The Witch Doctor And The Missionary

The other day I met a woman who is an indigenous missionary from one part of India to a very rural tribal village in another part of India. She grew up in the city but God called her and her husband to take the good news of Jesus Christ to a remote, rural village. I will not use her name or where they are ministering to protect them from from increased persecution in India.

She told us of the hardships of ministering in remote villages. Things we take for granted were not available, e.g., TV, internet, cell phone coverage, medical treatment, running water, showers, and electricity, just to name a few.

Then she told us a story that has not only kept her going through the years but has also captured and broke my heart.

While sharing the gospel in a village a man came to her husband and said he needed to come to his home. The man's home was a two hour walk from the village. When they arrived the man told the young missionary he was the witch doctor for his village. He came from a long line of witch doctors and he was taught the black arts from his parents. The problem he was having was the demons were now tormenting him. They were demanding blood. He started making blood sacrifices. He was using all his resources to buy chicken and pigs. The demons lust for blood could not be satiated, they continually demanded more blood. He couldn't sleep at night because of the demonic activity all around him.

This young missionary told him whenever the demons tried to disturb him to say the phrase, "The Blood of Jesus." The witch doctor didn't know what to do but he thought he would try it. That night a very large demon came to attack the witch doctor with an axe. He knew his life was in danger at this point so he did as the missionary told him. He shouted aloud the phrase, "The Blood of Jesus!"

With this the demon turned and ran.

That morning the witch doctor found the missionary and told him what had happened. The missionary shared the gospel with him and he gladly received God's gracious offer.

This new believer then said the words that will be burned in my mind and my heart. He asked, "Why didn't you come 15 years back? My parent needed to hear about this Jesus too!"

I am haunted by those words! "Why didn't you come 15 years back?" Even as I write my eyes fill with tears and my heart breaks anew. My ears ring with the Macedonian Call:

           Acts 16:9–10 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

We, here in America, may read this post and go back to our $5 Foo Foo coffee drink and say, "Thank God, He didn't call me to do THAT!" But I beg to differ. What does the Bible demand of each one of us?

Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 9:36–38 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

You may be thinking, "But I can't go!" Here is what you CAN do! Some are called to GO. Some are called to SEND. Everyone is called to PRAY!


Go and do your part. One day, maybe in heaven, a man may come up to you and say, "I was once a witch doctor. Bound to sin by demonic forces. But you gave...you sent...you came...you prayed, and I heard the gospel because of you. Now I am alive forever more because you were obedient to the call of the Father. Thank you!"

Take My Hand, Everything's OK

Last night Denice and I went to the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game with another couple. We had a nice dinner and came into the ballpark during the second inning. We glided up the escalator to the  upper deck. As we walked towards the doors we saw something I found very disturbing.

A man was trying to lead his son down the escalator. The little boy appeared to be about two years old. Each of them had a cup of soda in one hand and the father started down the moving stairway as his son stood at the top trying to figure out how this strange thing worked. I would start to step onto a step but then it would move away before he had time to get his tiny feet to move. The father finally walked back upstream where he took his son by the hand and the two went down the staircase, hand in hand. That's all the little fellow needed, his father's guiding hand.

When they were about half way down the escalator, a little girl walked up to the top of the escalator with a cup of soda in her left hand and the cutest little pink splint on her right hand. She was around four years of age. Just like her little brother, she was not familiar with the escalator. She kept trying to step aboard to get down to her father, but he kept moving farther and father away. She looked very distressed because she was too afraid to step unto the escalator and her father wasn't there to help her.

I ran over to this precious little girl and held my hand out to her. I asked her if she wanted to hold my hand and I would help her ride the escalator. She shook her head and raised her little pink splint towards my hand. I took her hand in mine and we stepped onto the escalator together.

Finally she was on her way down to her father. As we were gliding down the stairway I asked her what happened to her arm. She said, "I bwoke it!" She was the cutest little thing. I delivered her safely to her waiting father and she was happy once again.

That made me think about how we come up to times where we are afraid to take the next step and we are in need of our Father's hand. Unlike that father who was not there for his daughter, Hebrews 13:5 tells us Jesus said He would never desert us nor would He ever forsake us. As we are walking through life, sometimes we separate ourselves from Him but whenever we reach up to Him He is always there to take our hand and help us take that next step into the unknown.

Instead of pulling your hand away from your Father and going off your own way, how about holding tightly to the Father's hand and let Him guide you through this life. Unlike our earthly father, who have probably let us down and not been there when we needed them, our heavenly Father is always there for us. Just raise your hands and look up. He is always there waiting for us to reach up to Him.