Uncle Visna, the man for whom we came to pray, lay on the wooden platform bed inside his tin-sided house. A thin foam mattress offered only a little comfort to his thin body. In addition to the colon cancer we knew he was battling, his yellowish skin and eyes told me that his liver was not functioning well. 

“Lord, give us wisdom to know how to minister to this man,” my heart pleaded with God, asking for guidance for our small group of visitors. “He says he wants to know and follow You!”

A few weeks earlier, one of the church members invited Uncle Visna’s adult daughter to church. She told us about her sick father and how her family had decided to turn from worshiping the spirits to follow Jesus. Now, as l looked at her father’s emaciated yet swollen features, I knew that, without a miracle, he would not have long to learn of the One in whom he was choosing to believe.

“What is it that made you decide to turn from the spirits to follow Jesus?” David, our young co-worker, asked the family.

“We are tired of serving the spirits and making sacrifices to them. They ask for more and more sacrifices and do not help us,” replied Uncle Visna’s wife.

“We have made many sacrifices,” Uncle Visna said. “We can see that the spirits do not care for us. But we heard that Jesus cares for us, so I want to offer myself and my body as a sacrifice to Him.”

While the rest of us silently prayed, David told the family about how God created all things, including the angels. He told them that Satan was originally one of God’s angels, but he rebelled and tricked humans into thinking that God does not love them and, therefore, they cannot trust Him. David shared how humans have been separated from God by rebellion and distrust, but that He loves us so much that He sent his only son, Jesus, to sacrifice His life for us so we can enter into a relationship with Him again, and that, when we accept Jesus’ sacrifice, we no longer have to sacrifice animals for our wrong actions. Instead of punishing us for bad behavior, David emphasized, Jesus wants to live in our hearts to make us good from the inside. Finally, David shared how Jesus will return one day to take those who know Him and love Him to live with Him in heaven, including those who have already died while believing in Him. 

After sharing the basic Great Controversy theme, our group talked about how the spirits try to scare people so they will not follow Jesus, but that Jesus is stronger than Satan and his spirits.

We assured them, “You don’t have to be afraid of the spirits when you follow Jesus because He is much more powerful and will help you when you call on Him.”

David explained that there can be no split allegiance between God and Satan. He told the family that they must get rid of any trinkets or items of spirit worship in their house so Satan could not use those things to claim authority there. He also explained that God loves us deeply and knows what is best for our lives, and that when we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing to trust Him, even when He does not answer our prayers the way we hope.

After praying with the family, we left, promising to return the following week so that they could officially take a stand for Jesus, cleanse their house of spirit worship, and dedicate themselves and their house to Him. 

The following week, their desire to cleanse the house and take a stand on Jesus’ side of the Great Controversy remained strong. Someone told them that once they made this decision, it would not be safe for them to turn back.

“What would I turn back to? Satan only holds swords and spears toward me. I will never turn back to him,” Uncle Visna stated courageously.

Peace filled Uncle Visna’s face as our group sang together and dedicated him and his family to their Creator and Savior. Although he continued to get sicker, Uncle Visna maintained his peaceful trust. We praise God that Uncle Visna stayed faithful to his choice to follow Jesus until his last breath. His body was a broken sacrifice, but his heart was true.

• Twitter