Black Mamba
Pauson prayed for a way to reach his next-door neighbors. God’s answer was shocking!
For days, noise from my next-door neighbors had disrupted my sleep, with only a wall between my rented room and theirs. In the middle of the night, the family would burst into robust prayer with lots shouting. Though zealous, they obviously lacked understanding.
I had begun my house to house evangelism in Buhweju, but I had forgotten to begin at “Jerusalem.” By skipping my neighbors and going to other homes in the village, I had begun in “Samaria,” ignoring the principle explained in Acts 1:8.
Somehow, I had to reach out to this family. But what would be the best approach? “Dear God, please open the way for me to reach this family with the gospel message!” I prayed.
The very night after I began praying for them, a woman’s screams awoke me from sleep. Though coming from the same source, these screams were unusual. I hurried next door. “What has happened? Can I help?”
As the wife continued crying, the husband told me the story. “Our 3-year-old daughter woke up screaming, ‘My leg, my leg! It hurts!’ As I turned back the sheets to check her leg, a black snake slithered out and slipped over my hand. In a panic, I threw it to the roof! It looked like a black mamba,” he shivered.
“We have to get her to the hospital! I tried to call a friend who has a vehicle, but his phone is off. We called another friend, but it will take him two hours to reach us and it is another two hours to the hospital. Our daughter might die before we get there,” he choked.
“Let’s pray,” I said. Taking the little girl in my hands, I prayed for God’s wisdom and providence and protection.
As I was praying, God brought something to my memory. Some years back, I had attended medical missionary training. Because of the commonness of black mambas and other venomous snakes, we had been taught snake bite remedies. The teacher had said that shocking the snakebite victim with direct current electricity may be useful. *
I tied a single electric cable on the spark plug of the father’s motorcycle and instructed him to ignite it. I then shocked the girl with direct current twelve times. Immediately, her pain subsided, and her leg stopped swelling. I gave her some herbs, tied a charcoal poultice on her wound, and laid her down to sleep. Very early in the morning, they took her to the hospital for follow-up treatment.
“I have seen so many die from the bites of black mambas,” the mother told me later. “I can hardly believe my little daughter survived that bite!”
News circulated all over the village, attracting people to me. They eagerly accepted my medical help, and many allowed me to study the Bible with them—where of course they met Christ. No more deaths from snake venom—and no more death from the venom of sin!
Because of our Bible studies, three people have given their lives to Jesus through baptism—including Florence, the mother of the girl who was bit by the snake. Pray for the house-to-house evangelism I am continuing in Buhweju. Pray that I can employ every possible method to win souls and that soon we will have a new church planted here!
*Editor’s disclaimer: Although shock therapy is sometimes used by laypersons in developing nations, there is no medical research indicating that it is an effective treatment for snakebites. We cannot recommend shocking a snakebite victim under any circumstances!
Location
Uganda
Author
Pauson Tushabomwe is a Bible worker in the Ruhandagazi District in Uganda.
How You Can Help
Pray for Bible worker Pauson as he studies the Word of God with families in his area.
Pray for Florence and her family to remain faithful to Christ and be a witness for the truth!
Give to the work in Uganda. Needs include church buildings, Bible worker training and support for church planters. Send your gifts marked “Uganda Evangelism” or “Uganda Churches” to:
Mission Projects International
PO Box 151
Inchelium, WA 99138
To give securely online, visit:
www.missionspro.org/donate
Thank you! Your gifts sustain seven full-time Bible workers and one full-time evangelist in Uganda. Thank you so much for your support!