The Power of God! (part 2)

[Jeremy Gable]

Hello everyone!

 

 

Once again I appologize for leaving you hanging like that last time.  I had run out of internet time and had to cut the story short.

 

To recap from last time...

 

When she finally woke up, she resumed calling out the same phrases as before.  At one point, Kela' Ulu (another witchdoctor) and Misu came by with all kinds of "magic" herbs and charms and whatever else they use for such things, but to our knowledge, they didn't do anything to her or in regards to her.  Generally they ask permission for such things, especially since it's our clinic.  I didn't hear them ask for permission, but if they did, I'm sure someone told them no.  Shortly after they left, however, her condition grew very intense.  She began saying "Mendi' ku si Seytan!  Mendi' ku si Seytan!" "Ama' Empu'!  Tebangin mu aku!"  "Ugad si Seytan!  Ugad si Seytan!"  Ama' Empu'!  Ama' Empu'! Ikew mabasag banar!"  (I don't want you Satan!  I don't want you Satan!  Father God!  Help me! (singular this time instead of plural as she'd said every time before)  Leave (or go away) Satan!  Leave Satan!  Father God!  Father God!  You're very strong (or You're the strongest)).  While she was screaming these things, I saw her face contorting in fear and terror, and my heart again went out to her....

 

 

 

This continued for quite a while until it began to get dark.  About that time, she started to calm down again a little more, but kept crying out for family and friends, her bible, and her Ellen White book, and asking for help.  Wendy (the nurse who runs the clinic) wrote up a list for each of us to take a 2 hour shift to stay with Nurgina and her family to pray for her throughout the whole night and force her to drink (we used a needleless siringe to squirt Oral Rehydration Solution into her mouth when she would speak.  She would keep gurling her words through the liquid in her mouth for several minutes before finally swallowing).  There were several times throughout the night that her battle with Satan was renewed in its intensity.  Because I had to take my malaria medications at 5 am, I took the 4-6 am shift.  Just before 5 o'clock things became more intense for her again for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then she calmed down again.  During every one of these episodes, I could see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids.  This leads me to believe that there was some imagery going on inside her head (though what exactly she was seeing, we may never know).

 

All throughout the next day, she continued in the same state.  After school was over that day, Kiana (our school teacher) went to the Georges' house to email them and give them another update on the situation.  That's also the day that she sent out the update to all of you via my mom.  When she came back in the evening, she relaid to us a message from the Pastor and Mrs. George with advice for us, and confirming that the singing and prayer vigils were both good ideas, and to also make sure that everyone who came in contact with Nurgina (inculding us) searched their hearts well to make sure that we didn't have any unconfessed sins ourselves.  Because we'd been in close contact with her while something of this nature was going on, having unconfessed sins would leave us open and vulnerable to harassment as well.  I don't know about the Pelawans, but I think every one of us missionaries had been doing that already.  They also said we needed to just "relax in Jesus," because He had already won this battle, and that we needed to just put our full trust in Him, and relax.  After relaying the message to us, we sat there talking for a few more minutes (with Nurgina in the patient room about 40 feet away), when we suddenly heard her say, "Selamat banar!" (Thank you very much!).  Hearing this, I suddenly perked up and—since I was still on Quinine for malaria (which creates a loud ringing in your ears and makes you partially deaf)—asked the other SMs, "Did she just say, 'Selamat banar?'  That's a new one!."  Danny replied, "Yeah, she said that a few times before, too."  My hopes dashed a bit, we almost resumed our conversation again, until we heard her say, "Selamat ki Empu'!" (Thank you Lord!).  "That's another new one!" I said.  As we listened, these two phrases were repeated a couple times, and then she said something I didn't quite understand.  Suddenly Kiana perked up and I saw a light flash through her expression, followed closely by a dropped jaw, wide eyes, and a big smile.  Immediately she hopped to her feet and ran to the patient room.  Realizing that something had just changed, hope sprang to life in me again and I followed as quickly as my quinine-dizzied state would allow me to move.

 

Upon entering the dark patient room (it was just after dark now on Monday evening), I heard lots of "Selamat banar!" followed by much giggling and laughter (a very pleasant sound after 2.5 days of tortured cries for help!).  As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw people taking turns hugging Nurgina who was telling each person, "Selamat banar!"  I began to tear up slightly at the sight of Nurgina conscious again, and praising God and thanking everyone.  As I hobbled to a clear place where I could sit down (the quinine made it hard for me to stand for long periods), Nurgina finished hugging everyone who had arrived before me (all girls).  Then, just before I could sit down, Nurgina's mom noticed me and directed Nurgina's attention to me.  She looked towards me, smiled big, and reached towards me with another, "Selamat banar!"  This culture is very separated concerning the sexes, so rather than hugging her as the girls had done, I reach out and just took her hand and gave her a big smile.  As soon as I grasped her hand, though, she immediately yanked me in close and wrapped her arms around me in a big hug!  I have to say, this was quite a shock to me after spending 7 months in a culture where it's almost taboo to touch a member of the opposite sex unless you're married or family (or the other person is a very small child)!  Apparently, situations like this are an exception!  Of course I returned the hug fully, and then sat down before I lost my balance and fell (I hate quinine).

