This is day 9 of 32. Throughout April, we will be posting daily. We invite you to learn about Chinese Muslims and pray with us for God’s glory to be made known among them. If you would like to read other posts in this series, you can find them here.

In 1933 a young American family had a home in Xunhua County of China where they ministered to the Salar people. They opened a small chapel in the main Salar town and preached the Gospel, but they saw no success among the Muslim peoples. In the decades since, little has changed in the spiritual condition of the Salar people.

The Salar people migrated from the Samarkand region of Central Asia many centuries ago. According to oral tradition, their forefathers bound a copy of the Qur’an to the head of a camel and followed it until it stopped at a waterfall and turned to stone. Two-thirds of the 120,000 Salar people still live in the same area of northwest China today.

Historically the Salar have been labeled as troublemakers by the Chinese because of their involvement in Muslim uprisings. They are a proud people – proud of their history, proud of their culture, and proud to be Muslims. For the first time in history many Salar are sending their children to college. And yet there is also a renewed dedication to their Islamic beliefs and practices, instilling them in the next generation.

While Chinese people are coming to Christ by the thousands, the Salar are still clinging to their Muslim heritage and beliefs. But praise God that in the past few years the first few Salar people have come to faith in Christ Jesus. And every month more workers are coming to work in the harvest!