Miles In Missions

A few days ago there was a blog from us about the spiritual fruit in Egbe. There was one man that was mentioned that has given his life to Christ in 2014. He works in the workshop and his name is Samuel Ariyo. He is in his early 20’s, working in our general labor force (very hard work). Admittedly, when I first met Samuel I was a little stand-offish. He was rough, tough, and had an almost permanent scowl on his face. I remember saying to myself, “that boy is so angry that his face is always distorted”. So much so that it was in an evil fashion. I hated thinking these things of him, but it was the truth at the time. 

Well, I am extremely happy to say that is not the case anymore. This young man has been through such a great change. I can distinctly remember one Friday morning after devotions, our Project Manager took Samuel aside to talk with him more about Jesus. By the end of the conversation, Samuel had given his life to Christ. From that point forward, I have not seen that angry, nasty scowl again. It was quite an amazing change to see so quickly. It was evident that his heart had changed and that Jesus had released this young man from some kind of bondage that I might not ever understand. Thank God!

Upon trying to make sure that I had his name spelled correctly, I Googled a couple of different tries at his last name. Finally, with the winning combination, Google told me the meaning of his Yoruba name, Ariyo… “There is cause for me to rejoice”. Amen. Please rejoice with this young man!

I’ve attached a couple of pictures of Samuel for you to pray for him. I tried to get him to pose and let me take a picture of him with his “old scowl”. Remarkably however, he couldn’t do it! All he could do was smile and laugh at me. It was more evidence for him and I that his old self had truly been buried and another person rose as a new creation.