The devil is hard at work, but with your help, God’s everlasting gospel is loosing the chains of sin and sorrow in Kenya, Africa. We pray you will be blessed by these powerful testimonies of souls who, against all odds, have given their lives to Jesus Christ.
The Addict
Elias hardly looked like a church member’s son. As he walked up one night to AFCOE Africa Evangelist Michael Wambua’s evangelistic meetings in western Kenya, he looked more like the prodigal son fresh out of the pig pen, shabby, unkempt, with long, matted dreadlocks. The 24-year-old Rastafarian was a peddler, needing to support his drug addiction, but there lurked in his heart a longing that drugs had been unable to satisfy.
At first, Elias refused to accept the gospel, resisting the truths presented at the meetings. But one day, Evangelist Michael preached on the topic of modesty—and posed a question regarding men with dreadlocks. The verse he used to answer the question was Ezekiel 44:20: “They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.”
That verse powerfully convicted Elias. And it was not just about his long hair; he began to see the Bible in a new light—as a book that held the answers to the issues of life, answers that he had failed to find anywhere else. That presentation was a turning point in his life, turning him away from earthly pleasures and setting his feet on the homeward journey to salvation. He became fascinated with the truths in God’s Word.
Then came the meeting when the evangelist shared his personal testimony, how he began to smoke at nine years old and had become completely addicted by the age of 12. Michael then told about how Christ had saved him from drugs, how he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and the joy he found in serving God.
Then came the night when the evangelist shared his personal testimony, how he began to smoke when 9 years old, and how at the age of 12 he was completely addicted. The evangelist then told the story of how Christ had saved him from drugs, and how he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and the joy he had found in serving God.
Michael’s testimony had a powerful influence on Elias. If God could change the life of the one who had been preaching to him night by night, there had to be hope for him. That night, Elias gave his life to Christ.
But he still had his dreadlocks which he was loath to shave off, and he still had his marijuana addition.
One night, near the end of the evangelistic series, Michael preached about the mistakes that Pilate had made in the trial and condemnation of Jesus, comparing the mistakes we similarly make with Christ. He then made a powerful appeal for each listener to surrender himself to Jesus and to crown Him the Lord of his life. Elias was among the group who responded to the appeal. That night, he determined to cut off his dreadlocks and prepare for baptism.
Elias was among the 75 candidates baptized at the conclusion of Michael’s evangelistic series. His transformation was so amazing that his father, a Pentecostal, came to his son’s new church to testify of what God had done for his lost son!
Elias is now an active member of a Sabbath-keeping church newly planted in the area. His witness has led two other young people to join as well. The former prodigal has come home to God!
The Backslider
Grandpa Njugunas is now 92 years old. In 1983, he was baptized into a Sabbath-keeping church and was an active member for 10 years. But in 1993, he wandered into the world of sin—and didn’t come back. For nearly three decades, he cared only for the world and the things of the world.
But Grandpa Njugunas found no peace in that far country. His life was a burden, and he was plagued by guilt. He had tried to join several different churches in the hopes of appeasing his conscience, but none of them satisfied his heart, which had known the truth so long ago.
He even decided to seek help from witch doctors, but that only made his life worse. He was a miserable, selfish old sinner.
Then in October of this year, one of Evangelist Michael Wambua’s volunteers came to his door and invited him to a series of lectures on Bible prophecy. Grandpa Njugunas decided to go.
At the meetings, as the truths of the Bible were presented each night, Grandpa Njugunas remembered his old beliefs, how he knew those same truths 30 years ago. The presentation on the state of dead especially spoke to his heart. At 92, Grandpa Njugunas knew that he would soon come face-to-face with the reality of death. “Where will I spend my eternity after this life?” he thought.
After that presentation, he made up his mind. Describing the experience later, he said, “The Spirit of God spoke to my nearly dead conscience, and I was moved to make a decision to accept Christ anew into my life. Then, peace came to my heart after His assurance that there was still another chance for an old man like me.”
Grandpa Njugunas was among the group baptized at the end of the evangelistic meetings. After his baptism, it felt as though a great log of guilt had been lifted from his soul. “Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul!” he shared. “God bless Amazing Facts. Today if I die, I believe that I will be resurrected in the first resurrection, when Jesus comes back!”
The Girl with Plastic Legs
Ann Wambui was born a healthy baby girl, the firstborn in her family of four. But before Ann was a year old, tragedy struck.
One day, when she was about six months old, Ann was left in the care of her grandmother. But her grandma was not well—she was possessed by evil spirits.
In an African village, all the cooking is done in a pot or kettle over an open fire, and pieces of wood are sporadically pushed beneath the pot to keep the fire burning. On that fateful day, Ann’s grandmother decided to add her granddaughter’s two legs to the fire beneath the pot, using the baby’s limbs as matchwood! Though baby Ann screamed and screamed, the demon-possessed woman did nothing.
Finally, alerted by Ann’s cries, some neighbors came to investigate. But by then, the damage was done. Although Ann was saved from death, her legs and feet were so badly burned that they had to be amputated.
Growing up in a poor family, Ann suffered a lot. With no legs, she could not run and play with her siblings and the other children.
Everything was a struggle. She was often depressed, and three times attempted to end her life. Her family and neighbors feared that the same evil spirits which had tried to kill her as an infant were still following her.
Five years ago, she was donated a set of plastic legs and was ecstatic to be able to stand up and even walk. But plastic does not last forever, and the prosthesis wore out, leaving Ann back at square one.
It was after Evangelist Michael Wambua’s evangelistic meetings, during his follow up with those who had not made a decision for Christ, that he met Ann.
Michael encouraged the now 13-year-old Ann with the promises in God’s Word, and the young cripple surrendered her life to Jesus. Her favorite chapter in the Bible is Revelation 21, with its beautiful picture of the new heaven and the new earth, where she will be able to run and jump and play, just like everyone else. She has now joined the follow-up Bible class and is preparing for baptism.
While Ann dearly hopes for another set of plastic legs to be able to go to school and also to church, Michael reports that Ann is happy, trusting that soon Jesus will come and bring restoration to her.
Thank you for your generous support of the Amazing Facts evangelistic work in Africa in 2020. People like Ann, Grandpa Njugunas, Elias, and over 1,300 others have been baptized this year because of your support. May your gifts continue to reap an ever more bountiful harvest in Africa for the kingdom of God!