“Africa is not for sissies”
A pastor told us these words on Sunday as we visited his church. I laughed knowing how true his words were because God has been teaching this to us every day.
This month, we are following Jesus. Each day, we go out into the squatter camps of Johannesburg, which are little settlements of shacks that host up to 300,000 people in a square mile. It is just a large piece of land where people can come live for a very cheap price in order to find work in the city and survive.
Our ministry vision is to form friendships and relationships with the people, and then share the truth and good news of the gospel with them. In just one week here, I feel like it’s about 40 A.D. and I’m living in the book of Acts from the Bible. We have been used by Holy Spirit to share the truth of salvation through Christ, and seen people choose to be born again. We have been used by Holy Spirit to pray for miraculous healing, and literally seen bones reset to regain pain-free function. We have been used by Holy Spirit to speak to people possessed and oppressed by demons and spirits, and cast them out with the name of Jesus for these people to have freedom and salvation. IT IS INSANE.
If people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ could spend one week here, they would have no doubt in His truth and power. Growing up as a Christian, I didn’t really know or think that God still performed miracles. I had heard stories, and seen Him provide in ways like modern medicine and counseling and choices to make change. Now I am being led by the voice of God to pray for miracles and see Him perform right in front of my eyes.
It’s a bit wild honestly.
One of the coolest experiences came when I met a man named Peter. All the locals walked by his shop and greeted him as “Undertaker” while we visited him. He was a traditional healer aka sangoma or witch doctor. He was a nice man and we had great conversation about the truth of the gospel and Jesus and Holy Spirit versus his prayer and worship of ancestors and other spirits. The more truth I spoke to Peter, the more resistant he became to listening.
After some time, it became clear that he carried an evil spirit attached to him. The air felt heavy and his eyes held a detached and menacing vibe as I looked into them while we talked. We were making no progress in changing his mind or helping him see truth. I asked him to name the spirit he carried with him. He refused, saying it was his personal secret, and kept talking about how the spirit was invincible. A minute or two later, he named it on accident (or forced to by Holy Spirit). We continued to make no progress, so we decided to move on and speak to other people.
I asked if we could pray for him. He said we could. I asked if I could lay my hand on his shoulder. He said no. I asked why, and he told me that I would fire his spirit. That was exactly what I was intending to do. This demon had a tight grip on Peter, and Peter didn’t want the demon to leave. Without laying hands on him, we prayed. I prayed for him and his family and his business, and I told the unclean spirit to flee from the name of Jesus and never come back for it was not welcome.
We moved on and circled up to pray for Peter and his family again. I continue to pray for Peter and his family each day. The evil spirit with him feared Holy Spirit moving through my hand, but he has no idea that Holy Spirit is going to drive him away whether I laid my hand on him or not. My God is a lot more powerful than that.
This is my favorite story because it was hard. It was challenging, and heavy, and difficult. It is my favorite because I didn’t get to see healing and salvation like the Lord has been showing me all week. It is my favorite story because I have to keep fighting for Peter in prayer, pushing my faith, and trusting in the goodness of the Lord.
“Africa is not for sissies” because some days, you will stare into the eyes of a demon possessed man, and the man doesn’t want the demon to leave, and you’ll have to let the Lord do the fighting for you.
I know that my God is going to change Peter’s heart. His testimony will point to the incredible saving love of Christ and the power in His name. He will no longer be called “Undertaker”, but instead he will be called “Overcomer”.
