There is darkness here. Everyday at the Pokot tribe, I woke up sensing the darkness all around me even when my teammates couldn't feel it. During Nikki's prayer for spiritual strength on our fourth night with the tribe, I truly felt Satan for the first time in my life. She prayed for the Holy Spirit, and I felt despair, helplessness, and above all else, FEAR. I immediately realized these feelings came from the devil and just how present he is in this place. He was angry about Nikki's prayer and our presence in the tribe because we came to bring the light of Jesus Christ. For several days after, I struggled with allowing the devil to work his way into my mind and affect my moods. As someone who is an intercessor, I felt the pain and despair of the people as my own. It took climbing a mountain to leave it all behind.
After returning home from a wedding, a group of eight of us decided to climb a nearby mountain. The view from the top was incredible; we could see the school we taught at, our house, the wedding celebration, the church, and scattered huts among the hills. As we sat in awe of God, Pastor Musa told us about all of the tribal traditions and problems facing the Pokot tribe: female genital mutilation (“circumcision”), poverty, alcoholism, rapes, brewery as the only means of survival, witchcraft, polygamy, young girls being married off, large numbers of children, lack of medical facilities, poor roads, etc. Sadly, many of these traditions can be changed if the tribe members all converted to Christianity.
Standing on top of the mountain, I finally felt free of the burdens the devil placed on my back. I finally found the peace I'd been needing since arriving there. Gazing upon the land, I realized that only God could make a place so beautiful. So, the devil's hold upon the land and people isn't really that strong. God also gave me a vision for understanding: the view of the land from my mountaintop perspective, but with a giant cloud blocking out the sunlight, creating a shadow land. The scene from The Lion King where Simba and Mufasa are looking out across that Prideland came to mind. Mufasa says, “Everything the light touches is my kingdom.” God's light shines on this place, but the workings of the devil in Pokot are just like the cloud, causing shadows and therefore darkness.
As a group on the mountaintop, we prayed for the Pokot people, the land, and for a better future. My strongest prayer was for the “winds of change” to come and blow away the cloud that's causing darkness in the tribe. There's a practice we do as a team called declarations where we shout out things we need to believe about ourselves, so that we can start to believe they're true. So, I had the group shout declarations over the land. We declared, in the name of Jesus, change from traditional ways, freedom from sin, healing, an end to alcoholism, for the children to raise up a new generation, a new chapter in the tribe. Praying was the best possible thing we could have done because none of our laboring for the two weeks could have drastically impacted the region. Only God has that power.
Our last night at Pokot, Pastor Simon played The Jesus Film in the tribal language on a projector at the church. Our team didn't go to the viewing, but stayed at our house and worshiped. It was the best night of worship we've had yet, and we just invited the Holy Spirit to come. We prayed, sang, got visions and prophesies during the viewing. The next morning after packing, I visited for the last time, my favorite place to be alone. On the hill, looking down the valley at the Pokot village, the wind began to blow. Though it wasn't stormy, the wind blew fast and strong. I knew in my heart that the “winds of change” are coming to this tribe.
At the final farewell, Pastor Musa informed us that about 50 people gave their lives to Christ after watching The Jesus Film. This is the largest group of people we've had come to Christ, and it was not from our laboring. We were praying as team for the village during the viewing, and the Holy Spirit certainly did come and move in the hearts of those 50 people and countless others watching the movie. This information confirmed what God had already revealed to me that morning. The winds of change are here, moving the cloud of darkness off the village, claiming the tribe for Christ!
