“The just shall live by faith.” What an illumination this Scripture brought to the heart of Martin Luther, Roman Catholic monk. God’s work through His Word changed a man, a nation, and the course of church history. Perhaps God would do the same for the 247,000 Seba as they read the Word, freeing them from the darkness of Catholicism – but they have no Bible. 

 The Seba live in Katanga, a province in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The mining of copper and cobalt is a primary industry. Poor households rely heavily on fishing for their supply of protein-rich food and many rural farmers supplement their income with fishing. The life expectancy is fifty-four; the median age is sixteen. The Seba   live  spiritually empty lives.  Ninety-five percent of them claim Roman Catholicism as their belief system.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the Seba people discover the joys of salvation by faith alone as clearly presented in Scripture? What might God do if the truth were  placed in their hands in their heart language?

Winter 2010-11

The 144,000 Antankarana, meaning “people of the rocks,” are one of forty people groups of Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island.  Though previously ruled by the Sakalava, the Merina, and the French, they have retained their group identity. Their present leader, Ampanjaka Tsimiharo III (see picture), is a descendant of King Tsimiaro I (1812-1825), who vowed that his people would convert to Islam if they survived the Merina invasion.

There is much syncretism of Islam with ethnic animistic religions. Some traditions, like the feeding of the sacred crocodiles (in which, according to legend, the inhabitants of a village which disappeared under Lake Anivorano are believed to live), are observed by most of the people. The Tsangan festival, which is aimed at consecrating royal power, includes the sacrifice of cattle and a pilgrimage to the sacred caves which were a burial place for the kings.

The Antankarana are fishermen and cattle owners. They speak a distinct dialect of Malagasy and have no Bible or Christian media. Madagascar’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is generally respected by the government.

Fall 2010

Hidden away from the normal trade routes of the Indian Ocean lies North Sentinel Island, a tiny tropical land all but unknown to the modern world. Within the jungle walls of this island live the Sentinelese, a people thought by many experts to be the most isolated tribe on earth. Although they are officially citizens of India, no one has ever established a lasting contact with this Stone Age tribe. Since they have a history of killing any intruder who ventures onto their white, sandy beaches, it is not known how many Sentinelese inhabit this tiny land.

The tribesmen live by hunting and fishing. They wear no clothes and are believed to be cannibals. Their language is completely unknown. In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo wrote, “They are a most violent and cruel generation who seem to eat everybody they catch.”

Although very little is known about their customs or beliefs, it is certain that this is a people living in extreme spiritual darkness. Will you pray that God will send someone to carry His Word to these isolated tribesmen?

Summer 2010

The 7,600,000 (1996) Sanaani reside in the northern mountains and north-eastern deserts of Yemen, a country located on the Arabian Peninsula. This area was once ruled by the Queen of Sheba, and the roots of this proud, tribal people group stem back to pre-Islamic days.  Their language is a distinctive variety of Arabic with some unique features.

Coffee, vegetables, fruit trees and grapes are grown at this high altitude. Also grown is Qat, a narcotic drug and important money crop that is chewed by most men and half the women for its stimulant and euphoric effect.

Ancestry determines the Sanaanis’ place in society, and Islam dominates their lives.

There are no scriptures in Sanaani Arabic and only 0.02 % are professing Christians. Yemen is not open to Christian testimony—nine missionaries were kidnapped in the province of Saada last year.

Will you ask God to reveal the keys He has placed in the Sanaani culture and grant His servants the wisdom and courage to use them in proclaiming Christ?

Spring 2010

The 237,000 Xamir are of Cushitic descent and live in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia’s highlands. They are agriculturalists, growing mostly wheat and sorghum.

According to the 1998 census, ninety percent of the Xamir speak their ethnic language, Xamtanga, and fifty-nine percent are monolingual. This is an unengaged people group (no one is reaching them), and there are few, if any known believers. There is a great dearth of Christian resources—no evangelical Christians or churches, no Christian radio broadcasts, no gospel films or recordings, and no Scriptures.

The Xamir still practice their ethnic religion of animism; but because they are officially orthodox Christians, they may be receptive to Christian missionaries. They have a  positive attitude towards their language and wish to develop literature in it.

Ask God to open wide this door of opportunity—and ask Him for a Bible translator with enough faith to step through it!

Winter 2009-10

The 367,000 Maba, also known as Ouaddai (pronounced Wad-aye), are the dominant people group of the Wadai Mountains in eastern Chad.  Many living in rural areas speak only their own language, Maba; but  most town-based Maba are bilingual, also speaking Chad Arabic. There are no Maba Scriptures.

These are non-Arab Muslims, loyal to their local form of Islam (though elements of animism from the 16^th century remain). There is official freedom of religion, but oppression in the form of public insult is common and some death threats even occur. A sultan heads the tribal kingdom and is a descendant of the line of Abbas (said to be an uncle of Mohammed). Though not a part of the state, sultans run their own courts based on Islamic law and rule in some civil affairs.

