Welcome to “Stories From the Field”

Two Crosses !!!

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 23:02:23 +0800

Flashback - June 2007 (The first cross)
It was the second visit to one of the UPG Village.
After the 1st power encounter together with AWK, it was with much anticipation that we went in the 2nd time 2 days after the first. AWK was away in Indonesia and I managed to get JT to accompany me in. Prayer request was made to a church through Pr. G for coverage.
“Manih” apparently was delivered but was “jampi’ again by a Siamese Bomoh at the request of a relative. Dramatic prayer via SMS saved the day for her. This time we were called in because her daughter was possessed.
The weather was good as we cruised along the Kesas Highway. As we turned up at the Banting interchange, I saw in the sky a huge cross formed by 2 interlocking length of white clouds. I pointed out to John and said that God’s hand is upon the Mah Meri people. Unfortunately I did not capture it on film.
We prayed for Manih’s daughter but could not deliver her. Sensing around, we noticed that there is a new small altar being erected at a corner. Questioning them, we asked them to remove it but there was fear in the hearts of Manih. We led them to the scripture to tell them that our God is a jealous God. We also told them that if a house is cleansed (we cleansed it two days earlier during the first power encounter) and they continue with their idolatry, seven more demons will come in. After much persuasion, they gently thank us and say that Jesus and their god will protect them…. Two is better than one. Though we prayed a prayer of blessings before we take leave, we knew that we will be called back soon.
True enough, we were called back the following day….a spirit has entered Manih’s son and he is seeing everything yellow. Also the house that they stay had disturbances at night and has become haunted. No one dared to stay.
AWK was back and the three of us went a day after their frantic call for help……This time round, there was a dramatic power encounter! Over the months, many came to know Jesus.
July 2008 (The second cross)
There is going to be 12 baptisms from Pulau Carey.
I was supposed to go with the 1st team at 10am but due to some business errands, I can only join the 2nd team at 1pm. As I was driving from TTDI to Kepong via the Penchala Link, I say a cross on the sky formed by 2 interlocking length of cloud. This time round I managed to capture using my phone camera.
I was thrilled, told and show my other team members the cross. I was reminded that a year had passed since we went into UPG Villages. What an adventure the past year had been and to cap it off, a reminder by God of His cross over the Mah Meri people.

Demon Possessed

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 11:43:31 +0800

Jesus said in Mark 16.....
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (Mark 16:15-18, NIV)
Indeed as we continue with our work with the Lord in planting new churches, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord, the evil one trembles. In one case, we had a man who has just witness his son’s baptism, was attacked by the evil one. He saw a large nail penetrating his forehead. He could not sleep and could not eat. Every time, he close his eyes, he will see the nails in his forehead with blood oozing out all over his face.
Our CPT were called for action, went over and prayed. In one session, the while praying the body was burning extremely hot. Two of the CPT members felt the burning heat coming out of his body that we literally had to take our hands off his shoulder because it’s too hot. Praise God, right after the prayer, he was fully delivered. Glory goes to God.
Now, the whole household has accepted the Lord and is about to be baptized in a couple of weeks time. Hallelujah !

Baptism Joy !

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 00:05:39 +0800

“Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4,NIV)
Pak Abu, our first man of peace was finally ready for baptism as a 7 month old believer in Sungai M. “Sudah tak ada ragu ragu lagi!” (I have no more doubts anymore). This was a man who had been beset by many doubts about the faith and had long stood long on the fence. Even after accepting Christ, he still had doubts.
Recently, his sister in law was attacked by a spirit and even her husband who was steep into jampi could not help her. The villagers believed it was the wondering spirit of Dewi, a woman who died a month ago. Pak Abu was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray over her in tongue (a spiritual gift he received very recently through a dream).
Then remembering what we had thought him, he boldly took authority in Christ’s name and ordered the evil spirit out. Very soon, the sister in law quietened down. It was Pak Abu’s first deliverance session … all on his own! He was elated that God could work through him. He called to ask us to support him in prayer in case the disturbing spirits came back. “You don’t have to come, just support me in prayer wherever you are”. Hallelujah! Our man of peace had matured and could stand his ground in Christ! Pak Abu is also finally becoming more serious about studying the Word of God.

