Blessing in Rattanakiri
I love it when God does wonderful, marvelous things. And He does it with such grace almost making it look easy. When something like this happens, I am even more encouraged to pray knowing that God is capable and willing to do wonderful things.
Rattanakri is one of the most remote parts of Cambodia. It's like the West Virginia of Cambodia. It is located in the far northeast of Cambodia. To the north is Laos. To the east is Vietnam. Most of the land is undeveloped, mountainous jungle with a few farming villages. Sometimes monkeys come into the villages at night to search for food.
Christians have been spreading the gospel in the area, planting seeds, with some success. A few small churches have been established among the Kavet Tribe, a small ethnic minority group. In July 2010, God used a horrible tragedy to bring over 500 of those precious people into the Kingdom.
In July 2010 several healthy young men suddenly up and died along the Voen Sai River in a remote region of Rattanakiri, Cambodia. The Kavet Tribe claimed the deaths were due to spiritual attacks, and that the victims had two small holes in their necks where the spirits sucked out their blood. Medical examiners claimed that the three young men they performed autopsies on died of strokes, but they cannot explain the holes in the neck. "Maybe they fell on nails?" is about the best they can do.
According to village elders the spirits were angry because of land clearing by a mining company in their mountainous region. One of the elders, in the community of around 500 people, said in an interview, "We saw the spirits coming down from the mountain."
A leader of a mission organization heard about this while eating lunch and listening to a Cambodian news broadcast. The organization supports a church/home there. He called the District Supervisor to confirm the news. In fact the entire surrounding community was gathered at the church. Puzzled, and totally unaware of this news, the leader queried "Why?" The district supervisor responded, "Because it's the only place people are safe from the spirits. We could use some help! They don't have much food."
The "Young Tigers", a group of Cambodian pastors raised in church/homes, were looking for something to do, and a five ton truck load of food, Manna Pack Rice, Bibles, ‘Proclaimers' (an audio player with two versions of the Cambodian Bible) and three more vehicles with medical supplies, and bottled water were ready to go. The caravan was organized. http://www.missionreports.com/rattanakiri_trip_olalai Within an hour 28 young pastors were on the road.
The next night news reports started coming back. There were 551 of the tribal people gathered at the church. They all received Christ! All 551 accepted Jesus as Lord, they reported.
Later, details emerged. First they cast the evil spirits out of the people that were possessed, then they prayed for the sick and got them healed, then they gave them some food, and then told them about Jesus Christ destroying the power of Satan and rising from the dead, and they all wanted Jesus in their lives. All 551.
A horrible tragedy, the deaths of healthy young men, was used by God to bring over 500 people to salvation. But the battle isn't over. I pray that these people will now be steadfast in trusting in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for protection against what they perceive as evil spirits and for their salvation. I pray that the church and the Little Tigers will continue to minister to and disciple these new believers and that they will mature in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Supplies Being Loaded on the Truck
People Gathering at the Church
New Believers
Rattanakri is one of the most remote parts of Cambodia. It's like the West Virginia of Cambodia. It is located in the far northeast of Cambodia. To the north is Laos. To the east is Vietnam. Most of the land is undeveloped, mountainous jungle with a few farming villages. Sometimes monkeys come into the villages at night to search for food.
Christians have been spreading the gospel in the area, planting seeds, with some success. A few small churches have been established among the Kavet Tribe, a small ethnic minority group. In July 2010, God used a horrible tragedy to bring over 500 of those precious people into the Kingdom.
In July 2010 several healthy young men suddenly up and died along the Voen Sai River in a remote region of Rattanakiri, Cambodia. The Kavet Tribe claimed the deaths were due to spiritual attacks, and that the victims had two small holes in their necks where the spirits sucked out their blood. Medical examiners claimed that the three young men they performed autopsies on died of strokes, but they cannot explain the holes in the neck. "Maybe they fell on nails?" is about the best they can do.
According to village elders the spirits were angry because of land clearing by a mining company in their mountainous region. One of the elders, in the community of around 500 people, said in an interview, "We saw the spirits coming down from the mountain."
A leader of a mission organization heard about this while eating lunch and listening to a Cambodian news broadcast. The organization supports a church/home there. He called the District Supervisor to confirm the news. In fact the entire surrounding community was gathered at the church. Puzzled, and totally unaware of this news, the leader queried "Why?" The district supervisor responded, "Because it's the only place people are safe from the spirits. We could use some help! They don't have much food."
The "Young Tigers", a group of Cambodian pastors raised in church/homes, were looking for something to do, and a five ton truck load of food, Manna Pack Rice, Bibles, ‘Proclaimers' (an audio player with two versions of the Cambodian Bible) and three more vehicles with medical supplies, and bottled water were ready to go. The caravan was organized. http://www.missionreports.com/rattanakiri_trip_olalai Within an hour 28 young pastors were on the road.
The next night news reports started coming back. There were 551 of the tribal people gathered at the church. They all received Christ! All 551 accepted Jesus as Lord, they reported.
Later, details emerged. First they cast the evil spirits out of the people that were possessed, then they prayed for the sick and got them healed, then they gave them some food, and then told them about Jesus Christ destroying the power of Satan and rising from the dead, and they all wanted Jesus in their lives. All 551.
A horrible tragedy, the deaths of healthy young men, was used by God to bring over 500 people to salvation. But the battle isn't over. I pray that these people will now be steadfast in trusting in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for protection against what they perceive as evil spirits and for their salvation. I pray that the church and the Little Tigers will continue to minister to and disciple these new believers and that they will mature in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Supplies Being Loaded on the Truck
People Gathering at the Church
New Believers
posted by Dave at Saturday, August 14, 2010
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