Three weeks ago I received a call from the Amerindian Hostel asking me to fly a dying Toshao (or village captain) back home to Kurukubaru. The gentleman had come to Georgetown because of apparent liver failure, but sadly there wasn’t anything medically that could be done for him. They urgently requested that I fly the man back home before he passed away. When I met him at the airport his stomach was swollen, his skin very yellow, and was visibly in intense pain.

The intriguing part of this whole story is that Region #8 is very strong Catholic area, and Kurukubaru is the central hub of Catholicism. The Jesuit priest who lives in Kurukubaru has a very strong hold over the hearts and minds of those in the region. They have strongly resisted our evangelistic efforts, and have made life difficult for our bible workers in the neighboring village of Paramakatoi. But now in an interesting twist of events they were turning to us for help.

Of course we jumped at the opportunity to help. On the hour and a half flight out to the village, I silently prayed for wisdom to know how to minister to the family and the other villagers. The health post had informed me over the HF radio that the villagers were already at the airstrip waiting for us. Sure enough, when I landed at the mountainous strip, there were about 40 persons waiting to receive their Toshao back home.

I cautiously inquired if the priest was around, since I’d never met the man, and didn’t want an embarrassing confrontation. They told me that the priest was still in the village which was a mile away. Then I asked if they would like it if I had a prayer for their Toshao. I explained that I was a pastor and would like to pray for his healing. They stood silently there like stone statues while I dug out my Gideon N.T. And a cap full of vegetable oil (since I didn’t have any olive oil). Except for the sound of the wind across desolate looking airstrip, there was not a single sound. I shared a short sermon about the two types of healing in the bible. I talked about spiritual healing from the sickness of sin. I went on to explain that it was always God’s will to heal our sinful hearts, and that we could have the assurance of eternal life. I also talked about healing from physical sickness and disease and that God was able to heal this man from his present illness.

I prayed for both types of healing and anointed the Toshao with vegetable oil. After the prayer, many people thanked me for praying for their leader. I haven’t hear the “rest of the story”, but I don’t think it was a mistake that I was there that day.

James, Guyana.