little exaggerated. After hearing SP tell me about her experiences, I know none of it is exaggerated.

A wonderful testimony of the power of a long term witness has been sent to us at DongTeam. Not only is it a wonderful praise to the work of God, but a continuing prayer request. Many of us have prayed for Chinese government officials, though we may not have always been praying "for" them. This story may help give you a slightly different perspective that could change the way you pray.

[ A little disclaimer: we have had to strip some important information out of this story and rewrite it to make sure this does not harm any body involved. Please read with understanding. ]

"We have been visited many times. These visits are intended to intimidate and humiliate. It was always the same few officials. 'These are just foreign lies.' 'Only stupid, rural farmers would believe such superstitious rubbish.' 'You are harming the social stability.' We had just started to expect a visit every once in a while. This time was different, though...

Thinking again about the Olympics, because that is the obvious happening in China at the moment, a comment from Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, came to mind. When asked why he set a goal to gain eight gold medals at this Olympics, his response seemed rather simple.

He responded that he needed a goal. When training that much, it gets really old really fast. He said he could just remember his goal and then he would realize that the only way to really try for that goal was to keep going, keep pushing, keep training, and work through the monotony to what we now know as one of the most amazing Olympics ever for swimming.

A fellow prayer warrior shared this for the journal:

Not that the Olympics are bad or anything. I love the Olympics. It is just that I was thinking about what possible eternal message could be received from watching the Olympics. Tens of thousands of Dong people will be watching the Olympics, and my hope is that this could be some great opportunity, but I just do not know what they could hear.

One of the main themes of the Olympics is peace and harmony. During the Opening Ceremonies, the most prominent Chinese character was that for "harmony". That ideal is somehow tainted, though, with an ongoing crisis in Sudan, the dictator from Mozambique not allowed into China for his recent abuses of power and democracy, and a border dispute between Russia and Georgia erupting right as the games begin.

I do not want to talk politics and, though it is interesting, neither do I want to talk about the games themselves. I was just praying through this great opportunity in China and for the Dong.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

The distribution of Christian materials outside of Chinese government control is one of the big no-nos in China. If anything is printed or broadcast, they want control of what is said or at the very least the "ok" its propagation. How does this really work with Christian materials?

The most important resource is the Bible, of course, so let's look into the need and possible solutions to that need. The Chinese language Bible is printed and distributed in China via the Three Self Church (the state sanctioned church). So, technically, at least, it is legal and available.

However, in China, the situation can be wildly different from area to area, and there is a possibility that in some areas it still may not be safe, for whatever reason, to go to the church and purchase a Bible. On the whole, though, the Chinese Bible is available. So, what is the problem?

A brother and sister who live among the Dong relate this story, which shows some of the pressing needs of Dong Christians:

The first thing they all asked us when we had all sat down in the living room was, "Is it ok to sacrifice to our ancestors?" At first, we did not know quite what to say. The question had a testing feeling to it, as if they were making sure we gave them the same answer as they had heard elsewhere.

Come to find out, several of them had just come from "training" in a nearby city. They receive most of their training from Chinese house church Christians, and though the house church has an incredible zeal for the Lord, they often lack cultural awareness. I do not want to say anything bad about them, but this story is a great example of what we often see in the local Christians.

They had been told, in more or less black and white terms, that sacrificing to their ancestors was wrong. Do not hear me wrong, we very much agreed with the teaching, but these Dong believers did not seem to have any biblical basis for such a statement nor did they understand any of what the Bible says on the topic.

Related to us from workers developing audio Bible stories:

As it just so happened, we worked on a recording in Revelation just before moving to work again on the creation of the world. When in Revelation, the Dong coworker had a hard time remembering and visualizing all the details about the river flowing out from the throne, and the tree that stood on both sides of the river, and the fruit the tree produced. A lot of details are there, but as God sometimes sets things up, the time we spent on the details in Revelation were perfectly timed for our next work task in Genesis.

This week is one of the biggest holiday and travel weeks of the year in China. And out in the Dong areas, tourism is definitely booming for these few days. There are some foreigners, but the clear bulk of travellers is from within China.

Why would we bother talking about national holidays in China? Some of the most tourist-visited areas of the "Dong world" also have Christians, and those Christians survive off the tourism industry. A lot of money will be changing hands, business will be booming, and the potential for money-related temptation will be stronger than normal.

