Rural Witchcraft

We’re told in the sixth chapter of Ephesians that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Believer, we are engaged in a battle but not one we can fight with physical weapons of war.  This battle can only be fought through prayer, because it’s a spiritual battle.

Wherever you live, there’s a spiritual battle raging.  In Africa, perhaps because there’s such a long history and engagement with witchcraft, I believe the battle is more intense.  Simply put, more ground has been voluntarily offered to the enemy.

Each of our children has been touched in some way by witchcraft.  Whether being taken to witch doctors to be treated for bad dreams—the treatment includes being cut on various parts of the body to allow the evil spirit haunting the dreams to escape—or being taken to a traditional pray-er who prays to the spirits for the student to do well in school and gives the student a talisman to carry, which ensures academic success, the    families of our children have involved them at some level in dark spiritualism.

There’s great misunderstanding about a believer’s identity in Christ and the power to overcome the forces of evil that comes along with that identity.  Causing even greater confusion is the mixing of traditional beliefs with scriptural teachings, which takes place in many rural churches.

The result is communities bound to the satanic traditions of their ancestors living in fear.  People fear cats, because they believe demons might be using the cat’s body as a host.  People refuse to carry food in clear containers, because they believe that a witch might see the food, put a curse on it and they’ll die of poisoning.  Doctors, when unable to identify the cause or treatment for an illness, refer patients to “traditional doctors” to seek alternative healing. 

The elderly with dementia are thought to have been put under a curse.  Those suffering from HIV/AIDS are thought to be cursed—there’s little buy-in to the scientific explanation of how the disease is contracted and transmitted.  Young people who die of walking pneumonia, cancer, and other common illnesses are thought to have been marked by a witch.  Sufferers of autism and downs syndrome are thought to be cursed.  On and on the list goes.

And so a community, spiritually violated over thousands of years, continues to invite the enemy to be its bedfellow.  It’s hard to change traditions, harder still to change beliefs.  The door remains open to the spiritual forces of darkness.

The hope?  These children.  This generation.  They are the hope for the future.  Does it sound cliché?  It’s true.  It’s always been true.  If these children commit to renewing their minds, if they commit to transformed lives through seeking the face of God, this community will begin to change.  But it will take time.  Change always does. 

Bottomless Babes

This naked baby was spotted in the field behind our house.  She was contentedly playing alone, brandishing a blade of grass like a sword.

It’s typical to see babies running around with tops and no bottoms.  At first, you might wonder if the parents can’t afford to clothe their child.  But the real reason for the bottomless babes is the lack of diapers. 

While disposable diapers are available in town, they’re unaffordable for members of our  agrarian community.  For some reason, cloth diapers aren't a hit here, either.

During the week, babies are left to roam naked and handle their business wherever they choose.  If they wet on a mud floor, someone throws a handful of dirt over the small puddle and the mess is forgotten.

On Sundays, all the naked wee ones are forced into church clothes, and their bums are well-padded with one or more hand towels.  They waddle around like cowboys since there’s so much padding between their legs.  Rest assured, those towels are coming off as soon as they get home, and they’re free to run around in naked liberation until the next Sunday service.

Summer Fun

The kids have been inviting friends from school over on Saturdays for some friendly, athletic competition.  Each week, a group of kids comes for a soccer match.  Nobody’s keeping track, but we won last week.

After digging an old badminton net out of the storage shed last Saturday, volleyball has become a part of the afternoon activities.  We don’t have a volleyball, but the girls pictured here make do quite well with a soccer ball.

Of course, the little kids aren't invited to participate in the games, so they stay entertained by jumping on the trampoline.  They also enjoy climbing and   hanging out of the trees and playing their own version of dodge ball.

Speaking of field days, we’ve got a 5K race and soccer tournament coming up this weekend with our sister orphanage.  The kids always enjoy some competition.