Spirits

One of the most pervasive barriers to the gospel message among the Kuy people is their belief in spirits. Kuy people are more animistic (believing in spirits) than Buddhist. These spirits may be ancestral spirits or spirits residing in inanimate objects. They are to be feared and appeased. Wearing strings on their bodies (like the ones around the neck and wrists of the boy at left) is one of the many ways Kuy people use to protect against evil spirits. They also put what look like scarecrows in front of their homes to scare away the evil spirits. Recently we read about a missionary family being kept awake at night by a ceremony to appease the spirits in which some people felt they were possessed by ancestral spirits. The night included loud banging of gongs and drums, dancing, and food offered to appease the spirits.

Pray for the Kuy people to be released from the fear of spirits as they come to know the one true God who is more powerful than any other spirit. Pray for believers in Jesus to understand that he is their protector, indeed all they need, so that they will not feel the need to continue to appease the spirits.