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!"

The Saga of JoJo

JoJo was a bean, but not just any bean, JoJo was a coffee bean. He was born, or came into bean, in Colombia, high up in the mountains. He blossomed as a youth and thought life just could not have been any better than hanging around on that coffee tree with his buds and twin sister, LoLo. You see, the fruit of the coffee tree, called cherries, have two seeds, or beans, inside and are very particular. They like high altitudes with about two hours of direct sunlight per day. It can’t be too hot or too cold. It can’t be too wet or too dry. They don’t do well if they are too far from the equator. They are quite particular and quite pampered.

One day, a man named Juan Valdez, came to visit JoJo. Juan had visited with JoJo many times before and he had come to look forward to these days because Juan made him feel so special. But this day was different, Juan did not come alone, as before, he brought a friend. He brought his donkey, Paco. Juan looked at JoJo carefully. Then he reached up and plucked poor frightened JoJo right off of the branch that JoJo had called home for so long and placed him in a rough gunnysack hanging from Paco’s back.

JoJo was confused at first. “Why me? What is happening to my life, my plans? I thought Juan loved me!” These are but a few of the thoughts and questions that were swirling around in JoJo’s mind. It was as if his world had been turned upside down and he had no one to talk to. He tried to talk to LoLo, but she was no help, she was consumed with her own pain and confusion.

Soon, JoJo was taken to a shed where he was put through the ringer. Although this part of his life was uncomfortable, he came through it with a new sense of freedom. The flesh of the cherry was removed and now he could breathe a little easier. He did suffer a bit of separation anxiety from his sister LoLo. JoJo saw life and the world in a whole new way now. This must have been what God had created him for. “I think I would like to travel and see the world,” JoJo said to himself.

JoJo was very excited when he was told he would soon be on a ship to America. “A cruise!” JoJo exclaimed as he could hardly contain his excitement. Our young protagonist soon found himself in a large bag, confined inside a cargo container with a few million other coffee beans. JoJo was an optimist though and he was determined to not let his life be ruled by his emotions. Even though he was missing out on the endless buffets and the ice sculptures, JoJo thought that he could use this time to meet new friends and maybe God could use him to comfort some other beans. JoJo would tell the other beans of the bright lights and big cities that he had heard about and soon everyone in the container could hardly wait to arrive in America. Some were looking forward to this new chapter in their lives, while others were just hoping against hope to finally get some peace and quiet as far from JoJo as possible.

It wasn’t long before JoJo found himself in a big shiny stainless steel drum that would continuously stir the beans. A Mixer! JoJo was finally in his element. He soon met other beans from all over the world like Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and even Kenya. All the different cultures and languages! JoJo could not have been any happier. That is when JoJo noticed that it was starting to get uncomfortably hot. Was this the bright lights in the big city that he had heard about? He noticed that he was starting to change. He was sweating quite a bit and his skin was starting to get oily. He was also losing weight and bulking up at the same time. What a tan he was getting and what was that smell? “This must be LA Fitness!” he told himself.

JoJo had come through this latest ordeal not only with a new outlook on life, but he found that he was bolder and stronger. He made a decision that he would serve God, no matter what came his way. He was starting to notice that he was being treated as some kind of celebrity. He was now living in a store where he and his new international friends were almost worshiped. He was learning a lot of new words, such as, “venti,” “cappuccino,” and “espresso.” JoJo was having fun just saying these new words when life once again took an unexpected turn. JoJo found himself in a hopper slowly sliding down towards a grinder. Soon his life was shattered into a thousand pieces. He once again cried out to God, but it was as if the heavens were as brass. No answer came, only more pain. Hot water came showering down upon him and he felt as if every bit of his life was being drained away. It was as he was being poured into a cup that the Lord spoke to him in the stillness of his heart. “You are no longer JoJo the coffee bean. This is the purpose for which I created you. This is your destiny. Your name is now Joe. And I love you."

It is only through the crucible of pain and suffering that we can become all that God has created you and I to be. It was A.W. Tozer who said something like, "I doubt that God can bless a man greatly until he has wounded him deeply."