The Strong Tower
Edmund Borfay is a One Kingdom partner and World Radio speaker in Monrovia, Liberia. Edmund travels all over Liberia, teaching, preaching, and evangelizing. The following is a piece of his story about coming to faith.
Neither of my parents ran to his wonderful name, the Strong Tower that saves. Had Mom and Dad done so, Yahweh would have redeemed them by His son’s precious blood that was shed for all who accept his Kingship. We also would have learned from their Biblical living examples. However, my parents ran towards their ancestor’s god that can’t speak, taste, walk, see, hear, or breathe.
Growing up with my parents—who didn’t step foot in a classroom to learn how to read and write—became a huge problem for me. My parents enrolled me in primary school when I was ten years old, but they couldn’t help me at home with my schoolwork. I didn’t start an education sooner due to the poverty in our family. I was raised by parents that weren’t Christians. Not one day did I see or hear my father or mother talking about the Creator of heaven and earth that brought salvation unto all mankind through Jesus Christ’s death on the old rugged cross.
So, what did I see growing up in this Christless household on the Firestone Plantation in Margibi County, Liberia, West Africa? At age ten, I still remember seeing my father offering a sacrifice to his ancestor’s god. He offered a white chicken along with red and white kola nuts to his god. He wanted to be favored and promoted to a higher position at the Firestone plantation.
My father was a hard-working man that did everything to provide for his wife and children. Although dad worked hard for us on his farm in Lapaloe village, Lofa County, he didn’t obey God’s word and died without Christ. Unfortunately, so many people like my mom and dad are making the same decisions. They are not hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, and being buried under the water for their sins to be washed away in the act of baptism—just like those that Peter preached to on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem.
I was 13 years old and attending the Swedish Free Pentecostal Mission school in Foya District, Lofa County. James Bimba was preaching to 207 of us about God’s love. I still remember those wonderful words of love spoken to us that fateful morning in 1975. This is the scripture that was read to us: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son and that whosoever believes in him will never perish but will have eternal life.” He simplified the message to our understanding, and he reminded us that it was for us that Jesus Christ died while we were yet sinners. This visiting evangelist said that God’s son Jesus was “beaten for us, stoned for us, spit upon for us, nailed on the cross for us and he carried that heavy cross to be nailed on it and hung for Israel to see.”
As I am writing this portion of this article my eyes are teary again. The evangelist’s message to us that morning had me sobbing with tears running down my eyes. I really appreciated what I heard and what Christ did for me personally. This message of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice touched every facet of my being. I appreciate God sending James Bomba my way in 1975. Since he did not extend an invitation, I did not respond to the Gospel at that time. However, the seed was sown in my heart.
For the next ten years, I was taught God’s Word through the World Bible School correspondence lesson sent to me from Oklahoma. A female teacher called Dexie Damron was my teacher. She certainly was an encouragement to me by sending notes alongside my correspondence lessons. Other Christians that encouraged me along my faith journey are Joe G. Wright of Hobbs, New Mexico and Randy Green/Dan Clarke of Big Springs, Texas. After my completion of the World Bible School correspondence lesson, I obeyed Jesus Christ and was baptized in the watery grave in 1985. Believing in Jesus—with no doubt whatsoever—I ran to him, and he redeemed me from the darkness of the world.
My hunger for being a Bible student deepened, and I enrolled at Liberia Bible College-Sunset International Bible Institute in Monrovia, Liberia. In 1985, my family were members of the Pentecostal church. I started encouraging them to study God’s Word with me. I taught my mother, sister, and brother the same message that saved my life. My mother was open to God’s scripture, and it was a joyous day when she obeyed the Gospel before she was called home in 2016. My sister, Myu, also responded and my brother, Ivan, is one of the faithful leaders in the church. God has answered my prayers asking Him to change their hearts in order for them to know him and obey Him. What a victory!
In 1989, I planted a small church in Gardnersville, Liberia. God was reaping a good harvest through us. We taught our friends and family God’s plan for salvation. In our first meeting, 17 individuals were in attendance. More people started obeying Christ. Then the civil war caused our young church to stop meeting to escape the killing and starvation. We went to different countries to escape. The civil war tested my own faith in many different ways. We lost family members, friends, and faced starvation—all contributing to my daughter becoming speech-impaired.
