From Possession to Salvation
Ok, last story for the night then I'm going to bed for real.
My youngest brother and my sister-in-law did not take religion or God very seriously. After the rest of the family had come to Christ, they still just did their own thing. Her family was the same way. The mother-in-law and her siblings were just kind of whatever. Her father was devoutly religious but he was devoted to shamanism and the old ways.
Her youngest brother was kind of a wanna-be thug. He dressed and acted the part of a thug, but really he was just a harmless, nice kid who had no direction in life. As a result, he was in his 20's but he was unemployed and not going to school. His mom gave him money. And all he did was party and do recreational drugs like ecstasy, meth, pot, and various alcohols. We'll call this kid Pao for the sake of this story.
Pao went down to Arkansas to visit a cousin. Down there, all he did was party. At some point though, Pao did something really dumb. He said, "God, if you're real, let me see ghosts." Soon after, Pao started getting paranoid. He felt eyes on him all the time. Eventually, he thought someone was out to kill him. He conveyed stories like things would move when he was alone in his bedroom. Objects actually levitated and moved in front of him. Lights would flicker and his alarm clock would act funny. Pao later said he wasn't sure why, but whatever it was had control over electricity.
One day, things got so bad that Pao was full-blown possessed. He flipped out. He was screaming and cursing. He was talking in a voice not his own. The family called my brother and sister-in-law. When my brother got there, Pao looked crazy. My brother said his eyes were black. The whites had disappeared. Pao's jaw even jutted out like a guy turning into a werewolf. It was right out of a horror movie. My brother and Pao's older brother tried to hold him down but they couldn't do it. Both of them were bigger and stronger than Pao. But when Pao was in that state, he was stronger than both of them. The family was able to get a hold of a Hmong pastor. The pastor prayed for Pao. The pastor was young and had never experienced anything like this before. Even he was afraid. Eventually though, after a lot of prayer, Pao calmed down a bit. The family took him to the hospital. They gave Pao sedatives to knock him out.
That night, they left Pao at the hospital. My brother's parents-in-laws came home alone. The kids who lived there were too scared and they went to stay with their oldest sister. The father who is a really bright man, rational and clear thinking, wasn't sure what to think. He thought maybe Pao was just high on meth or some other drug.
That night though, the mother went into Pao's room to turn the lights off. The bedroom door slammed shut on her locking her in. After a few terrifying seconds, she was able to open it. The father was unable to sleep all night. Several times, he saw shadows passing through the adjacent rooms. The next day, he went to work. He began emailing his older brother and describing the events of the previous day. Suddenly, his office smelled like rotten flesh. He gagged. He said he fiinished his email and came home early. When he got home, the same smell permeated his house. The mother didn't smell anything. The father knew then that it wasn't drugs. He said he actually got angry. All of his life, he respected and worshipped the ancestors faithfully. He is as knowledgeable with Hmong tradition as anyone I have ever met. He was my mebkoob in fact. Anyways, he cursed whatever evil spirit was doing this to him and his family. He questioned why it would scare his family like this rather than bless them and prosper them. The smell remained. Even though he had never gone to church before, he said it was at that moment that he called out to God. "Ntawm Vajtswv ntuj ua yog Vaj Leejtswv, Vaj Leejtub, thiab Vaj Ntsujplig lub npe, khiav tawv mus kiag!" (Translation: In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirt, LEAVE NOW!). The odor instantly left.
My brother and sister-in-law were scared. They remained scared for months after. But slowly, that evil they saw turned their fear to faith. They came to Christ together. They were baptized together. They continued to see shadows and hear things. But through the fear, they prayed and it would go away.
Soon, my brother's in-laws all came to Christ, including Pao. It was not easy. But the demonic episodes ceased then stopped altogether. Pao is now a firm Christian. He holds a steady job. He is no longer a directionless wanna-be. And he is an active member of his Hmong church, helping other young men grow closer to Christ. He is a child of the God Most High.
The parents also came to Christ. Their marriage was rocky. But it is amazing to see how God has worked in their lives. They now have a loving marriage. The father transitioned his passion for shamanism to Christianity. He now serves faithfully in the church.
This story is not meant to start a religious flame war. But for my brother and his in-laws, they faced the demonic. Then they found true victory in Jesus Christ.