Most missionaries will confess that their work has profoundly changed them. They will also humbly admit that the load, at times, seems oppressive, and the stress of church planting sometimes brings them near the breaking point. There is culture shock, a new diet, many health hazards, risks to their children, challenging living conditions, isolation, spiritual starvation,  distance from relatives and close friends, prejudice, critics, attacks and hardships of all kind. The enemy uses all these avenues to discourage missionaries and deplete the mission workforce.
Like many missionaries, we sometimes we feel hooked to the plow alone with an unbearable burden.

Elmire and I went through these feelings especially during the months of October and November 2007. During these two months, our emotions and our ability to cope were stretched to the limit.
Our tension was high going into October. A visit from our field director, Pastor Lorance Johnson, was fast approaching. The Muslim month of Ramadan ended on October 13 with the festivity of the Eid al-Fitr, the first of two canonical festivals of Islam. We were very busy with Ramadan, collecting cultural information, analyzing particular events in the month, visiting mosques during the important prayer times of the month, fasting 12 days, listening to testimonies of the special blessings of the month, visiting community and religious leaders with gifts, and much more.

Unfortunately, we also had an incident during Eid al-Fitr. Some people opposed my presence at the feast and violently demonstrated against my taking pictures. A few hours later, Nassirou, my Muslim mechanic friend who drove us to the Eid al-Fitr feast, noticed that his leg was beginning to swell for no apparent reason. Medical exams revealed nothing. Traditional healers told him he had been bitten by a metaphysical snake, a common Voodoo curse. The healers removed 14 snake teeth from his leg during their ritual.

A North American friend who heard this story asked me how the snake teeth could have gotten into Nassirou’s leg. Since this type of thing is so foreign to the Western worldview, I’ll try to explain. Just as the Holy Spirit lives in us and shows His fruits, demons can live in us and do all kinds of things. The teeth were real. Nassirou and those who accompanied him saw them and brought them home. In the future, we will have more opportunities to share with you about spiritual warfare.

As Nassirou’s leg condition became worse, people in town began accusing me of being responsible for it. I had just returned from Burkina Faso with Pastor Johnson after three days of absence. That Friday night, October 19, Pastor Johnson and I visited Nassirou at his house. I offered that we could give him some money for further medical treatment, or we could pray for his healing.

All the while, I was praying silently that God would give us the opportunity to pray for Nassirou. We had just entered the holy hours of the Sabbath made for man’s restoration and regeneration, the hours when our Lord performed miracles of healing during His earthly ministry. God did answer—Nassirou chose that we pray for him. We did so, thanking God and claiming the promises of Mark 16:17. That night, Nassirou vomited and couldn’t eat anything, and people whispered that our visit had brought him more harm. But God was at work, and the enemy was reacting to his defeat. Around 4 p.m. the following day, Nassirou was walking, something he hadn’t been able to do for the past seven days. He came to our house to testify of his healing. I was so thankful to God and happy for my friend.
But the spiritual attacks were not over. Some days later, on November 4, we were returning from escorting Pastor Johnson to the airport in Burkina Faso when we were hijacked by roadside robbers. A family friend traveling with us was violently assaulted. Among the many things we lost was our project camera along with the more than 50 pictures of the Eid al-Fitr festival. Those pictures were the cause of the crisis and the attack on Nassirou. I felt very bad. It was as if Satan had won the battle. We lost many important documents, and many other things were damaged.

We were still going through the emotional trauma of the robbery when we got the sad news of the death of Elmire’s cousin. Then came the news that my younger brother required surgery. Our families needed us, but we were unable to help them.

A few days later, Elmire, who was three months pregnant, started bleeding. We went to the hospital, but there were no gynecologists in town. We really felt overwhelmed with fear and sadness.

Thank God, He has reminded us that He is in control. We’ve been comforted and encouraged by your prayers and support. Many have written to us and prayed for us, and some have sent us material support. What a family! Elmire and the baby seem fine, though we have yet to see a gynecologist. We have met and talked with some of those who were opposed to our presence at the feast, and we are back on track with our work in the community. We are also making plans to visit our families.

God does not hold us responsible for success, but for faithfulness. He never gives us more to bear than we can handle as long as we are journeying with Him. Again, thanks for being part of our team. Your companionship lightens our burdens. We’ve experienced the truth that our strength comes from leaning on Jesus. He promised in Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” He also promised in Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you: he shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

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