I was raised in a small shanty village south of Migori county, Nyanza region of Kenya. I am the firstborn in a family of ten people. My mom and dad were both Christians, so it was just our custom on Sunday morning to get up and get our ears scrubbed and inspected and set off to church, once arriving at the church, head off to Sunday school. At the church where we went, Sunday school was where they divided you down by age groups and someone would come in to teach you the Bible.

At the age of 13, my father abandoned us and we never saw or heard from him for the next eight years. My mother was filled with despair, the weight of providing for seven children overwhelmed her. I could not go to school properly because I had to help to provide for my siblings and myself.  I became bitter and angry with God. I even stopped going to Church.

Growing up was difficult, I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, my bitterness and anger had pulled me down to the point of being violent and extremely sensitive. Neighbors and the people around saw me as a pitiable creature that could not amount to anything. I could not understand the meaning of life or even the purpose of my own life.

Conversion Experience:

One day, June 2002 (I was in form three in high school), I attended a youth convention meeting in a church that was close to the place I was living. The pastor came to our group’s class and he asked us, “How many of you are not Christians?” For the first time in my life, I suddenly realized that I was not a Christian, even though I had been raised in a Christian home. I raised my hand as did a few others, so he stood there and talked to us about becoming Christians. I do not remember most of what the preacher had to say, but I’ve heard it said many times after that, and I know that the essence of his message was this: God created man to have fellowship with him, but man had broken that close relationship with God and chose to go his own way. Fellowship with God was broken, but he continued to love us. God sent his Son, Jesus, to die and pay the penalty of our sin. God had said, “without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22) so he loved me and sent his Son, Jesus, to die for me. That day I asked Christ to come into my life.

Life with Christ:

Ever since I asked Jesus to take control of my life, my eyes have been opened and I recognize His presence everywhere. Every day, God gives me the power to turn away from my sin. I’m not perfect, but I am now a different person. I have learnt to forgive and also ask for forgiveness. I no longer harbor bitterness and anger anymore. Now one of my biggest joys is simply telling people about what Christ did for me and teaching other Christians to do the same.