Outside the wind is coming in gusts and spurts. Sometimes the sun peeks through, but mostly the sky is overcast. Stillness and turmoil. Sun or gray skies… The weather today reflects the restlessness of our community.
Today will decide much for 5 year old Nelda. She has been sick since Sunday afternoon and all the family has come together to decide what to do.
In the Mwinika culture the uncle has the spiritual and legal authority over his sister’s children. Not the father. In this case, Nelda’s uncle is a unbeliever and he must make the ultimate decision.
They decided not to take Nelda to the hospital.
Salim’s little girl is not eating and still shaking uncontrollably. As her parents and family wait in and around the house night and day, their exhaustion and desperation fuels the need to seek the help of a witchdoctor. You see, in the Mwinika culture witchdoctors have been “healing” people for centuries by appeasing the spirits. A diviner will tell the family which spirit needs to be appeased or who is casting the curse. Another witchdoctor (all asking great amounts of money for their services!) will then do a ceremony to cast out this spirit or break the curse.
In reality they are exchanging one dark spirit for a stronger one…
In the Mwinika people’s minds this is the only way. They will lose Nelda if they do not act soon. They have not seen God’s power, have not experienced His love and protection… do not know Truth. The small group of Mwinika that do know, do not have the full Bible translated yet and are few. Their faith is being tried! Salim and his wife have confessed their belief in Christ. Salim is preaching this each Sunday. He is co-teaching with Francois and the four other men in our village the Word for the first time.
Please pray that God will show Himself clearly! We pray the words of Ephesians 1:15-23 “may their spiritual eyes be opened to see… the great power we have in Christ…”.
Pray that Nelda will be healed. May God be glorified!
Photo: A divinity ceremony a few years ago to find out what spirit is responsible for a sickness.