Jesus Appeared in Dreams ....

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 21:33:28 +0800

Dreams and visions have, through recorded history, often guided mankind. God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men.
Pak Abu has been hosting one of the CPTs over the last 3 years. He was the man of peace for the village but when asked if he was ready to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, he will have all kind of excuses to say that he was not ready.
One night, he had a dream. He narrated this to us.
“One night I was in a jungle and I could not find my way home. I’m a forest people and forest is my territory. It is impossible that I could get lost. I have been in this jungle for so many times.
As I was walking, I met a person and that person showed me the way out. I said thank you and I looked back and asked the person, by the way, where are you from? The other person replied, I’m from East Malaysia. I asked the the other person if he is a Christian, and he answered yes.
I continue with my walk according to the direction given, but for some reason, I got lost again. This time I met another person and he showed me the way. I asked again if he is a Christian, and he answered yes - just like the previous one !
On my final journey, there was a river so broad and so fast moving that I could cross over. The other side, is where home is. All of the sudden, a cross in the form of a bridge was lowered down before me. I managed to cross over !!!! “
When he shared this with one of the CPT member, it was clear that Pak Abu needed to accept Jesus. What a joy for the CPT member to lead him into sinners prayer. Today, he has been baptized and is being trained as one of the potential leader in the village. Again, salvation belongs to our God.

Salvation Belongs to Our God

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:27:16 +0800

Paul said in 1 Cor 2:4 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power”
These words are indeed very true. In missions, esp. to UPGs we depend on the Spirit’s power more than anything else. Who else can we depend on?
Just today, the Lord has brought a couple into the our midst in one of the UPG villages. This man, named Shamril had a week ago went fishing and during that time, we found a box in the river. He took it, opened it and it a was something that he suddenly realize not “clean”. He quickly threw it back into the river. He went back, worried, and true enough his hand were in chronic pain. It was unbearable for him and he did not know what to do.
His father, who one of the recent converts in this UPG community, has been telling his sons that Jesus is the true way. He remembered and prayed to Jesus to heal his hand that is in pain. He said to Jesus, that “If you are true and are able to heal me, then I will believe in you. Otherwise, I will continue my old ways and run far away from Jesus.”
Our God is a faithful God. When anyone were to cry to Him with an honest heart, he will answer. In this case, God healed him the next day. That was his testimony today in the church. What a miracle, and because of this he and his wife were so ready to accept Jesus. Today, we led them into sinners prayer. Praise the Lord. Pray that these couple will grow well to be the disciple of Jesus. Hallelujah !

Persecution and Miracles ...

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:16:15 +0800

Acts 19:24-29
We were ministering in one of the village to about 40 children. All the kids were having fun worshiping the Lord. We usually hold the session outdoors as there were no house or place large enough to house them. These kids love to sing the praise and worship songs. In fact, the headman of the village said the every morning, they will sing the song in the bus to school ... what an encouragement to the CPT (Church Planting Team) of that village.
All of a sudden, dark clouds begin to cover the sky. One man walked angrily towards the house and started scolding and shouted angrily. He came and punched one of the believers face. She was thrown out of her sitting place and blood came rushing out from her mouth.
One man from the CPT quickly grabbed him and pulled him aside. He nearly punched that man too. Many were praying in tongues and trying to calm him down but he continued with his unkind words to the believers there.
At the same time, the children continue to worship. Dark clouds were still in the sky. It began to rain.
One of the CPT lady who was leading the kids in singing began to say, “Kids let’s pray to the Lord to hold the rain so that we can continue with our program.”. All this were happening when the commotion was taking place. The angry man was talking at one end and the kids were praying for the rain to stop at the other. And because the CPT children leader was so loud in her declaration, everyone was watching in anticipation of what will happen next. While praying, the rain had poured !
The miracle happened the moment, the CPT lady and the kids said amen. That very moment, the rain stopped ! The kids began to clapped their hands and shouting. The people there were amazed at what was happening, giving little attention to the angry man who was still shouting angrily.
Right after that, the angry man left the scene and the dark clouds began to disappear and sun began to shine.
We asked the woman who was punched, how she felt. She said, “I’m alright, but please pray for that man for the Lord to soften his heart.”. What a response from a young believer !
In the midst of persecution, the Lord showed signs that He is in control and the faith of the children grew because of what happened. What an experience !

