This past Sunday we had the great opportunity to give a presentation on what God did while we were in Africa! Daejanna, Michelle, Victoria, and I presented in both of the morning services. They all did a great job!
Here are my notes just in case you were unable to be there:
This trip to Africa was challenging in many different ways. When we arrived I sensed one major key difference between Burkina Faso and Benin, where I grew up. The difference was that there “seemed” to be no voodoo influence. I was taken off guard by that because I thought that the Burkinabe people were just as influenced by animism as Benin. But there you would see more Mosques and Muslim influence than anything else.
Little did I know that they were actually under the same influence; they just kept their voodoo religion much more hidden. Once the team entered the village of Karengasso-Vige my original thoughts about the area were confirmed. They were still in bondage to voodoo and sorcery and they held very strongly to their Muslim faith.
People wore voodoo protection rings as they bowed to Allah. We walked by a huge mosque on our daily walk back to the pastor’s house. You could definitely see the things to which they were enslaved.
Pastor Daoda, the head pastor of the church in Karengasso-Vige, had been working in this village for about 5 years. He seemed a little discouraged and after spending a week there we all had an understanding of why. The spiritual battle in the village was incredible. The people living in Karengasso-Vige are under Satan's tight grip and he is not letting go without a serious fight.
Almost like clockwork, anytime we would move to a time of decision with any group of people, there would be some major disturbance. Either children would begin fighting, or a person would completely interrupt us and change the subject.
One particular encounter took place on Wednesday. We decided to walk out and check up on some of the people who had recently made decisions for Christ. As we were on our way we saw that an older gentleman was out with his wives. We had spoken to his wives a few days prior, but they said they couldn’t make a decision for faith unless their husband was present. So we changed direction mid-stride and walked over to him. As it turns out, he had spoken with one of our other evangelism teams and had wanted us to come by to share with him again. God had appointed this meeting.
After we shared Christ with him once more he stated that he and his wives would continue considering what we had told him. Then something very odd happened. He pulled out a pen and paper and asked to have each of our names. After a long interchange of names we prayed for him and left.
On the road back the African brothers and sisters seemed very uneasy. I asked them what was on their mind and they said, “That man is the head voodoo witchdoctor for this village. He asked for our names so he can pronounce curses on us tonight.” I used the wrote answer of, “Well, we are under the blood of Christ and nothing can bother us because of that.”
They took it very seriously and as soon as we got back to the church compound we spent about 15 minutes in prayer. They were taking action against the spiritual forces before anything had taken place. Which is something that we can learn from.
I was up for several hours that night trying to sleep but completely unable to do so. The strange thing was that my feet were itching like crazy! I turned on my flashlight thinking that I had a bunch of bug bites, but they were clear, nothing was there. Still, the itching continued. The longer I was up, the more aware I was of this incredible feeling of evil that was resting over our small village house. As soon as I recognized it, I immediately began praying against it. I rebuked Satan in Jesus name and asked for God’s Spirit to fill that place.
After praying, God gave me a peace and my feet stopped itching. I could sleep.
The next day one of our African sisters shared about a dream that she had that very night. She dreamed that the voodoo witchdoctor was using the list to pronounce curses on each and every person so that they would get terribly sick. She woke up from her dream and began praying against him at that very moment.
This was just a small glimpse of the spiritual battle that had been going on during our trip. We were directly in the line of fire, but the Lord kept us safe in His hands! Our God is stronger than any other.
I don’t want you to think that you are in the safe zone here in Fairborn Ohio. Just like I thought that voodoo wasn’t present in Burkina Faso, Satan hides himself so that we are not always aware of his dealings. We need to open our eyes to the fact that we are in a spiritual battle every day. Are you on the offense? Or the defense?
*Is 40:3–5 3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
They are still doing follow up work, but my rough estimates are that over 25 people came to Christ through the work in the village and the city!
The Lord directs your steps when you ask Him to do so. The Lord gives you the words you should speak when you need them. The Lord brings people to Himself so that His glory will be revealed. Praise the Lord for everything that He did on this trip and allowing us to be a part of it. Thank you for praying for us and sending us out!
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