The other day, for door to door ministry, we went back and revisited many of the people we had prayed and ministered to– just to follow up and see how they were doing. We also wanted to deliver bibles to those who did not have one. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces, and hearing how they were doing. It was fun to see some of the fruit of our labor. One woman we delivered a bible to, was so happy she started dancing around in her living room. She told us a testimony of the fact that we came at just the right time. She had just delivered a baby, and her mom had recently died. She was praying that God would meet her and that is when we showed up to share the gospel with her. I found myself smiling at the amazing ways God works. I remember when I was sharing the gospel with her, I thought she was the least bit interested because she was cooking and had her back to me the whole time. Little did I know what was going on inside her heart.
Rebecca and Samara
This week has turned out to be just as interesting as last. Once again, we were told the program for the evening, and I thought I knew what to expect. My teammate Katie and I were to go back to Central View, and the rest of the team was to be going to do an open air crusade. Katie and I arrived while the students were in the middle of praise and worship. We were prepared to stand up and share the gospel with them and what Jesus was doing in our lives. Right before it was our time to share, a girl stood up and began screaming and convulsing. The demons were back. It felt like all mayhem had broken loose. As I looked around the room more and more of the girls were crying out and rolling around on the ground. Katie and I looked at each other and were overwhelmed and at a loss for what to do. I was confused because these were many of the same girls we had cast them out of last week.
Katie called our teammates, and they came to help us. This was a completely different experience than last week. Last week, the demons listened when we told them to stop talking. It took, at most, 20 minutes to cast them out. This time, it lasted up to 5 hours for some. We knew there were other teams in the area, so I called one of them for back up. It was very interesting, because as soon as they arrived one of the possessed girls pointed to them and yelled out, “I hate those people”. It was very telling that the demons recognized the light they carried. We were relieved to have others with us and they came at just the right time. We left the school around 11pm and returned home exhausted.
Since that episode, we have been discussing the evening and talking through everything we had experienced and witnessed over dinner. I was full of even more questions and was wondering, “Why did it take so much longer this time to cast them out? Why did they return when we had already cast them out? Why do they only seem to be manifesting themselves in the girls at this school?” A few answers were given that I thought were interesting and something to ponder…It took so long, because there were more demons and we have not yet built up enough of a reputation in the spirit world. They had returned because the girls were not full of the Holy Spirit. The part about the reputation kind of made sense to me because a few of the girls kept asking, “Who are you that you can tell me what to do?” And, the other answers seemed reasonable as it states in Mark 11:24-26
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. The it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of the man is worse than the first.
Today we had hoped to return to disciple and minister to the girls we had prayed over. Unfortunately, we are now banned from returning to the school. The superintendent apparently does not like what we are doing here. He is the one involved in all the witchcraft and has told Pastor John we are not to return. The teachers are upset and want to call him out for what he is doing. We are all interceding and praying as a team, that his heart would be softened and that he would understand the gravity of what he is doing and dabbling in. Please pray for us and for the girls of Central View. We want to see them set free once and for all.
