Ü-Tsang དབུས་གཙང་
The 1990s continued to see much tension throughout the Tibetan world, especially in 1995 surrounding the appointment of the Eleventh Panchen Lama. As is the custom, the Dalai Lama announced that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was the reincarnation of the Tenth Panchen Lama, who had died in 1989. Three days later the Chinese government spirited the six-year-old boy away, before his supporters had a chance to take him to India. His location has never been divulged. China has said he is being taken care of “for his own safety,” while human rights organizations labeled Nyima “the youngest political prisoner in the world.”
Two happy Tibetans receive Gospel booklets and cassettes
Julian Hawken
In 2015, on the twentieth anniversary of Nyima’s disappearance, Chinese officials stated: “The reincarnated child Panchen Lama is being educated, living a normal life, growing up healthily and does not wish to be disturbed.”1
The Communist authorities, meanwhile, appointed five-year-old Gyaincain Norbu as their choice of Panchen Lama. He received his early education in Beijing, before being moved back to Xigaze. Almost all Tibetans and the world community have rejected the Chinese choice of Panchen Lama, who had been used as a pawn in the long struggle between China and Tibet.
The 1990s saw the launch of a Tibetan radio program called Gaweylon, which means “Good News.” Produced by Tibetan believers in India, programs in the central Tibetan language were broadcast throughout the Himalayas, making an impact on many people, not only in Tibet but also in neighboring Nepal, Bhutan, and India.
The spread of the gospel in Tibet was also boosted in the 1990s by the release of new evangelistic resources, including translations of the Jesus film into the central Tibetan, Amdo, and Kham languages. Tibetans generally love to watch movies, and many were enthralled to find these films in their own language.
A trickle of Han Chinese house church missionaries continued to enter central Tibet throughout the 1990s, although they experienced numerous hardships along the way. The senior house church leader Peter Xu Yongze reflected on the progress that evangelists from his church network enjoyed in central Tibet:
Our first workers were sent to Lhasa in 1986. Each subsequent year we sent more reinforcements, and we ended up with quite a large team in Tibet, spread out in different towns and counties. They have planted churches in Lhasa and Linzhi, mostly among Han people but also Tibetans.
A Tibetan listening to a gospel radio broadcast
Julian Hawken
In 1997, a large group of 800 Tibetan lamas was heavily persecuted by the government. When our evangelists preached the gospel to them, most of the 800 lamas said they were willing to become Christians. We weren’t sure if they were sincere about surrendering their lives to Jesus, or if it was just a plan to try to avoid being persecuted, but when our leaders went to follow this up it seems we had already missed the opportunity.
Our workers in Tibet are always under a lot of pressure. They face opposition from the Buddhists, opposition from the police and army, and they are in the midst of a fierce spiritual battle. Many of our missionaries have been struck with sudden diseases.2
Although Lhasa had come to be seen as an impenetrable citadel against Christianity, encouraging cracks appeared in the 1990s, with one report noting:
Today there are several small house churches in Lhasa, attended primarily by Han migrants but also by a handful of Tibetan converts. Dozens of Chinese house church evangelists have moved to Lhasa, from where they pray and witness at every opportun-ity. Some have had good success, despite the obvious Tibetan hostility against Han people, while others have been beaten and at least one killed by Tibetan monks after he tried to witness inside the grounds of a temple.3
Zayu County, in the south-eastern corner of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is an almost inaccessible area where the countries of China, India, and Myanmar meet. Inhabiting a picturesque area with deep gorges and thick pine forests that rise to snow-capped peaks, the little-known Deng ethnic group makes its home in Zayu. Never converted to Tibetan Buddhism, for centuries the Deng lived in isolation, worshipping local deities and the forces of nature. In the 1990s, when a foreign Christian managed to visit Zayu, “he and the other tourists helped lead their Deng tour guide to Jesus. When he came back a couple of years later he was able to help lead her family to Jesus.”4
Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama’s portrayal in the West as a joyful, non-threatening religious figure was lapped up by celebrities and politicians alike. He almost single-handedly created a false impression that all Buddhists are peace-loving and gentle, but the reality for Christians in Tibet was starkly different, with one report saying:
In Mainland China many house churches confirm that the most difficult harvest field is Tibet—because the monks chase, beat, and even kill evangelists . . . Although the Dalai Lama presents to the world a message of tolerance and peace, many of the monks he left behind remain uncompromisingly militant. One house church leader said: “Since 1988 we have had five evangel-ists stoned to death by Tibetan monks in the provinces of Tibet, Qinghai and Gansu.”5
Amdo ཨ་མདོོ་
In the 1990s, mission organizations around the world placed an emphasis on completing the Great Commission before the year 2000, by taking the gospel to every unreached tribe, language, and people group on earth. This emphasis resulted in new research in remote parts of the Tibetan world. As a result, many previously unknown Tibetan groups emerged, as intrepid researchers traveled far and wide in search of those who needed to hear of Jesus Christ. One new group to emerge in the Amdo region was the small Wutun tribe, numbering just a few thousand people in Qinghai Province.