I was arrested and locked behind bars three times. Charles Taylor’s soldiers accused me of being many things, such as soldier or government officer [Ed. note: Charles Taylor was the 22nd president of Liberia, who was arrested, tried, and convicted of war crimes]. Such lies and accusations were used to kill many innocent people, but Charles Taylor’s warlords did not know whose army I was serving. I told them during my imprisonment that I was in God’s army, preaching to let His Word redeem the captive from Satan’s dark kingdom. God was faithful, he delivered me each time I was imprisoned by these evil men who killed over 250,000 people in Liberia. Being imprisoned emboldened me to trust in God more and more with each imprisonment.
However, my family and I decided to escape the atrocities that were happening in Liberia. Citizens were being killed by guns and starvation. We saw dogs eating dead
human beings. Out of desperation, we saw some Liberians eating these same dogs. By the grace of God, we walked for four days through bushes and jungles, holding hands while crossing through rough rivers into Sierra Leone. When we got there, we struggled to find food and a place to lay our heads to sleep.
Our rescue came when we found the Precilla Street Church of Christ in Freetown. We asked the leadership of the church if they could provide us a place to stay as refugees. They gave us a place in their warehouse where they were keeping their building materials. We were grateful, because we had a place to sleep and were in a place where we didn’t have to hear gunshots or see dead bodies. Some nights I still see all these images of the civil war in my dreams.
My family and I quickly began an evangelism ministry as new members of the Precilla Street Church of Christ. We trained members of our new home church to knock on doors and share the hope of Christ three times a week. They noticed a bump in membership as a result of our teaching from house-to-house evangelistic efforts. It took us no time to learn how to speak their language. I was given the responsibility of teaching Bible classes and preaching.
The Lord also provided for us through some loving and caring Christians in America. They heard about our story and decided to help us financially. We remain grateful to our brethren in Big Springs, Texas and the late Dan Clarke for the love they showed us when we were in need. When the war and killing stopped in Liberia, we returned home to continue the Lord’s work. There’s nowhere like home. Liberia was certainly fearful and different upon arrival. Many people were still displaced in many parts of Liberia, while others were still refugees in other countries. We got to work once more by putting back things together to carry on the Kingdom work. Our ministry began growing numerically and spiritually, and the Lord provided the funds through our Sunday collections. We bought an unfinished building and converted it into a worship hall.
In 1995, another war occurred between two warring factions in Liberia. The nation became lawless and night killings were going on almost every night. Fear gripped our homeland once more. We moved to the United States and filed for political asylum in 2000. The American government processed our request for political asylum through all necessary background checks, and the immigration bureau granted us asylum to live and work in the United States legally.
We are grateful to God and America for all the blessings we got while living, working, and raising our children in America. But we did not allow the safety and security of America to cause us to neglect to worship our big, big God and serve His kingdom. God made our stay possible in Brooklyn. New York, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bristol and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally Fredericksburg, Virginia, where we remained and continued to prepare for ministry as we participated in many door-knocking efforts in different places in the US. We became American citizens by naturalization. Two of our children were born in this beautiful country endowed by God. Today, our youngest child is 19 years old, and she is currently serving in the United States Air Force overseas.
In 2018, we returned to our native land of Liberia. We are now serving the Lord’s church in many ways such as church planting, hosting evangelism training workshops, house-to-house evangelism, radio evangelism, and a children’s center (where we assist God’s children to reach their full potential through education and we teach them about God’s plan of salvation). We have hosted 10 Back to the Bible campaigns, established five new churches in Liberia, and our team has baptized 1,326 precious souls. We established one Bible Institute known as Bible for Souls Evangelism Institute (a preaching school). Some of our graduates are now serving God’s Kingdom in Liberia.
Brethren, I am in agreement with the great apostle Paul when he wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” Running to and with God faithfully is certainly making us humble. We continue to heed His call to serve Him and the church for which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Don’t stop running towards Him. If there’s anything that has caused you to stop running towards His wonderful name, call upon Jesus. He bears the burdens of those that need His help. I am grateful to Him, because His promises are guaranteed to those who trust in God.