Today, Ayo is the Student Ministry leader at Kiremba University, in the rural south of Burundi, but you may have struggled to believe it not so long ago. As a student, he had no interest in meeting with Christians. But then a young man called Meshach arrived at Kiremba as part of a mission team with our partners, Union des Groupes Bibliques. He spotted Ayo and kept inviting him to Bible studies.

Ayo had been selling and smoking cannabis and had no intention of changing, but Meshach kept inviting him to come along to the studies face to face, sending text messages and calling him on the phone. Eventually, due to Meshach’s persistence, and with mild curiosity, Ayo reluctantly accepted and began attending meetings.

Shortly after, Meshach came across Ayo whilst he was using drugs. Ayo thought it would be the end of their friendship. However, he was shocked that Meshach would not judge or give up on him. Instead, he kept visiting and inviting him to meetings. So Ayo started to listen to the talks more intently and to read the Bible for himself. Gradually, a transformation began to take place as Ayo understood the message of the gospel. He stopped smoking and selling cannabis for good.

Now it was Ayo who was eager to invite his friends to come along to hear the Good News!  So many more now know the transformation experienced by Ayo and have given their lives to Christ. From the persistence and love of Meshach, who was determined to be a loving friend, a ripple of faith has spread out into Ayo’s community and onto the campus of Kirema University.

Union des Groupes Bibliques work primarily with students to equip Christian students on campus to be an effective witness, to model servant leadership, and to prepare them for lives of integrity and civic duty once they graduate.