1980s

Ü-Tsang དབུས་གཙང་

In the 1980s, a trickle of Western Christians returned to Tibet for the first time in three decades, and like the generations of missionaries before them, most focused their attention on Lhasa. A brief window of opportunity for unofficial Christian witness in Lhasa opened when Tibet’s capital entered into a “sister city” partnership with Boulder, Colorado. When the city of Boulder sent a delegation to Lhasa in 1987, it included Bill Conrad, the grandson of pioneer missionaries William and Jessie Christie, who had served in Amdo territory nearly a century earlier.

The spiritual atmosphere in Tibet changed in the 1980s with the arrival of many Han Chinese Christians

RCMI

Conrad, a qualified ophthalmologist (eye doctor), used the trip to build relationships with officials, and he ultimately gained their permission to perform free surgeries for poor Tibetan people in Gansu Province. Conrad’s ministry flourished from 1990 until his retirement in 2012, performing a total of 6,543 successful eye surgeries, while sharing the gospel with many unreached Tibetans for the first time.

The 1980s was also the decade when the Han Chinese house churches—which were experiencing powerful revival in other parts of China—became more aware of the great spiritual needs of the Tibetan people.

Some of the first Chinese evangelists humbly sought ways in which they could reach the Tibetan people by serving them. Others, however, were shocked at the level of hostility they encountered, having initially believed the propaganda spread by the Chinese government that the Tibetan people appreciated being brought into the warm embrace of the motherland. Such notions were quickly discarded, and the Chinese Christians realized it would take a long, determined, and prayerful effort to reach Tibetans.

For those missionaries who had labored faithfully among Tibetans for many years until their expulsion in the early 1950s, news of renewed interest in the gospel among the Tibetans was like water to a dry and thirsty land.

Letters from Tibetan inquirers even began to appear in some Western mission publications, including one from Sichuan Province in 1988, which said:

I feel very excited. I am Tibetan and I believe in God. Concerning my religion, I am a Buddhist. Buddhism does not conflict with Christianity, does it? Can you give me an answer? I am very willing to become a Christian.1

By the late 1980s, a small number of foreign Christians had made it back into Tibetan areas, some for the first time since they were expelled from China nearly 40 years earlier. Veteran missionary David Woodward was amazed to see the changes that had taken place in many Tibetan regions, and he saw that God was working to bring the gospel to central Tibet, not just to the peripheral areas. Woodward wrote in 1989:

Since the Communist invasion, an enormous process of resettling Chinese has been going on in Tibet, particularly in the east. Among these Chinese are thousands of Christians . . . There are now Christian groups worshipping in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, while around the Kumbum monastery in northeast Tibet, formerly hostile territory for Christians, there are now about 1,000 Chinese believers in about a dozen house churches . . .

The Tibetan population has many reasons for disliking these new Chinese arrivals. Tibetans have always called themselves “insiders” and others “outsiders”. In spite of this, though, the Chinese have been very successful at adapting and integrating into the Tibetan culture.

I believe Chinese Christians living in Tibet need our prayers to uphold them in their special opportunity. Pray the Holy Spirit will give these Chinese a longing to share Jesus with Tibetans and to build bridges across the barriers . . .

Tibetans need the gospel message. God’s commission is to the world He loves, and that includes taking the gospel to resistant lands. Tibet has been claimed by Buddhism. It has been claimed by Communism. But it is God who holds the title deed.2

Amdo ཨ་མདོོ་

A well-known house church leader from Henan Province, Peter Xu Yongze, told the author how his church movement’s work started among the Amdo Tibetans:

Our first workers arrived in Qinghai in 1985. They were two young women who had not been through any of our training schools, but they had a passion to serve the Lord and a burden for souls. The following year we sent some more workers to join them at Golmud.

