"Three Worlds Collide: An Example of Lifestyle Storying"

“For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the world powers of this darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”  Eph 6:12

Darkness exposed like never before…strongholds revealed…Satan challenged…chains broken…people set free…truly a time of Thanksgiving and praise to Father!

We arrived in ‘B’ on Thanksgiving Day and Pastor Jeff’s wife had a meal prepared for us rice with red onion sauce.  As we visited with the family, a young lady came up on her bicycle…she was from the village of ‘So’ where the team stayed during their first three visits to the Pana, but the people were not receptive to Father’s word.  However, this young lady, Gina*, was at our side every day the team was there, but was too afraid to follow.  Gina* moved to another village and now has courage, wants to be in the open and walk the True road.  How encouraging to know that Father’s word never returns void.

We continued to our village ‘Se’ where we were greeted by Marcella* and the chief, and many others.  Still uncertain which day we would celebrate our traditional Thanksgiving with the village, we began asking questions about their celebration, which would take place on Saturday.  The chief told us, “Tabaski is a time where people pray to Allah for peace, more Tabaski’s (long life), wealth and Allah’s provision. The Arabics from Mecca celebrate this on Friday, but Africans celebrate Saturday.”  He said, “The people from Mecca say you have to kill a sheep but if you have no sheep you can kill a cow.  If you have no cow, then you can kill a goat.”  We asked many questions leading to the reason behind all of this, but none of them could tell us exactly.  They never mentioned Abraham.  As it turned out, Saturday was also the day of another sacrificial celebration…a high holy day for the animists.  We decided to host our thanksgiving celebration on Sunday…Father’s special day.  Little did we know that this would be a weekend where three belief systems would collide. 

Demon of Blindness

When we were walking through the village greeting each family, a man asked us to pray for his wife.  She has been blind for three years and in terrible pain for 3 months after demons attacked her in the bush.  The woman told us that these demons would not allow her to drink cool water, but rather, made her drink hot water.  Sadly, she refused to allow us to pray, so we left.  Later, the husband came to our compound to learn more about prayer.  After listening to a story, he understood that it was only through faith in the Son that Father answers prayer.  He asked us to come back to his courtyard.  This time the wife, blind ‘Je’, invited us to pray.  Before praying, we had one requirement, “You must remove all juju, fetishes and idols from your body and your house to prove that you are trusting only in the Son for healing.”  Immediately, the husband and a couple of young men began going through the house carrying one thing after another out of the house and away from the courtyard.  We gathered around and began praying, first for ourselves and then powerfully for blind ‘Je’ to be set free in the name of the Son.  ‘Je’ began shaking and then speaking and chanting and then yodeling.  She said it was not her but the demons inside her doing this, so she was instructed, “Do not allow your mouth to give praise to satan.  Instead, call on Jesus to help you.”  She did.  The chief was right there and several other older men who are not followers, but they coached her, “Say Jesus help me in Jesus name!”  She did. The prayers continued and she was set free.  She was able to sleep restfully through the night for the first time in 3 months.  We checked on her every day for three days and each day there were more gathered around to see what Father had done.

Three Systems Collide

Saturday morning everyone was up early preparing for the great feast.  The men cut the sheep’s neck in a ceremonial way and the women were already preparing the rice and peanut sauce.  Women were dressed up and children had on new sunglasses and played with balloons that their parents bought in the market the day before. It was like Christmas for them.  Marcella* and I walked outside of the village and across the road and then back so we could get a good view of all the people as they lined up to pray. It was sad to see our friends going through the rituals of standing, bowing, kneeling and repeating meaningless words.  We re-entered the village from the back and came upon Marcella’s* father who was just closing the door to one of the idols.  We caught him by surprise.  There are 3 systems at work here.  The Muslims with their prayers and sacrificed sheep, the animists with their many sacrifices to idols,  and Marcella*, the follower with us praying in the Son’s name and worshipping Father.  We thought of the story of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal.  “Father of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are Father in [‘Se’] and [we] are Your servants and that at Your Word [we] have done all these things.”  I Kgs 18:36.

A Choice to Make

Marcella*s mom (old ‘Je’) came and sat with us.  She is very lively and some say maybe she is bipolar, but this time was different.  When she entered our courtyard, she blessed us saying, “May Father let us see a good ending.” This became the prompt for us to begin sharing stories which explain how we KNOW we will have a good ending to our lives.  There is only one way to have peace and to have a good ending to our life and that is by taking the True road.  For the first time, old ‘Je’ sat quietly and really listened to the story of Creation, Fall, Cain and Abel through the Bible.  She responded in amazement and shock and then just pondered what was said.  The offer was there, but she did not respond.  Father, keep Your words strong in her mind and convict her heart.  Give her courage and faith to follow.

Marcella’s* cousin, Anthony* came many times to hear stories.  He wants to make a decision, but said he has some things to talk to Marcella* about.  Since his father is old and in charge of the idols, Anthony* must do a lot of the running around for him…thus, he is the owner of the knife.  That means that he is responsible for making the sacrifices and if he chooses to follow at this time, a curse will come upon him.  Father we know that you are our protection.   Give Anthony* the courage and strong desire to turn from evil and trust You.