Food Multiplication

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:54:20 +0800

We were sharing with one of the believers about the stories of Elijah and the widow. In the story, the widow had to trust God and give Elijah a little cake first, made from the last handful of flour and a little oil in a jar. Through her obedience, the bin of flour was never used up and the jar of oil did not run dry (1 Kings 17:18-16).
A week later, this new believer came back early from work with a small chicken. He wanted to cook curry for himself. All of a sudden, many children came to his house asking for food - about 12 hungry OA up kids!
He checked the rice, and there’s only one little container left enough to feed 2-3 children and himself. He thought to himself and wanted to asked the kids to go away but he remembered about the widow’s story. He decided to cook whatever that is left and asked God to intervene.
They ate and ate ..... and the food could not finish! He was amazed looking at the multiplication of the food. In fact, it could finish for he day. All his other family members came back and eat and the rice still could not finish !
This man’s faith has increased in leaps and bounds. God has shown miracles in his life. Today, he is one of the believers that is being trained and discipled. His hunger for the word will put many to shame.

Simple Faith of Young Believers

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:39:19 +0800

In one of the village, Batin’s wife was bitten by a scorpian. She claimed that the poison will not affect her. And it did not. Then she was scalded by hot water. She claimed that she will not be injured. And she was not. Everywhere she goes, she seeks the Lord’s help. Such effective prayer arising from simple faith!
Batin’s daughter encountered a tiger in the jungle. She called out to the Lord to protect her. The tiger did not come towards her but turned away.
One night her son fell ill and had fever. He vomited out all medicine given to him. She called one of our Frontliners to pray for her. The next day he was up and about running around. Hallelujah!

Physical Healing

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:32:36 +0800

One man was recently down with diarrheoa for 2 months. He was so weak that he could not go about his usual duties. He told many of his relatives that he will die soon and please get ready. The doctors had been unable to help him.
When one day we visited him, we prayed for healing in Yesus’ name. Some of us doubted if the Lord will act. Within the same day he was completely recovered! Now, he has experienced the Lord’s hand for himself. He says he calls on the Lord’s name each night before he sleeps. Yet, he will continue on as a Nicodemous due to fear of the persecution and the heavy price to be paid to be as a believer. Many in his family has come to believe, but we have yet to see any commitment to grow in the Lord.
The whole household was saved that day ... The Lord in his grace, pour out his healing power upon him.

Of Dreams ....

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:01:49 +0800

In one village, God continues to visit the villagers in dreams. Halim dreamt that Yesus came to his village. Hairul dreamt that in the midst of heavy rain and flooding in the village, while finding a safe place to shelter, he saw his nephew wearing a golden crown with a green button in front. Someone told him this is the King’s crown.
In another village, the Lord sent a dream to Rahiza. Rahiza had heard the gospel at the same time as Ari a few years ago. But she had never fully committed herself to Yesus despite constant urging. A few months ago, she dreamt that she was lost and came across some angels by a big cross. She was looking for Ari. When she asked the angels where he was, they replied “You are not like him. He is a follower of Christ”. She became convinced of the truth of Christ and the need to take the step of commitment. When we visited her on 4 November, she prayed to accept Him as Her saviour. Thereafter, her countenance began to shine and radiate as she worshipped the true and living God! Subsequently, she faced persecution from her brother who forbid her to follow Christ. Together with her sister, Rohaiza, she stood firm by her decision. Hallelujah!