By the grace of God, over time a foundation was laid, and we had Christian families living at every train stop between Xining and Golmud. Our workers actively shared the gospel with Tibetans everywhere. It was not an easy ministry, but after years of consistent witness we saw the walls between the Tibetans and the Han slowly come down. The Tibetans were more receptive to the gospel, although only a few became steadfast believers in Christ.3

The house church workers in Qinghai faced many personal difficulties and often went hungry for extended periods. Xu recalled:

I remember one young sister had no money or food, so she went to the train station and collected small pieces of coal that had fallen from the steam trains. She then tried to sell the coal for a few pennies, just so she could survive. This was the kind of commitment our workers in Qinghai displayed.

Another team ran out of money and food while they were preaching the gospel. They stood in the desert and prayed for God’s help, and then moments later they noticed wild onions growing out of the barren soil. They gathered them up and ate them. New onions continued to appear every day while they had no option but to depend on God for their survival. After a while a small fellowship was established. Those believers took the responsibility to house and feed the evangelists, and from that day forth the onions no longer appeared!

Ministry in Qinghai has many challenges. In winter, temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius or colder. The people are very poor, and most have never previously heard of Jesus. Many times our workers have been beaten by locals or chased by the police. Through many difficulties, our workers have persevered and now a steady flow of people are being saved into God’s kingdom.4

As the number of Christians living among the Tibetans increased, their influence spread, and the Word of God was accompanied by signs and wonders which broke down walls of unbelief and sin. Whereas in the past only a few individual Tibetans had come to Christ, now groups of Tibetans were being confronted by the reality and power of the gospel.

In 1985, a dramatic letter was received from a woman in Qinghai. It told of her journey from despair, descent into demonization, and ultimately her deliverance:

I am 45 years old and the mother of four sons. When I was about to have my fourth child, I burnt incense and prayed to Buddha, as I wanted a daughter who could be close to me and look after me . . .

When my fourth child turned out to be another boy, I was very angry that my prayers had not been answered by Buddha. I felt tricked, and lost all self-control. When the baby was born I put him on the ground and refused to wrap him up, leaving him to freeze to death. My husband came and took care of him, and he gradually grew bigger . . .

The devil really took me over. Every day I wanted to die, and I didn’t want to see my children or husband. I tried to hang myself but was discovered just in time by our neighbors . . . I became just like a madwoman. My husband took me to see many doctors, but all to no avail. He even sought help from the idols but it was no use—my madness went from bad to worse . . . I was tormented for six years.

Some Christians urged my husband to trust in Jesus, but he paid no attention. Then one day, a Christian in our village came and said, “There’s a meeting underway in a brother’s house near here. Go quickly!”

With no other hope, my husband balanced me on a bicycle, and with my sons’ help I was wheeled to the meeting. Just before we went inside, I spotted a well nearby and attempted to throw myself in, screaming, “I can’t bear any more!” The Christians were having Sunday worship, but when they heard me they all united in prayer and called on the Lord’s Name to drive out the demon.

It was amazing! From that instant until the present time I have not been ill. I know that when they prayed, the devil was immediately cast out. A great weight lifted from me, and my nerves calmed down. From that moment I have never missed a meeting. My home is now full of joy as Jesus is the Head of our household.5

In 1987, another report told of a remarkable breakthrough among the Amdo in Gansu Province:

During the joyous New Year’s celebrations a number of Christian households joined together for worship. Suddenly a group of Tibetans appeared and told the Christians that they were to stop meeting together as it was not pleasing to their god . . .

When they refused to disperse, the Tibetans began to physic-ally attack them. They knocked them to the ground and beat some of them severely. The Christians did not retaliate.

The next morning the Tibetans found their sheep, cows and horses were sick and dying. These were their most precious possessions, and for many of them their livelihood. What was worse, some of their family members became violently ill and appeared to be near death.

It did not take long for the Tibetans to equate their sudden illnesses to their attack on the Christians. A delegation was sent to the Christians’ homes, and with tears in their eyes they begged for forgiveness and asked the Christians to pray that God might lift the curse. The believers agreed to pray for the sick and dying, and they were made well.