 

I then sat and listened as people asked questions and the story began to unfold.  Apparently, Nurgina's condition began on Sabbath afternoon as she and a couple other family members were hiking home to their village of Neruhungan [Nuh-roo-hoong-ahn] (about 1.5 hours away).  At the village of Arisureng [Ah-ree-sur-uhng] (just at the top of the mountain from us) they had stopped to get a drink.  Nurgina said that as soon as she took a drink, she instantly and completely lost the ability to see and hear, and didn't remember anything else until she was at her brother's house in Neruhungan.  Her mother said that as soon as she drank the water, she immediately stood up with her eyes closed, looked over each shoulder twice, said, "Medi' ku si Seytan!  Ugad si Seytan!  Ama' Empu'!  Tebangin mu aku!" (I don't want you Satan!  Leave Satan!  Father God!  Help me!) then dropped her head and ran very fast all the way back to Neruhungan with her eyes closed and head down.  After arriving at her brother's house, she collapsed and began calling out the phrases that we'd heard so many times while she was at the clinic.  When her uncle, Mami [pronounced "mommy"] (who is a witchdoctor and also the most influential person in this whole area), came by, he wanted to do some sort of magic ritual for her to appease the spirits.  This is the only thing she's able to remember from the time she drank the water until waking up in the patient room at our clinic.  She remembers hearing him talk about doing this ceremony, and telling everyone "I don't want to!  Don't forget God!  Remember God!"  She then went back unconcious and from most reports, also ceased breathing for the next half hour.  She eventually started breathing again, and resumed chanting those familiar phrases until she fell asleep for the night.  Upon waking up in the morning, she resumed chanting the phrases again and her family brought her to us.

 

As this story unfolded to us, she also mentioned at one point that every time she "prayed to God, Satan slowly got a little further away."  She also said at one point that she heard her mother praying (I think this is when she finally came out of the whole thing).  Of course we were all overjoyed to have her back with us again, and it was very exciting to hear the story.  We then had a long worship session with the family.  I think we sang almost every hymn in the Pelawan song book and then closed with prayers from everyone present, including Seblitu who was already in the room when Nurgina woke up.

 

The next day, however, Nurgina seemed very sad, and we weren't sure why.  We all joined her family for worship again that evening, and just before everyone got there, she told Wendy that she knew why all this happened.  She said the Holy Spirit helped her to remember that shortly after Sabbath began that Friday night, she and her mother had gone to a siburan [see-bur-ahn] (a big drinking party with drums and dancing to appease the rice god).  They actually thought it was a wedding they were going to and not a siburan, but when they got there and found out what it was, they didn't leave.  They didn't actually participate or drink rice wine, but just stayed off to the side, and then slept away from everyone else that night.  In the morning they came to church and put the whole thing out of their minds.  Then it was when they were walking home Sabbath afternoon that Satan attacked.  When Nurgina had stopped breathing for half an hour in Neruhungan, her mother suddenly remembered that they had been at the siburan the previous night, and silently prayed to God, confessing their sin and asking Him for forgiveness.  As she finished the prayer, Nurgina suddenly started breathing again.  She then forgot about the siburan again for the whole time from then until Nurgina came out of it.  Shortly before she came out of it, her mother again remembered about the siburan and again prayed to God, confessing their sin and asking for His forgiveness.  Right after finishing that prayer, she heard a female voice speaking into her ear that said, "Are you worried for your daughter?"  She replied, "No, my hope is in God."  The voice then responded, "Go warm up that cooked rice over there and feed it to her."  Immediately she warmed up the rice and began to feed it to her.  As she began to feed her, Nurgina came out of it and began praising God!  In the excitement of Nurgina's return to us, her mother forgot all about these details until a full day later.

 

As we listened to these new details, we suddenly realized the answers to all the questions that had been running through our minds.  Even though Nurgina is a Christian, and a very strong one at that, she was still vulnerable to this type of attack from Satan because she had sinned by going to the siburan.  I suspect that if she had gone (thinking that it was just a wedding) and then left right away, as soon as she found out what it really was, there would have been no problem, but since she decided to stay, even though she knew better, it became a sin.  Not only that, but because of the nature of the event (basically a devil-worship ceremony) she left herself wide open to Satanic attack.  Without confessing her sin to God and asking for forgiveness, His protection could not rest upon her to shield her from Satan's atttack.  So, seeing her vulnerability, Satan siezed the opportunity to try and remove someone who was a serious threat to his control of the Pelawan people.

