Category: Testimonies

When in 2011 the Lord began to stir my heart to start a Teachers’ Conference in Yei – South Sudan, I had a pretty clear idea what could result if the objectives were realized. However, I didn’t know how soon the anticipated fruit would arrive.

Through much difficulty, we held the first Teacher’s Conference in 2012 and in 2014, the incredible need for trained teachers hit the conference like a storm.

The Principal of Yei Teacher Training College, Mr. James Kepo, who was one of the facilitators at the Conference rolled out staggering statistics of untrained and trained teachers in the nation.

Following Mr. Kepo’s very thought provoking and passionate call to those seeking training at that Conference, 73 untrained teachers applied and were eventually vetted for the scholarship awards. Sadly, only 33 qualified for admission. This was another huge surprise for me.

We not only had untrained teachers, we also had “un-trainable” teachers, those whose O’Level results didn’t meet the standard required by the College; yet, they have passionately pursued this noble career, some for over 15years!

Among the 33 that got the scholarships, thanks to Rev. Yemi Ayodele, 3 opted for the full-time program (Pre-Service), which would run for two years. One of them was Alemi Jackson.

“My name is Alemi Jackson. I am a student at Yei Teacher Training College who has been enrolled for Pre-Service Teacher Training Program that runs for 2years in certificate level and 3 years in diploma level. I joined this 2014 and will finish in December 2015 or the following year hopefully.

On successful completion of this course I want to serve the people of this nation South Sudan in education so that the country may realize change through the education that I’ll instill in the children.

My ambition is to explore in teacher education to the highest level possible in order to attain a deeper understanding of education, so that societies will be transformed through my efforts. Later on, I would embark on agriculture studies because the nation is starving due to the lack of the knowledge of agricultural practices, and I am hoping that when I attain this education I’ll be able to deliver this knowledge to the people so that they can become self sustained hence creating food security.

Finally, I would like to get a deeper understanding of God so I can bring positive influence to the poor attitudes and bad cultural beliefs of our people.

Big thanks to the Almighty God and to those who have joined hands to fund my education. Blessed are the hands that give. May they receive more in Jesus’ name. Another big thanks to Rev. Yemi Ayodele and Pastor Uche for standing firm with us.”

Jackson completed his certificate program at the YTT College as the best overall student and graduated last December. We’ve offered him an automatic scholarship to pursue his Diploma at the same College. But he aims higher. He wants to go to a University. He is currently awaiting his result from Uganda and Rev. Yemi has given his blessings to his quest.

The best news for me about Jackson is that he gave his life to Jesus at that 2014 Conference.

He said, “When I attended the 2014 Teachers’ Conference in Yei, I didn’t know Jesus. I was a teacher in one of the schools here in Yei and life was bad. When I heard of the Conference, I didn’t want to attend, but somehow, I went and looking back now, it was God’s intervention in my life.

At the Conference, I heard the word of God and it pierced my heart. On top of that, I got the chance to attend YTTC, as Rev Yemi offered us scholarship. I couldn’t believe it. In one day, my life was being totally transformed and heading in a new direction.

I received Jesus that day and till today, have continued to love and serve Him.”

I introduce Jackson here with great joy, relishing the reward of perseverance and faith.

He is the first fruit, but will by no means be the only fruit.

Hear him: 

Last Sunday was one I won’t forget in a hurry, not
for the praises and dance, testimonies and prayers, water baptism of 14
disciples nor because of the emergence of a new generation of very young
disciples who by the leadership of a dear son, gave a refreshing recitation of
many memorized Scriptures.

The message was on God’s longing to have and keep
us in, not just near. A hand full of people came forward to receive Jesus and I
called for a small meeting to encourage them after the service. But Abba had
other ideas.

David was not invited to this meeting but he joined
us. After a few admonitions, I asked if anyone had a question or prayer
request.

David asked, “Please can I share my
testimony?” “Sure.”

When he finished, the doors opened. All the new
converts had a dark past they desperately needed forgiveness from and felt they
should confess.

