An Akha evangelist explained, “I’ve been thrown out of this village 3 times now for trying to share my faith and nearly killed by the neighbouring village. But today these Akha villagers invited me back saying they wanted to follow Jesus.”

 

I watched as he shared the gospel and then we went round 7 families leading each of them in a prayer of repentance and faith. We prayed for their protection and then took down all things associated with spirit worship. It was wonderful to watch a 78-year-old woman cut off the strings around her wrists and ankles to protect her from spirits. And then to see a woman in the last stages of dying from AIDS trust in the Lord.

 

There are about 1.8 million Akha, of which 40,000 are in Thailand. The Gospel first came to Akha in Thailand in the 1950s and there has been a huge response. The village I visited was 1 of only 9 that now have no Christians. There are 3 Akha Bible schools, one of which does everything in the Akha language. The Christian villages even look different – they seemed so much cleaner than the Akha villages in Laos. Some even had cobbled streets, flowers and hedges around the houses. There are about 7000 Akha Christians in Burma, but few in China or Vietnam and no confirmed reports of Akha Christians in Laos.

 

The Akha are some of the most spiritually oppressed groups in the region and are socially looked down on by the Thai, Lao and many other tribal groups. Their main religion is animism combined with ancestor worship. The Akha have the highest incidence of AIDS of all the tribal groups in Thailand because of their very immoral lifestyles and high rates of prostitution. In Laos the average death rate is in the mid-40s because the Akha live in such geographically isolated areas with little access to health care. Furthermore, making sacrifices to spirits keeps them very poor and encourages unhealthy lifestyles (e.g. infrequent washing). So it’s not surprising that they’ve been so responsive to the Gospel in Thailand.

 

The trip confirmed my suspicions that up to now the 30,000(?) Akha in Laos have been basically off the map in that Christians have not been specifically targeting them. Initially Thai Akha Bible students didn’t even believe my descriptions of Akha in Laos, so have certainly not been praying for them or seeking ways to reach out to them. Akha radio broadcasts are still using taped programmes made years ago because there is no programmer and unless one is found soon, the FEBC Akha slot will be given to another people group. There’s been no detailed survey in Laos of how many Akha there really are, where they live, or precisely which sub-groups they are. So it’s difficult to know whether all Akha in Laos can communicate with the Akha in neighbouring countries. This has implications for whether Akha Christian materials produced in Thailand would be of much use in Laos.

 

However, as the evangelist said quoting 2 Cor. 6:2, “This seems to be the day of the Lord’s salvation for the Lao Akha.” In the weeks before we went to the village together, others had talked to him about the Lao Akha, he’d started praying about the situation and is asking whether his family should move to Laos.

 

Pray for

      -Workers! As well as the evangelist, another Thai Akha man who recently prayed        through Akha areas in Laos senses that God is calling him to long-term ministry        in Laos.

      -The production & distribution of Christian materials & radio that are appropriate        for use amongst the mainly illiterate Akha of Laos.

      -God’s blessing over a Khmu house church in reaching out cross-culturally to        the Akha.

      -God’s guidance as to whether I should be involved in Akha ministry. There would        be a role for someone in facilitating prayer, mobilizing/orientating workers, &        helping Akha from other countries to find platforms to live in Laos that would give        them access to Akha.