 

Because she's such a strong Christian among the Pelawan people, it was important that she (and all the other church members) realize just how wrong it is for Christians to be at a siburan.  God knows Nurgina's heart though, and he knows her strength of faith and strength of character.  He allowed this attack to come upon her (though He was clearly restraining Satan's ability to harm her) as a means of disciplining her and showing her the extreme sinfullness of her actions, knowing that she would be able to endure the trial without giving in to Satan, and that afterwards, her faith would only be strengthened by the experience.  In addition to this, several other church members have realized seveal things that they've been doing that they shouldn't do.  Her two older brothers are both backslidden church members and rarely come to church (her oldest brother, Buba, is the husband of Lali whom Wendy Guptil wrote an article about entitled, "Lali's angel") except when they also need medicine.  On the Sabbath following Nurgina's recovery, they both came to church (without needing medicine) and expressed their gratitude for God's grace and salvation.  The younger of the two, Pupuy, wrote a letter to Napthali (our Filipino agriculturalist missionary here) saying that he feels like he's been slipping away from God, and wants us to pray for him.  They were both at church again yesterday as well, again, neither of them needing medicine.  However, the most incredible result from all this is that Nurgina's uncle, Mami, and several other gungurangs [gung-gur-ahngs] from the Neruhungan area have decided to hold a bitsada [beet-sah-dah] (a tribal meeting/court session that's used to make decisions for weddings, crimes, and various other tribal concerns) to decide which god (or God) was responsible for her recovery (their spirit gods or our God), and whether they're going to serve the spirit gods or our God!

 

At this point, it's very hard to say what the far reaching outcomes of all this will be, but we're all VERY excited to see the amazing ways that God will use this!  Please pray for Nurgina and her mother (and anyone else who comes before this bitsada) that God will prepare them for that time (that He will help them to aquire all the truths they'll need for it), and that the Holy Spirit will give them exactly the right words to say in the hour that they're needed.

 

I have much more to day concerning my personal thoughts on this experience, but once again, I've run out of time.  Truly this experience fulfills the purpose of this newsletter (The Miracles of Palawan) in the most fantastic sense!  While not every miracle that happs here is this spectacular, there are many other miracles happening her on a daily or weekly basis.  Most of them seem rather mundane in comparison to this, but they are no less miraculous.  Every time a Pelawan gets up in church and gives a sermon on resisting temptation, it's a wonderful miracle (there are so many temptations that our church members face, and rarely do they do what they know is right, though they always feel guilty afterwards).  Every time a non-church member comes to church, without being asked, it's a miracle.  Every time one of the children comes to church against their parents' wishes, it's a miracle.  Every time one of the children bows his or her head to pray along with everyone else instead of just clowning around and having a good time like they normally do, it's a miracle.  And the list goes on.

 

Again I want to encourage anyone who reads this to play a part in making all of these miracles happen.  There are many plans laid for the future to open up witnessing opportunities to the Pelawans who are in desperate need of freedom from the bondage of Satanic tyranny.  I'm finally beginning to learn the language well enough to be able to witness to people verbally instead of just by example.  According to the last update I've received concerning the fundraising for my second year, I still have $1,734 to raise.  I know that a least a couple of you have donated since then, but since I don't yet know how much you donated, I also don't know what the new total is.  July 1st is the deadline for the funds to be in, so the time is running very very short.  If you're considering making a donation, please do not put it off any longer.  My heart yearns to stay here for the second year and lead more people to Christ, as well as strengthening the struggling church members here.  God has ever been pleased to do His work through those who claim His name.  Won't you please be a part of the work that He's doing here?

 

Again, there are several ways to donate:

 

 

1.  To donate with a credit/debit card online go to www.afmonline.org.

     From the home page, click on the "Give" link at the right of the page,

     then click the "Donate Now" link, followed by "Sponser a Student

     Missionary".  From there, just follow the steps.  Also, here is the

     link that will take you directly to the donation page (though I'm not

     sure if it will work):

https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXDONATE/AddDonor.asp?cguid=77A86696%252DE553%252D40DC%252DAA71%252D1C744D32FCED&sTarget=https%3A%2F%2Fdnbweb1%2Eblackbaud%2Ecom%2FOPXDONATE%2Fdonate%2Easp%3Fcguid%3D77A86696%25252DE553%25252D40DC%25252DAA71%25252D1C744D32FCED%26dpid%3D1269&sid=EEDB31D8%2D87CD%2D4BFE%2DB115%2DEC739582BFD5

    

2.  To donate with a credit card over the phone call 1 (800) 937-4236.

3.  To send a donation by mail, the address is:

     Adventist Frontier Missions
     PO Box 346
     Berrien Springs, MI 49103

     Be sure to include your Name and address (though you can request

     that the donation be made anonymously), state that the donation is

     for the Student Missionary Jeremy Gable at the Palawano Project.

4.  If you have access to a Frontiers magazine, there should be a

     donation form/envelope inside which can also be used to make

     donations.  Again, be sure to say that it's for the Student Missionary

     Jeremy Gable at the Palawano Project.

 

Obviously, the simplest way to donate is online or over the phone.  If anything is unclear, or you have any other questions, please feel free to email me and I'll do my best to help.  Also, questions can be directed to afm by calling the toll free number above.

 

In addition to donations, there is always a huge need for prayer support as well, as evidenced by the content of this email.

 

Thank you all for your generous support!  May God bless you richly!

 

 

With love in Christ,

Jeremy