During my time in Mozambique, we stayed with a family that had an outreach ministry as well as a church. On Sundays, we attended church and shared our testimonies with the congregation. Church in Africa is a lot of dancing and singing. We soon went on our first outreaches and learned that they are dancing, dancing, and more dancing. We would ride in the back of a truck with a group of people and a lot of huge speakers. The first few outreaches were near soccer fields and in markets. We had a lot of fun and it was so amazing to see the people that were drawn in by the music. After about an hour of dancing, the pastor would speak to the people, and in the end, he would explain to them how to invite Jesus into their heart. Sometimes the turnout was large, sometimes it was smaller. On one occasion, most of the team went to a location we hadn’t been before. It was much further away and the neighborhood was very troubled and very far from the Lord. I had to stay behind that day. One of my teammates had come down with malaria-like symptoms and I accompanied her to the doctor to get checked out. When my team finally returned, it was nearly midnight. They seemed exhausted and said they would explain in the morning. What followed was a story darkness, which craft, and women who were deeply troubled with the spirit of demons. (To read the account of that night, as I was personally not there, please see my teammate Tiffany Chen’s account. It is chilling).
http://tiffanychen.theworldrace.org/?filename=so-you-want-to-cast-out-a-demon
We went house to house praying for people when we were doing outreach. We had encountered some people before that had hissed at us. We weren’t sure what that was or what to think of it. When we asked our contacts about it, they said that in this area of Mozambique, there are a lot of “snake demons.” This would explain the hissing and writhing on the ground.
With all of this information swirling around in my head, we headed back to the same outreach site a few days later. It was definitely a dark place. I could feel it and see it. There was a dark alley and the people lurked in it. They did not come toward the stage and dance with us like in the last locations. I prayed all night long for them to come into the light. Please, please, please come into the light. But they didn’t. We did not come back this time with a story of a demon trying to kill a woman. But the darkness was still there. I wished I could go back. There were a few people that came out to dance with us and hear the message from near the stage. The others heard it, even if as hard as I tried, I could not see their faces. A few people in the neighborhood are going to start a once a week Bible study. I know that God is moving in their lives and in that neighborhood, but the sight of those shadowy figures lurking in the dark still haunts me.