In the afternoon, Anthony*s wife brought her sick baby to us to pray over.  The baby was covered in fetishes.  We agreed to pray, but first there was one requirement… “You must remove all the juju and fetishes.”  The woman went back to her husband (who is in line to perform the duties of the animist priest) and he gave her permission to choose whether she wanted to take the risk.  She did.  She returned with the baby and removed all the “stuff.”  We did pray and Father healed.  Three days later we popped into their compound unannounced and found the baby still without the fetishes.  Father, please protect that baby from all kinds of evil.  Show Yourself True to the parents in Your Son’s name so that they too may believe.

A True Thanksgiving

Sunday morning the women were dressed in their finest clothes…they were beautiful…even more so than the day before on their special day.  We began early helping the women prepare the meal.  We cut tons of onions and garlic until our fingers were burning.  The village women picked through and sifted and washed 75 kilos (35 lbs) of rice.  The village men had already killed the two goats that we bought and it was boiled in oil.  Five hours later, two huge vats of zarme (rice cooked with sautéed tomato/oil/onion) was ready to serve.  There were at least 45-60 large bowls of rice dished out.  Walter asked Father to bless the food before anyone ate…as is our custom.  The children filed in first and sat down in small groups around some of the bowls.  When they finished, we set out about 15 bowls and the men rushed in and sat down to eat.  We carried bowls to the older people in their own courtyards.  And then the older women came in and gathered around their bowls to eat.  Finally, the cooks gathered around and began eating.  It was only then that the team took their bowl.  Everyone was happy and amazed that we had food for all of them.  They came back time after time saying, “Thank you.  We are all full and there is still more left over.”  However, there was one woman that did not eat.  She thanked us for the food, but told us that the demons would not allow her to eat meat.  Satan has such a stronghold here.

After the meal all the men gathered in the fields to play “football” (soccer).  It was a fun game to watch.  Following the game, we had a party in the gathering place, complete with drums, dancing and stories from Father’s Word.  Walter and Cherenne explained the meaning behind our traditional thanksgiving and then shared a few stories from Father’s word.  Later in the evening, men began coming to our compound with their own mats to sit on.  Even the religious leaders came to hear more stories and asked questions. 

Blessings From the Chief:

“The people, they don’t understand things you offer here and to the villages around so they all heard about the present you offer to them. They said ‘the white men, they are in “Sa.”  This is an honor like from Allah.  Peace, may Allah give you peace.  Even your people who are in America may Allah give them peace.  Even now we don’t know anything and don’t be tired.  As the chief I have been honored like my head is up.  It’s like you make me famous in the villages.  And because of Allah you love “Sa.”  It is Allah who put the love in your hearts and in our hearts.  Allah lift up your religion.  I will permit some of my children to be in your religion.  Allah willing everything is Allah. Allah willing, my children will be believers.  It’s like if I really do not permit one of the children to become a believer, it’s like I don’t like that one.  Because when you come like that, it makes me also like owner.  Some of my children will be added to ‘I’ and Marcella*.  ‘I’ is my son.  ‘I’ is my son.  This is also one of my uncles from my mother’s brother.  We are all the same.  May Allah bless you the way you came by peace may you go back by peace. And may you find in peace your fathers, brothers and everyone.  May Allah bless you.  Everybody is full. Even now we have food because of you.  May Allah make you famous.  May Allah give us all a good ending.  May Allah bless you also.  The things you are looking from Allah, may Allah give you that thing.  May Allah give you peace and rest and lift you up.  The things you are looking for, may Allah make it easy to find it.”

The chief also said, “When people ask, I tell them, ‘They come here because of Allah and faith.’  The faith that you have in your hearts…the thing that you do is from the heart.  Your prayer comes from the heart.  The work you do comes from your heart.  If your heart is clean then the work you do will be good.  Your heart is clean and even now may Allah continue to make it clean.  May Allah add more.  This is my prayer to you.  You honor me.  May Allah honor you also.  It will be little by little and at the end the small thing will be big.  Allah give to all of you to live longer and to have peace and rest.  You said that you want to go and come back again, may Allah allow you and us to be alive when you come back.  I am the chief of the village, the king of all of them.  There are many things I have to deal with.  If I don’t do it slowly it isn’t easy, but slowly they all can be in the same place.  When you keep going and coming and going and coming, things will change. It’s very difficult; the work of the village that I am doing is very difficult.  Slowly, slowly there will be a time I will explain everything.  There is nothing like your religion.  You respect one another. You fear Allah and you know Allah.  After all that, there is only one Allah and nothing else.  Only one Allah.  We are both the same.  When you are not here we are sad…we miss what you are doing.”

Comment from Marcella*:

“Many people think that ‘Sa’ is just a small village where the white people must not come to tell the Word of Allah.  Many people will say when you ask them, ‘what did the white men go and do in “Sa?” The same thing has been said to the people of Galilee.  They said that Jesus came from Galilee.  I cannot explain in detail but somewhere they say , ‘Did something good can come from Galilee?’  So I compare this to what they have said like that.  People think that ‘Sa’ is nothing.  Now it is something.  And they like people think that something good cannot come from Galilee, ‘Say come and see when you didn’t believe.’  And they came and they see Jesus.  And I think about that.”

No public decisions were made this week, but Father is definitely stirring hearts and building courage.  Walter said, “There is a new air of acceptance that we’ve not had before.”  Thank you so much for talking to Father on our behalf and for asking Him to shed His light in the dark areas.  He did just that…and more.

*Name changed
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