I was in the midst of hurting people. Three of them
confessed to attempted suicide. One testimony stood out, it lasted 30mins and
shocked us all.

Taban (not real name), in his late 30s is a mechanic but use to be
a soldier. While in the force during the Sudan civil war, he got into a fight
with another soldier, shot and killed the fellow. He was sent to jail for a
season but later the Judge sent him to the war front with the mandate to bring
back five rifles.

That meant he’s to kill five enemies, collect their
weapons, thereby complete his sentence and purchase his freedom. He succeeded
but became a more violent man.

One day, while driving some other soldiers to
another location, he decided to kill himself and all in the army
truck with him by driving it off the road into a gully.

When he turned off the road, he said he didn’t know
how the truck jumped over the ditches and everyone survived. He left the army
thereafter.

This man’s testimony was one of rage that often led
to murder. Here was a killer seeking Jesus and finding Him among other hurting people like himself.

Taban was entering a church for the first time in
six years last Sunday. His confession encouraged others to freely tell their
story of pain with graphic details and ask for forgiveness. From witchcraft,
abortions, bitterness against God for various reasons… we heard it all.

As we prayed and wept before the Lord, I recalled
the scripture, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and
because of the word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul until
death.” (Rev 12:11)

It continues to please God, that by the foolishness
of preaching, those that believe are saved.

Com’on Jesus!!

As my wife and I drove home in
the early hours of the first day of this New Year from a memorable Watch Night Service at Four
Square Gospel Church Asokoro in Abuja; our sweet chit-chat majored on two
topics that caught our fancy at that moment; aging and our sons.

We both spot gray hairs and they
overtly draw attention to our ages which we joke about a lot. But we amused
ourselves for longer on that drive with the fact that both boys will become
teenagers this decade. We laughed with some measured enthusiasm though,
imagining our life together with the boys in their teens.

Someone said “Mothers of
teenagers know why animals eat their young because raising teenagers in this
age is one of the toughest duties ever.” It’s a full time job for two
people (Mom and Dad) with daily assistance from Jesus; without whom, success is
not guaranteed. Sadly, we have many singles and married sincerely struggling
alone.

“Lord Jesus, may our children
love and serve you more than we ever dared or dreamt may they see enough of
You in us to desire You for themselves” had been our prayers for them even
before they were born.

So, my dear wife called me last
week while I was away in Jos, learning lessons on parenting among others and
said, “Guess what Darl?!”

“What?”

“Ed just gave his life to
Jesus!”

“What happened, how did it
happen?”

The excitement in her voice and my
attempt to visualize the scenario forced tears of joy down my eyes as I
listened to her tell what happened.

While Ed and his younger brother Othniel
were watching cartoons on TV, Mom asked them to change the channel because the
night before, Othniel had a nightmare which she related to the horror cartoons
the children were being exposed to on TV. As Ed flipped through the channels Mom asked him
to stop at TBN.

The movie Escape from
Hell was showing on TBN and it was nearing the end. It was at the point Eric, the star actor, learned the truth about life after death. This part of
the movie touched Ed so much he asked Mom, “Does it mean that if someone
is good they may still go to hell?”

“Yes, unless you are born
again, you’ll not enter the Kingdom of God. Our good deeds are not good enough
for God. Only Jesus’ goodness is good enough for God. That’s why God wants
everyone to receive Jesus and be saved from Hell fire.”

To her surprise, Ed began to cry
and she promptly expounded scriptures to him explaining the meaning of
salvation by faith and grace, as against good works. She ended by
asking, “Do you want to give your life to Jesus now?”

“Yes Mommy.” And they
prayed.

He’ll be 10 in May and that excites
him greatly. But he has no idea how this one decision excites us and has
changed the dynamics of our home and his life. A journey has begun for our son,
one that’s undoubtedly the greatest for all humans.

Isn’t he too young for this? Does he understand what he did? No one can fully understand what they’re doing or why they’ve done it, when surrendering to Jesus. Those who change their minds afterward also don’t understand what they’ve done. As for Ed, he has started well and with
dedicated discipleship, focus and God’s mercies, we’ll all make the finish line with joy.

