Spiritual Cleansing

Yoha and Amanda Wongnirattisai serve among the Lisu people in Thailand. They share of a family's full commitment to trust in Jesus.

The church in Pilou is growing. We had over 30 people in attendance this Sunday and a new family came to Christ.

This family includes Pakama, her daughter, and her daughter’s infant son, who is six months old. Pakama means “deaf”, as she is hard of hearing. She is also currently paralyzed from the waist down, due to a problem with her blood clotting and high cholesterol. Pakama was actually a Christian before and even helped bring others to Jesus, but she later turned back to spirit worship. This is not uncommon among the Lisu, as family members believe Christians bring a curse from the spirits upon the family when they convert and there is great pressure to return to the “old way.” Christianity is also seen as a “foreign religion." We went to their house to pray for Pakama's health. We also removed the spirit shelf and other emblems of spirit worship from the home, as this shows the family's commitment to depend on Jesus to take care of them rather than the spirits. 

When a Lisu family turns to Jesus, the removal of the spirit shelf is significant. It helps them understand that they must trust Jesus to protect them from evil spirits and family curses and to provide for their needs if the family abandons them. This family actually wanted to keep the shelf to wash dishes on, as the Lisu do not want to waste anything. However, we told them it was best that it be removed from the house completely, as it was connected to spirit worship. After all, God can provide anything, including a slab of wood for washing dishes.

Prayers are still needed for this family, as Pakama has been spending some time in the hospital. Her daughter and the baby stay in the hospital with her, as family members are expected to care for the sick this way. Bedding is not provided for family members, so the daughter and her baby brought their own blankets and mats to sleep on the floor next to the hospital bed in the ward. We went to visit them and prayed for them and also met Pakama’s stepson, who is also a follower of Jesus.

 Praise God for the new believers and pray that they will grow in the faith and also reach out to help others.