This story, while unique, is all too common in rural African village communities. Yet testimonies like the following convict the obedient to pray, give, or go to these places and proclaim God as the only authority on heaven and earth with the power to set them free.
She was the age of your typical 7th grader. The village she lived in was associated with an evil neighboring tribe and was filled with alters to demons. The witch doctor made regular sacrifices of livestock of all sizes and performed rituals at all times of day and night. The people would take the sacrificed meat and lay it on the alters throughout the community as an offering in exchange for power and protection. After the elders and adults had taken their fill of meat, they would send the children throughout the village to eat at the alters in the shadow of demons. This girl was one of those children. The tribe was strong, undefeated in battle, and loyal to the demons they worshipped. No one would have thought there was another life to be lived. They had complete faith in these demons.
When the girl went away to secondary school, she was introduced to Jesus, to whom she soon gave her life and sought to obey. The girl was unsure what to do with no one at home in the village to help lead her or worship with; the girl was unsure what to do. So she prayed and fasted. She asked that God destroy the tribe of demon worshippers. She pleaded that her house either worship the true God or no God. She asked God to destroy the enemies before she went home. She prayed and fasted with complete faith that God would work a miracle. When she returned to the village on a school break, there were no alters. The girl inquired from her grandmother, pretending she had no knowledge, for she knew God had answered her prayer.
“Where are the alters, and where is the tribe.”
The grandmother responded, “It was like a wind took them. There was nothing left, and the alters were broken.”
Today, some 30 years later, the altars are still absent. And each year, more and more people in the village come to know Christ, a testament to the enduring power of faith and the transformative power of God.
The woman God used to free that village is named Eunice. She is a faithful servant of God, still shining His light into the shadows of demons.