Love v. Apathy: Learning from Miracles in Burundi

Published: October 23rd, 2008

Simon Guillebaud, a friend of 24-7, wrote to us with these extremely encouraging stories of what has been happening in Burundi, Africa. Simon works with Great Lakes Outreach.  Great Lakes Outreach is a network of passionate people of faith who are reaching out to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the last, the lost and the least in Burundi, Central Africa.  After reading these stories, you might want to take a fresh look at the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible.  You could almost substitute ‘Antioch’ or ‘Ephesus’ with ‘Burundi’ and it would read in a similar vein! 

Here’s a sample of what happened recently when young people were sent out to some of the most unreached parts of this African nation:

"In Muyinga, a prostitute called Victoria was kidnapped by cannibal witchdoctors who took a bite out of her thigh but found she tasted bitter (it sounds almost comical except that it is true – one of the female members of the team later on asked to see it to verify that she wasn’t lying, and the mouth-shaped wound needed serious medical treatment). So the witchdoctors didn’t eat her. Instead they cursed her and she became dumb. For three weeks she hadn’t said a word when the evangelists arrived. She’d gone to the local administrator to press charges, and he challenged the team: 'If you want us to listen to you about your Jesus, then do something for this girl.' They promptly gathered around her, prayed in Jesus’ name, and Victoria began speaking again! The whole community was blown away by this obvious demonstration of God’s power. The administrator promptly offered them land to build a church, and two months on there is a church of a hundred members meeting there. Victoria is now a reformed ex-prostitute."



"At Mukabira, a powerful witchdoctor was converted. On the spot he became an evangelist, and invited the team to join him in addressing six other witchdoctors.  Those six duly gave their lives to Christ. They brought out all their charms, idols and spells, and had a public burning session, at which point the local craftsmen who had made the idols were in uproar (remember what happened in Ephesus?). They complained: “How dare these people come from outside and introduce strange ideas which take away our business?” They complained to the local authorities. Three of the team members were arrested and beaten, and held overnight. In the morning, when it was established that they’d done nothing wrong, they were released. As they sat outside the police station still talking to several policemen, a tornado flared up. It is generally believed in Burundi that a tornado is actually an angry python underground sent by witchdoctors. The policemen fled as the tornado approached, but the three believers stood their ground, at which point the tornado split in two, went around them, and demolished two houses on either side of them. The policemen then returned totally awestruck, asking: 'Who are you people? What is your secret?' They replied: 'The One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.' More people were converted."



"Vincent was steeped in witchcraft. He had made a pact with Satan, and for twenty years hadn’t been able to wear clothing, as it felt like pins were pricking him when it contacted his skin. He hadn’t cut his hair in that time either, and looked completely deranged. The whole area around Bubanza submitted to his spiritual leadership and lived in fear of him. He refused to listen to the team’s first attempt to tell him about Jesus, but they persisted and returned. He was delivered, and when he burned all his charms, the community was so astonished that on the spot twenty other people gave their lives to Christ."


In all, here are some of the results of these recent outreaches in Burundi:

325 young people went out to share Christ in 26 of the least reached areas of Burundi.


46,917 people were spoken to one-on-one.


19,533 people were prayed with to receive Christ.


5,250 people were backslidden and recommitted themselves.


10 new churches were planted. 

74 witchdoctors and 101 Muslims were converted.


15 marriages on the point of divorce were reconciled.


67 recorded healing miracles took place, including 5 paralytics walking, 3 blind people seeing, 8 demon-possessed people exorcised.


It was said of Dorothy Sayers that 'she loved the truth enough to live it.' I find that incredibly stirring and it forces me to ask myself: 'Do I love the truth enough to live it?' Taking things one stage further, I’ve been thinking about love, and its opposite. You might think that the opposite of love is hate, but as followers of Jesus, I think the opposite of love is apathy. There is so much apathy in the Body of Christ! These guys above don’t display a shred of it. They love the truth enough to live it. And they challenge me to do the same.



The context for most of us is so very different. We can’t necessarily relate to the above stories. I hope at the very least that they help sharpen our prayers and make us understand that even where we are there is so much more going on than meets the eye. The battle is real. The enemy is real. The stakes are high. Prayer is crucial. Yes, we are in a different context, but it’s the same Jesus we believe in, the same gospel, the same urgent message, the same imperative to go and love and serve and change the world in Jesus’ name. Enough apathy! Let’s get out there, fully alive, and be who He is calling us to be! 

Adri Roos originally hails from Paarl, South Africa, spent a few years serving 24-7 Prayer in the UK and now lives in and loves the walled red light district of BoysTown, Mexico.  Adri loves friends, food, live music and writing. Having travelled widely, she often finds herself at home in the forgotten places.

Post to: Facebook del.icio.us digg Newsvine