Simple Faith
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be filled.”
Surrounded by dirt, mud huts, grasses, and mango trees, our small missionary team along with a visiting YWAM team, celebrates the inauguration of a new church. We are with the believers deep in the “bush bush” of Dondo, Mozambique. In the middle of the service, a woman walks by, ranting and raving, swaying back and forth. She is clearly not in her right mind. Some women and children begin to laugh, not knowing how else to react. I quickly said, “Don’t laugh at her. Pray for her.” They seemed puzzled.
“How will they know unless someone teaches them?” Many in the bush have not yet heard the gospel, and some that have don’t understand it fully. God has put this little church and her surrounding community on the heart of Scott and Mandy Pulliam to disciple. There is a lot to learn when you know nothing, but this community is spiritually hungry and receptive. It has been so beautiful to see the growth. One day, after the inauguration, Scott and Mandy were sitting with the leaders in the church and saw this same crazy woman walk by. But this time she was normal, and greeted them kindly. Shocked, Scott asked, “What happened? Why is she acting so normal?” “Oh, the believers prayed for her, the elder said. At first we fasted and prayed in our homes individually, but nothing changed. So we decided to all fast and pray in her house and spend the night until she was delivered. Then the demons came out!”
The saving power of the Gospel is so simple, yet so powerful. These believers don’t have much education or material possessions, but they have simple faith. Now they are understanding and experiencing the power of the Gospel in their own community. Their neighbor, who was tortured by demons for years, is now set free because they believed the Word of God and put it into practice. Little did I know that my simple encouragement to pray for her would lead to this. Even Scott, though he is spending time discipling these believers, was surprised when he saw this woman set free and happy without any missionary help or further instruction. This is a missionary’s dream – to see our teaching impact and take root in people’s lives. I’m sure Jesus feels the same way – overjoyed when we take his Word deep into our hearts and act upon them. All believers have seeds (God’s Word) to pass out. Never underestimate what the outcome might be. What if we had never gone to this bush community? How long would this woman continue to be mocked by the community and tortured by demons? Maybe forever.
Jesus said, “My food is to do the Father’s will.” What is his will? “… To bring good news to the afflicted…bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives…” Is. 61:1. It’s not so complicated. We have the answer and it’s simple.