One of the most gripping stories I’ve read in a long time is the narrative of Trans World Radio’s (TWR) ministry in West Africa. Many of you have asked me about the history of our work there and veteran TWR missionary Flora Rittenhouse has written an incredible “book of Acts” story on West Africa for today. It shares the miracle of God’s power working through enormous obstacles, challenges, tragic events, human resistance, as well as the vision and courage of God’s faithful servants. You’ll definitely want a copy for yourself. I’ve included an excerpt from her upcoming book below:

There are a few stories of selfless love for others that imitate that of Jesus, the Shepherd who came seeking lost human souls. This is one of those stories. It is a story of a pastor and his president—in fact, two pastors and their presidents.

When Romain Zannou of Benin became a believer in 1981, he found himself burdened to pray in earnest for his president who had been in power for nine years. His prayer was, “Lord, I believe if you touch the heart of this man, that in the same way he propagates Communist Marxism, he will serve your cause. I want him saved, Lord. I love this man. I want to spend eternity with this man at your feet.” His prayer was the beginning of the selfless love of a man for his Communist president. He could not know that one day he would stand in the presence of his president, telling him personally about Jesus’ love for them both.

It was not easy to have an audience with the president. However, Romain Zannou, now a pastor, knew God wanted him to go and share Jesus with the president. By that time, he had prayed for President Kerekou for ten years. Suddenly, the path opened in such a way that there was no question that God’s hand was at work.

Do you want to know the rest of the story? JudyBlog readers (U.S. and Canada) can pre-order a free copy of Flora’s book, Reaching Beyond Barriers—A Legacy of Hope, by following this link: https://www.twr.org/wa-book