Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Pray for the local witch doctor

I am blown away by the Lord’s saving grace and power! He alone is worthy of all praise. Today one of our disciple makers Diriiba invited us into his beautiful home for refuge from the pouring rain. They blessed us with a wonderful lunch of yummy bread with eggs and boiled potatoes and served us coffee. Diriiba then shared his testimony with us.

He was raised in a family that served a local witch doctor. There are many people in Docia the area where we have been this week that go to a local witch doctor. There is much demonic oppression in this area. Diriiba’s parents serve this witch doctor. As a young boy he took care of his family’s cattle by their home in the fields and he slept by them. At night an evil spirit would come over him and make him mute and it would not leave him. When Diriiba told his parents about this they did not believe him.

He told a friend who told him to go into the market and buy a necklace with the angel Gabriel on it. His friend said wearing this necklace would make the spirit leave him. Diriiba followed his friend’s advice, but he become mute again that night. Another friend told him to say the name “Jesus” and that the spirit would leave him. That evening when the evil spirit came and said the name of Jesus and the spirit left him! Praise God there is power in the name of Jesus! That evening he became a follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Diriiba is now a disciple maker for his village! He comes alongside baby new believers and prays with them, gets them plugged into church, and teaches them the word of God. He has such a humble heart and he aches for those who are still trapped in the bondage that he was once in. Please pray for the village of Docia, Diribba’s family, and those who worship Satan and see the witch doctor.

On Monday were we able to share the Gospel with Dida, a first year university student and he came to the Lord! We identified him as a person of peace, a future leader of the believers here. He is a natural leader and has great charisma. He told us that he was going to meet us today and bring many friends to hear of his Jesus. We were so happy to be with him again and see his joy in the Lord. We shared the Gospel with four of his friends and after hearing the story of grace, the men loved our story, but said that they wanted to think the message over and that they were not ready to accept.

Diriiba is related to some of these men and he went onto share that their beliefs are a blend of Ethiopian Orthodox and that they also believe in some demonic things. We then prayed for them and Allen Hankins shared his testimony and Dida, our new friend, went onto share his testimony. He again and again talked about “my Jesus” and the peace and joy that Jesus Christ has given him! He said that last night he prayed to Christ and that the Lord heard his prayer. He said he has been reading the Bible that we gave him. I was moved to tears. We shared scripture with him to encourage and build him up. (Philippians 4:4-6)

Three of the men who were not believers left during this time, but one man remained, Zerion. After hearing more truth and Allen and Dida’s testimony Zerion said he wanted to accept Jesus Christ! It was so beautiful! We were filled with joy. Demeka, our translator, and Allen prayed with him to receive Christ. This is just a small taste of what the Lord has been doing this week! All glory, honor, and praise to Him alone who is worthy!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

Our team went to see the witch doctor this afternoon. Please pray for his salvation that he and his family would give their lives to Christ! Please also pray for the new believers that they would pour into the word, seek their Savior, and to surround themselves with a cloud of witnesses. Also please pray for Team B as their village is very resistant to the Gospel. Pray for our doors and open hearts to hear and receive Jesus Christ!
Story by Lauren Lawson

1 comment:

Amit said...

praying for you guys. this is so great, it is moving me to tears!