September 2006 Pacific Rim Prayer Emphasis:
Phuan of Laos and Thailand

“My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear it and rejoice.” Psalm 34:2, NAS.

More than 300,000 Phuan people live in Laos and Thailand and less than 1% practice any form of Christianity. Theravada Buddhism is the center of Phuan social existence. Nearly every Phuan village in Thailand and most villages in Laos have their own temples. The Phuan also live in fear of a complex hierarchy of evil spirts. The most important is tha phu ban, the protective spirit of the village. Offerings of fruit, rice whiskey and other delicacies are offered to placate the spirits so they will grant favor. If good fortune is granted, then a sacrifice of a chicken or pig is given in honor of the spirits.

Many of the Phuan in Thailand trace their ancestry back to captives taken in war and forcibly removed to Thailand at various times between 1792 and 1890 after the collapse of the Lan Xang (Million Elephants) kingdom in Laos. These captives were forced to render manual labor for noble Siamese families.

Today the Phuan are one of the proudest and most socially prominent of the ‘tribal Tai’ groups. They tend to be taller and fairer skinned than other closely related peoples. The ideal family size for a Phaun is to have five children; a girl first to help the mother, then three boys to work and join the monkhood, and then another girl. It is believed that if the eldest son joins the monkhood it will secure a better position for the whole family in the next life.

Pray that:

The Phuan will boast in the Lord instead of their physical appearance or ethnic heritage.

The strong cultural tie to Buddhism will not keep Phuan men and women from giving the Gospel a fair hearing.

Believers will boldly share the Gospel with the Phuan, as a majority of them have never even heard.

God will grant favor in the eyes of authorities for those sharing the Gospel with the Phuan.

The fear of spirits will be overcome by a growing knowledge of God and the presence of His life giving Spirit.

God will call believers who have a burden and vision for reaching the Phuan to intentionally plant their lives among this people group.

A rapidly reproducing Phuan church will be born before the end of 2007!

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Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.