Pioneer Postcard

A 35-year-old single mother approached me with an unusual dilemma. Every morning, she woke up without any clothing, and she was scared.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” the woman replied anxiously.

I had a hunch about the strange occurrence. I had heard similar stories, and all involved evil spirits. I knew what to do. “Do you accept Christ as your Savior?” I asked. “If you do, we can pray, and He will help you.”

The woman said she accepted Christ into her life, so I gathered church members to pray. We prayed for three days, and on the third day, I asked her for an update. “I’ve been fine for the past three days,” she said. The woman was later baptized, and she has never been disturbed by evil spirits since.

Evil spirits are prevalent in Zimbabwe, where many people are superstitious and practice traditional beliefs. As a Global Mission pioneer who works in areas without any Adventist presence, I have had several experiences with those spirits.

At my current posting, I was invited to speak at a Sunday church where a woman with a knee problem asked for prayer. When I mentioned the name of Jesus in my prayer, she abruptly fell to the ground. When this happens, it means a demon has departed. I prayed for her and helped her stand up. Today, she is a member of the Adventist Church because of what she experienced.

Sometime after that, I had a direct encounter with eight evil spirits while leading an evangelistic series at a school. As I displayed a picture of the crucified Christ on the screen, a 48-year-old woman leaped to her feet and ran from the room.

After the meeting, I found the woman lying in the schoolyard. She was motionless and appeared to be dead. Several people carried her back into the school and placed her on the floor.

I gathered 10 church members around the woman and led them in singing and praying. As we spoke the name of Jesus, she suddenly sat up, shook violently, and collapsed back onto the floor. Her actions indicated that an evil spirit had fled her body. Now I wanted to know whether she was free.

“Will you pray to Christ?” I asked her. The woman remained motionless on the floor, a sign that she was still possessed.

We sang and prayed again. Hearing the name of Jesus, she again sat up, shook, and collapsed onto the floor. Another demon had left.

“Will you pray to Christ?” I asked again. The woman didn’t move.

The scenario repeated itself over and over. We sang and prayed from nine o’clock at night to three o’clock in the morning. Finally, after the eighth time, the woman responded to my invitation to pray. She sat up and, with a clear voice, prayed, “Dear Jesus, thank you for releasing me from the demons. I ask you to come to my assistance so I may become a church member and be as strong as the others in this room.” The woman is now a Seventh-day Adventist and serves as a deaconess.

God is good all the time.