Speaking a language distinct from all other Tibetan vari-eties in the area, the Wutun were found to be almost completely unaware of Christianity, although in 1996, a 74-year-old Wutun man bluntly told a visitor:
When I was a small boy I heard something about this Jesus religion, but I did not understand. We only believe in Buddhism. We are not interested in any new religions because we know that we have the best and only true religion in the world.6
Tibetan breakthroughs
Sister Feng, a Han Chinese Christian, came to faith in Jesus in 1990 after many miracles took place in the church she attended, including exorcisms and the healing of cancers.
After receiving a clear call from the Lord, Feng moved to Qinghai Province in 1993, joining a team of evangelists among the Amdo Tibetans. Two years later, she was caught preaching the gospel and was sentenced to one year in a prison labor camp. This experience failed to deter her, and she shared her faith with the other inmates at every opportunity. Immediately after her release she continued her ministry in central Tibet.
By the end of 1996, Sister Feng and her co-workers had started ten house churches with a total of about 100 believers—but just a single Tibetan Christian was among them. The team members cried out to the Lord, asking Him to give them more power so they would bear more fruit for the kingdom of God among Tibetans.
In 1997, five Tibetan teenagers attended a meeting where they were deeply convicted of their sins and received Jesus Christ. A short time later in Lhasa, another ten Tibetans came to faith.
A baptism in Tibet
VOM Canada
By the end of the twentieth century, the fame of Jesus Christ had spread, and small pockets of Tibetan believers had emerged in many locations. Reports of breakthroughs surfaced from time to time. One report noted:
Two evangelists shared the gospel with 50 people in a mountain village in Tibet, and two people made public decisions for Christ. Two days later, in another village, two Buddhist monks accepted Christ. In a third village, 70 people gathered to hear the gospel and four made public decisions. Other villagers, however, said they were afraid to publicly declare their commitments to Christ. “We have faith in the Lord Jesus, but the villagers will persecute and excommunicate us,” one believer explained. “If we must leave the village, where will we go?” . . .
An evangelist in Tibet was seized by Buddhist monks and sewed into the skin of a yak. They left him behind on a rock in the sun. After a few hours, vultures swept down and started to peck at him. The skin protected him and the vultures were only successful in loosening the stitching, which came undone and released him!7
In 1999, a German mission organization shared a stirring testimony about the work of a Chinese evangelist in Tibet:
When Chen was sent to a Tibetan labor camp, he was aware that he might only have a short time left to live. Chinese prisoners, particularly Christians, are the subject of much hate in these camps. However, the overseer of Chen’s cell was a Buddhist who promised to protect him. One day, a Muslim prisoner grabbed Chen and threatened him, saying, “Your protector will die soon, and you won’t live much longer than he.” Every inmate knew that the overseer was suffering from incurable cancer, and that he only had three months to live.
