I am Hyacinthe Tianati, local evangelist with the AFM Otammari Project. A few months ago I went to visit some people who had shown interest in the Bible. But when I got there I found the people I was looking for working in a field with a group of men. In our culture, fieldwork is done cooperatively. The men of the village all work together in each family’s field until all the fields are done. Since I knew that no one would be stopping for a Bible study, I joined in and began working alongside the men.
One young man in the group was bragging, talking about his spiritual powers and saying he could do anything he wanted. He challenged anyone in the group to step up if they thought they could match him. Indeed, this young man was known in the community for his supernatural power, and several people had already seen evidences of it. I saw that his boldness seemed to impress the other men, and they seemed to wish they could be like him.
I started praying in my heart and asked God if He wanted to show His own power to this group. For about an hour as I worked, I reflected on Elijah and the priests of Baal, and on Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians. I sensed the presence of God Almighty, and I felt impressed to act. But for a moment I paused to ask myself if this was my own impulse. Meanwhile, the young man went on challenging the group. He said if someone was brave enough to cut a piece of rope and hand it to him, he would then give evidence of his power. I had heard rumors that he could turn a rope into a snake. Quietly, I walked away a little distance to pray and ask God to confirm my impression. Then I picked up a piece of rope, thanking God that He had chosen me as a tool to demonstrate His supremacy over any power of the evil one.
I handed the piece of rope to the young man, praying inwardly that God would manifest Himself. Saying an incantation, the young man took the rope from me. He started swearing in the name of the fetish and the fetish priest, followed by more incantations. He made four knots in the rope and threw it about 60 feet into the bush. Then he asked if someone would volunteer to go and get the rope. Nobody moved, fearing that the rope had turned into a venomous snake. Everybody looked at me since I had given him the rope. For a few seconds there was nothing but silence. I prayed and waited for the Holy Spirit to reconfirm my impression. Then I got up and went to get the rope. “Be careful!” the men called after me anxiously. But I knew I was not going forward in my own strength, but moved by the Holy Spirit and under God’s protection. I stretched out my hand, picked up the rope and took it back to the man, praising my Savior. When I walked up to the man holding the unchanged rope, he started to tremble. He bit his lip and then began to threaten me for offending and humiliating him. The group watched him as his eyes turned red with anger. Then he started talking about how in the past his parents had been terrified of my family’s fetish. He pointed to the ceremonial scars on my body, mute witnesses of my past as the heir of a fetisher. He insinuated that I had used fetish power in this encounter. Weren’t the scars proof of it? For the thousandth time I felt ashamed of my past. These scars are the permanent signs of my guilt. But immediately the Holy Spirit assured me of God’s forgiveness, and peace flooded my heart. I told the young man that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had changed me, and that through His death on the cross He had overcome all the powers of every fetish. I told him that all these fetish powers are vain and only lead to eternal death. I declared that I wasn’t the same as I had been 15 years ago, and I had abandoned all these things without a single regret. Now I wasn’t the heir of a fetisher anymore; I was Jesus’ servant and instrument. I asked the young man to give Jesus the opportunity to change him as well, but he didn’t want to hear any of it. I then turned to our audience and told them that I had silently prayed to God the entire time, and that He was the One who had given me the strength and power to do what I did, not the power of my family’s fetish. God had chosen to demonstrate Himself through me so that everybody would see that He is more powerful than any fetish.
The fieldwork was forgotten, and we had our Bible study after all. I talked about my Jesus Who had humbly and voluntarily left heaven to come down to this earth and become like us. This same Jesus had then been highly exalted by God the Father and given the name which is above every name. Before this very Jesus every knee shall bow one day, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. Slowly the expression of terror left the men’s eyes. As the Bible study continued, I saw joy in their faces.
When I was finally ready to leave, the young man called me “Boss,” admitting his defeat. However, he refused to acknowledge the power of God. Please pray for this young man and pray for me as well that God will give me wisdom for how best to reach out to my brothers who still live in darkness and danger.
