OUT of DARKNESS
INTO LIGHT
Full Book synopsis/summary:
Living in the highlands of Ethiopia was like living in the Wild West. No one trusted anybody. A gun or a doola was always at hand – and often used. Farming was primitive, and famine was always close at hand. Evil spirits held real power over people’s lives. Theirs was not a good life, and we wanted to help.
We went as a community development team, asked God for guidance, and things began to change. As a spiritual battle broke out, we relived many events from the book of Acts in the Bible. Amazingly, God worked, and we watched a group of people come out of darkness and into light.
EXCERPTS:
Seizing a chance to talk to us privately one afternoon, Priest Girma came quickly to the point. “I’ve been reading Acts,” he began, “ and it says in chapter 19 that everyone burned their magic books when they believed in Jesus. Do you think that was necessary”?
The awakening in Menz that we had prayed for so long, had at last become a reality. The forces of Satan had been dealt a death blow. But the devil doesn’t give up easily. He fought back with every weapon he had, and he struck while the iron was hot, only a few days after the meeting.
Threats were soon directed our way. Anxious friends came to warn us that there were some who were intent on burning down the Cannatas’ house. Others threatened to destroy the mission plane – our lifeline to Menz. Members of one church were outspoken enough to say they would stone Sam’s car if he came near their vicinity. We were accused of committing a variety of crimes. The fact that there was a total lack of supporting evidence had little bearing on the rumors.
Then, about midnight, Aschallew told us that he had something he wanted to say. He blurted out what they already knew so well, namely how mean and tough he used to be. But that was before he met Jesus. “I still say impulsive things sometimes, but I am sorry afterward. It really makes me feel terrible when the Gospel is hindered by my behavior, because the thing I want most in life is for people to know Jesus.”