Chen, though, had a plan. From memory, he wrote out the biblical passage in Acts 28 when the Apostle Paul prayed for a sick man. His only writing tools were a roll of toilet paper and the blood from his own fingertips. Chen gave the paper to the overseer, and a few days later, he was called into the man’s office. “Does Paul’s God still heal today?” the overseer asked. Chen said that he did, and offered to pray for him. One week later, Chen was again called to the overseer’s office, and found him completely healed.
All the inmates heard that the Christian God had healed the man, and many decided to follow Christ.8
Letters from Tibet
We conclude this chapter by reprinting a selection of letters that were received from Tibetan areas of China by various Christian ministries during the 1990s. These precious communications provide insights into the daily lives and personal struggles of Tibetan believers and inquirers as they sought to follow Jesus Christ.
1996
My marriage lasted less than a year, and as a woman I had to face much criticism from the society. I am not happy at work and do not have any real friends. I used to hang a Buddha pendant around my neck in order to feel protected. After listening to your programs I became convinced that God is my Savior. I want to believe in Him.9
I live on a remote plateau where there are no evangel-ists. Needless to say, we have neither church buildings nor Christian gatherings. Most people here are Buddhists who worship idols. Before hearing your broadcast, nobody knew that the universe was created by an Almighty God. Thankfully, some have now received Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, they have many questions that I don’t know how to answer. The only thing I can do is suggest they listen to your broadcast. Some are willing to pursue the truth. They pray and sing hymns regularly, and I usually read the Bible to them, although I am limited by my education and I don’t understand some verses. Please pray for the believers here and please help us.10
1997
My father sent me to be trained as a monk when I was 12. At 18, I was already in charge of a temple. One day I heard your broadcast by chance, and was attracted to it. I listened every day and invited other people to do so. A year later, I visited two preachers and I received Christ. Now my family is facing persecution. Please pray for me.11
1998
Our area is very poor and backward. We have not believed in Jesus for long. Also, we face persecution from the government and ridicule from unbelievers. We have no pastor or preacher, but we recently started meeting every Saturday and Sunday, although we lack Christian books.12
1999
I am a Tibetan girl. Two years ago I accidentally tuned in to your gospel channel on the radio and I was instantly hooked. Your joyful conversations and friendly voices attracted me very much. With you as my daily companion my worldview and values have changed and corrected. I could not write to you sooner because I work in an area where atheism is the philosophy.13
My wife and I have retired. She often visited temples and worshipped Buddha with incense. In recent years, because of misfortune, illness and other problems, my wife suffered from mental illness. Once she lost her temper and broke a Buddha statue. Afterwards she regretted what she had done and was very frightened. She continued to worship Buddha ceaselessly and confessed her sins in front of the idols. Every day she worried that the sky god would not forgive her and would punish her.
At the time we began to have contact with Christians, and recently my wife and I attended a local church for the first time. She was enlightened by the Lord and is willing to believe in Christ. However, she is still afraid of making Buddha and the god of the sky angry. She is puzzled and frightened.
Can one believe in Buddhism and Christianity at the same time? Is the sky god the same deity that Christians believe in? We sincerely hope you can answer our questions.14
Notes
1 “China Says Panchen Lama ‘Living a Normal Life’ 20 Years after Disappearance,” The Guardian (September 6, 2015).
2 Personal interview with Peter Xu Yongze, October 2003.
3 Paul Hattaway, China’s Unreached Cities, Vol. 2 (Chiang Mai, Thailand: Asia Harvest, 2003).
4 Global Prayer Digest (April 1999).
5 Alex Buchan, “Buddhist Leaders Fail to Reckon with Persecution,” Compass Direct (April 24, 1998).
6 Paul Hattaway, Operation China: Introducing All the Peoples of China (Carlisle: Piquant, 2000), p. 543.
7 Open Doors (August 1999).
8 Deutsche Bibel Liga (German Bible League), in DAWN Friday Fax (December 3, 1999).
9 Far East Broadcasting, May 1996.
10 Far East Broadcasting, October 1996.
11 Far East Broadcasting, December 1997.
12 Compass Direct, December 1998.
13 Far East Broadcasting, December 1999.
14 Trans World Radio, November 1999.