Thankful to be riding an air-conditioned bus on what was proving to be a scorching day, Charis* and her teammate, Heather, were on their way to meet with some new believers in another village. Turning to Heather, Charis asked, “What are you hoping to see the Holy Spirit do in their lives this month?”

Heather quickly responded that she wanted them to gain a new understanding about two of their former Buddhist practices and, ultimately, to turn away from them. First, she wanted them to no longer “feed their parents’ spirit” and second, she hoped they would come to understand that people do not become demons when they die. The two women prayed together and proceeded to review the Bible stories they had prepared to speak into these essential issues.

On the second day, after reading the prepared passages (Acts 19, Hebrews 9), one older woman’s eyes suddenly grew wide with horror and she exclaimed, “If we don’t become demons when we die, and the spirit that comes to enjoy the offerings is a real demon, then we are just like the people in the Bible who worshipped God and worshipped demons! We have been doing that four times a year! We must stop and take everything down, how do we do that?” Heather and Charis noted that the other believers also showed signs of repentance and a willingness to follow the older woman’s declaration.

Later, Charis and Heather were able to model for the new believers how to take down their idols, and then to help them do it themselves. After seeing it modeled, the villagers expressed confidence in their ability to do it for new believers in the future.

Heather was clearly touched by the Holy Spirit’s prompt answer to prayer and in the villagers’ evident growth in the month since she had last seen them. Together Charis and Heather rejoice at the beauty of seeing how the Spirit works and grows His people in the way they need!

*pseudonyms