open my eyes during the prayer and glance around. I see that Ana’s face is slightly contorted and these strange sounds are escaping from her lips. The rest of the congregation seems completely unphased. As quickly as she began, the noises have stopped. This entire interaction lasts only a couple seconds and had ended before I had time to react. As we walk back to the church, I asked Solomon, our translator, what had happened. He looks at me completely calm and says, “It was an evil spirit.” In a culture where witchdoctors are more prevalent than hospitals, this phenomenon is widespread, even infecting the church. We return to the church and begin teaching. About halfway through my lesson on the Parable of the Sower, Ana’s flings her head back and then just falls over. She fainted right on the grass mats that cover the church floor. Without missing a beat, three of the older women in the church pick her up and carry her out of the church. As they are exiting the building, one woman glances back over the shoulder and tells me to keep teaching. “WHAT?!” I am told that in Mozambique it is very common for people to faint from heat exhaustion. I hesitantly continued teaching. A couple minutes pass and one of the women tells us that Ana is awake and fine. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth and I continue to teach.
This relief is shattered a moment later when I begin to hear the guttural groans once again accompanied by shrill screams and the sound of slapping against the ground. I haven’t had much experience with demonic oppression and possession, but I know enough to be confident that this is a demonic manifestation. “We need to go outside and pray for her.” I am asked again to just continue teaching. I insisted again “We need to go and pray for her now.” I am then told that someone else from the church is already praying for her. Unsure of how to respond, I finish teaching wanting to allow the church members the opportunity to battle on behalf of their sister.
As Lindsay gets up to teach, the chaos outside is increasing both in volume and intensity. She glances back at me. “We need to go out there. Do you agree?” I nod. She tells the church that our God is more powerful than any spirit and that He gives us authority over the evil spirits. She tells them that we are going to go out and pray. We invite the church members to either join us or to begin worshipping and just invite the presence of the Living God.
The church erupts into loud, joyful worship drowning out the darkness as we step outside. I see a woman lying on her back in the dirt. She is screaming, groaning, and convulsing so forcefully that it takes two men to hold her still (one holding her legs and the other steadying her head). As I step closer, I see that this woman is not Ana, but Victoria (another member of the congregation). I still can’t explain how Victoria ended up here in the dirt or what happened to Ana, but all I know is what I have seen with my eyes.
Surprisingly I feel a wave of complete confidence and peace as I lay my hand upon Victoria’s head. I begin to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. “In the name and authority of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave. This is the Lord’s house and you have no place here. In the name of Jesus Christ, leave her now.” We continue praying until Victoria is sitting completely still and calm.
We begin to talk to her and discover that she has been working as a witchdoctor since she was a young girl. We are told that this is a common practice in this village. Her mother has her doing this work, but she wants out. She wants freedom. We share with Victoria about the power of God and of His Holy Spirit. We also warn her that continuing in this work will only bring continued demonic work in her life. We spend some time just praying over this beautiful woman.
I am heartbroken to see evil infiltrating the walls of the church. I am distraught that this is widely regarded and accepted to practice witchcraft and to force your children into this profession. God was beginning to pull back the veil and expose some of the underlying evil within Mozambique’s churches. By shining His light into these dark corners, He allowed us to expose and correct misunderstandings in relation to the Holy Spirit, demons, and some of their cultural practices.
To read more on this story, check out Lindsay’s blogs: A Mile in Their Shoes: Part 1, Part 2
