Horror

When Karen asked for two days off two weeks after her grandfather died, I thought this was the traditional memorial service held by many thirteen days after someone dies.
The grandfather had died on the railway and, as is the tradition here, (almost) everybody that visited had lifted the sheet that covered his remains and seen the mutilated body. Though only nine years old, Karen had also seen the body.
On the second day of the ritual one of Karen's friends came to school saying that Karen had been possessed. I was called to talk to the children and asked what was going on.
The friend said the following. 'Karen smelled like she was possessed; of death and rotting [flesh].'
We talked about what other reasons there could be for the smell, and then about Karen being created and loved by God, and agreed that Karen belonged to God.
In the afternoon I talked to a colleague from the same people group (Santal) who explained that the ritual centres around calling the spirit of the deceased and appeasing it with sacrifices of food and wine.
I could hear the women ululate from my house and knew that the rituals continued to late into the night on the second day. Towards midnight a storm blew up and added to the fear of those present. (I know this from the testimony of a colleague who sheltered some of the relatives who had come to take part in the ritual.)
When I asked Karen about what had happened, she told me of her fear when 'the spirit had taken hold of her.' I don't think the makers of horror movies could have imagined it worse.
I asked Karen, and her cousin who is also a student at the school, whether they knew that God loved them; the cousin said he did, but Karen said no. I asked whether they knew that Jesus was stronger than the all spirits, again the cousin said he knew, and Karen that she didn't.
Some will question the truth in this story, please do.
I request your prayers for the children for whom this is what happened; pray that they will know that they are loved by God and that He is stronger than all that might otherwise scare them. Pray also for their families that they all may know the Truth and be set free.