Providential Meeting

On Thursday I was in Chicago for a conference. At the end of the day I started to walk the 2 ½ miles back to my hotel. It was cold that day and very windy so on the spur of the moment I decided to take a cab. I got into the cab and the driver asked me, with a thick accent, what was going on (there were 5,000 at the conference and they were pouring out of the convention center). I explained that it was a gathering of pastors from throughout the country and that I was a pastor in San Antonio, TX. He responded by saying; I am Kalunga, I am Zulu, I practice voodoo. He then went on to explain that he worshipped the devil out of fear and that he felt that the devil was after him. He said that sometimes he could not sleep because he felt like the devil was choking him. I asked him if he had ever heard of Jesus. His response surprised me; he said no, who is he?

I began by telling him that the fear he felt was actually the guilt of sin and that it was not the devil but God’s wrath that he needed to fear. He immediately told me of all he had to do in order to keep the devil from harming him; he showed me cuts on his arms and his bag full of trinkets that he used to try and appease the devil. I then had the privilege of telling him about the Jesus he did not know. I told him that Jesus took the penalty for sin upon Himself and that He paid the debt completely. I told Him that Jesus had the power to free Him from the power and guilt of sin. He then asked how much it cost and how much he would have to pay. He explained that in voodoo you had to repeatedly pay in order to be set free. He was shocked when I told Him that the forgiveness offered by Christ is free and that Jesus paid the debt in full and that there was nothing more to be done.

He then wanted to know where he could go to learn more about Jesus. I told him about a couple of churches that I knew of in Chicago and encouraged him to go there. His response saddened me. He said that he was afraid that he could not go to church because he did not have nice clothes and that they would not accept him because he had practiced voodoo. It was sad because he hadn’t heard of Jesus but knew enough to know that the church might not welcome him. I assured him that he could go, that he did not need nice clothes and that he would be welcomed (I pray that if he goes that I will have told him the truth). As we approached the hotel he told me that he had never heard anything like this before and that his heart was pounding in his chest. As I prepare for Lord’s Day tomorrow I am thinking about Kalunga. I am hoping that tomorrow he will find himself in a church and that he will hear more about Jesus.

Pray for Kalunga, he is Zulu, he practices voodoo. Pray that God will pour out His grace and that Kalunga will turn from voodoo and find salvation in our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.