In a small mud-brick hut with a grass roof, Tchati lay on the woven string bed where he had lain for the past five years. He couldn’t get up, and he couldn’t talk above a whisper. He couldn’t take care of any of his own needs. Even eating and drinking were hard for him. His children took him to the hospital, but the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him. He was sure that a sorceress had cursed him, but he didn’t know who. After five years of helplessness, he was tired and felt he would soon die, so he told his children to take him to his home village to live out his final days.
As Tchati’s family prepared to take him to the village, his son-in-law showed up with a man named Earnest who works with us. Earnest told Tchati that he was a man of God, and if Tchati was willing, he would pray for his healing. Tchati agreed, so Ernest prayed for him and rebuked the evil spirits that were holding him captive. After the prayer, Tchati sat up in bed. Needing to urinate, he stood up for the first time in five years and walked outside to relieve himself.
That night Tchati had a dream. In this dream he saw his wife, who is a sorceress, holding onto his neck. He now knew whom Satan had used to cripple him.
Ernest went back two more times to pray for Tchati. A week or so later, we arrived back from furlough. Tchati’s daughter lives in the same courtyard as Earnest and we do, so Tchati came to visit. Fidel prayed for him, and afterward Tchati’s voice was restored. He was finally able to talk in a voice that people could hear. With his new voice, he gave testimony about what God had done for him.
Now Tchati attends every meeting we have, and he continues to gain strength. He is probably close to 75 years old, which is considered very old here, but his face and body now look like they belong to a much younger man. Please keep him in your prayers as the witness of his testimony and his healed body spreads all over the region. Just last Sabbath, new people visited because of his story. Yes, God still works miracles!
