Hmong
The Hmong people are a mountain tribe who refer to themselves as people without a country. Their history is difficult to trace since they only acquired a written language a hundred years ago when French missionaries designed one for them using the English alphabet. Some think the Hmong may have originated in Mongolia. It is known, however, that through the centuries, as a result of political unrest, they filtered down into China, Laos, Burma, northern Vietnam and northern Thailand. Due to their support of the U.S. troops during the Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong people became targets of retaliation and persecution by the communists following the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. Many left their beloved mountain homes and made the trek into Thailand, often under attack. Those who didn’t make it ended up in squalid UN refugee camps. In the 1990s, the door opened for many Hmong refugees to resettle in the U.S.
Even with the modern development of a written language, few printed materials exist to reach out to the Hmong people. Since November of 2004, Ko and Terri Saelee have been church planting among the Hmong in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They continue to develop resources to reach this group, including translated materials and tapes/DVDs for radio and other media venues. So far, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, they have been able to establish several stable groups and reach out to many interested individuals.
Click here to discover Winning Ways to Reach the Hmong.
Country Data
| Population | China Vietnam Laos United States Thailand France French Guiana |
3 million 790,000 450,000 275,000 150,000 15,000 1,5000 |
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| Languages | Hmong/Mong | ||
| Religions | Shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity | ||