The People

Nosu — Percent Christian: 2%, Percent Evangelical: 1.4%

The Nosu or Yi are a Sino-Tibetan people who live in southern China and neighboring Viet Nam. Numbering some 9 million people, they are the seventh largest minority group in China. They largely practice ethnic religions. They have Creation and Flood legends, and trace their genealogy to Noah.

The Painting

Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches

Market Woman portrays a Nosu woman based on a reference photograph by Australian photographer Rod Waddington. She wears a typical colorful Yi costume, which is rich in ornamentation, appliqué and embroidery.

Mission work began in the late 1800s, but resulted in little fruit. But after a century of prayer and effort, the first breakthrough happened in 1996, when Nosu leaders heard and received the gospel. They publicly renounced their previous religion, and led some 12,000 to faith in Christ.