In pursuit of power

One day, while Carl Hines was conducting routine measurements as part of his master’s degree research, a man he'd never met approached him. In his hand, the man held something that looked like a tactical communications radio. “Where do you live?” he asked.

When Carl told him, the man said, “I can see that you are connected to strong power, and I want to share some of my power secrets in exchange for learning some of your power secrets.” 

Carl refused several times, whilst the man repeated that he could see his power. 

Carl just looked at the device in his hand. This man is an undercover policeman and wants information, he thought.

Carl and his wife Linda started praying for the Magam people group, found mostly on an island chain in Southeast Asia, in 2015. That year, Carl and a teammate, Frank, toured two of the islands where the people group can be found. They discovered that there were no disciples or outward signs of churches. The people on the island proudly professed themselves 100 percent Muslim.

During the trip they discovered that the main island is renowned for having the best witchdoctors in the area, so people regularly travel there to meet with them. At the end of their time on the island, they were invited by two local organisations to share their experience, which encouraged them to press on towards those islands.

The Hines family returned to the islands in 2017 with the goal of working amongst the Magam. However, the island authorities weren’t open to foreigners moving to the islands, so they instead settled in a larger town that gave them access to visit the islands. As part of the move, Carl started taking a master’s degree in the country.

Finally, in 2019, they were able to begin working with the Magam people in a long term, sustainable way. Carl planned to access the island as part of his master’s thesis, doing research into renewable, natural methods of generating electricity. That might also allow the family to move to other islands in the chain in the future. After some processing with the authorities, Carl moved to the island alone to focus on this research.

That’s when he met the man holding what looked like a police radio who asked him about exchanging power secrets. Carl was wary.

“When can we meet?” the man asked him.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Carl shrewdly said. He knew that the ship would be leaving the next morning and thought he could leave before their meeting. 

However, when Carl prepared to leave the next morning, all the fishermen were sitting on the beach. The strong winds meant they couldn’t go fishing. Fear struck Carl as he realised his scheduled ship would not leave the island, either. He began to pray, and asked family and friends to join in prayer, as the rain reached the shores of the island, forcing everyone to retreat to their homes.

Forced to stay put, Carl was in the house for the whole day and went for a nap in the afternoon. At 16:00, he woke up to a knock at the door. It was the man from the day before.

Carl let the man in and he put the device on the floor, which had seemed like a tactical communications radio to Carl, but turned out to be just a telephone. Carl knew then that he wasn't a policeman, but why was the man so insistent about the topic of Carl's power? Carl later confessed that he was not in the mood to share with him.

The man explained about the powers his father had taught him, including putting a ring in a glass of water for a spirit to possess it.

Then it was Carl's turn. He was reluctant to share with the man, since he hardly knew him. So he asked, “Do you really want to hear what I know about power?” The man confirmed that he did.

“My knowledge is based on this Shahada: ‘There is no God greater than the God of the heavens and I declare that Isa Al-Masih is his prophet.’” At hearing this, the man stood up angrily, like he wanted to leave. “You wanted to hear what I had to say,” Carl told him. With that, the man sat back down. Carl proceeded to tell the man how Isa Al-Masih was shown throughout history, and why we need him.

Suddenly the man interrupted. “I have travelled twice to Mecca in a dream, accompanied by a man in white robes, but I can’t see his face. Nobody believes me.”

“I believe you,” Carl responded. “That man is Isa Al-Masih. That is why you are here. He is looking for you and wants to set you free. If you want, I can pray for you.”

After praying, the call to prayer began, so they both got up to go outside. As they did, the wind and rain stopped, and Carl received a call from his friend the ship captain, telling him the ship was cleared to depart the next day.

This experience led Carl to conclude that God shows himself to all whom he wills, in spite of us. They may be making great efforts to reach this people, but it is only God who opens the way to share the good news. God was responsible for bringing this man to Carl, not so he could gain some form of power, but because God was seeking him. By his mercy, we are witnesses of his glory among the nations that do not yet know him.