Once again, we were sitting on the cement benches in the concrete study hut behind Toussaint and Uli’s house. It was Monday, and as we often do, we were discussing various issues relating to evangelism and church life here in Natitingou.

Chango, a newly-baptized member, held up a small blue Gideon New Testament with Psalms. “I am glad I found this book,” he said, “This is such a good little book, and I am glad I found one I can trust.”

“You mean it is small and easy to carry with you?” Uli asked, trying to understand what he meant.

“Yes,” he answered, “and since I got it here, I know I can trust it. It is not like the Bibles I saw in my previous church. One day, I saw a whole pile of Bibles in the corner. I asked the pastor why they were there and if I could have one. He told me they were cursed Bibles, and he had told the church members to return them and pile them up there. I asked him how he knew they were cursed, and he said that you put water on the inside of the back cover. If you see backwards writing appear there, you know the Bible is cursed. The way I heard it, somebody in the south of Benin wanted to print these Bibles, but he ran out of money. He went to Mammy Wata [the mermaid that is worshiped throughout West Africa] and got money to finish the printing, but the Bibles were cursed, and they are dangerous.”

Our curiosity was aroused, and we all wanted to understand this issue better. Korroso, another new member, wanted to see if Chango’s new Bible was also “cursed.” “Let’s put water on it. I want to see this!” he said excitedly.

But Chango was not interested in finding out. “No, this one is safe. I got it here. I thank God I could get it from a source I can trust.”

“We got your Bible and many others from our neighbor, the Catholic priest,” Uli said. “I am sure they came from the same source as the ones you saw in your previous church.”

Now everybody was trying to figure out what was really going on. Somebody brought some water, and Korroso took Chango’s Bible and dripped a bit of water on the inside of the back cover. Sure enough, even from my position a few feet away, I saw backward writing appear immediately! Chango nearly threw the Bible to the ground in shock. He had been so sure that his little Bible wasn’t one of the “cursed” ones. I walked over to see what the writing said, suddenly feeling a bit cautious, wondering if there really was some truth to this strange story. Cursed Bibles? It seemed unlikely, but where the water had moistened the paper, I could see that some writing had appeared when the water made the paper more transparent. We all crowded around to get a better look. There was only one word: . As the truth dawned on me, I tried not to laugh. Suzy smiled, too, and began to explain to the others that the publisher had printed the word BACK on the outside of the last page so the binders would know where to glue the back cover. She said she also guessed that the word FRONT would appear printed backwards on the inside of the front cover if we moistened it, and Korroso soon proved her correct.

The group was greatly relieved as Suzy assured them that the Bibles were not cursed, and they talked excitedly about getting a hold of the “cursed” Bibles from the church and redistributing them to people who were taking Bible studies. But Chango was still skeptical and wary of a curse.

In our member training program, we have been endeavoring to help them through a worldview shift so they can come to understand the world in a healthier, truer way. How could we help Chango understand that what he was seeing was not evidence of a curse by Mammy Wata?

I took the Bible from Chango, and then, probably with more drama than necessary, I said I would see if there was more invisible writing in the book. On the blank side of the flyleaf, I dripped some water and spread it with my finger. Immediately, more backwards writing appeared.

“See?” I exclaimed, “There is more of it!”

“Yes!” Chango said, a frightened look in his eyes. Obviously this Bible was even more “cursed” than he had suspected!

Then, deliberately, I turned the page. On the other side, we could see the actual writing, which had become visible on the blank side when the paper was wet. As I turned the page back and forth, I saw the fear leave Chango’s face, replaced with comprehension and relief. He was beginning to understand what was going on.

“Any paper with writing on one side will seem to have backwards writing on the blank side if you put water on it,” I said. “These Bibles were printed in America by a group called the Gideons. Mammy Wata didn’t give anybody money to print these Bibles.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Chango admitted. “I understand.”

Korroso’s take on the whole issue was interesting. “That other pastor probably doesn’t want his people to read their Bibles because they will discover the errors in what he is teaching. So maybe he invented this story to get them to give him their Bibles.”

It was rewarding to help Chango overcome some of his fear that day, but superstition is still a major hurdle for our work here among the Otammari. It boggles my Western mind that people would believe a story about Bibles being cursed rather than examine the books and seek a simple, logical explanation. Though my explanation seemed to convince Chango at the time, I wonder if he will be able to read his Bible without lingering fears of a curse. How can we help this new member and others like him to have a broader, more mature understanding of the world in which they live? We don’t want to westernize Otammari people, but how can we help them think more critically and be less controlled by fear?

The Lord has brought us here to teach us many things and to use us to help others learn as well. We are surrounded by ignorance and superstition, and only the Spirit of God can give us success in this work. Please pray that we will have the wisdom, courage and tact to gently yet firmly attack the strongholds of error and fear that hold God’s children in bondage. Pray that we will understand the worldview and culture here in Benin, and that by God’s power we will be able to help Chango and many others have a genuine worldview change.

• Twitter