By Mark Ellis —
Khamisi grew up in a strong Muslim home with seven brothers and sisters. His father took them to the mosque and made sure they attended weekly Islamic classes.
“My dad was very strict when it came to religious matters,” Khamisi told African Enterprise (AE). “There was only one religion allowed in our family.”
When Khamisi was 10, his father died and the family faced significant challenges. “We became completely financially incapacitated,” Khamisi told AE. “My older siblings and mum worked hard to ensure we had food, but we struggled to put a meal on the table. Poverty was part of us.”
While they struggled to survive, the loss of the patriarch also allowed a measure of freedom for Khamisi’s mother to explore Christianity.
“My mum had wanted to know Christ for a long time, but due to the restrictions of our dad, she would not have even dared,” Khamisi recalled.
Khamisi’s mother and older brothers began to attend a Christian church and became followers of Jesus. But Khamisi and one of his younger brothers opposed their newfound faith.
“We wanted to maintain the religion of our father,” he said, “so we continued to attend mosque.”
Khamisi knew about Christianity from his friends at school and from Christian Religious Education classes there. But he continued to resist their entreaties and his heart remained hardened against Jesus for the next five years.
Then something unusual happened. One Sunday he went to pick up something from one of his brothers at church. When he arrived the church service was still going.
“I sat in the last row, waiting for the service to end. As the worship was going on, I felt as if something was burning within me,” he said. The Word and the Spirit began to touch his heart!
“I was glued to my seat and listened attentively to the Word of God as if that is what I had come to do.”
When the pastor asked if anyone wanted to come forward and become a Christian, Khamisi couldn’t resist.
“Whatever was burning within me became stronger,” he said. “I was pulled to the altar by the power of Holy Spirit and for the first time in my life, I felt the need for Jesus.”
The pastor prayed for him as he surrendered to Jesus as his Lord and Savior and was born again. His family was overcome with joy!
Khamisi joined a discipleship class and was mentored by the senior pastor to help him grow in his new faith, according to AE.
“Today I call him my spiritual dad,” Khamisi said. “When he learned about my story, he took over paying my school fees. I went to a school in Malindi town, which even in my dreams I never thought I would do! I had never seen such demonstration of love.”
As he grew, Khamisi read his Bible with “an undying fervor and did all he could to learn about prayer and ministry in the church. In his last year of high school, he became a leader of the Christian Union, sharing his testimony with as many people as he could,” according to AE.
In 2017, he faced a trial with the loss of his mother. “The death of our mum last year was the lowest moment of my life after salvation,” he noted. “Her sickness took her when we needed her most.”
“He and his siblings have struggled with this loss but are leaning on the love of their church community,” according to AE.
He joined a ministry team with African Enterprises after seeing last year’s team minister at his school during their Malindi Mission.
“I look forward reaching out to young people with the Word of God in 2018. Through our interactions, I want them to know and experience the love of God as I have.”
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