Actually, we already mentioned these particular believers in the past, stealing business from others...intentionally keeping business for themselves and away from a Christian brother or sister. And we have also talked about how the influence of money, not only on the Dong people, but on all of us.

Here is a report received from one of our fellow prayer warriors and laborers for the Dong people:

When I arrived in China and was still in the city, I attended the Sunday Three Self church service. It happened to be a baptism service. I was really struck by the whole situation.

I said to God, "Why are you doing so much work here in the city when there still so few believers among the Dong people out in the countryside?" And within a couple days, he answered my complaint with a humbling but wonderful report.

Acts 13:52
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Commenting on this verse, C.S. Lewis once wrote:

We often see our work as a command, an obligation or a duty. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the early church movement exploded with joy in the midst of persecution. Joy is not just an individual experience. The early church experienced joyful unity as they worshipped, learned, shared, and praised God together. Our work becomes the outflow of joy by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Quoting from a fellow prayer warrior who was speaking of the life of the plain-spoken German Lutheran Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Bonhoeffer faced imprisonment and death at the hands of the Nazis in 1945, just a few weeks before the end of World War II. He was a theologian that participated in the "Widerstand", the German resistance movement, against Hitler. Understanding this context, Bonhoeffer's comments on Psalm 34 come to light and speak into our situation, where fear can creep in easily.

Psalm 34:9
O fear the Lord you his holy ones, for those who fear him have not want.

Bonheoffer comments: "This is the first commandment, the entire Gospel: 'Fear God.' Forget the many things you fear. Do not fear the coming day, do not fear other people, do not fear power and might, even if they are able to deprive you of property and life; do not fear the great ones in this world; do not fear yourself; do not fear sin. But fear God and God alone; for God has power over the powers of this world; the whole world must fear God. Fear God's earnestness--and give God the glory."

Let us take moment of silence away from our busy days and ask how these words apply to us. Then, let us spend a moment asking how this applies to the Dong people. And pray.

It is easy to talk about either the Dong people that already believe or those that have never even heard, but what of those who have heard some, but still have not put their faith in Jesus Christ or started the journey of growing to maturity in him? There are so many barriers, and as always, whether in China or in the West, those barriers differ with every person.

Let's spend some time praying through some of these different barriers that the Dong people have:

Just a few months ago, a couple foreigners were "uninvited" back to China for religious activities an area where the Dong people live. They taught English in a small town middle school, working for low pay in a hard environment, and lived their lives in obedience to the Lord's will for them there.

Their witness sowed much seed in that area. And just as Jesus said in his parable, seed falls on all kinds of ground. Some falls on the path and is eaten by the birds. Some falls in rocky ground, sprouts quickly, but has no depth. Some falls among the thorns and is choked from growth. And some falls on good soil, producing up to a hundred fold of the original seed.

The Lord brings growth, both spiritual growth and growth in the numbers of believers. So, let us pray to him for those on which the seed fell. Let us pray that he would cause his seed to bring about abundant growth. As Jesus himself said, let us pray that those who receive the message would bring about 30, 60, and even 100 times the seed sown!

One of our fellow workers in the Lord with the Dong people of China relates this experience:

I was spending some time in Bible study with three Dong friends on a Sunday, a humble yet new Christian couple and a believer of several years who has not shown much growth. We were reading about the love of Christ, a love of complete sacrifice, and a love he calls us to live out in his words, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples."

Then, the elder believer, who did not previously know the young couple, putting on the airs of a pastor, quite randomly began sharing from Psalm 139. At first, it seemed like it might fit in: a God of love, clearly showing his love for us, and using Psalm 139 to show the intimate relationship we have with Jesus Christ.

We all read the psalm outloud together, and our brother began a discourse along these lines: "No matter where we go, he always sees us. Even if we sin in our heart, he will know it. There is no sin or act we can hide from him."

This story comes to DongTeam from a fellow believer:

I was talking with a Dong friend of mine about a small Dong church and the hardships they had been going through. I was saying that every county was different: some places are lax and some are aggressively against the gospel. I mentioned to my friend that those believers had been pressured to sign documents denying their faith and received threats of what would happen if they did not (they did not, by the way).

My Dong friend replied, "Well, there is no harm in saying you do not believe, if that will get you out of trouble." I was taken so much by surprise, I did not quite know how to reply.

