Tormented By Spirits

Nakamura [pronounced: naka-mura] was a very unhappy grandmother on the Japanese island of Tsushima [pronounced: tsu-shim-a]. Nakamura’s head hurt, and strange things happened to her. She heard someone whispering in her ear all the time, “Psst, psst, psst!” But when she looked around, she couldn’t see anyone. Sometimes she saw strangers walking in her home, but when she told her husband about them, he couldn’t see anyone. 

Nakamura went to a fortune-teller for help. A fortune-teller claims to tell people’s futures and heal illnesses. But only God knows the future and can really heal sicknesses. Nakamura gave the fortune-teller a lot of money, hoping that the fortune-teller would cure her headaches and stop the invisible person from whispering in her ear. But the fortune-teller couldn’t help. 

Then one day Nakamura heard from her neighbors that a man who worshipped the God of heaven had moved to her island. She wondered whether he could help her. Nakamura knocked on the door of the home of Kimi [pronounced: kee-mee], a Seventh-day Adventist missionary. Kimi and his wife had just moved to the island. They were the only Seventh-day Adventists on the whole island. 

Kimi invited Nakamura into his home and listened as she spoke about her troubles. She told him that she had been bothered by evil spirits for a long time. She said she had gone to the fortune-teller, but the fortune-teller couldn’t get rid of the evil spirits. She didn’t know what to do, so she asked Kimi to help. 

It was Sabbath morning when Nakamura knocked on Kimi’s door. Since there were no other Adventists on the island, there was also no Adventist church. Kimi was holding a church service in his home with his wife and two friends visiting from the United States.

Kimi, his wife, and the two friends knelt in a circle around Nakamura. “Dear God, please deliver this dear grandmother from the evil spirits that are causing her so many problems,” one of them prayed. “Please help her in Jesus’ name. Amen.” When the prayer ended, Nakamura screamed in surprise, “It’s gone! I felt something leave my head! I am free!” 

Nakamura returned to the missionaries’ home the next Sabbath. She studied the Bible with them and learned that evil spirits like to torment people who don’t know Jesus. She learned that if evil spirits bothered her, she only needed to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. The missionary told her, “Just say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave me alone!’” The evil spirits never bothered Nakamura again. 

After a few months, she gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized. Nakamura became the first Adventist to be baptized on the whole island! Kimi, the missionary, was so happy when Nakamura was baptized. He said, “This was the reason that my wife and I came here. We came to prepare people to live with Jesus in heaven.”

This story was originally featured in the third quarter 2018 Children’s Mission. It has been used with permission.