Guinea Bissau Stories of
Transformation:
While Seekers Find Jesus,
Missionaries Sharpen Vision
Augusto da
Silva is a 22 year old from the Mandiago tribe of Guinea Bissau. He grew up
in the village of Grimole only a half mile from Catel. Starting in 2009 he has
suffered from two afflictions: First he has been ill much of the time; just not
feeling well and secondly nearly every night he has experienced troubling, ugly
dreams.
In these vivid dreams an evil, ghostly creature came close to him. The
face of the creature was the image of one of his friends. Sometimes this
creature wrapped his fingers around Augusto’s throat and attempted to strangle
him, other times the creature would press down on his chest to cause injury.
When he awoke from the dream he would actually have pain in his neck or chest
where he was being attacked.
The Mandiago tribe is known to be a hard working, business oriented
people. They are generally more culturally advanced than the Balanta people,
our majority tribe. The Mandiagos are heavily into occultic practices and have
many idols, sacred trees and votive offering sites around their houses. They
also readily identify themselves as Catholic.
