Xavier wasn’t free. He escaped the violence of the island where he was born in 1985, but after his parents died he had to leave school to work. That’s when he heard of someone who would send Christian youths for free schooling on another island. That’s me he said; Sign me up!
Arriving in their Promised Land, Xavier and 69 others soon discovered they’d been duped. Assignment #1: recite a religious book, and it wasn’t the Bible. School? No school. Nor was there enough food. He was not free. Then it got worse: to attend school, they had to be purified and become full-fledged members of their new religion; purification meant circumcision. After the ceremony, Xavier was warned that any betrayal would result in his death.
Not much later, Xavier and a few friends started sneaking out of their ‘prison’ through a narrow window above his bed. They would attend a secret Bible study and return to the madrasah after midnight. After a year of these escapades, Xavier and his friends worked up the courage to escape the madrasah for good. They hid for several months in a safe house provided by the Bible teacher.
Xavier has recently decided to train as a Christian teacher. The generosity of Mustard Seed partners is supporting his pursuit of a degree in Christian education. With a new beginning and new freedom in Christ, he will, by faith, be teaching others about the love and grace of our Lord, inside and outside of the classroom.
Xavier is so grateful to have escaped the violence and drudgery of the old days and to have survived the threats, clandestine life, and harrowing escape. He says, “Looking back, I see how the Lord has protected me, through the entire journey. From the land of my birth, to the madrasah, and now to a new beginning!”
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
*Names have been changed to protect those we support.
