In EMQ April 2002, there was a response to an earlier printed article called
'Who makes it Rain", by Kevin Cain, EMQ July 2001. In the article he is debating theologically who is in control of the rain. And the writer concludes that God is in control of the weather, not Satan, demons or evil spirits, as some missionaries were suggesting. This article was printed in EMQ 2002, Letter to Editor, in response to that article.
Chief Amene, God's General in Charge
The drama had begun on Monday, when a military aircraft had gone missing over our island. All mission and government aircraft had been used to try to locate the crash. I had heard the missing military aircraft go over our house that morning. The plane had reached its destination and had taken off a few hours later. It had not been sighted again.
Monday night I was turning the radio dial and heard about the crash. I went to bed that night thinking that maybe the crash was on the South side of the mountain ranges and maybe in the Sabin area close to our valley. I had this hunch because the plane had flown over us that morning and I thought that maybe the pilot had tried to return the same way. I wondered if he might not have flown up the wrong valley? Late afternoon on Tuesday, three villagers came to my house asking to buy building supplies. I asked them where they were from. When they told me they had come from Sabin I asked them if they had heard an air- craft the day before. When they told me they had not only heard the plane but had seen it circle twice over their village, I was convinced it was the missing plane. They also mentioned that the plane was like a bird hit by a stone"-recklessly circling overhead. I called a colleague on my satellite phone who called the search and res-cue command center. Early Wednesday morning an MAF airplane flew to the Sabin valley and almost immediately located the crash.
Within an hour, our yard, house and airstrip were whirling with activity. The first team at the site con- firmed there were no survivors. Then the clouds blew in and we waited until the next day. The team on the mountain was located at almost 12,000 feet and shivered through most of the night. Some who were suffering from exposure were evacuated in the morning before the clouds blew in again. Their mission was to retrieve the nine bodies of the people killed in the crash as well as the valuables that were on board. Because of the freezing, rainy conditions, the need for bottled oxygen and the rugged terrain, speed was essential. The weather was the key factor.
An officer in charge of the operation asked if the tribe had any spiritual mediums or witch doctors that could move the clouds away. The offer was made to bring in pigs to sacrifice to the gods of the mountains as well. I told him that before the Gospel o had arrived, the people had relied on a appeasing the spirits with sacrifices. Now they only relied on God to move the clouds away. "Would I be willing to request God to give good weather," he asked? I gathered the villagers together and asked that chief Amene to pray.
Amene is an old war chief who t has led his tribe into battle many r times. His life has been changed and, now he walks with God. Amene led in f a powerful prayer requesting blue sky, in the name of "my older brother ~ Jesus and the Spirit that controls the J sky." I peeked during the prayer because the urge was so great. Next to me was the Colonel with his arms outstretched and his palms turned up. ! Next to him was the brigadier general in charge. He too was in a posture of prayer. The soldiers had put their guns down and the four helicopter crews stood respectfully at attention. My heart was warmed as I listened to chief Amene pray. He wore a tattered hat and shabby clothes. He wore no shoes. The old warrior is weak in body and he knows little of the out- side world but he knows a lot about the Spirit, his God, who controls the skies. Amene is God's general and that day he was in charge. He possessed more power and authority than any- one else assembled on the airstrip.
As the day dawned the next morning we eagerly waited. What had Amene's older brother decided to do with the clouds that day? As the night disappeared and was replaced with daylight we saw that the sky was clear of clouds. The sky was blue. Helicopters flew into action, and before
I the Colonel expressed his thanks and; the General put his arms around me.Having accomplished their mission, I they climbed into their helicopters and were soon lifting off. ~ I watched as the procession of helicopters flew off into the beautiful blue Silimo sky. The reverberating rotors of four helicopters echoed across the valley. One by one they disappeared.
When the last aircraft was out of sight, the valley was quiet. I turned around to see my old friend chief Amene. God's general in charge was grinning and pointing towards the sky and saying, "The God of the skies answered. Our older brother Jesus is here." I knew it, chief Amene knew it, and the military men flying home in the choppers knew it. Then he grasped his walking stick and shuffled, off in the direction of his village. I know who makes it not rain!
(Anonymous EMQ April 2002 Letter to the Editor)
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