Singing through the Christmas carols, how many of us have the first line memorized, but have to crack the hymnal to sing anything beyond that? Most of us, probably. As a Christmas prayer for the Dong, we will use the third line from "It Came upon the Midnight Clear" which seemed more than fitting to the Dong people of China's rugged mountains.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

Recently one of our fellow Christians was visiting a Dong village, invited to join a local festival, and related this story to DongTeam about what is happening in the heart of one Dong lady. We have had to take some liberty in retelling, but here it is:

I had been invited out by a believing Dong friend of mine. The festivities went all day, and I thought I would go to the singing that night, but something much better happened. My Dong friend said a couple ladies in her village had been asking her questions about the Gospel and wanted to talk to me.

The ladies were huddled around a small fire of wood chips in a smoke filled room. You could not breathe if you stood up, but had to sit down on the low stools like they were. I sat and we talked about the festival and other things before they asked some questions.

We prayed in the last entry for unity in the body of believers who are seeking to share the good news with the Dong people. The following verses contain an excellent continuation how that works and what the church will look like as a result.

Ephesians 4:11-14
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

God has given the church all these gifts for the edification and growth of the Body. When believers who live among the Dong are excercising the gifts they have been given, the Spirit uses that to build up the body of Christ. It is simple obedience to use the gifts given that brings about church growth.

Christ is reaching the Dong people. Dong and non-Dong, local and foreign, Christ is using his people to bear a witness to those Dong who have not yet believed. And though we tend to focus our prayers on the lost, let us turn to prayer for those laboring for the Lord to reach the lost.

Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Regardless of culture or language, whether called outsiders or insiders, all of the Christians among the Dong are of one body and one Spirit. It takes time for the witness of this unified body to bear a clear witness among the multitude of local spirits and beliefs, and the unified message of the Lord is the best witness they could have. Let us pray that the message of the one faith will be clearly told in the word and action of the unified body. How is the body to remain unified, though?

"So, why did you become a Christian," one Dong Christian asked another believer she had just met from another area.

"Oh, why would you not become a Christian? You get free trips to go play!"

This interaction was shared with DongTeam a few days ago, and though we do not like to share such negative stories of Dong Christians, this reflects a prevailing mood among Dong Christians, and one that needs much prayer. Let us try to see this interaction from a Dong perspective and find how we can pray specific and direct prayers for our Dong brothers and sisters.

It is wonderful when we are able to share in praising God when he brings about growth in the lives of fellow believers. And when there are so few Dong believers, watching them and praying for them as they grow is a special joy.

This lady's testimony of God's leading and faithfulness was related to DongTeam and can be an encouragement for those of us who are praying to know that God is indeed answering our prayers. Here is her story:

"I knew the job opportunity was God's provision. My husband and I were really struggling financially and did not know what to do. We had a lengthy conversation about our troubles, but could not find any possible solution, especially in the winter when there are no crops to sell.

"The next day, I received a call with a job opportunity in the town thirty minutes away. I had inquired for a job there before, but there were no openings. And right when we needed it most, we received the call with the new opening.

"It had to be God. So, my husband and I went into town to nail down the job opportunity. I mentioned to him that I really wish we could find our Christian friends who live in town, but I do not know where they are right now or how to find them. I went into my meeting with the trainers for the job, and my husband went to take care of some business around town.

"When I came out of my meeting, my husband said he had run into our Christian brother and sister and they were waiting for us to go to their house where they had prepared lunch! And that is not all, as I look for an apartment to stay in the town, I did not really know whether to travel back and forth from the village or to try to stay the night in the town with the expense of staying at a guest house. Without me saying anything, our friends offered a place at their home till I found an apartment.

"It is still a trying time: till our ducks are sold off soon, my husband and daughter will need to stay in the village, not to mention the financial pressure which is still on us. It is encouraging to know that God is taking care of us and providing for us."

The Dong worship song mentioned last time is certainly worth another look. Many points in there are not only good points that we could pray for our Dong brothers and sisters, but they are specific prayer requests straight from their own hand.

Don't Worry

When we go through times of oppression,
His love is already on the way;
When our hearts are shattered,
He has already brought comfort.
You make my faith strong.
You bring all things to us.
Jesus has taught us joy.
You are the way,
You are the truth,
You are my life's all in all.
I want my life to worship you,
Oh, beloved Lord.

