October 2001

Welcome to the IMB Collegiate enewsletter for Fall semester 2001. We extend a special welcome to new subscribers (since last May) and to all students preparing for ministry careers. Let us know how this newsletter about the peoples of the world can best serve you and your ministry.

We apologize for the delay in sending out this newsletter. You should receive the enewsletter during the middle of each month. The tragic events of Sept. 11 delayed the September release of this newsletter. Thank you for your patience.

What's Inside: People Group Info: Manchu of China, Prayer Needs, Mission Projects in East Asia, Survival Tips, THE TASK Video!, God's Heart for the Nations Bible study

Unreached People Group (UPG) focus: The Manchu: China's Lost Dynasty

Polly* and the volunteer group journeyed to her Manchurian village in Northeast China with the goal of telling Polly's parents about Jesus. As a follower of Christ, Polly wanted her family to know Jesus, too, and she thought the message would be better received from visitors than from her. Polly's parents graciously welcomed the group and during the day the team shared their faith at every opportunity.
That evening, the volunteers returned to their hotel, leaving Polly behind with her parents. Before long, the phone rang in the team leader's room. Polly was calling to tell the team about her parents' response to the witnessing and to her faith in Christ. The news was devastating. If you are a Christian, they told her, then you are not part of our family. You are no longer welcome to live here or to be our daughter.

Polly's story is not uncommon among the Manchu people of China. The Manchu are one of the most resistant Chinese people to the gospel. They are a proud people who have a long history of ruling the Chinese empire. The Manchu were the last ruling dynasty of China (Qing Dynasty), in power from 1644 to the fall of the last emperor in 1911. The Manchu are the only ruling clan that was not completely eradicated when deposed from the Chinese throne. Workers among the Manchu believe that this people was spared in God's providence so that they could be reached with the gospel and used to reach all peoples of China. During their reign, Qing emperors sent Manchurians to rule over every region of China. Thus, the system is already in place to reach every people group in China through these networks if the Manchu can first be reached.
Today, the Manchu are the second largest unreached people group (UPG) in China. Less than 0.03% of the Manchu follow Christ and most have no access to hear the Good News. They live in fear of evil spirits, making regular offerings to idols in order to appease these evil spirits.
The Jesus Film and the Bible are available in the Mandarin language, but the Manchu still have little access and openness to the gospel. Most Manchu are Shamanists, Buddhists or Atheists. They are trapped in bondage. They need to know the hope found in Jesus Christ, but how will they hear unless someone tells them?

"Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" - Is. 6:8
"Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest fields."- Matt. 9:38
*Name changed to protect her identity.

Prayer Points:

• Ask God to burden and unite the global church - including your church - to pray for spiritual breakthroughs among the Manchu.
• Ask the Lord of the Harvest to thrust out a harvest force to meet the needs of the Manchu. These needs include: intercessors, strategy coordinators, servants to the poor, tentmakers, and church planters.
• Ask that God would bring forward His person/people to develop the oral Bible Stories.
• Pray for spiritual awakening among the Manchu.
• Pray for supernatural encounters that will result in a massive movement of the Manchu coming to Christ.
• Pray for the effective planting and multiplication of strong churches to disciple the Manchu.
• Pray for God to raise up someone stateside to help send out materials about the Manchu to churches in the USA.

Project List for East Asia

Details on all projects are available on the web at www.thetask.org/students on the Mission projects link.

• New projects arrive daily! Check www.thetask.org/students/projects.
• For more info about the Manchu people and ministry opportunities, contact studentteam@imb.org.

5 Survival Tips for International Missions

In case your international mission experience becomes a survival test case for reality TV, remember these handy survival tips:

• 1. If you're thirsty or hungry, suck on a pebble. It will moisten a parched mouth and fool your body into thinking it's food.
• 2. Treat your stomach like a canteen and fill up on water whenever possible.
• 3. Always wear a hat on cold nights because your head is a major source of heat loss.
• 4. Zigzagging across a steep hill conserves more energy than climbing straight up.
• 5. To determine how much daylight is left, hold a fist up to the western horizon and stack fists on top of one another up to the sun's level in the sky. Each fist represents about an hour of daylight.

Adapted from "10 Things I learned in Survival School," USA Today, Fri., July 29, 2000.

The Task video
Fall 2001 edition

Finding a Person of Peace in Bhutan
Eloise: The (not) True Hollywood Story
The Maasai of Kenya - Using your Education for God's Glory
Come to Europe's Gateway Cities to the World

• Use it as a prayer guide for the nations
• Use different segments in Bible study
• Use it in a worship service

Order your free trial copy today!

imb.org/resources
or
800-866-3621

Bible study:  Running From the Hand that Frees You

John 8:31-32 - "If you hold to my teachings, then you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

While canoeing down the James River in Virginia, my husband, Rob, and I saw a flurry of movement in the water just down river. A bevy of ducks was flurrying and hurrying to escape the enemy - us. One little ducky tried to get away with the rest, but at each attempt he was dragged back to the rocks, quacking and flapping as he went.

The duck was practically beating himself to death, fighting to get away from the thing that held him. Rob and I crept closer, vainly attempting not to scare the duck, to see that a leg tag and fishing line were the chains that bound him. The closer we got, the more furious the flapping became. I wondered if ducks could have cardiac arrest.

Rob worked to loose the duck from the fishing wire, but the duck didn't aid the success of the project. The more we tried to free him, the more frantically he fought us. Finally, Rob snapped the line close to the leg tag and the duck shot into the water like a bat out of . . . well, you get the idea.

How often do we treat God like that duck treated us? Rob wanted to free the duck from a terrible fate, but the duck viewed Rob as the enemy. Is God the enemy to you, or a friend with your best interest in mind? Are you "flapping and quacking" in God's face, trying to get away from Him? He is trying to set you free.

Is God talking to you about getting rid of sin in your life that drags you down? Remember, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:31-36). All other remedies are Band-Aids on broken legs.

Is God talking to you about being a witness on your campus, or about serving him on the mission field this year? What holds you back from following Him? God knows that we are most fulfilled as human beings when we fulfill our purpose - His plan - to reach all peoples with the message that Jesus sets people free. Will you let Jesus get close to you and free you from the fear or disobedience that binds you? God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7). Let Jesus set you free from fear and give you the abundant life he promises (John 10:10).