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- Children from the Lisu ethnic minority village of Meile in the northern Yunnan Province of China have fewer education resources compared to their counterparts in urban areas. An ELCA World Hunger grant provided computers for this school, giving children a level playing field when they go to high school (boarding schools in larger towns down the valley.)
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- Leaders from congregations of the Ninglang parish in the northern Yunnan Province sing at a thanksgiving service. Members of this parish come from various ethnic groups: Han (Mandarin), Lisu, Mosuo and Yi. ELCA funds provide for lay leadership training that helps build community and growth in the church.
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- china Lijiang, in northern Yunnan Province, is home to some 120,000 Lisu ethnic minority peoples. Further north, nestled in the mountains, is the village of Liming (pictured here), one of the Lisu centers. Many Lisu are Christian and their faith is encouraged as an expression of their culture.
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- A rebuilt Wujihou Gospel Church, up the road from Liming in northern Yunnan, was dedicated on Nov. 22, 2013. Built with financial assistance from the ELCA, it incorporates elements of Lisu culture and replaces an older, crumbling building. On Sundays, members often walk three or more hours to come to church, where they remain all day in worship and fellowship.
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- The Miao ethnic minority in China carry on traditions of family and the Christian faith, often under difficult circumstances, which include lack of road access and poverty. This extended family, living in the mountain community of Fengyi south of Yibin, Sichuan Province, is eagerly awaiting the construction of their church, having worshiped for a long time in their homes.
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- Peter Shen, ELCA China consultant, (second from the left) and Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director for ELCA Global Mission (far right) discuss plans with local church leaders. The plans are for a new church to be built in Meile village in northern Yunnan. The grounds will include a broad outdoor square, allowing for community gatherings and dances, all part of the local Lisu culture.
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- Feng Wen-guang first went to church to discover what gave his wife such joy as a Christian. He felt God calling him when he heard Paul’s words that in Christ, there is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He now leads the Lijiang church at the county level as a lay elder. Even though he is losing his eyesight, he has found great joy, comfort and support through the congregation.
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- The Protestant church in China is growing fast, whether it be in urban areas or the far reaches of the country, such as here, close to the legendary Shangri-La and along the upper Yangtze River in northern Yunnan Province. It is here that the ELCA accompanies the Lisu ethnic minority community and the church in rural development and church leadership training.
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- Chao Wan-shen lives in the mountains above Meile and Liming in Yunnan where he raises goats provided by an ELCA World Hunger grant. Improved goat breeds bring greater income and are an incentive for people like Chao to stay on the land instead of migrating to cities, thus maintaining ethnic Lisu cultural ties with the land and people.
From India to Myanmar, Lutheran churches continue to explore what it means to be Lutheran and how to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. In countries such as China, a broader Protestant identity has taken shape and is growing at a rapid pace. More Chinese are in church on a given Sunday than in all of Europe. The post-denominational China Christian Council, the church’s national expression, coordinates theological education, social services and resource publishing for millions of Protestants in China. The photos below have been contributed by Y. Franklin Ishida, ELCA area program director for the Asia and Pacific regions. Taken during his November 2013 visit to China, the photos share some of the ways in which the ELCA accompanies Chinese Christians.
