Does It Matter Where the Power Comes From?

I just read an article that came out in CHRISTIANITY TODAY about what they call "Fake Pastors" in Ghana. In the article a fetish priest (occult practitioner) claims that over a thousand pastors have come to him seeking spiritural power from the gods he serves. Another woman is quoted as saying she doesn't care where the power comes from as long as it can help her with her problems. From my own experience, these are very common problems in Ghana and in many African countries.

A few years ago a Ghanaian pastor friend asked me to teach in his church. I sought God to know what I could share in only one session that might be a significant help to the people. My basic thesis was that as believers in Jesus Christ, we needed to seek God and His power alone. If we earnestly sought God and He for whatever reason did not see fit to grant our request, it would be better not to get our request. I talked about how God was all-wise, trustworthy, and always had our ultimate good at heart. I showed how Satan gives his gifts only with very serious and very destructive strings attached. I really wanted to make the point, so I told them (truthfully) that if my own precious child was sick and God did not see fit to heal that child, it would be better for the child to die than to seek power from occult sources. (I was not speaking against the use of medical intervention; I was speaking against seeking spiritual power from spirits other than God's Spirit.) I could tell the people were shocked. They had never considered such an idea before. I could tell the pastor was shocked. Apologetic. Embarrassed. In Ghanaian culture, getting what you want is of the ultimate importance. How you get it is not considered important. It's a huge mistake. My messsage did not impress the crowd that day, but I still stand by it. It was the right message.

Working as a modern-day abolitionist, I see occult power tied to death, child sacrifice, ritual abuse and slavery on a regular basis. I have come to understand that the gods worshiped in the shrines of African Traditional Religion do have some power. They can and sometimes do grant healing. It is ALWAYS, however, a conditional healing. It lasts only as long as the subject continues to live as a slave to the fetish. Those gods can and do help infertile women get pregnant. That child is claimed by the gods as their own, is obligated to serve the gods for life, and may be controlled mentally and physically by those spirit owners. For those like me who value freedom, it is definitely not worth it. Heal my child by making him a life slave of Satan? No, thank you.

My only hope is that these chains can be broken by Jesus Christ, the great Liberator, to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given. I have seen that happen over and over again. When the power comes from Him, it is freeing, because the Scripture says that if Jesus makes us free, we will be free indeed. Oh, yes. It DOES matterr where the power comes from.

Abuse Follows the Same Themes

As I've learned more about human trafficking issues, I've realized that to learn how it works I don't need to limit myself to reading about cases in Africa, although that's my primary calling from God. Human trafficking and human abuse works pretty much the same the world over. That's why I was confident that when I taught my recent workshop of human trafficking, I could help those whose interest was centered on their homeland America or any other place in the world.

Recently I've been studying all I can find about healing and counseling survivors of sexual abuse, preparing to launch ECM's ministry to victims of the sex industry in a bigger way. And as I read about how abusers deliberately use shame to control and manipulate their victims, I thought about how the abusive LRA army that ravaged northern Uganda would force children to kill their parents or siblings, then tell them that they were so bad that even God would never forgive them, no one would ever accept them again, and their only hope for survival was with the LRA. The same old lies. The same deceptions. The same twisted messages. The same diabolic techniques. Satan is not very creative. God is the Creator. His enemy can only take what God has made, twist it, distort it, and misuse it. The more I learn about abuse the more I realize that whether children are forced into killing or prostitution, it's the exact same method of manipulation.

It makes it a lot easier to understand the old devil's techniques, because he repeats the same old tunes over and over in slightly different circumstances. It's heart-rending to see all the damage being done to the next generation. One thing gives me hope. God is Truth and His truth is stronger than all the lies of the enemy.

Please pray that God will continue to give me understanding. If I desire one spiritual gift above all others, it would be spiritual discernment. I need it so much in the work God has given me.

Child sacrifice or child murder

I think it was about two years ago that I learned the government of Uganda had created a special task force on child sacrifice which was becoming so prevalent in the country. It is connected with African traditional religion, its beliefs and practices. About the same time, our workers became involved in helping a little girl, about 18 months old, who had been used for ritual purposes, her eye teeth cut out of her jaw for magical purposes, then tied in a burlap sack and discarded. Someone found her while still alive, although almost drowning in her own feces. She survived, but suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of her ordeal.

In talking with our Ugandan leaders again recently, I learned that the government no longer wants to call it child sacrifice. Instead, they want to call it child murder.

