Paul and Chabela Keefe Serving at NTM Homes 
- Witchdoctors
- A vision
- A young woman
- Chicken stew
A strange list. Here’s the story…
In the 1940’s, a young missionary woman in her early twenties went to Colombia, South America. Her name was Sophie. She wanted to go where no one had been before, and after looking at a map, chose the Amazon jungle.
At that time, witches and sorcerers were in charge of the jungle. There was a prophecy that had been passed down through the years that a strange-looking person would come with a power greater than that of the witchdoctors.
With her white skin and blue eyes, Sophie certainly fit the bill of looking strange. So the chief witchdoctor prepared a test. He made a chicken stew and added Caribbean stick poison—the strongest poison known. It would normally kill a person within five minutes. As she ate the stew, everyone watched intently, waiting for her to die. She did not die, but did throw up a little. Some of the village dogs lapped at her vomit and a chicken pecked at it. They fell over and died immediately. But Sophie herself was unharmed.
She became known as a daughter of God and was allowed to travel safely throughout the jungle.
“My grandfather was the head witchdoctor of another region. He saw in a vision that there was a more powerful Spirit than the one over the jungle. The story of Sophie passing the poison test had spread far and wide. So my grandfather sent my father to find Sophie. My father paddled his dugout canoe for one month before finding her.
They became friends and she was particularly interested in him because he came from a different tribe and spoke a different language.
Sophie witnessed to my father. He received Christ and they started working together. They would paddle for months at a time to evangelize in villages throughout the jungle.
Sophie and my father worked together for fifty years.” (—Ricardo, Chabela’s tribal brother)
Sophie was committed to Jesus Christ and God used her life in an extraordinary way. The jungles became open to the Gospel. Many in Chabela’s family have heard the Gospel and are now saved.
This Christmas, believers in the Amazon will be celebrating our Savior’s birth. Yet there are still so many who have yet to hear about Jesus. Thank you for your partnership in reaching the world with the Good News!
Merry Christmas to all of you,
Paul, Chabela, Jordan and Lani Keefe 
PS. Check out our Photo Gallery for Lani’s graduation celebration.
