Today we are in the township of Tianzhu, about 2 hours northwest of Lanzhou. This region is officially a Tibetan area (although only 24% of the people are of the Tibetan nationality) and is known for having an unually large number of white yaks. (I will post an image later, because I can't seem to do it on this computer)

A good Tibetan friend of ours has friends who are from here, and we have come to visit them and do a little research on this region. Most of the Tibetans who live here do not even speak fluent Tibetan. My friend put it this way: the grandparents all speak fluent Tibetan, the parents all understand spoken Tibetan, the kids only speak and understand Chinese. The Tibetan language (and also much of the culture!) has become nearly extinct in this region that literally sits on the border of the traditional Chinese and Tibetan worlds.

We have heard rumors that a few dozen of the Tibetans who live in this township have become Christians through the ministry of the majority Han Chinese, but that they are being persecuted by the government for having 'unauthorized meetings'. Please pray for them, and for all those who have yet to hear or respond to the Gospel!