Wednesday June 30, 2010
Today started off as an ordinary day, just like all of the other ones since we have been here at Bethel Bible College. Breakfast at 6am, devotion at 7am, class till 9:30 am, and then working outside to finish painting the library and then off to lunch. After lunch and naptime, we had the opportunity to visit the squatter territory over by the river. The squatters here are the poorest people. They have made their houses themselves many out of cardboard, tin, concrete, and whatever else they have managed to find in order to provide shelter for themselves. All nine of us, Brent, and three of the students from Jesus Cares church went for about an hour and a half to go pray for people.
Every time you go into a squatter territory, you have to get permission from the so called chief who is in charge of the territory. Someone went in to get permission while we waited outside. When he came back, he informed us that we should go to a different squatter territory because there was a lady there with cancer, so we left and walked to the other territory.
After we received permission to go in, we were immediately confronted with a lady who had an evil spirit living in her. She said that the spirit was controlling her mind, whispering things to her, and would lead her places. Brent told us the entire situation, and we were ready to do some spiritual battling! We all prayed for her for about 15-20 minutes and then eight of us left to go find the house of the lady who had cancer. I was in this group. We walked through the dirty narrow streets and down a path back in the territory till we came to a little 7x7 room. The lady’s name was Rochelle. She was 36 years old and had been battling breast cancer now for 5 years. Yesterday she went through her 5th round of chemotherapy and was in a bit of pain when we arrived. We asked her if we could prayer for her and so we crowded into this little room and laid hands upon her. As I prayed I looked at the pictures of her and her husband that sit on the shelf beside where she sat. We would later find out that her husband left her when he found out that she had cancer.
We prayed for about 25 minutes with her and one of the girls in our group translated what Rochelle said after. I guess she really didn’t need to say anything though because I know that the Holy Spirit had moved in that room when we prayed for her, her facial expression said it all. I first encountered what looked to be a devastated, pain-ridden lady of whom cancer is eating away at. The last thing I saw was pure joy, tears that said how grateful she was that there were people out there who would come and find her. We met her at her point of need and loved on her. God was moving in that room and the translation was that she was so happy and felt like she was strong and had something lifted off of her. I knelt there on the floor holding her hand crying with her and just realizing how much life means.
We walked back to the first lady and continued to pray for her. We asked her how she was feeling and had her pray to Jesus as we prayed that the spirits be bound. After another 15 minutes. They asked her how she was, we were making no progress, she told us that she had visited the abulario that morning and he had given her a gift. This gift was a bullet. Brent asked her if she would give it to us explaining to her that it was a curse on her and that the spirit inside of her would continue to bother her unless she gave up the things the abulario had given to her. She refused and told us that she had to go.
It was good just to have an experience in the squatter territories. It really makes me appreciate all that I have and have been blessed with. God is good all the time whether there is healing immediately or not. I was blessed by the woman who had cancer.
