The Big Picture…
The following morning I was ready. Lisa and I were going to sit down with the
pastor and ask him what his view on witchcraft in the church was. We were also
prepared to teach on the dangers of demonic worship and how and why it is not
allowed in the church. I was frustrated
by the situation and feeling protective over the people. I also admit that I had negative feelings
towards the two women who were pointed out to be practicing witchcraft. Unfortunately, when we got there the pastor
was not there so we went through the day just teaching our normal
material.
On Friday we went again and found out that there was a
miscommunication with times. The only
people at the church were the two pastors and the two women who had demonic
manifestations. That was interesting. We decided to go to a home and visit a little
boy who had malaria and after we were going to sit down with the pastors. One of the pastors than invited us
to his
home to talk. He told us it was a little
far, but pleaded with us to go. We
agreed, and I thought it would be a good way to separate ourselves from the
women.
Little did I know that God was going to reveal the big
picture to me. Our ten minute walk down
the road turned into a two hour trek through the bush. While we were walking we noticed that the
first lady that had a demonic manifestation was coming with us. I couldn’t figure out why, but then I
realized that she was married to one of the elders (that they also call,
pastor). Now I was really confused, why
would she go to witchdoctors if she was married to an elder in the church?
During that walk God spoke to me. It was hot, I was beginning to burn really
bad, I was tired and I just wanted to go home. That’s when God said, I’m making
you walk a mile in their shoes. You were quick to judge, but I’m going to give
you the big picture before you address this problem. OK…. But God, this is longer than a mile and
um, well, can you turn down the sun a little? I also clearly felt like God was just saying
you need humility. Speak in humility. Ann and her husband with Amy
When we finally arrived at his home I was burned and covered
in dirt. We sad down and the pastor’s
wife, Anna, began to prepare a meal for us. After spending two hours arguing with God, I was finally ready to
address the pastor. We briefly informed
him of the situation and asked him what he thought. At first he said it was ok, but the other
pastor told him that the girl had a demon and she wanted it gone. When the pastor heard this he said that it
was not ok. We were still confused by
whether or not it was permissible in his church but I just felt like I simply
needed to ask permission about teaching on the proper role of the Holy Spirit
and the dangers of demonic worship. He
agreed and asked for prayer that they would also have a better understanding
and a way of knowing the difference. We
then spent time praying for them to have discernment and praying over the
church.
During dinner, God revealed the last piece of the
puzzle. Anna requested prayer. She explained that she was unable to get
pregnant and she desperately wanted a baby. She also said that she had a lot
demonic spirits visit her at night and she couldn’t sleep. Now everything made sense. She wasn’t practicing witchcraft; she was
going to a witchdoctor to try and get pregnant (which is very common in this
part of the world). We agreed to pray
for her and encouraged her.
When Amy heard that Anna was unable to get pregnant her eyes
lit up! She explained that during our
two hour walk, God kept telling her Sarah every time she looked at Anna. Amy explained to Anna the story of Sarah in
the Bible and how she was unable to get pregnant, but God had promised her a
baby and she gave birth to a son in her old age. I’m confident that God was working in Anna
through this story and still is. A few
days later, Anna began to complain of an upset stomach…. morning sickness,
maybe?
To sum it all up, everything worked out nicely after
this. The church still has a long way to
go, but I think they are heading in the right direction. Lisa, Amy and I spent the final week teaching
them the foundational truths about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Satan and demons. We wanted them to have a strong foundation
and understanding of the Bible, and a foundation for a faith that would keep
them from turning to the witchdoctors for help. Our contacts will also be working to do follow up and more training in
the church.
I loved working in Mozambique and the people in our
church were amazing! I’m going to miss
them so much, but I’m excited to see how much they have changed and grown in
their faith during the two short weeks we were there. I know that they still have a lot of
challenges ahead of them, but God is faithful and I know he will finish the
good work he has started in each one of them.
