Approximately 7,000 Lahu Na, or 'Black Lahu' live near the Mekong River in the Peung and Tonpheung districts of Bokeo Province. There were a total of 8,702 Lahu counted in the 1995 Lao census. This figure also included the Lahu Nyi. The majority of Lahu (more than 400,000) live in southern China. An additional 125,000 live in Shan State of Myanmar; 28,000 in Thailand; and 5,400 in Vietnam.
The Lahu have the reputation for being probably the most isolated and unassimilated ethnic group in northern Laos. They prefer to stay in their remote mountain communities at heights often more than 1,400 meters (4,590 feet) above sea-level. According to the 1995 census, only 1.6% of Lahu in Laos are able to read, including a mere 0.4% of women. A staggeringly high 96.3% of Lahu have never attended school, even at primary level, including 98.6% of Lahu women. Among all of the peoples of Laos, only the Akha have comparable statistics for education and literacy.
The Lahu Na, who speak a distinct language from the other three Lahu subgroups in Laos, are animists. Each village has a priest (Paw Khu), who leads the village in worshipping the Lahu God, G'ui Sha.
The Lahu's belief in a Supreme Being has greatly facilitated their turning to Christianity. Early missionaries found many Biblical stories already paralleled in Lahu beliefs and legends. There are at least 800 Lahu Na believers in Lao, possibly many more.
The first recorded ministry to Lahu in Laos took place in 1892, when famous Presbyterian pioneers William Clifton Dodd and Daniel McGilvary preached to them. Their visit predates the well-documented mass conversions to Christ which took place among the Lahu in Burma and China in the early 1900's.
McGilvary later remembered their initial trip among the Lahu: "The days spent among the Musos [Lahu] that week were inspiring. Glowing visions arose before us of a new tribe brought into the Christian church, of which these were the first-fruits. On this whole tour, indeed, only nine adults and seventeen children were baptized.... By this time the rains had already begun to fall. A new season was needed to fulfill our desires."
Thank God for the mass conversion of Lahu to Christ in each of the nations they live.
Ask God to give the Lahu church a vision to reach other ethnic groups.
Pray the Lahu Na church would be strenghened and empowered to reach out to those less fortunate than them.