Guiding the Spirits

“Whenever the evil spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." Mark 3:11-12, NIV.

Emma* died suddenly just 2 days ago. She had been unable to talk for the past two weeks so her illness was a mystery. A relative shared with us that she has been overdosing on steroids for over a year in order to gain weight. The Khmer of Cambodia want to be fat! Once I received this information, I prepared medicine to help her, but I arrived at her house just minutes after her death.

Sadly, the greatest mystery is that nobody knows what she believed or if she is with the Father. The village was in a stir preparing the rituals to protect themselves from her ghost. They believe that when people die they become ghosts that will either haunt the village or find a better place. They lit candles all around her to show her the path out of the village. They tied up all the cats because if a cat were to run near her body, it might cause her to lose her way. They tied her hands around candles, rice, banana leaves, all arranged symmetrically with her arms anchored on pillows. They believe that if her hands let go of the light, she would lose her way. She died a painful death, and her weary face revealed the pain she had endured.

Hope still remains for her two daughters. Annie will continue to meet with them in hopes they see the truth. I pray that they will follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will lead them to faith in Jesus.

*Names changed for security reasons. Written by a couple serving in Pacific Rim in the Associates program.

Pray that:

Emma’s daughters will embrace the truth and that their eternal destiny will not be a mystery.

Emma’s village will be released from their fear of spirits by coming to faith in Christ, who alone can set them free.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.