Haba Kouly! (Haw-baw Koo-lee) I love to say his name! He is from Guinea and one of our trainees in our one-year certificate master training project. I first met him in May of 2011 at Tappita, Liberia, where he first took our basic course in storying for evangelism. He speaks French and through four days of training he translated (whispered) the entire training into the ear of another French-speaking student.

     When he returned to Guinea, within 60 days, he trained nearly 150 other believers with what he learned in Tappita. One day he called his Muslim father who is an Imam (Muslim cleric) and asked if he would like to hear some wonderful stories. His father was very open and invited him to come and tell the stories to him, his family, extended family, and other invited friends. Haba made his journey back home

     Everyone enjoyed the Creation stories and soon learned that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins and for this reason, those wanting God’s forgiveness offered blood sacrifices. They related to that and said, “We’re always killing goats.” But, working his way through some Old Testament stories he announced that the next time he would tell them about the wonderful Prophet Isa. They couldn’t wait and for the first time they discovered how great He was and what a wonderful caring Person he showed Himself to be. When Haba told them there was a conspiracy to kill Isa, everyone got upset saying, “You can’t do that to a good man like Isa.” But, they heard what actually happened and Haba showed them that Isa (Jesus) became the “Lamb of God” Who took away the sins of the world when He died on the cross. There was anguish in their eyes as they heard how their Hero, One who never did wrong, was murdered. But, their mood greatly changed when they heard the good news of His resurrection! They were previously taught that Jesus never died, as most Muslims believe.

    When Haba explained the way to receive God’s forgiveness and eternal life was through believing the Good News, repenting of their sins and forsaking old practices, and trusting in Jesus by receiving Him into their lives, one of the men stood up and said emphatically, “I want to follow Isa.” That man was Haba’s father. Now there is a Bible-believing church in that town. Since 2011, Haba has started four churches in 100% Muslim towns in Guinea.