Ancestor worship, cursed children, drunken brawls, death threats…

Do you ever feel like parts of your life are so bizarre that if it was made into a movie it would flop because people would consider the plot too unrealistic? That’s been my life in the last few weeks.

I arrived in the shack settlement known as Ikageng two and a half weeks ago. Close to Ikageng is the village of Lesung. I have been splitting my time between these two areas. The work of the devil is strong here. One of the ancient deceptions the devil is still perpetrating in Africa is the practice of ancestor worship. Many people—many Christians—still believe that their ancestors watch over them and that they must pray to them and honour them with special rituals. It is sad to see people caught up in this deception. They really see no problem in believing in both the Bible and ancestor worship. The devil holds real power over them though. I was told with total conviction by a member of our church that if she didn’t keep her “gods” happy, they would strike her down with a sickness that was not curable by modern medicine…

Now, I can smell the skepticism of many of you all the way from Africa! I know that you might think the whole thing is hokey and just a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but don’t dismiss it so quickly. Read the Bible. It talks frequently of people who were possessed by demons. The spiritual world is real. The sickness I was told does happen. The devil DOES have power on this earth. HOWEVER the powers of darkness might be real, but the power of our Saviour is too—and it is so much greater than the devil’s power. It is so much greater that we do NOT need to be afraid. Jesus has overcome the world. The devils tremble before Him. His name is the cure that the medical doctors don’t have! As followers of Jesus, we need never fear things like the wrath of the ancestors because Jesus has promised us that we need only call on His name—He is greater than any power here on earth!

The unfortunate thing is many people here will not accept that the power they think comes from the ancestors is actually evil. They cannot accept that their ancestors are not listening and watching them. They will not believe that their rituals and prayers are not going to their ancestors but to the devil. So, please pray that they would come to a true knowledge of the Biblical truth: there is one God. All other “gods” are false gods and must not be worshiped. Please also pray that they will be protected by the name of Jesus from the curses that might come on them as they begin to understand and accept the truth. If you feel really convicted to pray for this issue, please email me privately for a list of specific people to pray for.

One small example of this spiritual conflict happened the day after I arrived in Ikageng. That morning I was asked to help look for a missing child. The night before a nine-year-old boy never returned home. Thankfully, he was eventually found. Unfortunately he was extremely traumatized when he was found. He wouldn’t talk, he couldn’t move properly, and part of his hair had been ripped out. The locals who found him agree unanimously on what happened: he was used in some sort of witchcraft ceremony. After he was found, his parents brought him to the doctor. I wish I could report that he has fully recovered, but no one really seems to know what really happened. I don’t have any more details, but God knows all and He will know who you are referring to so please keep him in your prayers.

For many of you who are reading this, the previous paragraphs will be the hardest to accept. The following problems are unfortunately much more universal.

The problems stem from alcohol: a worldwide problem. I personally have never had much of a problem with a glass of wine with dinner or a beer on a hot afternoon. However, I am beginning to rethink this outlook. Alcohol is such a huge problem for so many people that an example of abstinence might be much for helpful than one of temperance. Excessive consumption of alcohol here in Africa is so widespread—it’s really sad. UNfortunalte this is true amongst church-goers as well and many people seem to think the whole thing is a non-issue. Do you want to know how many times I’ve heard, “But I wasn’t drunk! I can easily drink 24 beers in an evening and not be drunk!”

Last weekend was especially spectacular. On Saturday afternoon, I was playing with the kids at one of the houses in Ikageng. Suddenly someone came running over and told me that a friend of mine was drunk and was making passes at some of the girls. Some other guys (also drunk) took exception to this and were now threatening to kill him! I immediately went over to see what was happening and ended up trying to help diffuse a street brawl: one guy had a machete, others had bottles, yet another had an old bicycle wheel… People were yelling at my friend that he’d better run for the safety of a fenced yard while others were trying to pry the machete from the other guy… My friend ran away; others chased him, one guy knocked him down, others broke it up. The whole time my friend kept insisting he wasn’t drunk, there wasn’t a problem, he was innocent and that these guys just suddenly jumped him out of the blue. Other people were trying to tell me to get my friend out of the settlement unless I wanted him to be killed. Still others were showing up to make accusations against my friend and warn him that they still planned to kill him. In the end things diffused in a rather anticlimactic fizzle as everyone stumbled off to bed to sleep off the effects of the beer they had consumed that day. Despite the quiet ending, it was a rather trying day!

The drama continued in a less explosive manner the next day when my friend—despite being sober—refused to leave the area. I spent half the day trying to convince him to leave and was finally convinced to leave him alone because he’d leave the next morning. He didn’t and we actually went in and removed him from Ikageng to Lesung that night because the guys from the day before started threatening him again! Thankfully that issue has finally been resolved. My friend went home. Before he left we were able to talk things through. He apologized for everything and has asked for prayer that he’ll be able to stop drinking and face his problems.

Well, that’s the excitement from here! However, before I close, I feel compelled to add one more paragraph. At this point, I’m sure many of you think that I’m in perpetual danger or at least perpetual excitement. That’s just not true! The above moments have taken up a small amount of my time. The rest of my days have been filled with much more sedate experiences: teaching school, playing with kids, sharing from the Bible, praying for the sick, visiting friends, etc. So, as you finish reading this blog, I do ask for your prayers, but I also ask that you don’t worry! I’m not in danger. I’m not afraid. I’m not about to be cursed or killed in a drunken brawl. I am safe! And I am definitely not ready to get on a plane and fly home—if anything, I’d like to extend my visa and stay a little longer!