Cornerstone Asia- Praying for Tibet
There can be few more remote regions of the world that still contain many unreached groups of people as the Tibetan plateau. Behind the peaks of the Himalayan mountains, much of Tibet is a high-altitude plateau, inhospitable, severe and largely untouched by the gospel.
There is a great need for fresh vision to come to the church for reaching Tibet - although there are those historically who have such. Even today, many Christians in China have such a vision in reaching areas West of China as part of the 'Back to Jerusalem' missions movement.
One of the most significant missionaries to the region was Sadhu Sundar Singh, an Indian believer who spent much time reaching Tibetans often at tremendous personal cost.
In recent years prayer trips by intercessors have been part of God's strategy for opening up the heavenly places, to quote Isaiah, 'oh that you would end the heavens and come down.'. In the words of Jesus: 'your kingdom come.on earth as it is in heaven'.
Tibetan Buddhism is a vast subject in itself, since it's influence spreads into surrounding areas such as Bhutan, Arunanchal Pradesh, Qinghai Province and Mongolia. In recent years its influence in the west has grown immensely through the talks, books and profile of the fourteenth Dalai Lama.
Useful Links:A number of interesting articles can be found if you do a www.google.co.uk search under 'Tibet Christians'. Bear in mind that some are about historical references to missions, some are more recent and not all are in sympathy to an evangelical position.
www.backtojerusalem.com Has a recommended booklist regarding the Asian Missionfield, some of which might also be obtained via www.amazon.com I recommend Marku Tsering's 'Sharing Christ in the Tibetan Buddhist World' (1993).
I highly recommend 'Peoples of the Buddhist World-a Christian Prayer Guide' by Paul Hattaway, Piquant Editions. Again, try amazon or www.piquanteditions.com. This has some of the most detailed misions information on Tibetan and other groups I have found in book form.
Try also www.ad2000.org/peoples And the Joshua Project listed in my general recommended links.
A good general introduction to understanding Tibet, would be to watch the film 'Himalaya' (1999-Director Eric Valli, see www.kino.com/himalaya/gb_accueil), or read the book by the author Michael Palin 'Himalaya' (ISBN 0297 84371) - which talks more widely about the regions around also.
It's worth doing a search on the internet for further information - there is no shortage of images on www.flickr.com : try searching under 'tibet' or 'amdo' for example.
'Father bring your light into every tribe and people and ethnic group in Tibet. Reveal your truth and hope. Let your glory be manifest in the heavens over Tibet and your kingdom come on earth in the Tibetan plateau'.
