Meeting a Witch Doctor
In Lietnhom, South Sudan the primary religion is what they call “traditional” religion. Basically, it’s a kind of worship of spirits and ancestors and, basically, anything they choose to worship. The heads of this religion are called “Spear Masters,” basically witch doctors. Today I met one. It was fascinating.
The influence and effect of the Spear Master cannot be underestimated in these communities. (see my previous blog post about Peter). They are the ones who control when the river can be fished, they are the ones who preside over medical situations, and they are the ones (when paid) who offer the animal sacrifices to appease the gods. Your child gets sick? Pay the Spear Master some money for his influence and if the child lives he is a miracle worker, if the child dies then you must not have paid him enough money. Fear is what gives the Spear Master his power.
So yesterday we went to a Spear Master’s shrine and my colleague Derek interviewed him. When asked what his hope was for the community of Lietnhom the Spear Master replied, “I want the community to prosper, because if it prospers then I make more money.” What a contrast to the words of Jesus who said “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28.
There are spiritual forces at work oppressing those who live in such extreme poverty. We must recognize and fight that battle at the same time we fight the humanitarian battle. As I stood looking at that Shrine of animal sacrifices I couldn’t help but smile remembering the story of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18. So I stood there away from the rest of the group and I prayed a prayer similar to Elijah’s: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, prove today that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” I wish I could say that God responded to my much less articulate prayer like He did to Elijah (He didn’t) but at the same time I have to believe that my prayers have been added to many others and very soon that stronghold will erode as God answers our prayers.
And the good news is that it’s already happening. At the church service on Sunday a man was introduced who was a former Spear Master. Someone from the church had presented the Gospel to him and he accepted that message and the grace of Jesus Christ. Little by little, person by person, one cured child at a time, the people of Lietnhom are seeing God’s love in action. Because even though witch doctors are real, so is Jesus, and I know who wins that battle.
Random Thought #1: I miss my family.
Every morning when I wake up under my mosquito net, and especially because it’s still typically dark outside because we have no electricity, I have the chance to do a lot of thinking and praying in the dark. In these solitary moments I give myself time to process my life a bit. The internal tug-of-war between the calling on my life to be husband/father and the other calling I feel to do the work I do can be hard to reconcile on long trips like this. How can I be a good husband/father if I’m not even in the same country with my wife and kids?! It is no honor to have so many frequent flyer miles. But I also know I travel to places like South Sudan because I am also called to do the work I do. I think that’ll be one of my first questions in heaven: God, did I have the proper balance between those two? I really love (and miss) my family. It can literally, some mornings, be a physical ache.
Random Thought #2: Technology amazes me
Last night I did got the chance to talk to my wife via a satellite phone. Did I mention that I miss her terribly? But just the fact that I can talk, in real time, through my small hand-held device to her small hand-held device makes me marvel at how technology works. I can sit in a Guest House in a very remote corner of South Sudan and e-mail, blog, and check my Facebook status…it’s absolutely awe-inspiring. Humans indeed are fearfully and wonderfully made if we can dream up this stuff and then make it happen. The world has certainly become smaller, and this technology has made it abundantly clear that in today’s world we are all global citizens…no matter what your passport says.
Random Thought #3: Gumby lives!
On my first trip to Africa back in 1995 each member of our group was given a small Gumby figurine to illustrate the need on any trip to Africa to “be flexible”. The Gumby mascot has stuck with me now on every trip and today is no different. Our plans to go see a food distribution have been cancelled because…there is no food to distribute. This is ironic and sad at the same time.
Random Thought #4: I Like Ethiopian food
We got back into Wau yesterday and in honor of my family’s adoption we went to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant in the town. Man, it was delicious…and very authentic, right down to the incense. Plus, we had the added bonus of seeing a woman smoking from a major bong in the corner. It was a wow moment in Wau.
