A matter of life and death

Knowing Jesus is a matter of life and death in every sense.

Djiakis' father was a prosperous man with 35 hectares of land. The villagers became jealous, feeling that he would become rich and leave them behind. So, they hired a sorcerer from another village to kill him. The sorcerer came to their town, spent one night there and then left. Shortly thereafter, Djiakis' father became ill and died. He had no protection against the power wielded by the sorcerer.

One Thursday afternoon, Mamy and I went with Djiakis for a balafon lesson. Arriving in the church courtyard, we discovered no one was there to open the main building, so we sat down to wait and chat outside. After a while, a tall man joined us. Though showing signs of aging, he was obviously still strong. We greeted him and made sure he had a place to sit. At first, the introduction was brief and he sat quietly as we continued our conversation listening to Mamy share a miraculous story of how God protected her father (a pastor in Congo) from an attempt on his life by another pastor. Djiakis translated the story into Jula for our guest.

Then, he told us his story. He lives in a village near Korhogo (about an hour from Ferke). His uncle is the chief of the village, but because of age is unable to perform his duties. So, this man is the acting chief. The village depends on him in this role. He is Muslim and has 4 wives and 12 children. His younger sister is a member of a sorcery group. She ate a man on "credit." (In other words, someone else killed him.) But, she had an obligation to pay them back a life for a life. So, she chose to kill her brother. All the village knew of this. Another member of her sorcery group came to speak with this man. The sorcerer told him to go to a church in Ferke and believe in Jesus - the only way he would save his life. So, the man hopped on his motorcycle and arrived at the church to do just that - to make the most important decision of his life. Before we parted ways, we prayed for him. Pray for him to have a sincere faith in Jesus - not just to save his life for the moment on earth. And for the entire village upon which he will have an impact.