“Death seemed always knocking. Darkness was devouring souls. As the son of a voodoo priest, I have seen and experienced countless sacrifices given to idols, ancestors passionately worshiped, brutal rituals, witchcraft, demon possession, and unspeakable acts done in darkness.
My father had four wives and many, many children. Many of my brothers and sisters have died. I can still feel the heat burning against my back as we worked tirelessly on a farm we did not own. We grew crops, knowing we would have to pay each year to live and work on that land. Never out of debt or bondage, instead prisoners to our poverty. School was never an option, let alone food in our stomachs.
Life was so hard I often contemplated, ‘Why am I even here? We are just living for nothing. Farming for nothing. Barely surviving for nothing.’”
Less than three miles away from the small village where Roger lived, Vapor Ministries established a center. Roger couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw it for the first time. A light shining in the middle of physical and spiritual darkness. Roger threw himself into life within the center, and soon he was enrolled in a disciple-making league where his faith grew in Jesus Christ. He was also enrolled in the Hasmin’s Friends program, where he received a quality education, two wholesome meals each day, and saw his medical needs met.
Rejected by his father for following Christ, Roger remained faithful to the Lord. He became a passionate volunteer coach at the center, later earning a staff position. Through continued hard work, he was promoted to Center Director and recently into his current role as the West Africa Regional Human Resources Coordinator.
Roger knows his story has not been for nothing. His hardships, his transformation, his blessing, and his renewal have all been used by the Lord for His glory. In an area that has historically had little to no access to the gospel, Roger decided he would also become a pastor. He can’t help but pour out what he has learned into the church he now also serves.
Because of partners like you, who believe that God has the power to transform lives, we are seeing people like Roger come to faith in Christ and grow in their love for God and their community. Not only are lives being transformed at our centers, but the impact ripples out into pastors and servants who carry the transformative power of the gospel with them. Because of people like you, the unreached are being reached in Jesus' name!