I want to introduce you to Marvin Michelo, a young man from Zambia. Marvin contacted me from a WhatsApp number I left on a Facebook post. I first thought, "here is another spam message from Africa." But the Lord would not let me ignore this. So began a cautious correspondence (cautious on my part). I had discovered that spammers do not respond to the gospel. Yet the more I wrote to him about the message of George Fox and early Friends, the more Marvin seemed to respond, indicating knowledge, experience, and hunger. You can read about Marvin's early life and how the Lord has called him at https://nffquaker.com/products/my-life-and-ministry. We are charging $1.00 for that download to deter harvesters seeking to mine information. All monies raised from this download will go toward helping Marvin carry on his work.
However, in this blog post I want to tell you about his work of preaching the gospel proclaimed by Fox and early Friends. When the Lord first began to lay the people of Kenya on Marvin's heart, he had the idea of traveling and speaking to Quaker churches. But as the call became clearer, he realized that he could not compromise the gospel message to fit into the existing system.
In April, 2024, Marvin made his first trip to Nairobi, Kenya, armed with a number of pamphlets and willingness to follow the leading of the Lord. He was living in the cab of a transport truck that had taken him to Kenya, and preaching on the streets. Marvin described one individual who was on the point of suicide. Upon hearing the message that Jesus was come to teach him inwardly, he discovered that indeed there was something within him leading him toward life. He found hope where he had only known despair. Others threatened Marvin with physical violence, but the Lord preserved him. Soon a family was convinced and begged Marvin to use their home as his home base and as a place for meetings. Meetings for worship in the name of Jesus have grown up as a result of Marvin's work in Nairobi and two outlying villages. The experience of Christ's inward teaching is proving just as powerful and compelling today as it was in the 1600s.
Marvin's experience has not been all easy. He has had to face persecution, discouragement, temptation, abandonment, time in jail, and being expelled from the country. More details on that at a later date.