Hollywood has tended to glamorize Tibet as a mysterious and enchanting place high up in the Himalayas. However, under Chinese Communist rule, life for the many Golog people who live there is anything but glamorous. The nation of Tibet is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, as it has been dubbed by the Chinese, in the southeast part of China. The Tibetan people try to eke out a living at altitudes above 14, 000 feet in a very remote, dry, and rugged terrain.
Moreover, the people live in fear of evil spirits through their animistic practices; and, because of the prevailing Theravada Buddhist religion, they have no assurance of life after death as do Christians have in the risen Christ. Mix that in with Communist atheism, and life is indeed bleak and hopeless for these people. In an effort to improve their lives in the hereafter, the people will crawl on their hands and knees for miles while repeating prayers in the hope that “the gods” hear them. Often they will walk in circles around a Buddhist temple turning prayer wheels, in the hope that these actions will earn them a “good place” in the hereafter. Often, parents will give their oldest sons to the Bhuddist monks to raise in the hopes of gaining a better life for themselves after they die. Sadly, these children are then trained as Buddhist monks, and life for them is even more harsh.
As far back as the 1600’s missionaries tried bringing the Gospel to Tibet, and while there where some successes, all of that changed in the early 1950’s when, thanks to the Communist takeover in China, all Christian missionaries were seen as a threat to the government and forced to leave. Gradually, however, mission agencies were allowed back in, because the government saw it as a counter to Islam and Buddhism. By 2013 there were many “undercover” mission workers trying to reach Tibet. But even THAT changed in 2019, when all missionaries were kicked out of China yet again.
On the upside of all of this and in spite of much persecution, the Chinese church is growing rapidly and has a goal of spreading the Gospel of Jesus clear back to Jerusalem along the Old Silk Road. The passion of Chinese Christians is incomparable.
Please pray for the Golog of Tibet to know Jesus and to encounter Him through dreams, visions, and revelations. And pray for the church in China as the Communist Chinese try to control every aspect of their lives…including rewriting the Bible. Pray the very few Christians in Tibet will be able to be good witnesses to the Golog people who live in fear and desperation.
For a brief look at the kind of lives the Golog live in Tibet, we have included The Waiting World video about them. You can watch many more videos about unreached peoples at thewaitingworld.net