My life began in 1928 in a village in Nigeria. Sadly, I lost both of my parents before I reached my teenage years. At that point, my only option was to move to Lagos to live with one of my uncles. He was a Muslim, and even though my parents had not raised me in any religion, I knew that I did not want my uncle’s religion. I can remember being about twelve years old, and seeing the Christians carrying their Bibles as they walked past our house on their way to church on Sundays. Somehow, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a Christian. Tears would come to my eyes when I saw them, and I would pray, “God, help me. I want to become a Christian.” But then I would wipe my eyes so my uncle would not know that I had any interest in Christianity.

God saw my earnest desire, and when I was twenty-five years old, He made it possible for me to move out of my uncle’s house and live on my own. Finally, I had the opportunity to be my own man and live how I wanted to live. I joined a local church, but they did not teach how to be born again and live with victory over sin. For several years I attended that church, but my heart was not satisfied.

I saw a team of Gospel workers from the Apostolic Faith Church holding a street meeting. I waited there and listened to the music and the messages they shared, and was so excited by what I heard.

One day in 1959, I was walking along a road in Lagos when I saw a team of Gospel workers from the Apostolic Faith Church holding a street meeting. I waited there and listened to the music and the messages they shared, and was so excited by what I heard. Then they gave me a Light of Hope magazine.

That evening, I went to the address of the church on the magazine: 49 Moloney Street, Lagos, Nigeria. A service was being held, and the moment I entered the building, the Spirit of God told me, “This is what you have been looking for.” I was very, very glad! That night, Jesus saved my soul, and joy like I had never experienced before flooded my heart! Before salvation, I used to harbor malice against others. Sometimes I would stop speaking to someone for months. When God saved me, He took care of that problem completely. There was now love in my heart, and forgiveness. The church people told me about sanctification, and the Lord sanctified me. The sin nature was uprooted from my heart, and I began living a new, holy life. In time, I pressed forward and God also baptized me with the Holy Ghost and fire.

The same year that I was saved, God gave me a godly and prayerful wife, and He blessed us with five children. We had many needs, but God always provided. There were times when we did not have food to eat, but we would pray and someone would bring us food. God never failed us!

We lived in a rental at first, but eventually purchased property where we could build a home for our family. Our children were young at the time, and before the new home was complete, our landlord began to cause problems. Rather than argue with him, we moved into the new house early. The water there had not yet been tested, but we did not have money to treat it anyway. After drinking the water at the new house, all of the children fell ill at the same time. It was terrible, but my wife and I prayed, and God healed them all.

We soon had challenges with our neighbor. He was a man who called on evil spirits, and he wanted us to leave so he could have our land. He told us he was going to use curses to cause our children to die, saying, “By the time two or three have died, you will pack your bags and leave.” My wife answered him, “You can only kill us if you can kill Jesus. If you cannot kill Jesus, you will not even be able to kill my chicken.”

In the new home, we soon had challenges with our neighbor. He was a man who called on evil spirits, and he wanted us to leave so he could have our land. He told us he was going to use curses to cause our children to die, saying, “By the time two or three have died, you will pack your bags and leave.” My wife answered him, “You can only kill us if you can kill Jesus. If you cannot kill Jesus, you will not even be able to kill my chicken.” When he tried to bring evil on our house, it was returned on his own house. His children began to die. He came to us, prostrated himself, apologized, and confessed, “The God you serve is a mighty God.” Then he sold his house and left! In the end, instead of chasing us out, he was the one who had to move.

In 1987, I became very sick because of a problem with one of my legs. The leg swelled to the point that I was laid up in a sickbed for three months. During that time, I had a vision that a man in white garments operated on my leg. I believed that Jesus would heal me, so I did not go to the doctor or take any medication. At one point, I lost consciousness, and my family later told me that my wife began to cry out to God earnestly in prayer. When I regained consciousness, I saw one of my daughters crying and I told her, “Do not cry anymore.” God had healed me completely.

There was a small compound on our property, which I thought to develop into a private school. I completed all the legal tasks for this. Then one day my church overseer, Brother Josiah Soyinka, called me and said that he understood that I was building a church. He asked, “When do you want us to come and dedicate this building?” I realized that God had different plans for that property, and I needed to surrender to His ways. Immediately after that conversation, I went to speak to my wife. I was fearful of how she might react, but she told me not to worry because God had already told her about the church! That made me so excited to see God’s will for this congregation. The Ketu branch of the Apostolic Faith Church was established in our courtyard, and I was ordained as the first pastor. Thank God, it became a very mighty church.

In 2009, it pleased God to take my wife to her Heavenly home. That was a painful time. At eighty years old, I was not sure how I could get by on my own. I was at a crossroads and did not know what to do. As I prayed about the matter, in a wonderful way God led me to a sister in the church that I had not met before. God confirmed to both of us that He was bringing us together, and we married in 2011. I thank God for the way she has been a support in my life. My children have also been a tremendous blessing to me.

After retiring as a pastor, my wife and I relocated to London, England, where we have family, and that is where we worship today. Recently, I was able to visit my daughter and her family in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, and attended our church there as well. In addition, it had always been my desire to attend camp meeting in Portland, Oregon, before seeing Jesus, and last year God made that possible. I was thrilled to see that the Gospel is the same in Africa, in the United Kingdom, in St. Louis, and in Portland. It is the same everywhere! The love of the saints of God has been wonderful.

My ninety-fifth birthday is on January 28 of this year. The road of life has been far; I have been on the mountain, in the valley, on level ground, and on rough roads, and I can say that Jesus has seen me through it all. I thank God that since He saved me, He put in my heart a desire to never look back, but to keep moving forward. I have been knocked down sometimes, but I lifted up my hands to Jesus and He raised me up. I cannot express the goodness of God in my life. Today, my goal is paradise.