The first house where I lived in Burundi had some serious challenges. It was an apartment built into a much larger house above it and a garage for the bigger house on the side. The entrance was built into the side of the bigger house. I had to climb up a staircase of about 10 steps before going down another stair case into the bowels of the bigger house. Truthfully, it was a little eerie at times. Especially since the little apartment was usually damp and had mold in places. Three dogs lived on the property: Sam, Pippin, and Mary affectionately named by their owners who were big Lord of the Rings fans. Sometimes Burundi felt like a Lord of the Rings movie with the rebels attacking the city almost every weekend, but I digress.
The three dogs often howled and barked like crazy whenever the garage door was open. The owners of the house said it was because there were massive rats living in there. Having lived in Africa since my childhood I was familiar with rats and didn't pay much attention to the "massive" part of the statement thinking it was merely a superlative.
One day, I left the door of my apartment open only slightly while taking care of some small maintenance with my vehicle parked in the driveway. When I reentered my apartment I had that eerie feeling that I was not alone. This was strange because no one had come up or down the rather odd staircase that lead into the recesses of my living quarters. As I walked around inside the apartment I heard a rustling in my bedroom. The lights were out, so I couldn't be sure but it looked like a cat had just jumped off the nearby desk onto the edge of windowsill behind the curtain. Being the courageous and intrepid missionary that I am I hollered at the top of my lungs: "Mary, Sam, Pippin!" Normally, the dogs were not allowed inside the apartment but desperate times call for desperate measures. All three came running full speed up the stairs then down the stairs, through the door and into my bedroom.
Tails were wagging, drool was frothing, and hair was going everywhere. They thought I had a treat for them so they looked at me in anticipation. And boy did I ever have a treat! I grabbed a mop handle and threw the curtain back expecting a doggie rodent free for all. Much to my disappointment all three stood there staring at me unmoved by my antics. "Attack!" I hollered. "What happened to Lord of the Rings?" As I whirled around to see why they hadn't so much as budged I realized that there was nothing there. Great! A mysterious animal the size of a cat had just vanished in my small bedroom with only one way in and one way out guarded by three Hobbit wanna be dogs. I couldn't believe it. I searched high, I searched low. My three dog friends stared at me in disbelief as if to say: "where's the treat?"
I jumped on my bed, I moved the desk, I shook the chair, I rummaged the bookshelf, I turned over the sheets, I knocked the lamps. Nothing. By now, I could feel the three dogs thoughts: "He has burundian fever."
Not to be dissuaded so easily by my imaginary canine critics I grabbed a shirt to tie around my head. I was on the war path, dogs or no dogs. And of course the intense mold spore count in the little apartment probably helps explain my rather ridiculous behavior.
Just as all hope seemed lost, I opened the standing armoire where my clothes were kept. As to how the sneaky little vermin managed to open the armoire door and lodge himself in amongst some of my clothes I will never know. What I do know though is that the fight I had been hoping for broke out immediately! All three dogs barked at the top of their lungs, while lunging, growling, and bristling. The rat, who I must say did fit the superlative massive quite well, clawed, hissed and jumped to safety. When I say jumped, I mean the thing almost seemed to fly through the air bounding on top of the curtains, some 4 feet straight up into the air effortlessly. I thought to myself, "Oh Great! A flying rat the size of a small dog! Perfect!"
What transpired the next 5 minutes is hard to describe, the already disorderly room was torn upside down as the rat gave three dogs a run for their money. All the way glaring at me as if to say, "when I'm through with these three bozos you'll be next." I gulped realizing that this was a super-rat a most worthy foe. Retreat was not an option. I must be the general of the forces. So I barked orders from the safety of my bed as I hid behind the mosquito net. "Hes' on the chair Pippin" "Over there on the book shelf Mary." "Watch the door Mary!" The stand-off lasted for close to 15 minutes with neither side gaining ground, until the rat made the strategical error of trying to run for it. He rushed through all three dogs legs out towards the apartment door only to find the door shut.
I will spare you what happened next, but enough to say that it would have made a great Lord of the Rings 4- the fellowship of the Rat.
If there's anything I've learned in serving Jesus in a world hostile to his teaching, it's this-- Life is a fight; don't fight it alone. I'm increasingly realizing how much the devil hates people who really love Jesus. He will come against them in every possible way: physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.. The good news is that Jesus has already defeated him. The bad news is that we are living in the tension of a stand-off in this age. Find people to stand with you in your struggles, to pray for you, to encourage you, and to share your victories as God's presence and truth ultimately prevails.
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