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Help your family embrace God&rsquo;s love for the world by developing a habit of learning about other cultures. Read this story together to learn about and pray for the Miao (mee-OW), one of the largest unreached people groups in Southwest China.&nbsp;
Welcome to the mountains of Southwest China! As the wind blows across the tall green grass, we will climb up the mountainside past towering pine trees. We&rsquo;re headed toward that big maple tree. Do you see it? That&rsquo;s the middle of the Miao village hidden far beyond roads and cities. Miao families are animists. They believe that spirits live in the created things around and could either help or hurt them. Life is hard in this hilly land where crops can&rsquo;t grow on the steep slopes and water must be carried from far away. The gospel hasn&rsquo;t reached this village yet where a six-year-old girl lives with her family&hellip;
Hi! I&rsquo;m Chen. Don&rsquo;t you love how colorful my clothing is? We love using red, green, and other vibrant colors to decorate our outfits. My mom says our clothes tell the story of our people. She spends months&ndash;sometimes even years&ndash;embroidering our clothing. I think my mom is creative because each design is so different. Sometimes she creates clothing with shapes. Other designs include animals, bugs, birds, or plants. Each pattern must remind us of nature and be symmetrical, with both sides matching up like a reflection in the mirror. One time I got in trouble for sneaking the book that holds all the thread my mom uses to embroider. I just wanted to flip through it to see the rainbow of bright colors. Wouldn&rsquo;t you?
I live with my grandparents now because my parents went to the city to earn money. When my parents left for work, they told me this Miao saying: &ldquo;We never have three days of continuous sunshine, three acres of flat land, or three coins to rub together.&rdquo; I guess it means we don&rsquo;t have much money and it&rsquo;s hard to grow crops for food because we live in the mountains. I miss my mom and dad while they are away. I only see them a few times a year. Do your parents work far away from home, too?
Once I got sick and my grandma took me to the shaman (SHAH-mun), a powerful man in our village. He told my grandma to burn sweet-smelling incense to make the spirits happy so that they would let me get better. What do you do when you're sick?
We love to sing, dance, and tell stories. Sometimes we dance to the music of the lusheng (loo-SHUNG) during special celebrations like weddings. It&rsquo;s an instrument made from long bamboo pipes all connected to one mouthpiece. When the player blows into the mouthpiece, the music sounds like a cross between a clarinet and bagpipe. Since our language isn&rsquo;t written down, the lusheng helps tell our stories through beautiful melodies.
Sometimes we&rsquo;ll gather together to sing old legends about our past. We all know these songs by heart. Someone will sing the first part, then we will sing back the response. These songs help explain what we don&rsquo;t understand about this life and have been passed down from generation to generation.

With your family, create embroidery like the Miao. Before beginning your project, look for examples by searching &ldquo;Miao embroidery&rdquo; online, or check out a book from the library. To try this handicraft, each person will need:
-a styrofoam tray
- yarn (as many colors as you want!)
- a big metal or plastic yarn needle
- a pencil
<ol>
<li>
On the back of your styrofoam tray, use a pencil to sketch a design. Make a design that shares your faith, points to God as the Creator, or uses geometric shapes. Try to make your design symmetrical, like the matching wings of a butterfly.
</li>
<li>
Use the yarn needle to poke holes along your pencil lines. Space the holes far enough apart so you&rsquo;ll be able to move your needle in and out as you sew.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Select your yarn, thread it through the needle, and tie a knot at the end.
</li>
<li>
Choose a hole at one end of your design. Poke the needle up from underneath the tray. Pull the yarn all the way through until the knot catches.
</li>
<li>
Continue sewing your design, moving in and out of the holes. Change yarn colors as often as you&rsquo;d like.
</li>
</ol>
Pray:
<ul>
<li>
Many Miao are oral learners. Pray for translation of an oral Bible&ndash;one that can be passed along through storytelling&ndash;in each of the languages spoken by the more than 70 Miao groups.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Many Miao families are afraid of evil spirits. Pray that Miao families will have the opportunity to learn about Jesus, and his power over evil spirits, so they don&rsquo;t have to live in fear.
</li>
</ul>

Via Families

Meet the Miao

Meet the Miao

Family Activity

Jenny Marcelene