Pastor Lamazani

Okay, Pastor Lamazani isn’t here at Sunshine Orchard. In fact, he was a pastor in Africa 40+ years ago. However, when I was a boy, my dad recorded (on one of those reel-to-reel recorders!) missionary Leonard Robinson who told some amazing stories about how God worked through angels to protect him and others–including Pastor Lamazani–in Africa.

Not long after we arrived here at Sunshine Orchard, I transcribed the story of Pastor Lamazani and told it to the students one Sabbath afternoon. It is a story that encourages us to trust in God’s protection in the face of danger. I’m guessing you’ll enjoy this story as much as they did, so here you can listen to the entire audio message, or you can read the story of Pastor Lamazani:

(Right-click here to download.)

Pastor Lamazani—Delivered Through the Fire

Pastor Lamazani was a Seventh-day Adventist pastor and evangelist in a country in Africa called The Congo. At this time there was much conflict between the different tribes in The Congo who were fighting for supremacy.

Pastor Lamazani was in charge of two of the largest church districts, and he, his wife, and their four children were living in the little village of Saya.

The witchdoctors had gained control of the tribal areas in his region. Because of the political conflict, some of the political leaders had joined with the witchdoctors, hoping that if they joined with them they could regain order and peace.

Until recently, The Congo had been controlled by white men, but now the white men had been driven out of the country, and the religion of the white man was despised. Orders had gone out that the villagers must revert to their old pagan ceremonies of worship. The witch doctors decreed that anyone who refused to bow down and sacrifice a chicken to their native idols should be killed. Anyone who dared to call himself a Christian and who still retained his respect for this religion brought by the white man should be killed.

Pastor Lamazani knew about these orders, and many of his members had fled and built little shelters back in the jungle away from the main roads where the witchdoctors and their killers were traveling.

Again, Pastor Lamazani was warned that he should leave his village and join a group of 35 or 40 of his members who had fled deep into the jungle. No, he still had another 70 or 80 in the village of Saya, and he felt he could not go.

One evening, the report came that the witchdoctors and their mobs were in the neighboring village just 4 or 5 kilometers away. Pastor Lamazani called his members together, and some of them asked him for counsel what they should do. He told them that anyone who wished to should feel free to flee and seek refuge in the jungle, but he could not go, he would not leave.

“But your house will be destroyed; our church will be burned,” his members said. Pastor Lamazani’s house and the church were built with a dry grass thatch roof with mud and poll walls—just like most of the buildings in his village—and they would burn very quickly.

Later on that evening, two villagers came to Pastor Lamazani and said, “We hear that the witchdoctors are sending someone to destroy this church and to destroy your home this evening sometime. Please, leave! Flee into the jungle!”

Again, Pastor Lamazani said, “I will pray about it. If I feel impressed to leave, I will do so. If not, I will remain.” He called his wife and their four children together, and they prayed. They prayed often that night.

About midnight, there was a hammering on his door. A vicious, barking order from a man outside commanded him to open the door. “Open door, or we will burn down your house.” Pastor Lamazani called his family together. They gathered in their sitting room floor and quoted some of the Bible’s precious promises of God’s protection.

[Perhaps these are some of the promises that they quoted:

Psalms 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.

Psalms 91:5, 10-12 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.]

The shouts increased outside. “We will give you one more chance to come out here, or we will destroy you in your home.” As Pastor Lamazani prayed, he felt that he should remain inside. They heard the order as it was given, “Set the house on fire,” and soon the crackling of the dry thatch roof could be heard. The smoke was choking, and the flames surrounded them.

At the window off to the side, there was a hammering sound, and with axes the window was chopped open. Two of the soldiers from the witchdoctors’ camp were standing there. They could see Pastor Lamazani and his family kneeling and praying in the middle of their living room. They sneered and threw one of the axes at the pastor, which slightly wounded him on his leg. The pastor and his family continued to pray.

Soon, the fire fully ignited the roof and the building. The witchdoctors and their fierce killers were all around the house, and everything that Pastor Lamazani owned went up in smoke.

After the house had burnt down and left smoldering ashes and charred timbers, the witchdoctor ordered that his men bring out the bodies of the six people who dared to defy his order. His men went in and pulled out the polls and dug away the half-burnt grass. The two warriors testified that the pastor and his family were right there in the middle of the room, but they could find no bodies. No charred corpses were available to prove that they had destroyed this family who so defiantly trusted in an unseen God.

Four weeks later, Pastor Lamazani was visited by Pastor Robinson, a missionary from America. Lamazani was usually dressed very neat and clean, but now he was in tattered clothes—the only clothes that he owned. Pastor Lamazani told Pastor Robinson that as he and his family were kneeling and praying there in their living room, they saw two figures—much brighter than the flames that were destroying their home—come in that open window. These bright beings lifted up the pastor and his family, carried them through the window, and took them to safety in the jungle.

Ministering angels were sent by our loving Father in heaven, and everything was alright.

Three years later, one of the witch doctors was converted and became a Christian because of that wonderful manifestation of the love of God through the ministry of His angels.

If you are ever tempted to let fear cause you to veer from the path of duty, remember the story of Pastor Lamazani.