Few of us understand suffering in our Christian lives. Because we do not experience it (or do not identify it as such when we do experience it), we do not know what to think or how to react.

Oppression is not a time of defeat, but a time of victory for the joyous power of Christ. If Jesus could not avoid suffering, and we walk as he did, we likely will suffer ourselves. 1 Peter has much to say about suffering as a Christian: "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed."

This is exactly what several Dong Christians are learning right now, as we can see in the song one of them has written about Christ's glory being revealed through suffering.

Some churches are vibrant. Some are growing. Some are truly full of the Holy Spirit and are maintained under the leadership of Christ. Even when the situation turns harsh and maintaining a Christian witness is no easy thing, these faithful ones have continued. Or maybe we should say, especially when the situation is harsh.

This fellowship of believers are all young Christians, the most mature of this group believing only a couple years, at most. Last year, local officials tried to place pressure on them to let them know these actions are a serious "offense" and need to stop. None fell away; all continued to grow.

With the many visits from outside Christians, Chinese and foreign alike, the small Dong house church should be thriving. The opposite is the case. It has shown little spiritual fruit and from all the signs seems to be a Christian exterior painted on top of many layers of unsolved spiritual issues and habits.

Local tourism feeds the desire of money, and one Christian sister steals business from another. Another lady eats with friends and guests in her small shop, and does nothing to address the food sacrifices to the spirits. And the men? The few Christian men are even more weak, leaving a vacuum of leadership.

Their inability to fully understand the Chinese Bible on their own is a barrier, but the little teaching they have received from outside has been little more than spiritual milk. The real need is the Word of Christ living in them. They need to grow in the grace and knowledge of him.

Who is going to teach them? Let us pray for solid teaching. May the Lord bring teachers who can regularly teach the Word of the Lord and help them along the path of Christ.

In the last journal entry, we prayed for a Dong church and their desire to share the Gospel during Christmas. We asked that God would open opportunities for them to share the good news about the coming of Christ.

In faith that some have heard and responded, let us pray for these new believers and those who heard but have not yet received Christ. This is a new year, full of new opportunities. As they look into the deeper things of Christ, may the Lord make this a year of blessing and growth for them.

Actually, we make New Year's resolutions. Instead, let us make a New Year prayer of faith for these new believers.

It is Christmas time. What do we do at Christmas? We are all in the middle of lazy mornings at home eating pancakes with the family or maybe a more stressful travel schedule to make sure and see all the grandparents and attend the various family Christmas gatherings. There are still those last few Christmas presents to buy and practice for the church Christmas contata to attend.

What do Dong Christians do on Christmas?

School and work are still in full swing. There is no change of pace. In the county seats—much larger than the villages in which most Dong live—maybe a random Santa hat can be seen on the more globally aware youth. If they watch movies, they might be aware of the giving of gifts and visiting the relatives. "It is just like Spring Festival in China, right?"

Christmas is a time for telling the story, at least, it should be such a time: a story of God and man, a story with roots before the founding of the world, a story reversing the course of history, and continuing till it will one day again be as it was in the garden, sinless.

Though the cultural situation is completely different, let us pray for Dong Christians to share the story, the good news that the Son of God came to earth. Let us pray that Dong people will hear and understand why he came.

A recent update sent to DongTeam tells of a group of Dong believers. Most of them are new to believe, and have already proved faithful in the face of pressure to deny their religion. In addition, they are learning to get along well as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In this journal entry, we will focus on one young man among them. He has shown a great desire to share the Gospel with others. It seems he has done so with every opportunity, especially among his peers.

May God receive glory for the boldness he has placed in this man's heart and may he be used to bring many more to faith. Let us pray for him, especially as the Christmas season approaches, as he shares about the coming of the one who brings true freedom, who provided the only way to overcome sin, and the one who now lovingly guides us in our walk with him.

In the last entry, we prayed for the many Dong students who move into the larger cities (county seats) to study. Some of them have been exposed to Christians and some of them have even accepted Christ.

These are only teenagers. They have believed Christ in a very hostile environment. They have already faced pressure to turn back from the "superstitious foreign beliefs"; this pressure comes from family, the surrounding culture, and the authorities. They have responded admirably: "They may say Jesus is a lie, but I know how Jesus changed me when I believed, and I know that is true."

