“If I was born and dedicated into fetishism, how can I become a Christian?” “What do we do with our fetishes now that we believe in Jesus?” Questions like this and many more have been asked of the Gnamssa family over the past several weeks. Though the answers may seem simple, the cost of giving up Spiritism for Christ can be pricey. The first week we really dedicated to answering these questions, Mrs. Gnamssa #1 (1 of 3) expressed fear. She told us that her brother decided one day to burn his fetishes and three days later he was bit by a snake. After that, he had seizures and some form of psychological difficulty. He then decided to take back his fetishes and was better. We are not sure the actual spiritual condition of Mrs. G’s brother, but clearly, one must approach these questions carefully. Please always pray for us to have spiritual discernment.
Four days
after Mrs. G shared her fear with us about her brother, she stepped on a
poisonous plant and a nasty infection took over her foot. We took her to our
hospital to have it looked at. The infection was bad and surgery was
prescribed. Due to fear, probably of the idea of having her foot cut open, Mrs.
G refused three weeks in row.
Meanwhile
talks concerning what to do with the fetishes continued each week. The idea of
getting rid of them were moving in the right direction. On October 18th
at 3:00pm Ryan left to go to the States for a family visit and the girls and I
went to visit the family as usual. That day, much of the family and some
extended family came. Walking away that day, it felt like everything was going
well. God’s truth was shining through and their faith toward God Almighty was
growing.
I pulled
into our driveway at 5:00pm and immediately the girls and I took our dog for a
walk. I never could have never expected the way in which God was about to
reveal that power to me within the next 24 hours. Within ten minutes, I went
from thinking, “We’ll be alright. I’m a big girl. I can handle ten days without
my husband home” to “Oh Lord, I can’t!” On our walk, our dog, Zoé, got bit by a
deadly green mamba (snake). Trembling, and almost in panic, I quickly gathered
my two girls and my very stunned dog and headed back home almost stepping on
another snake. Commence melt-down.
Was this
spiritual? Was Satan trying to scare us away from this family that he has had
under his power for all of these years; even generations? We prayed. You
prayed. There were tears, but God’s peace ruled our home that night.
To our
amazement, Zoé survived the night with some difficulty breathing, and a swollen
nose. She should have died within an hour of the bite. The snake was found and
killed. Apparently, before it had bit Zoé it had already eaten a mouse, so our
guess is that maybe it had used all of its venom on its dinner. In any case,
God chose to protect the life of our dog. Someone noted on Facebook that
perhaps this was God’s way of showing the G family that He alone is all
powerful and that he protects his own (meaning us, not so much the dog). When I
told the family about Zoé’s bite, they agreed that it must have been God who
protected her life. Two days later, Zoé’s nose was back down to normal size and
you never could have guessed that she was ever bitten.
Paying a
quick visit over to the hospital the next morning, I spotted one of our G
family members there with a little girl in a hospital bed. The little girl had
experienced seizures through the night brought on by cerebral malaria and
possible meningitis. Once again, it was a cry-out-to-God moment, “Why Lord? Why
are you allowing this? Please Lord, save the life of this little one, and
please use this moment to reveal your love, grace, almighty power, and glory.”
And He did. Three days later she was well and released to go home in good
health!
The day
that Ryan was scheduled to come back home to Togo, Mrs. G #3 arrived at my
house to say that Mrs. G #1 had finally decided that she would go through with
the surgery on her infected foot. While at the hospital, our pastor here who is
also a hospital chaplain was able to encourage her and continue to water the
spiritual seed planted in her heart. Pastor J shared with me that he felt that
Mrs. G was able to come to her own faith in Jesus. After a few days, he was
released from the hospital and Mr. G indicated that he was finally ready to set
a date to burn all of their fetishes.
Hallelujah!
Join us in praising God that on November 29th at 3:00pm (15:00) friends,
pastors, and missionaries will join us as we publicly celebrate the release
of Satan’s bind on this family! Please also join us in praying in the days
leading to that day and following:
- that God will continue to bless the family and increase their faith in Him,
- that He alone is Almighty, All-Powerful God,
- that the evil one will not be permitted to irritate them,
- that they will follow through with their decision,
- that more members of the family will commit their lives to Him, and
- that they will be a light and a testimony to the entire region of our Great and Glorious Father.
Brief
Buczak family update: I wrote the above over three weeks ago, but am only just
now able to send it out. Since writing this, we have moved to our new house in
town, Ryan was hospitalized for an amoeba, and hookworm was found in AnnMarie
and is currently being treated. While I could write an entire letter on just
the last two weeks, I’ll just say that we are so thankful for your faithful
prayers for us. Some days, like learning last night that worms were living in
AnnMarie’s intestines, we long for “home,” “normal;” but God has given us the
gift of very strong faith that He has us here for a reason and that home is not
anywhere on this earth. He is in control. He is Almighty God!
Thank you
for your faithful prayers for us, the Gnamssas, and the ministry here in Togo.
This is your work, your ministry, your battle. Thanks for being our support.
May you ever be gaining your crowns in Heaven so that you will have so much to
throw back at the feet of the One who is worthy. What a wonderful day that will
be!
In Christ,
Ryan,
Stephanie, Leslie, and AnnMarie
PS. We are
still under supported by close to 10%. If you are interested in joining our
financial team, go to www.abwe.org/give
and sign up to support us monthly. Our account number is 0134443.
PPS. Work
on our airplane continues in North Carolina. For updates visit www.togoaviation.com or visit our Togo Aviation Facebook page.
