Living here has helped my teammates and I see that the Hui (any people group, really) can’t be put into a box. As a friend of mine said recently, “The Hui all seem to wear different caps.” There are commonalities, but conversations with different Hui people give a fairly broad spectrum of views.

One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed among the Hui is that the younger generation is being influenced more and more by Western culture; they don’t cling to tradition, and they value open-mindedness. That open-mindedness is both a pro and a con – It means they’re more willing to listen when the Gospel is shared with them, but they’re also less likely to see the Truth as something immediate and important. Instead, many young Hui people see religion as significant simply because they believe it promotes kindness and good works.

Take, for example, a conversation a friend and I had with a Hui girl. This girl didn’t seem especially devout, and at one point I asked her if she believes in God at all. Her answer wasn’t a clear yes or no, which surprised me. She said many different religions worship God but call Him by different names. She said many religions have figures that serve as models for how people should live, giving Jesus and Muhammad as examples. She also said she doesn’t think religion is as important as many say it is; instead, for her, what matters most is what’s in one’s heart.

The same friend of mine knows another Hui woman with a similar view. This woman has no problem listening when my friend shares the Gospel with her; she doesn’t argue or even politely offer an opposing opinion. To her, believing in any god is a good thing because religious belief produces good people, and a good person is what one should strive to be.

Please pray that as worldviews shift, young Hui people will begin to see that there is one God, one Saviour, and that He desires not simply that we all be good people, but that we will humbly come to Him and accept the Gift of Salvation that only He can give. Pray that the Hui people will be shown by believers around them that God’s children do “good works” not in an effort to earn grace or a place in Heaven (an effort that would be completely useless) but because of love for God, the only One who saves.