New Believers Casting out Demons

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:46:52 +0800

(All names are fictitious)
Recently, one of the believers sister in law was attacked by a spirit and even her husband who was steep into jampi could not help her. The villagers believed it was the wondering spirit of Dewi, a woman who died a month ago. Pak Abu was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray over her in tongue (a spiritual gift he received very recently through a dream). Then remembering what we had thought him, he boldly took authority in Christ’s name and ordered the evil spirit out. Very soon, the sister in law quietened down. It was Pak Abu’s first deliverance session … all on his own! He was elated that God could work through him. He called to ask us to support him in prayer in case the disturbing spirits came back. “You don’t have to come, just support me in prayer wherever you are”. Hallelujah! Our man of peace had matured and could stand his ground in Christ! Abu is also finally becoming more serious about studying the Word of God.

Power Encouter (Part 2/2)

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:21:53 +0800

(All names are fictitious)
After the exciting events of last month, we wondered how the Lord was going to lead us in the coming month. We were not disappointed. For the move of God in this village was far from over.
We decided to commit to sending a small team every fortnightly in order to establish a house church there. We taught of the promises of God’s protection in Psalm 91 for which they found comfort. Yet, at the same time, some were also giving credit to the Siamese Bomoh for healing Rimah the last time. After the demonstration of God’s power it seems that old habits do die hard.
God shows in no uncertain terms that He will not share His glory with any other. Soon after, on one Monday morning, we received an urgent call from Rimah’s son, Pusai. He was in great distress. It was his sister, Norati’s turn to be possessed. Fear gripped his voice as he made an urgent plea for us to come over immediately. And so it was again - from the corporate world of business to the poverty stricken villages. All in a day. All part of the day’s work. We were getting used to this by now…
Two of our team members arrived at the village at 6:30 pm on the same day. Norati lay motionless and stared blankly ahead in Rimah’s bare wooden hut. She had been seeing demons and disturbed by them at night. She was also not able to hear. Our team members started to pray over her. The crowd began to gather again. Was this going to be just as entertaining as the first time round with Rimah? Time passed. Norati began to be able to say “Yesus”. But fear was still etched in her eyes. Somehow our team members sensed that she was not yet fully delivered. Does she still see any demon? She pointed to one corner of the house. Lying inconspicuously there was a small altar to the Siamese god, complete with joss sticks. It was a new addition to the home… after the Siamese bomoh was called in the last time.
The time had come to challenge them to a decisive commitment to Christ. It won’t do to have one foot in Christ and the other in other gods. So, our team members firmly told them that they have to make a choice for Christ if they want Norati to be fully delivered. Then we noticed that Rimah was wearing a black amulet. It had been given by the Siamese bomoh. Could we destroy it together with the altar? Our question was met with silence. A storm of conflict was raging deep within their souls. On the one hand they had seen the power of God and wanted to follow Him. On the other, they feared backlash from abandoning the Siamese god. She had been told she would die if she removes the amulet.
Just then, a relative, Bunus, arrived. He was the very person who had taken Rimah forcibly to the Siamese god over a couple of weeks ago. He spoke to Pusai, Rimah’s son outside the house. Pusai then came in to announce that the amulet cannot be destroyed and that Norati was to be taken to the bomoh. The atmosphere changed. Politely, they thanked us for coming. They do appreciate our efforts, but they would like to try for healing by the bomoh. We told them they could call us back anytime. After saying a prayer of blessing, we left with a heavy heart. Have we blown it? It seemed as if the powers of darkness had won the day. The soldiers of God had to retreat in apparent defeat. It was up to the Spirit of God now.
The Lord did not keep us waiting long. Two days later, on a Wednesday morning, a desperate Pusai was on the line again. “Please come over ,” he begged! “I made a mistake the other day. Now I really want to follow Yesus with all my heart.” Pusai himself felt disturbance from the evil one. His body was weak and he could not sleep for many days. Our stand by team was on its way again to Carey Island.
