Another fight has far different results
A big fight has had a mostly happy ending.
The fight broke out at the end of a Gavião ceremony in Brazil last week. Several women planned the fight to gain revenge on some who had caused a fight several months ago.
As the melee broke out, nearly 70 women joined in. “Blood was shed, as a few chose rocks over fingernails, pulling hair and biting to inflict pain. One woman even ran for a knife,” wrote missionary Diane Kitchner.
“The sad thing is that it was started by a Christian woman who attacked a Christian woman from another village. It affected everyone here, especially as the outbursts of anger continued.”
Croc, one of the Gavião believers, and two chiefs started meeting with the people involved. The meetings went on for hours. On the second day one of the main fighters listened to the Scriptures that Croc was reading and realized that she was a sinner and needed the Lord. She trusted Christ that evening. That softened many hearts and another meeting was scheduled for the next day.
At that meeting women began to change their perspective and began asking forgiveness from those they had hurt. Tears were shed and the women began talking and even laughing with one another.
“One husband said with tears how happy he was and that this day would go down in history,” Diane wrote, “because it was so unusual for Gavião people to resolve conflict like that.”
Anger, hostility and violence remain a very real possibility. Several from other villages are prone to violence and the main issues still need to be resolved. Pray for God’s protection on the men who need to deal with the situation. The leaders have asked that God be honored by what takes place as they mediate the meetings with the women involved.