Whole Village Changed by the Word of God and the Power of God

“In Bubanza a drunkard became a storyteller and then he went to the witch doctor and now that old man has become a church planter and even now the whole village has embraced the Gospel.” – Bahizi, Burundian Disciple-Maker

Bubanza is a province in far western Burundi. It’s a beautiful region in what at first glance would seem like a peaceful, rural area. Unfortunately, it’s a place with much unrest and many challenges. Government officials report that there is little peace with insecurity being at a high of 95%. Robberies are frequent in the villages. Theft of cattle and crops stolen from the fields is common. Women often abandon their husbands and children for prostitution in desperate need of money for basic needs (i.e., food). Men leave their families to remarry in other communities and provinces. Witchcraft is commonly practiced. Just this year over 29 witch doctors were named who continue to provoke citizens to murder others who have harmed them and/or their families. Gunfire and grenade attacks are frequent between political factions as well as continual raids from Congolese rebels along the border. It’s a place where we can hardly comprehend what everyday life must be like there.

Who or why would anyone go to such a region? Bahizi and his Burundian team are determined to see peace come to their nation. Their strategy? To reach every province and every village within those 18 provinces with the Good News of Jesus Christ. And, so, they pray.

And, Meshack and Jonas went. Often the team based in the capital city of Bujumbura use water filters as a way to show the love of Jesus to those suffering from sickness due to the polluted water carried from the river for drinking, washing, and cooking. Making the long, arduous journey by motorbike west to the village of Masha in Bubanza, they encountered many men sitting in groups under the trees drinking local brew. Led to one such group, they sat down and talked with a man named Paschal. Indeed, they discovered the extreme poverty and high level of disease and sickness in the area, so they had entry to discuss bacteria and the need to clean their water. As they kept chatting, Meshack asked Paschal if he could tell him a story, which Paschal willingly agreed to. So, he told him the Bible story of the very rich man and poor, sickly Lazarus. Paschal really loved that story and asked Meshack if he would come to his home and tell the same story to his two wives and nine children. Meshack agreed and also took a water filter with him.

When Meshack reached Paschal’s home, he taught the family about hygiene and the value of clean water and how to use the water filter. Then they all sat together while he told them the story about the sickly beggar Lazarus. Using the Discovery Bible Study method and since no one there could read, he then asked them to repeat the story that he had just told them. After that, he then asked each of the family members how they saw the story, what did it mean to them? When it was Paschal’s turn, he said, “When you were speaking the story, I see my life is like that rich man. Sometimes I have something but I do not take care of my own family.” Then he announced, “I will stop making and drinking local wine and stop hitting my wife and children. I will now take care of them.”

And, he did! The second time Meshack went to Paschal’s home, there were more people there. Paschal’s own wives were telling him that Paschal is acting very differently toward them. Only the Word of God and the power of God and a life was transformed!

Soon after that Paschal wanted Meshack to go with him to the home of the local witch doctor. The entire village was terrified of this man because of his evil powers. When they went to his home, the witch doctor was very surprised to learn that they had come not to buy a spell but to tell him something. Paschal started in, “Salvator, you know all of us very well here in this village. I am here only because I want to tell you about my story and what has happened. I heard a story from Meshack and now my life has changed.”

Curious to know what exactly had happened, Salvator wanted to know more, and as Paschal told him the same story about the rich man and Lazarus, the witch doctor looked at him and said, “I have been doing many wrong things. There are so many conflicts between people and they come and want me to put a spell on someone to kill them.” Paschal went on to tell the witch doctor his testimony, of baptism, and how his life was changing. The witch doctor said, “I’m getting so very old and I’ve been behaving so badly using all these things to kill people who are innocent. I do not want to die like this rich man.” After that he confessed all of the things he had been doing for so many years and was baptized. Soon after, the old man went through the village and began telling everyone the same God-story about the rich man and how his own life story was changing now because of it.

Both stories spread like wildfire throughout the village. No one could believe it. This man they feared for their very lives was literally changing in front of their eyes. One God story and one changed life and many people in that village have come to believe in the power and love of Jesus Christ. First there were 34 people baptized, then there were 20 more. There are five house churches in that village today. People who left the village because of the evil ways of the witch doctor are now coming home, where many residents are coming together to build traditional small brick homes for them. There’s little doubt Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Word of God and the Spirit of God are still changing people, villages and nations!