The Assous are the only other Christian family out of the twenty-plus in our neighborhood. We met them for the first time in December 2006 when we visited all our immediate neighbors the day after we settled in our house in Kandi. We were glad to meet the Assous. Mr. Assou, or Papa Lydia as everyone calls him, is the chief technician for the government electric company. His wife, Mama Lydia, is a registered nurse in the regional hospital in Kandi. Both of them are from the southern part of Benin where they converted to Christianity before the government moved them north.

For the past two and a half years, we’ve enjoyed our friendship, and our children, Eliora and Lydia, delight in playing together. The Assous’ second child, Esther, was born six months before our son Elie-Dana, making their two children senior to ours, an important distinction in African culture. But the most important benefit of our relationship is the spiritual support we give each other. We’ve had many prayer times together, and Elmire and I have had several opportunities to share our faith with them.

I remember one instance when Mama Lydia traveled to the south and came back with some seafood for Elmire, which led to some Bible studies about diet. Recently, they invited me to pray for Grandmother Lydia who came to stay with them while being treated for a wound on her leg. The wound seemed to have a spiritual dimension, and it would not heal despite treatment. She said it started as an itch one day after she returned from the market. When she scratched it, a wound opened up. People here usually attribute mysterious wounds like this to accidentally stepping on a fetish object or eating food dedicated to idols. In some cases, the wound will not heal until the offended spirits are appeased through rituals.

As Christians, the Assous did not want to turn to the spirits for healing. They prayed for Grandmother Lydia, but there was no improvement. After four months, they were getting worried. They remembered how God has worked mightily for us in difficult times, especially when we prayed for Nassirou, who was sickened by a voodoo spell and couldn’t walk for six days but recovered hours after the prayer (see the December 2007 issue).

The Assous invited us to pray, and we got together the next Friday evening. Claiming the blessings of the Sabbath hours and anointing Grandmother Lydia’s leg, we prayed with thanksgiving. Again, God was faithful to His promises. Within two weeks, the wound was fully closed and healed. We thank God for His faithfulness. As our Lord said in John 11:42, “And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Thanks for your support and prayers.

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