Dear brothers and sisters around the World, I pray and believe that the following story will encourage your hearts in Christ Jesus. For the Bible says,
“Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.”
Proverbs 25:25
of my resolutions this year to work on campus and I pray everyday to God to open the gates of the hearts of students and lead me to his anointed ones. I have specifically targeted Addis Ababa University, the main campus: social science Faculty. That was where I attended my undergraduate courses.
Thus, I had been going to this campus almost every day. On February 25, 2009, I went inside hoping to meat someone. I thought of going to a quiet place to pray. I went to the ball court. I sat on the stairs and before I started praying, I overheard some guys arguing about religion. They were three men and a girl. One of the men was arguing against everybody else. After this I will refer to him as “lonely guy”. I heard him saying, “I only believe that there is an Almighty God and that the Bible is true. I don’t accept any of the churches in this country.” The other two guys seemed to be from Pentecostal church and were desperately trying to explain to him the importance of being embraced by a church.
I prayed. And all I said was, “God, are you saying something? Please create some situation for me to join them and show me how to go about it.”
Then I called out, “Hey guys, may I join you? Your discussion sounds interesting!” Then the lonely guy said, “Yes you can this is a free discussion”. I joined immediately and sat down with them and listened to what all had to say. But I was also praying in my heart. After all had taken their turns, I raised my hand and started sharing my views. I shared about my story before I became a disciple, how I was confused because what the Bible says and what the traditional Orthodox Church teaches wasn’t the same. Then I moved on to explain the difference between forgiveness and repentance in OT and NT, opened the Bible and read to them four passages about the salvation in Jesus, repentance and baptism and ongoing repentance afterwards. As I went on speaking, more students were coming partly to watch a game which was about to take place but on their way, joined my audience. So, the number grew to seven, and then more guys coming, they reached about ten. I must confess that I was little afraid of being noticed by the university or other rival groups and something bad that might come up. But by the grace of God, I went on and concluded at Acts 2:38.
The lonely guy found my story similar to his and felt that I answered his questions somehow and commented, “You are different, and no one has 
ever addressed my problems so patiently like you.” And he started opening up with me about himself but gradually the discussion turned to one on one and other students slipped to watch the game. The guy has a powerful knowledge of the scriptures. He even quoted from the book of Habakkuk. I felt like he was prepared by God for conversion like the Ethiopian eunuch.
His name is called Meseret Lulu, 38. He used to be a headmaster of a government school and he joined the university three years ago to complete his undergraduate courses to get his degree in Educational Planning and Management.
I talked more with him and invited him to a Bible study. We set time and after the first Bible study, he said that he wanted to do the studies every day. We met for the studies almost every day and through much struggle and wrestling in prayer, he was baptized into Christ on March 31, 2009.
His Side of the Story
April 26, 2009 Meseret shared his conversion story at church. He kept repeating the phrase, “Praise God!” all through his sharing.
“I have lived my life so long, 38 years, wandering in darkness and God just at the right time has come and saved me. One day, as usual I went to the ball court to play volley ball in Addis Ababa University. I removed my jacket and placed it somewhere. After the game was over, I came to know that somebody slipped into my pocket and removed my 500 birr, the whole of my pocket money for the month. I was so unhappy and didn’t even know what to do. Then, I moved away from there and sat down with some friends and started chatting about religion. In the middle of our discussion, there was this guy some meters away, who called out to us asking for permission to be part of our discussion. I never allow people to talk to me about religion but I found Berhanu’s approach to be attractive. He answered my questions and I was satisfied. I remained with him after my friends left. His approach is totally different from all other people I ever know. He taught me the Bible almost every and now he is my brother and so are you all, praise God!
“The time I met him, I had ample time since it was a break time. I quit abusing drugs and drinking alcohol some months before. But I was still desperate and depressed in life. Now, I didn’t have money. It is amazing how God knows the right time and place to save someone. Praise God!
“I am now fully convicted that God loves me and his Spirit dwells in me. I believe with all my heart that God has been saving me from a number of dangers so that I may get such a life. How I survived the peril of a car accident after two months of hospitalization is just one example of God’s gracious love. Praise God!
“More than anything thing, today there is peace and fulfillment in my life. I am so happy that I have found brothers and sisters like you and I can see your faces shining as real people of Christ. Praise God!”
Meseret went on to share how his behavior and character are changing because of his new life in Christ. He shared one example,“I have a SIM card in my pocket but I don’t have a mobile apparatus to use it. Few days after my baptism, this woman who sat next to me in a transport vehicle dropped a high-tech mobile phone and alighted. I thought God was blessing me because he knew my needs but I soon realized that it was a test of my heart. I said to myself, ‘God will not give me somebody’s property; he has more than enough to give me what is my own.’ I know I wouldn’t hesitate if it were before. Praise God!”
Brothers, what do you have to say to this? May be what Meseret says, “Praise God!” God is still at work. Let’s stay close to him.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1Corinthians 15:58
Love in Christ to all,
Your brother, Berhanu
Berhanu Bedada,
P.O.Box, 100062
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
http://www.icoceastafricachurches.org/editables/ethiopia.htm
Posted by Jerry Maday