Jeff writes:This photo is of the regalia for a man from the lower Sepik of Papua New Guinea. He would wear this ceremonial dress in his spirit worship. At the top you can see what we would call a tiki mask. Any of you who ever visited the Tiki Room attraction at Disneyland know what I am talking about. Whereas in Disneyland everything is make believe, in this country these masks, what they stand for, and how they are used are an entirely different matter.
Most people here still live in deathly fear of spirits. They understand and have experienced their power to heal, to help gardens grow, to attract a woman, or most ominously to kill. The following is an excerpt from a letter written to our college by a former student.
I’m now living with my wife’s family in one of the remotest part of Madang [Province] that do [sic] not have access to mobile phones. Here people are in terrible fear of Sanguma spirits. BESESIN is the name of the most feared people in this area who practice sorcery (Sanguma).
We do need your prayers for these people or my wife’s people to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. The ... Church has been here but have done little to address this issue.
Most churches and their leaders here have little teaching on how to overcome the evil spirits that afflict their people. As noted before in this blog, we have been working with local village pastors and their flocks to combat this pestilence. Our college student cell group is currently learning how to overcome this fear. Just saying, "Don't believe in Sanguma (sorcery)!," is not enough. People need to be shown how the power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the power of a sorcerer.
Sometimes accusations of sorcery can turn deadly. In Banz, which is a ten-minute drive from our campus, a mob turned on a pregnant woman whom they had accused of killing another man through sorcery. They chased her through the streets until they caught her. She was hung by the neck from a tree branch. While hanging there she delivered her baby, which subsequently died. After the mob left, bystanders cut her down and were able to revive her. Her story entitled "A Refugee in Her Own Home" appeared 27 January 2010 in the PNG Post Courier . If you wish, you may read more about it at this link: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20100127/wehome.htm.
So please pray for these afflicted people. The powers of darkness are not just the stuff of theme parks or of movies. They are an oppressive reality for our students, our Melanesian staff, and the people who live in the villages, which surround our college.
Sometimes accusations of sorcery can turn deadly. In Banz, which is a ten-minute drive from our campus, a mob turned on a pregnant woman whom they had accused of killing another man through sorcery. They chased her through the streets until they caught her. She was hung by the neck from a tree branch. While hanging there she delivered her baby, which subsequently died. After the mob left, bystanders cut her down and were able to revive her. Her story entitled "A Refugee in Her Own Home" appeared 27 January 2010 in the PNG Post Courier . If you wish, you may read more about it at this link: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20100127/wehome.htm.
So please pray for these afflicted people. The powers of darkness are not just the stuff of theme parks or of movies. They are an oppressive reality for our students, our Melanesian staff, and the people who live in the villages, which surround our college.
1 comment:
Wow, that is hard hitting. Keep on doing battle to see your students and others transformed.
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