Elder Bolaji Oyebanji Adepoju was at our Zone Conference. When I heard that he was a refugee, I wanted his story and he was kind enough to let me have a video of his story.
His story: He is from Nigeria. His father was muslim and his mother was Christian. His parents divorced when he was 7. At age 22 he walked into a mormon church and he didn't want to leave. He was happy and was soon baptized.
One day in his compound some men came looking for the 'Christian boy'. It was strictly taboo to be a Christian in this compound. He ran up on the roof. There were gunshots everywhere. They killed his father. He ran away. He went with his brothers from Nigeria to Tripoli Libya. They were in a room with about 200 people. He couldn't figure out what they were doing there but his brothers told him to be patient, a boat was coming to rescue them.
They got on a boat. No pilot, no compass. Just a big push and they were on the sea. A Libyan man told him to sit in the front. He wanted to stay with his brothers but he thought the Libyan man could kill him so he sat in the front. There was a big storm. People were praying they could just die right there on the boat. He was in the front, and didn't know anything that was happening in the back of the boat. The Italian Coast Guard came to rescue them. He called for his brothers. They had died.
"God kept me alive. I talked to God on the boat: If I survive I'm going to serve You."
Incredible. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy story! And he is still smiling. So we all have no reason not to find happiness no matter what happens.
ReplyDeleteWhat an example of faith, courage, & hope!
ReplyDeleteTom and Anita, I'm so inspired! I remember seeing this video on Facebook in the past few months. His story is incredible!
ReplyDeleteI have loved reading your posts and look forward to reading more. I started my own blog a month ago for only our children, something in the plans for three years ago, taking this long to finally kick off the first post. It's a book in the making for our posterity. Each post is a chapter in the book. It's going to help me be more prepared for when we leave on our mission. So, our mission blog will be a separate blog. I'm truly inspired! NO, I could not travel for day after day like the Denning Family. No matter how fun, it's not us! I LOVE travel though, just not in that manner for that long. Our prayers are with you daily! It's nice to have a family on a mission again to pray specifically for them. Hopefully our kids will pray for us! ;) We love you!