The Linxia of China: Generations of spiritual bondage

A young woman almost decides to follow Christ, but she doesn't know how she'll survive when her devout Muslim family kicks her out of their home.

A high school teacher eagerly discusses Christianity with an American visitor, but this faithful Muslim can't understand that the Trinity is not equivalent to three separate gods.

An old man has sensed something missing from Islam, and he wants to believe the good news about Jesus. But he thinks he'll keep his ancestors from ever reaching heaven if he accepts Christ.

That's life in Linxia, the "Little Mecca" of China. Though half of its residents are Han Chinese, it serves as a stronghold of Islamic China.

The city looks like an oasis. It lies on a river near the Silk Road, the path traveled years ago by traders eager to visit the looms of China's best weavers. Its residents are friendly and curious with a definite spiritual hunger. But generations of bondage to Islam keep them from understanding that Jesus could satisfy their cravings.

Instead, prayer calls ring out five times daily from the city's 50 mosques. Night schools teach Muslim theology and anti-Christian apologetics. And Chinese Muslims who can't afford the trip to Mecca make their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Linxia.

A group of Southern Baptists spent several days in the city. They befriended a man cooking shish kabobs at a sidewalk cart. They walked by the banks of the river and praised God for the beauty around them. And they ventured into mosques to talk with religious leaders and worshipers.

One mosque seemed more like a Buddhist temple, filled with bright colors and incense. Men wearing prayer hats came and went. A gardener pruned rose bushes outside.Ornate carvings decorated the columns and walls. And as the group looked closely, they realized the intricate designs weren't carved from rosewood, as typically would be expected. They were carved into cement.

The Southern Baptists prayed silently, and God brought to mind Ezekiel 11:19 - "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."

Since they returned to the United States, the group has continued to pray that prayer.

They know Linxia has no Muslim-background believers. And they understand that in this Islamic China stronghold, Muslims are devout.

But they also know God can change the hearts of this city's people. And they hope He will use them to accomplish it.

"We want them to see God as the loving God He is," one of them says.

And another Southern Baptist reminds: "It will require much intensive prayer and many expressions of love to reach Linxia."