Possessing a strong sense of identity, the Maba are resistant to change; but technology (satellite TV and mobile phones) is making inroads in their tradition and younger people are becoming more open.

Fall 2009

Twelve people groups in India speak Kangri as their primary language. The smallest group has only eighty speakers, but the largest, the Hindu Ghirath, has 164,000. Other names for Kangri include Pahari and Dogri.

Kangri is written with Hindi script, and Hindi is spoken to outsiders. A Hindi Bible is available, but Kangri speakers are still waiting for  their own scriptures. Listen to a Kangri gospel recording:    globalrecordings.net/program/C03121

Most Kangri speakers practice Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion. Hinduism has evolved over the centuries from many religious traditions and has no single founder or authority. This results in widely diverse beliefs; though the main goal in life is to attain  freedom from the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth (reincarnation) by reaching  a state identical  to Brahman, the supreme soul.

Summer 2009

The Kho, natives of northern Pakistan, live isolated among the world’s highest mountain peaks. The dry, rugged terrain barely supports herding and subsistence farming. Due to poor nutrition and water quality, health problems are many.

Generous and hospitable, quiet and peace-loving but also brave, the Kho resent their long domination by the Pushtan. Traditional poems and songs are sung to new generations to the accompaniment of the sitar, an instrument of mulberry wood with five strings.

The Kho do not marry outsiders. They have three social classes: nobility, landowners, and  laborers. Urdu is the national language and Arabic is the religious (Islam) language, but Khowar is the language of heart and home. There are no Scriptures in Khowar.

Spring 2009

The Gwangxi province is home to the largest minority group in China—over seventeen million Zhuang. There are two main groups, the Northern and the Southern Zhuang. While the Northerners are being assimilated into the Han Chinese culture and becoming largely atheistic, the Southerners still maintain their traditional practices of ancestor and spirit worship and their agricultural lifestyle.

Although the Zhuang are friendly to outsiders, their diversity of language and culture, the mountainous terrain, and the remoteness of many villages pose a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in communicating the Gospel. Little has changed since a 1922 report stating that there are fifty-eight cities, seven hundred market towns, and over seventeen thousand villages in Gwangxi alone where no effort is being put forth to preach Christ. Of the fifty-plus dialects of Zhuang, none have the Scriptures.

Winter 2008-09

The hill tribe of Chaungtha, numbering 166,000, is one of one hundred forty distinct people groups of Burma. Chaungtha means people of the valley or people of the river. Their main occupation is growing rice on terraced mountainsides.

Buddhism co-exists with the Chaungtha’s traditional animistic ethnic religion in which the spirits (nats) must be appeased. Different nats preside over specific regions, villages, families, and activities.

The official government policy is one of religious tolerance, but even groups that follow the requirement to register with the authorities report restrictions and mistreatment. There is no state religion, but the repressive military regime shows a preference for Thervada Buddhism in such areas as the news media or government schools.

Shan is the trade language, but the native language, which has no Scriptures, is spoken in homes. Foreign religious workers must be careful their activities are not seen as proselytizing.

Fall 2008

Because of the Hazaras’ physical, cultural, and language features, many believe they are of Mongolian descent. They were first mentioned as a people in the late 1500’s, and their unwritten language, Hazaragi, is a dialect of Persian.

Besides the 1,770,000 Hazaras of Afghanistan, there are major populations in western Pakistan and Iran as well as groups living in North America and Europe. Because the Hazaras are of the minority Shi’ite Islam sect, they have long suffered oppression, persecution, and even ethnic cleansing. This began with the Pashtuns in the mid 1800’s and continues to the present. They were targeted by the Taliban in 1998, and today’s Christian converts may face torture or death.

Strong, brave, and determined, they are also peaceful, enjoying their own poetry, music, and storytelling. The physical drought and disease they suffer mirrors the spiritual state of the Hazaras, and there are no Scriptures to tell them of the Water of Life.

Spring 2008

Red Thai is one of fifty-four distinct ethnic groups in Vietnam. (Some also live in Laos.) Their name is taken from the Red River in Yunnan, a southern province of China where they originated. Thai Daeng is a tonal language spoken by 176,000 people who are without any Scriptures or Gospel recordings.

The men are the leaders, but both men and women share such duties as plowing, fishing, cooking, and cleaning. The Thai Daeng are known for their intricate weaving; white deer on a sixty-year-old sarong are pictured here.

Most Red Thai are animists, mixed with a little Buddhism. They believe that spirits live in objects and pray to ancestors as well as to guardian and locality spirits, hoping to appease them and receive their aid. They know nothing of the One who died to set them free.

Winter 2007-08