Oops! Or Not?

Written by Jodi

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DJ closed his eyes and began to pray as the passenger in the back began to convulse, shaking the whole plane. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to take him…
 
DJ had been asked to cover a med-evac flight into one of the shorter strips in the jungle for the other missionary group. Often the medical information on the patient is limited and this was no exception: it could be covid, it could be some form of dengue or malaria… it wasn’t clear. Upon arrival and assessment of the situation, it seemed an awful lot like demon possession, possibly mixed with something else. As they loaded the patient onto the back board and into the plane, DJ prayed… Lord, this is your plane and your mission. Please keep us safe and grant us Your peace and presence. The patient had previously been convulsing violently every 5-10 minutes and the flight was over an hour to the destination city. This was the first convulsion in flight, now over half-way there. Shortly after DJ started praying, the patient’s convulsing lessened and then stopped. Once more he convulsed, but immediately stopped after DJ prayed. Once at the airport DJ was able to talk to the family about the dangers of going to the witch doctor and of the power of God. The family seemed receptive and appreciative, especially the one who had accompanied them on the flight and seen the difference in his convulsions.

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Recently we were sharing lunch together after church with the families that have younger children. One of our “neighbors” from down the road had visited church once before, invited by another family. Having never met him myself, I mistakenly thought he was sitting several rows ahead of us that Sabbath and encouraged DJ to invite him to stay for some food. He did, but then quite quickly realized that it wasn’t our neighbor at all! Oops!
 
As DJ chatted with the elderly man and his wife, he learned that the man was blind and had actually been attending church there for 25 years! They don’t have any children, only a few relatives nearby and are quite lonely folks. The wife struggles to understand Spanish and both are a bit hard of hearing, making church services more of a formality for them. DJ offered to drive them home and stopped by our house on the way to grab an audio Bible to share. They were delighted with the gift! What we thought was a big oops, God turned into an even bigger blessing for that couple.

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The battle going on today is a fierce one. For some, demon possession lies prey at their front door; for others, derailment from a spiritual focus hides crouched at the back door. Let’s pray for opportunities to share the good news of Christ’s soon return with our neighbors and those we come in contact with!