Ayen is a mother of three children. She came to the clinic with her one year old son Akeej. Akeej is sick and her other children have gotten sick many times before. Ayen loves her kids and she wants them to be healthy. For that reason she has been seeking a way to improve their health and ensure a happy life for her kids and also for her as a mother. Unfortunately, one of the ways many Sudanese people seek treatment is through witchcraft. They visit the witch doctor who often gives them a charm to wear. They are told that it will heal them and if they remove it, they will be cursed.

George our lab technologist has been praying with the mothers that come to the clinic. If he sees them chewing tobacco, he educates them in the harmful effects of it and encourages them to give it up. Now in the lab, he has collected a giant pile of tobacco containers from many people who have vowed to stop using it. George also looks out for those who are wearing charms and shares the love of Jesus with those who believe in the power of witch craft.

Akeej had a charm around his neck and Ayen had one around her neck too. As George was getting the blood sample to check for malaria, he noticed the charms around their necks and he immediately starting sharing about God and His power. At that point George called for me because his Dinka is yet to be perfected. When I got there, I found Ayen already understood what was required of her to put her faith in God and the love of Jesus. She told me she desired her kids to be healthy and that’s why she was looking for a way for that to happen. Her kids have been regularly sick for a long time now and she is tired of living with the fear that she will loose one of them or maybe all of them. She wanted something she could rely on that would give her peace. I shared with her how God created us, loves us and wants the best for us. That’s why He sent us His son Jesus Christ. He wants us to have His son in our heart. George and I told her the sickness of the children many times could be just simply from the unclean water they drink, because she is not using a mosquito net or perhaps the food is not good. However it could also be from the power of the enemy at work since they are wearing charms. She accepted to pray and remove the charm from her neck and her little one’s neck too. Right then, she prayed to accept the Lord and after that she asked if she could bring her other children the next day for prayer and to remove their charms. This is a huge step of faith because the witch doctors tell their clients that if the charms are removed, they will be cursed.

Ayen arrived this morning with her two other children (a seven year old son, Majok, and a five year old daughter, Bagich) shortly after we had prayed for her and her family during our staff devotion. We were happy to see her and hear what she had to say about her new commitment to the Lord. She said is not going trust witchcraft and it’s power anymore even when her kids are sick. Instead she she is going to trust in the Lord. So we encouraged her, prayed for her family and we cut the charms from the little ones necks and committed her and her family to the Lord. She invited us to pray in her house so it will be sanctified and bless her home with the new faith she has.

George has prayed with many patients and has encouraged them to bring others to be prayed for who want to stop chewing tobacco and give up their tobacco pots and also because they want their charms to be removed. Many people won’t ever remove the charms themselves due to fear so we don’t mind taking it off for them. They even fear for us since they believe the curse falls on whoever removes the charm. However, we can show by example that we are not afraid because we know greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Let the name of the Lord be known among the Dinka, Bongo and Jurchol tribes here in Tonj so they would trust Him, proclaim His name and call upon Him for salvation! For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Rom 10:13