Please don’t be fooled into
thinking your children are saved because they follow you to church, recite
scriptures and perform some roles on special church programs. Be sure their
words and their life are as neatly set as yours is in Christ.

It can be complicated for them
and calamitous for us if our lives fail to communicate the love and life of the
Savior we claim to follow. The best thing we can give our children is not just
the knowledge of the love of God, but the opportunity to see that love in
action with our lifestyle.

Please pray for that moment
of decision for your children, work towards it and look forward to it. May we or someone that
could help, never miss that moment when it arrives. If you’ve already missed the opportunity to celebrate the salvation of your children before they left home, I sympathize with you. May Abba meet them among the living on His terms in time to come.

“You are to open
their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of
Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins
forgiven and receive their place among God’s chosen people.” (Act 26:18)

When he stood before the brethren at New Generation Tabernacle
Church in Yei and testified of his salvation on the 24^th of October
2010, the church shook with awe and gave much thanks to God.

He was one of the fruits of our first door-to-door evangelism
thrust then, which yielded a great harvest. In that first outing, 42
members returned to church by 3pm after the Sunday morning worship service, armed with
our Bibles and strategically grouped in threes, we set out to a nearby village
to witness for Jesus.

On sighting the team that came to his neighborhood, David loathed
them but still listened to their words. When they departed, he lost what was
left of the peace he seemed to have and in the solitary confines of his room
that evening, he silently asked Jesus to save him. He did!

The journey of this disciple was barely 2weeks old and many
of his friends and family had come to Jesus on account of his changed life and
public witness. They couldn’t understand nor believe this was the same David-
the drunkard, the marijuana smoker, fighter…He didn’t know how to quote Bible verses, but would say, “You know me before, but now this is a new me…”

There are others like David and their individual testimonies
will be posted here for your information and encouragement.

This video clip is the first of two recordings on David’s
life before and after Jesus took control.

Your prayers and support amount to much. Please don’t
relent.

–         
Pray for David and others like him, that their
faith will grow stronger and deeper in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

–         
Pray that their prayer life will be enriched as
they continue in the study of the word of God.

–         
Pray that their zeal will be nurtured for
greater harvests.

–         
Pray that they’ll continue to overcome the
temptations and youthful lusts that ensnare the soul.

–         
David is a skilled plumber. Please pray for his
business to grow and be established.

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those
with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14)

Merry
Christmas!!

Sometimes, narrating events that left us totally speechless
could be a very challenging task. However, we cannot but report all we’ve seen the Lord do, the best way we know how, as He continues to work where we walk.

The Bible is not just a chronicle of wonderful stories. It
is one story, the greatest and grandest ever told. This story is reflected, but
not fully expressed in what has been commonly called “salvation history”; because
it’s not ultimately a story about people and how they get saved. It is a story
about God, and how He brings glory and followers to Himself from all peoples of
the earth.

As God’s story unfolds in our day, a foreknown and select
number will continue to dare to believe His promises and wait for them. Their
undying passion, obedience, commitment to Kingdom values and voracious appetite
for God’s glory in global worship will always create the much needed platform for the miraculous giving them regular flesh encounters with the Author of life.

It was that time for many students at the holiday camp 3weeks
ago in Yei. They’d waited for a while for something like this. God honored
their faith and hunger with His awesome presence.

The testimonies of a few in the video clip below gives
an idea of the varying issues and points of encounter these youngsters had with God during
the last holiday camp. If you ask me, I should say with much confidence, “Their future is brighter today than yesterday.” All glory to God!!

A fuller documentary will be ready soon. If you email me
your postal address, I’ll send it to you when it is finished.

We earnestly covet your prayers for a sustained blaze of
this flame that the Lord has lit in Yei among the students.

God’s story continues. Don’t just watch it and read it,
please make it, make His-Story with Him.

He came into my room a few days ago and told me to pray for him as was returning to the Nuba to see his family. His goal is to preach Christ to them. He earnestly covets our prayers. His friends here tell me he may not be allowed to return to Yei because of his faith in Jesus. Persecution is inevitable.