Immediately I thought of the victim we are helping. The intention was clearly that she would die in the bag, but she didn't die, so it was not a child murder. It could have been considered attempted murder.

But to describe it as child murder skirts around the whole reason and motive for the crime. The traditional practitioner did not try to kill her for money, directly, at least, or for hate or anger or jealousy. He needed her eye teeth, in his religious practice, for magical purposes. It was a ritual act he carried out in sawing the eye teeth from her jaw.

Every government, of course, has a right to speak of crimes and issues in whatever terms they choose. For us, however, we will speak of child ritual abuse or child ritual murder. We would be doing a disservice to the public by obscuring the fact that child ritual abuse and murder are common and are on the rise. It could scare people, of course, but to ignore a clear and present danger to avoid scaring them would not do them a favor. They need to be aware and to take all precautions possible.

We do not wish to obscure the fact that African Traditional Religion is perpetrating these crimes. Not all practitioners of ATR practice child ritual abuse or sacrifice, of course, just as not all of them practice child slavery. Yet many abuses of children do stem from ATR, and both its adherents and the general public need to realize the dangers.

Changing terminology or relabeling something does not change the realities involved. The reality is that in Uganda, many child murders are carried out for ritual purposes involved with African Traditional Religion.

Pray with us that both our workers and the African governments involved may have wisdom from God in dealing with these issues.

48 Hours

48 hours. The name of a TV detective show.

48 hours. The average length of time a young girl has after she runs away from home before she gets trafficked into prostitution.

48 hours. The average time a trafficked prostitute has (I'm talking about one who is pimped or enslaved, which is the majority of them) after she escapes before she is re-trafficked into the same or a worse situation unless she gets adequate help.

2 days. Think about it.

Keep your daughter out of situations where she may be in danger of being trafficked.

An effective deterrent to child trafficking

They say that bank tellers are trained to recognize false currency by becoming super familiar with every characteristic of true currency. The same principle applies to fighting child trafficking. Every Child Ministries was recently able to track and rescue a young girl who had been trafficked from a notorious trafficking area. We were able to do this because our worker, who regularly visits and befriends people in the area, noticed right away that she was gone. The same worker a few years ago rescued an abandoned toddler because she knew the area well and recognized right away that a new child had appeared on the street.

This month Every Child Ministries is stretching itself again on behalf of children in danger of trafficking. Realizing the efficacy of having a worker who knows an area well, we are assigning a work to "pound the streets" in one of the most notorious trafficking areas we know of. Jeremiah (an assumed name) will spend time--lots of time--getting to know folks in an area that is hot, dirty, and smelly. We are believing God for his protection, for his support, and for an effective ministry that will encourage children and families in that area and will keep many children from being sold into slavery. Please pray with us.

The Making of a Girl

"The Making of a Girl" is one of my favorite You Tube Videos other than those produced by Every Child Ministries team members.

It follows the story of a young girl getting into prostitution for the first time--what goes through her mind, why she crosses that terrible line, what has prepared her. Then it tells what lies ahead for her.

This is an awesome video that really rings true. I have watched it many times and heartily recommend it to you. It could happen to someone you know and love more easily than you think.

When you think of the young girl getting into the Cadillac with the good looking young man, don't think date. Think recruitment. Think trafficking. Then you will understand better why girls become prostitutes.

Too close to home !

When I was in Ghana, I learned how God helped us to escape the devious plans of a child trafficker to steal one of the children from Haven of Hope under false pretenses. I learned that a woman came to the home with an adoption form she had been sent by a man, an application to adopt one of our children. Those of our children who are eligible for adoption are adopted only through Social Welfare in Ghana, so out people knew right away that something was wrong. When she learned she had been taken in by someone's deceptive scheme, the woman left the form with us. It looked like our literature and carried our logo, undoubtedly copied from the internet, but there was a different phone number on it. She even had a little girl picked out, but the girl was at the home temporarily due to family issues and was not eligible for adoption.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how narrowly we had escaped a huge tragedy. Someone was evidently using our website to try to sell the children under our care. Had they planned to try to steal the children from the home, or to pose as some legitimate agent? The woman herself was simply an honest person who nearly got sucked into the deception. How thankful I am that the security fence is now completed. It's now much harder for anyone to ferret away a child, and we are now alert to the scheme. We hate child trafficking anywhere, but this one came way too close to home. May God follow the despicable people involved and give them their due, and may His hand of protection always be over the beloved children in our care.