Friday, May 23, 2014

Spiritual battles

 Well it has certainly been quite a week or so here lately. We don't usually mention these kind of attacks, for fear that some might not really understand them, but right now I feel a strong need to let you know how things are sometimes in Haiti, and ask you to join us in this battle. This past week we have not had much sleep. Many of our nights here are filled with the drumming and chanting of ra-ra, witchcraft or party houses. (This week, more so than usual.)  And we have been kept up either because we have been sick, or we have taken sick children in from the orphanage to our house. Several times we have been called out in the middle of the night to transport sick or hurt people to the hospital, and a few other things. Last week Pastor Nathan was in the hospital with stomach pain. Nathan, Mike and Chris, (if they have managed to fall asleep at all,) have been fighting bad dreams with demons. Nathan says he even knows some of them by name; Lier and Deception. This makes a lot of sense to us, since that is the oppressive spirit that many Haitian people live under.      
    Chris became very sick last Saturday night with some kind of stomach flue. (Saturday was my first night I was back from being in the states for two weeks.) Throwing up and diarrhea all night long. She slowly got better over the next several days. She was not fully recovered, but feeling good enough to work in her garden yesterday, but that night she ate something that did not agree with her and she began feeling pain. But the pain was hard to identify and felt like it was in her chest or back. So she took some ibuprofen. Later when the pain was worse, she took some Tylenol. Then the pain became extremely worse. I was up all night praying and trying to help her, and we also had little Leah on the couch with a high fever which persistently returned every 3 to 4 hours.  So I felt like I was running from one to another. I was frankly beginning to worry about taking my precious American wife to one of the worst hospitals in Haiti. At 5:00 Nathan came to pray and saw what we were dealing with. I told him that I thought it was time to go, but did not know where. He called a Dr. he knew, and then took us to a good clinic on the other side of town. One that I did not know existed. The Dr. gave her medicine by IV, to not make her stomach even worse. She is resting now, but not fully recovered yet. Several children are still sick here at the orphanage. 
     All of this is happening at the same time as a powerful move of God is coming over our churches. Many are coming to Jesus for salvation and healing. On June 1st we will have a baptism again with over 60 wanting to declare to the world that they have decided to follow Christ. 
   While Nathan and Mike were out of town the Madam, (The witch-doctor from Pass Rien), decided to have a huge celebration and parade and offer up a whole beef in sacrifice to Satan. She invited everyone to come, enticing them with the free meals of roasted beef. But she was frustrated when most said that they don't follow Satan any more, and would not attend her parade. Then to top it off, the beef died the day before the parade. Furious at how things had NOT gone, she went back to her house in Gonaives with out any celebration at all.


     We are clearly seeing the victory of Jesus in the light of day, but it has been a real battle all night long. We would humbly ask that you join with us in this victorious battle, and pray unceasingly for us, and those in this ministry, doing the will of God here, and for these precious people in Haiti, trying desperately to break free from the evil that has kept them in the chains of oppression for so very long..................Mike

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