"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8). I would like to share with you the goodness of the Almighty God and the marvelous things He has done for me. There are four turning points in my life that testify of the grace and faithfulness of God.

In my family, my father was the first person to believe in Christ. My mother used to worship an evil spirit called "Hawai" through a sacred snake. My father spared no effort to preach to her the gospel of Christ. Eventually, my mother denied her Hawai and believed in Christ.

I followed my parents to church. However, I did not believe in Christ, nor know of my sinfulness. My parents took for granted that I was saved. I was not. And so, when I started secondary school, I left the church and began to live a sinful lifestyle. While in that spiritual darkness, I joined Alemaya University of Agriculture in September 1988.

The first turning point in my life came after a few months into my first semester of studies at the University. My health deteriorated under stress. It came to a point where I lost all hope in life. In such a desperate situation, I opened my mouth to blame God for my ill fate. In my own eyes, I was righteous, and God was my enemy. The opposite of course was true. God, out of His bountiful mercy and love, condescended to save me. On that bed of agony, God filled my broken heart with a sweet message of forgiveness, peace, and hope of eternal life. The darkness of spiritual death gave way to God’s marvelous light of salvation. I received Christ my Saviour into my heart. What a blessed and memorable moment! Since then, the Lord has graciously preserved my life. As my Heavenly Father, He cares for me in times of joy or sorrow, strength or weakness, health or sickness, plenty or lack.

The second turning point occurred between March and May of 1991. This was the period when civil war in Ethiopia reached its climax. The Minister of Defence made a proclamation which was binding on all students in the various colleges and universities. The institutions were shut down, and we were taken to a military training base. Thus, I found myself sliding down the ladder of life from the height of success into the valley of distress. My situation changed from that of a promising university student into a somewhat desperate soldier. My dreams turned into a nightmare. Worse of all, by the end of two months’ training, the rebels had won the battle, and our lives were at stake. There was no choice but to run for our lives. I fled to Kenya on May 28, 1991 for refuge. I was in the company of thousands of soldiers, students, and civilians. If it were not for God’s sustaining grace, I would not have been able to bear that pain. In Kenya, there was no proper camp accommodation for all the refugees who flooded into that land. We were kept in a bush, as a temporary refugee camp, where there was no water, food, or shelter. The only water we could find was from a stream into which the sewage of a certain town was disposed. The water was stinky and bitter. But that was the only water we had for the next two months. We used it for drinking, bathing, washing clothes, and cooking food. We should all have been dead through plague or disease. But the sovereign hand of God blessed and sanctified the water for us. Later, we were moved to a slightly better place. However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees decided to reduce the number of refugees in the camp. Through indirect means, they forced our repatriation by depriving us of shelter and food, or by feeding us with expired foodstuff. We were treated as mere animals with no human value. Yet, the good hand of God was upon me to protect, comfort and give me grace to persevere.

After the rebels had established their government, they called all refugee students to return and continue with their studies. That was really great news! Most of my friends returned home and resumed their studies. I was, however, deprived of that privilege. But this was by God’s higher hand. At that time, I was facing a great trial. My heart was overwhelmed with fear for my aging mother and younger brother. My father had passed away. My goal in life was to complete my studies and make money. Yet, the Lord convicted my heart to continue on in the refugee camp.

It was in September 1991 that God expressly called me into His full-time ministry. I was perplexed. I had to decide to follow either my will or God’s will. But, did not Jesus say to His disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt 16:24). By His divine grace, I gave up my personal ambitions, and decided to answer God’s call. That was the crucial turning point in my life, from fishing for mammon to fishing for men. But who will take care of my aged mother and my young brother? That was a genuine concern, but who is better than God to take care of the widows and the orphans? So, my heart was comforted, and I continued to live in the camp for about four years serving in the Ethiopian Refugee Christians Evangelical Church. Let me say a word to those whom the Lord is calling to serve Him: Put your genuine concerns into the hands of the Almighty Father and answer His call. Remember that once you lose this great opportunity, you will lose it forever, for you can live only once in this life before eternity comes.

As soon as I realised the divine call into full-time ministry, I began to pray for God to open a door for me to study His Word and be fully equipped to do His great work. And God gave me the privilege of studying His Word at the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA), Nairobi, Kenya, from 1995-1998. There I perceived that the call to a preaching and teaching ministry requires me to be grounded in the Bible and in Theology. I continued to pray that God would open a door for me to further my studies. The Lord used my teachers to arrange for my studies in Singapore at the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC). I was a student at FEBC from January 1999-May 2003 where I graduated with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) and a Master of Divinity (MDiv). This is truly grace upon grace. Just imagine from where the Lord has lifted me up! He is a great and glorious God. He is a faithful God and is no respecter of persons.