A Visit to the Blood Shrine

Reflections from Denese...

The Shrine Priest and his Family with James & Denese

Today we visited a shrine that our co-worker, Mary, calls the Blood Shrine.  We have been told that followers of this shrine drink human blood and perform human sacrifices.  As long as we have been working in this area, we have witnessed the intense fear that Mary has of this shrine.  Even when we prayed there in the past, Mary was visibly shaken.  Today we knew that Mary would not be able to accompany us to the field, so we took the opportunity to go to the Blood Shrine with our other co-worker, Solomon.



The shrine is in a poor fishing village

Because of all that Mary has told us, Denese considered it a strong possibility that we would be kidnapped and sacrificed.  In fact, she sent a text to our children late last night reminding them to cling to God all of their days.  In hind sight it seems silly.  The priest was an old man, who was quite hard of hearing.  Just like most of the priests we have met, he was very pitiful.  They are so poor and they cling so ignorantly to the darkness of their forefathers!  At one point, this priest, Chief Kwame Azayome Baba, said that regardless of all that we said, when he died he wanted to go wherever his forefathers had gone.  James asked him if his grandfather had put his arm into the fire to burn it, would he do the same.  He answered that yes, he would do it, too.
 

One of the villagers near the shrine weaving traps to catch shrimp

Knowing what is in store for these priests causes us to be sad for them, even though they are leading others down the same path to destruction. The blindness of these priests clearly demonstrates Romans 1:18-25. 



... because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Let us walk humbly before our God, grateful that we have escaped this deception not because of any righteousness that we have done, but because “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

 

  May we always remember to pray for the lost.



Shrimp Trap

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)