#48 Shanksteps
10-7-06
Sorcery? What does this make you think of? Here in
Cameroon it is a very commonly used term. We have
heard it described usually in reference to the cause
of a sickness or death. We had another patient
recently that was brought in with a severe headache
and we found malaria in testing him. Apparently he
was at school. A classmates pencil fell on the
ground, he picked it up. The classmate thought he was
steeling his pencil so he cast a spell on him. The
patient immediately felt a severe headache. The
classmate and his father are known in the community to
be powerful sorcerers. When the guy with the headache
went home his mom brought him into the hospital. We
discovered malaria and typhoid and started treating
these. Later his father came home. He heard what had
happened and that the son was at the hospital.
Many people don’t believe in casting of spells or in
the power therein. I know I have not in the past. At
this point in life I very much believe that things
like this DO happen. I believe it is the power of the
devil that is being used for the spell, magic. I also
know that the devil is stronger than I or any other
person. BUT I believe that my God is more powerful
than him. The devil is a created being that was once
an angel in heaven as the Bible recounts. He chose
not to follow God and was cast out of heaven. I
imagine you believe that angels are stronger than you?
So is the devil, without Gods help.
This leads back to the story. So if you don’t
believe in God but you do in sorcery, how is the
hospital going to help in this illness. It wouldn’t.
So this father insisted that he take his son home.
The cure is for a more powerful sorcerer to cancel the
previous spell. We wanted him to stay in the hospital
because we know that our God is more powerful than any
spell, and He heals! Well the father left with his
son and took him straight to the father of the one who
cast the spell to undo it. I’m sure exchange of
money, and sacrifices took place to cancel the spell.
Another thing frequently noted here it that a
sorcerer must “manger†or eat his victim. This seems
not to be a literal eating but more a keeping in close
contact with them to keep the spell active.
Apparently there have been patients in the past who
spells were cast, then they came into the hospital.
Some nurses said they have seen a sorcerer come into
the hospital to see the person they cast the spell on,
then that person died. When we asked if the people
are scared to know or be friends with the sorcerer the
answer is usually no. Everyone knows who they are but
as long as you don’t cross them all is OK.
In the US when we think of an owl what crosses your
mind? Wise? Neat contortionist neck, large eyes,
barns? Here these are part of bad luck. They
represent sorcerers that have metamorphasized into the
owl to hunt out certain people to cast a spell on
them. So when people see an owl they are usually very
afraid that something bad is going to happen to them.
Sorcerers also take the form of black cat, donkey or
pigeons.
So the devil has a strong foothold of belief here.
We believe the devil is very active. The Bible
describes him as a “roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour.†We see evidence of this around us here.
Please pray for wisdom, for us, on how to best combat
the devil on this Cameroonian battlefield. And how to
teach the animistic people in this area about the God
who can save them spiritually and physically from the
harm and fear of sorcery. In His Service, Shanks
Shanksteps of Faith #48