Amusing news were awaiting us there. Norati was still not healed. It turned out that the bomoh did not even want to see her. He was too scared to jampi for her! Bunus himself, the key person rooting for the prowess of the Siamese bomoh was also under spiritual attack. As for Pusai, he was seeing everyone and everything bathed in yellow. Everyone was like a walking DiGi man! We led him through the sinner’s prayers (again) and then prayed over him. Instantly, the yellow-ness in his vision vanished. Then, it came back after a short while. Another round of prayer. This time it disappeared for good! His vision was back to the normal world of multi-colours. In amazement, even the Batin encouraged the people there to become followers of Christ.
Next it was Rimah we had to deal with. She was still afraid of the consequences of removing the black talisman from her neck. The bomoh had told her that she would die if she took it off. But she wanted to believe in Yesus. We took off the amulet gently. Nothing happened – of course. We led her in sinner’s prayer. Then with her permission, we cleansed her house. We took down the altar and burnt all “unclean” things in sight. In the midst of the burning, we heard “pop” –ing sound from the fire. Right thereafter, Rimah began to vomit. Another deliverance session got under way. For half an hour, she threw up volumes of air, then blood. She looked a sorry sight with her tongue sticking out and doubling up in pain. At the end of the session, we gave her water to drink. She began shouting “Hallelujah” and raising her hands in triumphant victory. Then, another of Rimah’s daughter, seeing all the manifestations before her eyes, became very afraid and wanted to receive Yesus. We call it being frightened into the Kingdom of God.
With all that demonstration of God’s power, taking on the spirits in Norati, the other daughter of Rimah, should be a piece of cake … right? .. Well, wrong.. We prayed and prayed ... nothing happened. She could not eat, drink or speak. Finally, it was getting late, so we had to leave. Whilst jubilant in the victory the Lord has given for Pusai and Rimah, we were mindful of the un-delivered case. In fact before we left, we noticed that Norati was lying in a somewhat inappropriate and seductive posture.
The following week, on a Tuesday, our team visited UPG Village again to check on how the new believers were doing there. As they arrived, 2 villagers rushed out to meet them. “We want to believe Yesus too!”, they declared enthusiastically. Why that sudden excitement? That very morning, they suddenly felt their hearts being opened to receive the Lord. What joy it was to lead Dani and Misah to Christ. Dani mentioned that he saw a man in bright white robe with light on his head the night before. He had felt no fear, only a great sense of peace. The angels had been there protecting them! Then, the old grandmother sitting quietly watching and listening also wanted to come to Christ. After the prayer, she felt such peace in her heart. As for Rimah, her condition was stable. No more disturbance. When she felt afraid at night, she has learnt to cry out to Yesus to help her. One night, as she heard noises outside her house, she called on Yesus and experienced His peace come upon her. The Prince of Peace has come to the Mah Meri!
The unfinished business with Norati remained …well…unfinished. We prayed again and again, but could see no results. She still could not talk or drink or sleep. This was already the third round of prayers for her. We went home with a mixture of joy tinged with some frustration at yet another unsuccessful deliverance session for Norati. When we asked the Lord, why, He said, this kind can only come out by prayer and fasting ( Mark 9:29). So, we fasted on Saturday, before the trip in on Sunday for a breakthrough. For this trip, we assembled four mighty men of God, including 2 deliverance specialist, ready to take on the obstinate powers that have been refusing to obey the command to vacate! We started with worshipping the Lord, singing the song, “Dalam nama Yesus, ada kemenangan”. As worship progressed, Norati began to worship too and sing praises and clap hands. We prayed over her and she began to speak words and utter the name of Yesus, softly at first then loudly later. She was smiling all the way. There was no need for any prolonged deliverance session. Pusai told us Norati’s condition had started to improve on Saturday, the very day we decided to fast. Truly, it was all God’s work. He didn’t really need any of our ghost busting skills. He alone was able to deliver Norati. We just had to learn to simply obey His leading! We learnt an old lesson afresh. Hallelujah!
Our heart’s prayer is that may a strong house group be firmly established amongst this unreached tribal group.

