October 2007
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Zhuang Quick Facts:
-The largest of the 55 Minority groups in  China with a population of 18 Million
-Live in the mountainous, Western part of  the Guangxi Province
-Animists
-Work is in progress on the Zhuang Bible
October 2007
Month of Prayer for the Zhuang
Join us in praying daily in October for work among the Zhuang.
 
“Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.” Psalm 103:1

PRAISE GOD:

*Praise Him, He is sovereign! He desires to see the Zhuang come to Himself, and He will accomplish His plans for them.

*Praise Him that local Chinese and Zhuang believers are taking more and more responsibility for evangelism and church planting among the rural Zhuang. Small groups of believers in several areas have set goals to reach all the lost in their county. They are making plans and going out often to lead people in their area to the Lord.

*Praise God that we see many Zhuang coming to the Lord and following him in baptism. This past Easter 22 new believers were baptized at one location. That same day another 20 accepted the Lord as their Savior.

*Praise God that Zhuang were able to write and record 19 songs relating God’s creation and love for us.

Until now there have been no Zhuang songs to use in worship and praise. Pray that these songs would be widely used and will be blessed by the Holy Spirit so that Zhuang unbelievers will hear them and want to learn more about God.


PLEASE PRAY:

*Pray that the evil cult, Eastern Lightning, will not gain a stronghold among the Zhuang.

Eastern Lightning or EL (Dongfang Shandian) is one of the most aggressive and widespread cults in China.  They prey primarily on Christian house churches, though in one instance they were also starting their own groups among unreached people groups.   Their primary teaching is that Jesus has changed and come back, and we are in a new period.  The age of grace is over, and now is the age of the kingdom.  The Bible and the things Jesus said before are now replaced by a new book.  They teach that Jesus has returned as a woman living somewhere in China and no longer goes by the name Jesus but as “All Powerful God.” They often drug or beat local believers in efforts to convert them.

One worker reported:
“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’”   Gen 50:19-20

“As we look back over the past several months, we can begin to see that the above verse is becoming part of our lives.  What Satan intended to harm us, to destroy our fellowship, to take over all that God has accomplished here the past several years, we have seen change to be the beginning of a great work among us. Our groups are now more unified than we have ever been before.  We are more vigilant, more focused on sharing the Gospel and follow-up.  Just yesterday, we met with members of other groups to discuss Eastern Lightning and how we can better guard the Body against their next attempt to infiltrate us.  We now have better communication with the missionaries from other organizations working here in our area.”

*Pray that the Lord would destroy the Eastern Lightning cult and that those who have been deceived will recognize their errors, repent, and return to Christ.

* Pray that, as local workers go to new areas, they would not be persecuted by this group. This fall a local worker was approached by EL members asking her to go and do a Bible study in a rural area. Not knowing that these were from EL, she went with them four hours out into a rural area that has no phone service. When they arrived, the EL members began to verbally abuse her and insist that she listen for several hours to their teaching. It was only after several hours of brain-washing that she was able to escape.

”But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep.”  2 Peter 2:1-3 

*Continue to pray that the Lord would be known by Zhuang factory workers.
There are currently 30 million people working in factories in Guangdong province. Among these are 250-300,000 workers from Guangxi, many of them Zhuang. These workers have left their small towns and villages to work in factories where they are paid two or three times more a month than they could make growing crops on their farms. Many of these workers return to visit their families only once a year, and they have very few friends in the small dormitories where they live. Pray that the Lord will bless those seeking to reach these factory workers. Pray the Gospel will be understood and accepted. Ask the Lord to bless these faithful workers.

*Pray that the many Zhuang will come to know the Lord through counseling ministries.
The teaching of godless communism in China for the past fifty years has led to a society that has no moral values. Families feel they no longer know how to parent their children, and marriages are breaking down with divorce rates climbing at a rapid rate. In the midst of this situation, God is calling out Chinese Christians to counsel families and couples with the truths of God’s Word. Several people have begun to offer this help to the Zhuang, and they are praying that 1,000 families can be reached for Christ in the next three years.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16

*Pray that the Lord will change the hearts of those who are caught up in gambling. Many poor rural farmers know that they will never be able to make enough on their crops to be rich, so they turn to gambling their hard-earned money on cards and games of chance, hoping to make a fortune. This often results in families not having enough money for their children’s school fees or medicine when they are ill. Villages where games of chance are regularly held in open areas usually bribe the Public Security Bureau every month to make sure that the village is not reported.

A worker reported:
“As we went into the small village we were told that today was not a market day, so we were surprised to see the market sheds full of people. When we walked closer, we saw that there were ten or twelve games of chance set up in the market area, with hundreds of farmers gathered around to gamble. I was shocked to see bets of $5,000 RMB being laid down by some. This is almost 6 months’ earnings in many villages.”

*Pray for more Chinese Christian workers to come and join in ministry among the Zhuang. As close cultural partners, they can be very effective in relating to the Zhuang. They are also able to travel in rural villages without suspicion.

 “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  Luke 10:2

In secular war, for every one who goes to the front line of battle there are a minimum of 10 backing him up on the line of communication.  In spiritual warfare, how can we expect to win with any less? 
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