Many Dong young people who are attending middle and high school in the county seats will be exposed to Christianity. The county seats will often have Chinese Christians and sometimes foreign Christians working and teaching there.

Let us pray that God will use these opportunities to bring young Dong people to Christ.

Matthew 13:57
"A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family."

The Dong Christians face many difficulties, and one of the biggest is unreceptive hearts of those in their families and home villages. When the Christians first believed, most of the Dong in that area knew nothing about Jesus and were naïve to the fact that they would no longer worship false gods.

Now, the whole village knows who the Christians are and are basically sitting back and waiting for the spirits to punish the believers for turning from the gods they worshipped (and feared) from childhood. We should pray that the unbelievers would see the obvious truth lived out by the power of Jesus in the lives of the believers over the past few years. May the Lord open their eyes to see the authority of Christ over the spirits they worship.

Of the three million Dong people, there are probably under 100 Dong Christians. If we use the City of Chicago to represent the Dong people, the Christians would take up one or two city blocks. There are still many, many city blocks who have no idea what is going on in that one city block with Christians.

And in the same way the Christian city block needs help as they share Christ with the next block over, we need to pray for the Dong people as they share the love of Christ and the freedom that comes through him with the next village over.

We meet to praise the Lord's work and join together in prayer for what he is doing in one of the Dong areas. Believers in one location have had opportunities to share the Lord with a few young Dong people. Some of these have been returning to continue regular Bible study.

Let us make sure we pray for these scarse few believers and seekers for their growth and development in the faith.

Though it stands against all reason, the Chinese government is against any translation of God's word into minority languages, including Dong. Not only is the selling of the Bible legal in China from the state sanctioned churches, but the word in these minority languages would help enable the churches to spot and resist an even greater enemy of the Chinese government: cults.

The government wants to hamper the progress of any translation work into Dong. We need to pray for the government officials; we need to pray for the translation; we need to pray for all involved.

In the introduction DongTeam.org visualizes Dong people "living in the freedom that comes through Christ." That is not just a nice sounding phrase.

Many Dong people live in daily fear of spirits. Women fear walking on mountain trails alone at night, because they and their friends have been attacked. Offerings are given to keep the spirits away. The consensus, even among the Dong themselves, is that the spirits are evil.

They just do not know any other option.

Though this has been mentioned before, and you can find it in the DongTeam general info page, it makes a difference when you hear it with your own ears and see it with your own eyes...

Of the almost three million Dong, all but a couple hundred have never heard the good news from a believer. More than likely, many more have seen Christian materials, but the personal contact is still rare for most Dong people.

There are a few believers living among the Dong—foreigners, Chinese nationals, and Dong believers themselves—who have a desire to share the good news, and we need to pray for God to encourage and use them for his glory.

Let's say you are a Dong farmer who loves the Lord and wants to tell others about his love. You have your fields and your home, which gives you food and a place to live, but very little extra money to do anything outside of your village.

Now, that hampers the spread beyond the immediate area, but we will leave that for the next prayer request. Today, we should pray for our brothers and sisters who are staying in their home village; we need to pray for them to persevere in their witness to friends and family around them.

On the topic of translation, there is an additional request for which we could pray: one of the Dong helpers on the translation is only beginning to learn to read and write Dong. The problem is that he is not able to do any work or add any comments to the text when not together with the translation team.

He is practicing writing what he has learned so far, but he says, "I am still so slow and not always accurate." We need to pray that with time and use, his ability to read and write, for more purposes than just the translation work, will continue to improve.

As stated in the Christian Resources section of the General Information page, there has been a hope that the Jesus Film in the Dong language could be completed as early as late 2004. Well, it is officially late 2004, and we need to pray for progress on this project.

Once the translation of Luke is finihsed, it will be adapted into the script for the Jesus Film. Luke is now in the checking process, and work is still needed to see a reliable finished product. We need to pray for those working on the translation as they continue checking and eventually begin to adapt the book into the script for the film.

The last couple entires have dealt with music specifically, but the Dong church's worship in general also needs prayer. Worship in these areas will be unique, but little is known about the practices of the Dong church. Regardless of how healthy it is, we can be in prayer for encouragement, joy, and growth in the Lord for our brothers and sisters in Christ.