"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands..."

Sunday, January 18, 2009

This morning, I went to church with Paul, my field assistant or what we call our “hired friends.” Suzy, Wes, Eli, and Anna are also in my group. Paul was supposed to pick us up at 9:30 a.m., however, he came around 10…this is typical in the African culture. Time is not an issue. Anyway, we walked for a bit until we caught a taxi that drove us to Kibali Church Center Community, the name sounded something like that. It was a large church…we came at the end of the first service. We stayed for THREE HOURS!!! Quite a long time, but it was very interesting to see and I am glad I went. I was intrigued by the brothers who were dancing in the aisle, they were so cute. It was a young boy about the age of 8 or 9 and his little brother who was maybe 2 years old. They were singing, smiling, and jumping up and down together…they were fun to watch. Actually, the whole church was singing, shouting, and dancing with joy…the community truly had hearts for God.

Towards the beginning of the time we were there, and the end of the 1st service, we gave offering and tithes at the front. Members formed long lines for prayer and to give their offering, music was playing in the background. During this time, a young woman met with the pastor. He placed his hand on her head and began to pray. The woman began to convulse and started to scream and yell. She threw herself on the floor…she ran into a bunch of chairs. A couple of the men had to pick her up, as she could not get up herself, and led her up the stairs of the stage. They laid her down and held her to the floor…they continued to pray for her. My eyes were amazed…I just saw a demon being cast out of a person’s body!

After that incident, my mind was filled with lots of questions…Where does the demon go? How does someone get a demon? Does it cause physical pain?...the list continued. My mind was buzzing with questions and had no answers. Thankfully, when we returned home after church, Paul ate lunch with us and I was able to ask him all of my questions. Apparently, witch craft and demons are a familiar reality here in Uganda. Usually, it is the result of some type of bondage. An example he used was a woman who never married. That is looked down upon in their culture and creates many anxieties for women who struggle to find someone. Typically, Paul said, when demon’s are cast out of a person…they are cast into the wilderness as they need to be sent somewhere. When a demon is cast out of a person’s body, there is an empty space that needs to be filled. Demons could possibly reenter the body if it would not be sent somewhere else…therefore, the demon must be cast somewhere, such as in the wilderness, and the Holy Spirit fills the void.

Although casting out demons is not something I typically think about or see in the U.S., I think it remains there but perhaps in different ways. Everyone has their ups and downs; life is filled with good and bad times. Yet, it is the times when we are down where we become most vulnerable. If we do not rely on God and place our trust in Him, we may falter and provide opportunities for sin to take hold of our lives. Addictions, bondage, and or other forms of brokenness may allow our struggle to begin. I am not saying that Christians will not struggle…because struggle and joy is a part of life. Yet, if we walk with God beside us, He will give us strength to continue on. He is our Protector, Savior, and source of comfort...we can not do it alone. I think this is a good reminder to walk humbly and praise the Lord for who He has created us to be. Joy, happiness, compassion, and humility all come from the Lord…and no one else.