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Stories & Blog
Loyalties Revealed
BRAZIL — With body aching and feet dragging, Marcos stumbled into the village just after dark. After two days in the jungle with no food and little water, exhausted didn’t begin to describe his state. His family immediately sent warning cries throughout the village, all the while wondering if he would make it through the night.
Two days earlier, Marcos, a leader in the village church, had set out with a group of men for a nearby village. They said they would be gone for a month to attend a festa, but with recent accidental deaths unavenged, the group’s true purpose seemed obvious.
To stop Marcos from participating in revenge-killings, another local believer quickly left to intercept the group up-river and call him back. When he didn’t find Marcos, he left a note on a tree. Marcos found the note hours later and heeded the plea to return — he turned back and trudged 14 hours through the jungle alone, staggering into the village in desperate need of medical attention.
A few young men sprinted off to call the shamans — the animistic spirit-healers. Others scoured the surrounding jungle to scare off the evil spirits causing his illness. Older women heckled the medical workers who had started an I.V., while a shaman simultaneously began his examination on Marcos.
Crossworld worker Justin stood nearby, holding a flashlight for the nurses and trying to calm everyone down — including himself.
This is one of our Christian leaders! Justin prayed. This is supposedly a Christian household! Marcos has just been called back from a revenge raid, and now this demonic practice? How is this happening?
After a few minutes, the chaos began to lull and the door creaked open. Rafael, a village elder, hobbled in — half-blind, half-crippled, gnarled, and weathered like an old tree stump. He shuffled over to Marcos’ hammock and squatted down just like the shamans. All went silent.
Here it comes, Justin thought. Rafael is the only one of his generation that I thought might truly be a follower of Jesus. Now we'll know if he still practices shamanism too.
Rafael cleared his throat and took a long breath. “Father God, I know You are good,” he began to pray. “Direct Your eyes on us here now. Help my son and bring back his strength. I know You will do good things here tonight. Thank you. That’s all.”
Rafael shuffled and turned, surveying the room and everyone in it. Then he left without another word. The rabble-rousers, now silent, filed out after him, leaving only the family and Marcos resting peacefully.
For the first time ever, a local believer had walked into a health crisis and turned his attention to God rather than the spirits. Regardless of what happened in the potential raid, Rafael had revealed his loyalty and invited God to reveal His glory.
Since this story, several believers from the village participated in another revenge raid. This time it didn’t get intercepted. Crossworld worker Justin said, “There are believers here, but they seem to still be stumbling along in the dark. It occurred to me that our job here has just begun.”
Two days earlier, Marcos, a leader in the village church, had set out with a group of men for a nearby village. They said they would be gone for a month to attend a festa, but with recent accidental deaths unavenged, the group’s true purpose seemed obvious.
To stop Marcos from participating in revenge-killings, another local believer quickly left to intercept the group up-river and call him back. When he didn’t find Marcos, he left a note on a tree. Marcos found the note hours later and heeded the plea to return — he turned back and trudged 14 hours through the jungle alone, staggering into the village in desperate need of medical attention.
A few young men sprinted off to call the shamans — the animistic spirit-healers. Others scoured the surrounding jungle to scare off the evil spirits causing his illness. Older women heckled the medical workers who had started an I.V., while a shaman simultaneously began his examination on Marcos.
Crossworld worker Justin stood nearby, holding a flashlight for the nurses and trying to calm everyone down — including himself.
This is one of our Christian leaders! Justin prayed. This is supposedly a Christian household! Marcos has just been called back from a revenge raid, and now this demonic practice? How is this happening?
After a few minutes, the chaos began to lull and the door creaked open. Rafael, a village elder, hobbled in — half-blind, half-crippled, gnarled, and weathered like an old tree stump. He shuffled over to Marcos’ hammock and squatted down just like the shamans. All went silent.
Here it comes, Justin thought. Rafael is the only one of his generation that I thought might truly be a follower of Jesus. Now we'll know if he still practices shamanism too.
Rafael cleared his throat and took a long breath. “Father God, I know You are good,” he began to pray. “Direct Your eyes on us here now. Help my son and bring back his strength. I know You will do good things here tonight. Thank you. That’s all.”
Rafael shuffled and turned, surveying the room and everyone in it. Then he left without another word. The rabble-rousers, now silent, filed out after him, leaving only the family and Marcos resting peacefully.
For the first time ever, a local believer had walked into a health crisis and turned his attention to God rather than the spirits. Regardless of what happened in the potential raid, Rafael had revealed his loyalty and invited God to reveal His glory.
Since this story, several believers from the village participated in another revenge raid. This time it didn’t get intercepted. Crossworld worker Justin said, “There are believers here, but they seem to still be stumbling along in the dark. It occurred to me that our job here has just begun.”
Your part in this story...
Crossworld workers Justin and Veronica ask you to pray for these requests.
- Pray that the Word of God will convict the village concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11).
- Pray that God will renew our strength to serve here, for we are weak.
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