Power Encounter (Part 1/2)

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:03:44 +0800

“I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.” ( 1 Cor 2:3-5, NIV)
(All names are fictitious)
Pak Ari’s sister in law, Rahiza had married into the one UPG tribe. His 11 year old niece, Fazira, was staying with Rahiza and was now seriously ill with high fever. Will we please come? She has not eaten for 3 days. She has been talking in her sleep, pleading to some powers so as not to disturb her. They did not know what to do. They had no one else to turn to. They had no money to go to the hospital or call a cab to get there. Will we please come immediately?
In response, 2 of our team members made their way there early on a Monday morning. When we arrived, they were all ready to go to the hospital. But our team members prayed the prayer of faith for God’s healing power. Shortly thereafter, Fazira’s fever subsided completely and she got up and asked for food. No doctor or medicine needed! An amazed Rahiza went to get some porridge for her. Then, the bowl containing the cold porridge cracked into two for no apparent reason to everyone’s shock. This confirmed that the illness was clearly a spiritual attack! At Fazira’s own request, we took her back to our home to be nursed back to physical health. Then, it was off to the office to start real work at noon.
End of story for this village? Or so we thought. Barely a week later, we got a second cry for help. Would we please come again? This time, the situation is even more desperate. One villager, Kak Rimah has been possessed by spirits and had been terrorizing the entire village. While the villagers slept at night, she would go from house to house clamouring to get in, banging and scratching on doors, climbing the walls, hissing and crying out for blood. She has already bitten her own body in attempts to suck blood. She has been unable to swallow any food or water for many days.
The villagers tried all kinds of thing. They consulted all types of spirits (and they knew many of these). Nothing worked. Now, they were at wits’ end as to what to do. They held a council meeting to decide if they should call us. After all, we healed Fazira of her sickness didn’t we? Finally, the headman and the council decided to call the Christians in as a last resort. The desperate call for help came through at 3 pm on a busy Wednesday. Would we please please come? And so it was, from the posh luxury of the corporate boardroom to the poverty stricken villages. By 6 pm the same day, 2 of our team members had reached the village.
A group of frightened villagers had gathered at the Batin’s house. They could not bear the thought of another night with Kak Rimah in that condition, least she succeeds in entering their homes, whether it is by way of over the wall or through the roof… Is the Christian God powerful enough? The battle began. Our 2 team members got into full action of deliverance, inter phased with preaching of the gospel. It was a captive audience watching every step of prayer …. drinking in the message of the gospel. Dusk gave way to twilight. Prayer intensified. The spiritual warfare escalated. Manifestations also began. At one point, a round lump surfaced on Rimah’s legs. As we lay hands to cast it out, it began plotting its escape, running down along her legs! After 3 hours at 9.30pm, the battle was over. Yesus was triumphant, of course! Peace settled on Rimah. She begin to drink water. She could now utter the word “Yesus” (she could not previously). The awestruck group of 20 + villagers had seen the power of God. They had witnessed the demonstration of His power. They now believed.
Was there any statute in Rimah’s house? Rimah’s son searched through the messy piles of clothes on the floor of the living room (they do not have wardrobe). He pulled out two wooden carvings with grotesque features. Aaah, he nodded in understanding as enlightenment flooded his mind … . no wonder she had been seen talking to something in the direction of the pile of clothes the nights before. It all made sense now. They had to be destroyed. Is he sure of this? The statutes were worth a fortune each.The statutes were destroyed (with axe given by Roslan, one of the people watching the whole event) in front of 20+ people at 9:30pm. Kak Rimah’s son (Pusai) had seen what they had done to his mother. If not for Jesus that night, Rimah would have been a dead woman.
