A landlord’s wife has been joining the regular Thursday morning meetings of study and worship.  She is eager to learn more about the Lord.  Her husband has not come himself but has not opposed her coming.  They say his problem is gambling.   The family next door whose wife is the spirit medium has never joined and generally ignores the people in the study.  There is another family in the courtyard with three children and once a week the Bouyei worker also visits this courtyard after school to teach the children Bible stories.  This family’s three children have been joining her and listening to her lessons.  The Bouyei worker says that the mother of this family is known to have  “a cursing spirit” in her.  The other family, whose mother is also a spirit medium, refuses to have their four children to have anything to do with this family.   The Bouyei worker has not yet had an opportunity to talk to the children’s mother since she is usually away feeding pigs until the later evening.   There are many spiritual forces at work here that we have not even begun to explore, but undoubtedly the Lord has placed WF’s parents with their two grandchildren in this new location to be salt and light for Him.

One Bouyei man had never heard of Jesus before he recently came to the clinic about a month ago complaining of severe headaches, fatigue and sinus troubles. The doctor thought a lot of his problems might be due to allergy to mold in his damp and leaky apartment, but now wonders about a spiritual component.   He told me of a dream he had had about 4 years ago in which a good friend who had died appeared to him as a ghost.  The friend wanted money or food for his wandering spirit.  So I asked, “What did you do then?”   The patient answered, “Well what could I do, but burn incense and paper money for him and hope it gets to him.”   I could tell these dreams were very frightening to him.    He related another incident when a fortune teller told him he had to build a spirit house to house his dead grandfather’s ghost, because it had no where to rest.  These stories may stir a rather macabre interest in us from the West, but for these Bouyei who have never of Christ, these demonic manifestations are real and terrifying.  Please pray that this patient, Mr. Wang, will continue to come to hear the good news of Jesus and one day be released from his bondage to Satan. 

In our recent meetings, WF’s father has spoken with such conviction in the power of Jesus to save and set free that I found myself thinking, “Did he really say that?”    or “Wow, where did he get that?”   The only reasonable answer seemed to be that the Holy Spirit has been teaching this man.  Please pray for wisdom to guide these men in their spiritual growth as well as to discern how much responsibility they are ready to take on.