Hello friends family and supporters, sorry I have been MIA for a little while, I have been being present in Africa and staying focused on our incredible ministries.
I would like to tell you a story of what happened in Nepal, one of my favorite months so far. Our host was a 22 year old guy with long hair in a rock band. His dad was a pastor, and they had they most amazing family of 7 ever. We would sit and read out of proverbs each night before dinner. So we stayed at their house in Kathmandu for half of our time, we would go out to orphanages and we would have house church on Sundays and preach to the small neighborhood gathering. Our last part of the month was spent in on the side of a mountain in a town called Gorkha. We were told we would be giving lessons each day to a group of new believers and preaching at the church close by. The topics were How to read your Bible, the gospel, and discipleship. Theses girls in the school would cook us dinner over an open fire and we would have worship in the morning, school during the day, and fellowship during the night along with dinner. Everything was going without a hitch the first four days, then it happened.
Wednesday, May 22nd
In the morning after the first session, a girl had fallen faint, then apparently started scratching herself at the neck, her friends, who were also new to Christianity, held her arms and legs and declared healing in Jesus’ name, and she ceased. I was not there for this first encounter but I was there after lunch. I heard screaming coming from the small house they all stayed in. I went in and there they were holding her down again as she screamed and tried to kick and swing her arms. She would go in and out of consciousness and awake without warning and lunge at the closest person to her. We continued to pray and worship. She would release these shrieks I have never heard before and try to harm herself as she tried to break free. Then she fell back asleep and woke up a few minutes later in her normal state of mind, confused and exhausted. We thought it was over and would celebrate it as a victory, but we were wrong.
We went back to the open air building we used for meals and teaching. Before the next session started she passed out again, the next hours seemed to blend in together, I don’t remember exactly how many time the spirit took and released her. Each time she passed out and the demon took control, we had five people around her to hold her down – one holding each hand and shoulder, one holding each leg, and one holding her head. It might sound excessive, but whatever was in her was far stronger than she would have been on her own, and it really wanted to run away and cause her harm. Each incident was usually quiet at first, but eventually she would always start jolting and shaking and trying to break free. She would shriek and cry and scream for us all to let her go, all the while a crowd of believers surrounded her in constant prayer. The whole thing was tragic and terrifying and comforting all wrapped in one, and no words that I write down here will ever accurately portray what I was feeling in that moment, or make you fully understand what I was witnessing.
It sounds crazy, but I think the most bizarre part of the whole situation was how calm our hosts stayed. This was normal to them, and we didn’t know quite how to handle that. At one point while she was passed out, we even had a tea break.
Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, more and more believers from surrounding villages came and joined us. One woman in particular was the witch’s neighbor, and as such had had conversations and experiences with her in person. The girl was from a different part of the country and had only come here for the Bible classes, so she didn’t know anyone in this community except for those she has been living with the last few days. All of the believers that came to pray over her were strangers, including that woman. However, as soon as she showed up, the girl opened her eyes and stared directly at her. It wasn’t like the previous times she had woken up – her body was still tense and the spirit had not released control. Instead, it began speaking through her to the woman, saying that it knew her, but the girl did not. It began telling the woman details about her family and her life that the girl could not have known, and could have only come from the history that she had being neighbors with the witch. She responded by rebuking the spirit in the name of Jesus over and over, and eventually the girl fell back asleep and came back into herself. I cannot explain the experience of looking into the girl’s wide-open eyes, hearing her voice, and knowing that, in that moment, none of it was her.
The conversations with the spirit didn’t stop there, though. The spirit shared these details, apparently she had been showering at the local spring by herself a few days earlier and a women approached her and the girl told her about her life, the woman invited her back to her house. We don’t know why or what went on but the neighbors knew this women practiced which craft and there was an evil spirit that invaded the area. It told us that this was far from the first body it had taken control of over the years – rather, this was number seventeen, and three of its past hosts had been killed as a direct result. We immediately began praying and declaring that this girl would not be a fourth victim, and the manifestations only grew worse in severity the later into the night it got. Far passed the time most people usually went to bed, we had a crowd of around forty people interceding on her behalf, praying for deliverance and relief. At around two or three in the morning she let out the loudest and longest sets of screams. By the time she finally settled down again she was exhausted, and she slept the remainder of the night.
Thursday, May 23rd
At our evening devotion, she got up and shared with us – with everyone that had spent nearly twenty-four hours the day before praying over her deliverance. Before she even started talking, the joy on her face could have been felt by a blind man. Her smile was radiant, and the words she spoke had so much weight after coming out of the experience she had been through. She thanked us all for standing by her in prayer and support and protection. She shared how much strength she had gained in her faith through all of it. She shared her desire to keep growing, and that this would do nothing to deter her from pursuing God with the rest of her life. It was the most encouraging thing I have ever heard.
The incident at three in the morning had been the end, but we didn’t realize it until later today. Every once in a while, she would still pass out, but it was nothing more than that. The possession was over, but the spirit was still trying to afflict her. That eventually ended as well, and by the time she shared, she was mostly back to her normal self – even better than normal, actually. She didn’t remember most of what happened the day before, but she knew enough. She knew what she had been saved from, and she knew what her response needed to be.
I’ve never witnessed anything like this before in my life. Going into the week, our host told us that this kind of thing was normal, here. The village we were in is known for witchcraft and spirit worship, and the spirit that the villagers make sacrifices to torments anyone who begins exploring other religions. They are afraid to convert to Christianity. They are afraid of the work being done there by our hosts, and by the groups that he brings in.
Even knowing all of this, though, I had no idea what to expect. This was so far outside the realm of what I understood before that day. But now I know. If there was every any doubt in my mind that any of this was real, that has been erased. I’m reminded that, just because we don’t see this in America, does not mean that it’s not happening anywhere else. I think other countries are very much more in tune to the spiritual realm than we are in American. We still have principalities of power, money, and sex ruling and oppressing in the background, exactly where evil wants to be. Spiritual warfare is very real, and I witnessed it first-hand. It’s not something that I can just walk away from without being changed.
This was a girl I did the dishes with and she would smile and seemed completely fine. Evil wanted to distract what was going on at that mountain side bible training school. I don’t want this to scare you, but to know and be a warrior for Christ and His kingdom while we’re on this world for a very short time. As always please let me know if you have anymore questions.
On a lighter note, praise Report: I AM FULLY FUNDED! Wow $18,200 is a huge amount and was a daunting number for a very long time. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to get it but guess what, the Lord did. I told him if he didn’t want me going, for him not to let me get on the plane to Columbia. Thank you to every single one of you who supported me financially. I know I still have a few more thank you letters to send out.
I have a new team also who has been super amazing and encouraging. I have been writing more blogs about Africa, my testimony how I got here on the race, and the struggles I’ve faced. I can’t wait to share more about the awesomeness of God in Eastern Africa.
Lord, I pray for whoever is reading this blog that you give them strength and courage to stand up against evil and fight for your good. Shame and fear do not live in your children, but power, love and self control. Let your will be done. Thank you for your son, in Jesus name. Amen.
Love you guys,
Will
