Our last two free days at our ministry site, we had the option to travel to a mountainous village about 5 hours away and do ministry there. A group of eight of us, including our fantastic translator Sujan woke up very early last Friday morning and got into our “jeep” and headed there. The ride was squishy, winding, bumpy, and we had to stop four times because of car issues. But we made it! And I did not puke!
Our first afternoon there, we hiked throughout the village doing home visits, mostly of the extended family of the pastor. Our first stop (and it POURED the whole time we were there), was to the pastor’s wife’s parents. They were farmers and they invited us into their dirt-floor, tidy house. We asked them about their stories. The husband (“B”) began to tell us his:
When he was young, he got really sick, and he ended up turning to a witch doctor to heal him. The witch doctor was able to heal him, and B ended up becoming a witch doctor because of it.
Fast forward to 16 years ago, B finds himself again very very sick. He was both ill and tormented by evil spirits. He wasn’t able to heal himself through his practices, and no one else could help him. However, his daughter, a Christian prayed over him and he began to improve. B then came into the church, and the congregation surrounded him and prayed for his healing and deliverance. The Lord moved, healed, and delivered him! From that moment forward, B forever put away those former practices and started seeking out the Lord. Not only that, he used his witness to influence other witch doctors in the area to turn from their practices and follow Jesus.
The joy in this man was so evident, and our team felt so privileged to hear his story. We were then able to minister to him, encourage him in his walk and in continuing to evangelize to the people in his village.
It’s a story and an experience we’re never going to forget.
[Our village team with B in the middle and his wife and son to the left.]
TRAVEL UPDATE: Our squad has arrived safely in Rwanda and we’re so excited for four months in AFRICA!
