A lady named Bea lives next door to a tailor shop where Fidel and the guys were giving a Bible study. She came over and started to talk with them. She told them her father, Papa Matias, was going crazy and wondered if we could come to the village of Tantiga and pray for him. They made a date, and the next Wednesday we headed out to Tantiga.

When we arrived, Bea led us down the path to her father’s compound. When we arrived, we talked to Papa Matias, he seemed troubled and could not make eye contact with us. His children who were there were silent and scared. They gathered around their sister, and she told them we had come to pray with them. They brought out chairs for us to sit on and a bench for their father and a couple of older men. More and more people gathered around. Since it was Wednesday, the children had no school in the afternoon. Neighbors came over to see what was happening and sat on the ground or on the roots of the big neem tree we were sitting under.

Fidel started to talk to them and tell the gospel story. The crowd listened in rapt attention. When he had finished, he invited those who wanted to give their lives to God to repeat a prayer after him. Pretty much the whole crowd did. Only God knows each heart.

Then Fidel prayed for Papa Matias, who was acting more normal. He asked God to break the chains of Satan and protect Papa Matias and his family. Then we moved toward the entrance of the house. We stopped at the door and prayed for God’s protection. The family had told us someone had buried a spiritual object in the house, and it was making everyone suffer insomnia. To escape the curse, the wife and some of the children had moved away. Satan was breaking up the household.

We prayed again inside the courtyard and then went to Papa Matias’ room, praying outside and inside it. In the courtyard, we prayed again in the name of Jesus that all the spirits would be banished and no longer cause problems in the house. We then prayed for each of the children who were still there and told them to not be scared, that God would protect them. As we walked back to the road, the family followed us to our truck and thanked us. We promised to come back the next week.

When we returned to Papa Matias’ house the following week, we found him looking much more at peace. We have been going back to visit for several weeks now, and each time the crowd of spectators grows. God is doing great things there. Papa Matias’ wife and children are returning home now that the curse is gone. Without any prompting from us, they are discussing building a church. The daughter of the chief of Tantiga is now taking Bible studies. Her children are coming to church, and many others in their large family are studying the Bible with Fidel and the assistant evangelists.

God is moving in a mighty way. Please keep the village of Tantiga in your prayers.

• Twitter