The villagers were very thankful to see Rimah restored. But, please, could we now take her home? Just this teeny weeny bit of favour for them? They were pleading out of genuine fear. Just how far does one go in ministry? Do we grant every request of the people we minister to? It was one of the team member’s wife who made the decision, in the comfort of her home far away. Sorry, under no circumstances was Rimah to be brought home. No, this wife does not care what the villagers have to say. Rimah is NOT coming home. PERIOD. The two men would just have to find a way to say no. (thank God for mobile phone coverage enabling husband wife long distance consultation!) So, our team members said, no firmly. God did not give us a spirit of fear. God is there and will protect them. All 20+ of them in the audience had already given their lives to Jesus. We took pains to assure them God would protect them (perhaps more so for our own sake). We even assured them that Rimah can be allowed to sleep on her own. The villagers finally accepted our word. But we could not help noticing how fast they all disappeared as soon as we said that we were going home.
We would all be glad to know that for the first in many nights, Rimah slept peacefully, confined to her own house. She did not even need anyone to guard her. Her days as “spider woman” was over. The villagers were amazed at her transformation. The fact that she could eat and drink was a miracle. Her once again cheerful demeanour was amazing. Aah … praise the Lord … it turned out that the decision to leave her in the village that night was the correct judgement call, never mind that it was tinged with some self interest at heart… Seeing Kak Rimah getting up the next day to bathe and cook was a powerful testimony of her complete recovery in the sight of the villagers. Yesus really is powerful! All was well again … until the next day..that is.
The next day on Thursday, the unexpected happened. An unhappy relative, disgruntled at the fact that Christians had been called in to pray for healing of Rimah, forcibly brought a bomoh of Siamese spirit into Rimah’s house to jampi over her. How dare they call the Christians in, he fumed. As the jampi went on, Rimah started banging her head and shouting, “dah masuk balik, dah masuk balik” (it has gone in again!). The drama continued. Now, fear gripped the villagers again! Rimah’s son called us quite desperately on Thursday night. Rimah had begun to “meracau” (act up again as if possessed) What is he to do now? Well what can we do? Rush to village in the middle of the night? No, the mobile phone would do the job just nicely. We would sms him the prayer to pray and bind the evil spirit. Jesus after all is already there with them. So that night, the 20+ villagers gathered again in Rimah’s house, fearful of a repeat of Rimah’s condition. In candle light (there is no electricity) Rimah’s son read out the prayer in the sms message line by line and a group of about 10 people behind him repeated it aloud over and over again. She calmed down and went to sleep. Then, came a drunkard man, shouting to them that they should not pray to Jesus. Again, an SOS call to us and we send SMS to them so that they could pray against the spirit of drunkardness and protection. The drunkard man went away and the rest of the night passed uneventfully and the satisfied villages returned home. The IT age has saved the night for us.
On Friday, 2 team members went in to the village again to check on the villagers. As we entered Kak Rimah’s house, we were assailed by the smell of urine reeking in the simple wooden hut. There she lay in a bit of a daze, still somewhat weak but so much better from the earlier days of her demon possession. We were not quite sure whether she was still possessed, but she could say “Yesus”. The villagers did not want us to do any deliverance. They will call us again if she acts up. So, we spent the time doing some simple teaching to a few people. They readily received the bibles we brought. Being able to read is a bonus, as they could understand the Word of God easily. “We have seen the power of Yesus. Now we really really believe Him. Yes, we want His Word. Come and teach us the word of God!” Such openess touched us. Even the Batin of a neighbouring village, who witnessed it all told us that last time he does not really believe the message brought in by another group of Christians. But this time, having seen the power of God, he says, “Saya sudah betul betul percaya Yesus”..God has opened the door to this UPG villages in his divine time. Whilst the villagers had greeted the gospel coldly previously, now their hearts were open. But in establishing a house group and bringing the tribe to Christ, immense challenges lay ahead.