Spiritual Battles

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, from where all blessings flow. First off I want to thank yall for your prayers and giving after the last update on facebook about needing medicines! I was able to buy a big box of medicine and send it up, and there is enough to buy more! Thank you!

As I have communicated before about the importance of prayer, it seems like every day we are reminded of how much we need the power and protection of Christ and the Holy Spirit. As we are able to speak the language better, our work is becoming more and more Spiritual as well as physical. And it has not gone unnoticed by the enemy, and the spirits of darkness.

As many of you know, the first young man (Orly, 24) who has been coming for bible study in the mornings has accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior a few month ago. He has been growing quickly in Spiritual knowledge and truth, and his life and behavior are showing a big difference. He has also suffered much persecution from the ones who used to be his peers.

Through the change in his thinking and lifestyle, as well as his responses to the ridiculing from his peers, all have noticed. Please pray for Orly, that God would give him strength to continue following what is right, and not loose heart from all the pressure he is under, but to continue to grow in the Spirit and in God’s wisdom.

A while back widow Alma’s oldest son (Roymer, 14) started coming for the bible studies too. Then a few month ago another one of the young men came to me and said; “I have been watching you guys and Orly, and I see how Orly has changed and become a different person since he is studying the bible with you guys. I want to know more about God and the bible, would you mind if I come for the bible studies in the morning?”

My response was of course yes, even though I knew that this would cause us a lot of challenges in the future, because his father is the bad witch doctor in the community, and his mother is also an evil witch that when she gets angry at someone, will cast a spell on the person on the spot, so the rest of the villagers keep their distance from them as best they can.

This young man (Marti, 18) is so hungry for the truth! When we got him a new bible he got so excited, he gets all giddy when he picks it up in the mornings, and hugs it and kisses it. (he keeps it at our house for safe keeping) He just drinks in the word like a thirsty sheep. If he doesn’t understand, he asks what it means, and once he gets it, he gets so excited that at times he can’t stay seated as he explains what that means to him and how that applies to different situations of every day life.

Then after he leaves our house it’s not uncommon to see him at someone else’s house for a while telling them with excitement what he learned that morning. It is so exciting to see how the Holy Spirit is drawing him to God and teaching him the truth. Please pray for him, that he would soon come to the point where he will understand God’s grace, and accept salvation. We believe he has already been called to be an evangelist, because if he understands something good, he can’t keep it to himself for very long, but wants to share it with his friends.

Right now his parents are ok with him coming to our house to study the bible, but we know that the Holy Spirit and Satan’s spirits cannot live in the same house in peace, so we expect trouble from his parents at some point. So would you please pray for this family? That God would give Marti strength to endure the persecution when it comes, for the father and mother that the Holy Spirit would draw them and let them understand God’s love for them, and for the rest of the children to come to know God as well.

 

As Satan sees the kingdom of light spreading and his kingdom of darkness being pushed back, he is striking back with his evil forces. Recently there have been several attacks on our family, but God has always come through with power and not allowed lasting damage. But so many things we do, the presence of evil is always there trying to hinder the progress.

A few of the young women in the village have gotten demon possessed recently, and we heard that a few guys from another village are trying to get the information on our girls that they need to be able cast a spell that causes them to become demon possessed. We know that with time they will find out the information they are looking for, but we know something that they don’t. We know that if someone is born again and the Holy Spirit lives in their heart, the evil spirits cannot enter into that person and posses them. So we don’t worry about it, because God is the one in control of our lives, and He is the only one who is able to keep us safe.

 

We really appreciate yall’s prayers so much, because we know that the real battles are not fought by us, but in the spiritual realm. And God has promised to hear the earnest cry of His people, so that’s what we rest in.

The souls of these people are so precious! I just praise God that He has allowed us to be a part of such an incredible work! He has worked things out and put us in a position where we are able to one by one, point and lead them to Jesus, who is the author of salvation. How incredible is that!!

 

It looks like our Pastor is making a way for a few of us to come to the states after all. We will probably be there through May and the first week in June. Thank you pastor David for making that possible! We love yall, and hope to see many of you soon! Eli Lee