More than 100 Tibetans in that village became Christians. Theirs had been a confrontation with a more powerful God than their own.6

Foreign Christians also began to revisit the Tibetan border areas during the 1980s. In some cases, missionary children who had grown up in Tibet returned to their old homes to see if any fruit remained from their family’s labors.

In 1908, Ivan Kauffman had arrived in Tibet as a missionary with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. On the long sea voyage he had shared his cabin with Victor Plymire, who went on to have a long and distinguished career among the Tibetan people.

Now, eight decades later, Kauffman’s son Paul had founded a mission organization called Asian Outreach, which was active until the early part of the twenty-first century. In the late 1980s, he returned to the Amdo region where he had spent part of his childhood, and shared the good news of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible.

Kham ཁམས་

As the 1980s unfolded, Tibetan customs in many areas were changing, some by force as the Chinese government outlawed practices it deemed inconsistent with its vision for a “liberated and harmonious Tibet.” Some traditions were slow to change, however, and in the Kham area of Muli County in Sichuan Province, a 1981 survey of 131 households found that 52 percent of marriages engaged in monogamy, 32 percent practiced polyandry (brothers sharing a wife), and 16 percent practiced polygamy (sisters sharing a husband).7

Missionary Ivan Kauffman presents a Bible to a Tibetan lama in the 1910s (above); and his son Paul Kauffman followed in his footsteps in the 1980s (below)

Stories occasionally emerged from the Kham region, telling of wonderful deliverances of oppressed and sin-bound individuals. One woman testified that her family had worshipped Buddha for many generations, but when she became critically ill and was in total despair in 1987, a voice called to her. In her own words she recounted what happened:

[The voice told me:] “You have been on the wrong path worshipping idols. God is a good God. He is merciful and holy. You must not pray to false gods and idols for prosperity or long life. You must repent of your sins and accept his Son Jesus Christ into your heart.”

I replied: “I am not a sinner. I am a good person. I am conscientious in doing good deeds and I recite the Buddhist scriptures. I do not have any sin.”

Then the voice continued and made what I later discovered to be the Ten Commandments clear to me. It made me see that I had indeed sinned against God and that I must confess my sins and believe in Jesus Christ. This I did with much weeping. A strange and wonderful peace came over me. As I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked around, I found that I was the only one in the room. I continued to repent of my sins and decided that I would no longer be a self-seeking person.

My health gradually improved even though the doctors had concluded my case was hopeless. How grateful I am that God did not give up on me! Today I am a happy and active follower of Jesus Christ.8

By the late 1980s, small groups of Christians had emerged at many different places on the Tibetan Plateau. A study of 32 Tibetan believers was conducted, and provided interesting insights into the patience needed to bring Tibetans to faith in Christ. When the subjects were asked how long it had taken from the moment they first heard the gospel to actually becoming a follower of Jesus, the average length of time was ten and a half years:

They were also asked, “Was there anything related to your Tibetan history, culture, or religion which heightened your interest in Christianity?” Eighteen percent listed “parallels in the sacrificial system” while 12 percent also listed “religious doctrine” and “family structure” as the most significant factors.9

Notes

1 Pray for China (August–September 1988).

2 David Woodward, “God’s Strategy for Tibet,” Asian Report (March–April 1989), pp. 12–14.

3 Personal interview with Peter Xu Yongze, October 2003.

4 Personal interview with Peter Xu Yongze, October 2003.

5 “Living Buddhas or the Living Christ?” Pray for China (January–February 1985).

6 Paul E. Kauffman, Piecing Together the China Puzzle (Hong Kong: Asian Outreach, 1987), pp. 122–3.

7 Ruxian Yan, “Marriage, Family and Social Progress of China’s Minority Nationalities,” cited in Paul Hattaway, Operation China: Introducing All the Peoples of China (Carlisle: Piquant, 2000), p. 103.

8 Kauffman, Piecing Together the China Puzzle, pp. 123–4.

9 Caris Sy, “A Study of Tibetan Culture and Religion and of Potential Redemptive Analogies,” thesis, International School of Theology, Manila, Philippines, 1987, p. 132.