“I love my people,” Yeshi* said simply—a love that has shaped his entire life.
Yeshi grew up in a Tibetan Buddhist family in China. When his mother became gravely ill, the family tried everything their religion offered, but nothing worked. In desperation, they turned to Jesus after meeting some foreign believers. His mother prayed, and was miraculously healed. From that moment, the family chose to follow Christ, removing all Buddhist symbols from their home.
But for Yeshi, that decision came with deep inner conflict. “I felt like I betrayed my culture,” he said. In a society where nearly all Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, his family’s faith made them stand out, and not always in a good way.
Later, Yeshi encountered the underground church and was moved by their passion for Jesus. Though he didn’t fully understand their tears and devotion at first, their love and support led him to baptism alongside his parents. His father, worn down by years of hard labor, felt a new sense of peace and strength after giving his life to Christ. That transformation left a lasting impression on Yeshi.
Still, life wasn’t easy. Cultural and language barriers with other believers left Yeshi feeling isolated. He often wondered, “The world has so many people, how does God have time to take care of me?”
In college, a Christian businessman’s example planted a seed in Yeshi’s heart. The man’s compassion for the sick showed Yeshi that business could be more than profit—it could be a tool for ministry and compassion. But after facing heartbreak and disappointment, Yeshi lost hope. He withdrew from life, and turned to smoking, drinking, barely eating and working only when absolutely necessary. He returned home, disillusioned and spiritually numb, announcing to his mother he no longer believed in God.
Then one night, everything changed.
Lying in bed, Yeshi heard a voice urging him to get up. It was the Lord. He resisted at first, but eventually opened his Bible and the words came alive. “Every single word was dancing before me,” he recalled. “For the first time, I cried in the presence of the Lord.”
That encounter marked a turning point. Yeshi’s faith was no longer inherited; it was personal. He returned to the city, met his wife and eventually moved abroad. Through years of learning and growing, God clarified his calling: to go back and serve his people.
Today, Yeshi and his wife live in South Asia, ministering to Tibetan communities. With the full Tibetan Bible now available, they’re using it to teach both the Tibetan language and Scripture. Yeshi dreams of connecting like-minded businesspeople with Tibetans to create jobs, offer mentorship and spark hope, just as he once experienced in college.
“My people mean everything to me,” he said. His vision is to see a distinctly Tibetan Christian community, one that embraces both faith and culture without shame or conflict.
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*Name changed for security reasons.
