I first met Yaya eight years ago at a government radio studio as I was preparing for an evangelistic campaign. I wanted him to advertise my campaign on a radio station. Yaya was Muslim, and that day we talked about many topics, from religion to economic and social problems. We parted as friends, and I promised to be in touch.
Yaya comes from a small village called Fouh in the chiefdom of Maramabougou in Kangaba district. He was a teacher by training. However, he had been unable to get a government teaching job and settled for occasional work in private schools.
I was looking for a teacher to help children from Adventist families who attended our church group, and I offered him an opportunity. In the first two years that Yaya worked with us, I never opened the Bible with him, though I secretly prayed for him.
One day when Yaya was in his village, he fell from a tree and broke his arm. I visited him, shared in his pain, comforted him and asked if I could pray for him. “Yes,” he said, “please pray for me.” I asked if he believed that Jesus could heal him, and he said yes. Over the two months that his arm was healing, he was not teaching. Still, I continued to give him his salary.
One day I felt impressed to tell Yaya that I needed evangelists. “What do you mean?” he asked. I explained the work of an evangelist, and he seemed interested.
“Yaya,” I said, “I am not offering you a job, but I am hoping that you will accept my religion.”
“Let me discuss it with my wife,” he replied. Sometime later, he told me, “My wife has given me the go-ahead.” I could not believe my ears. I asked him to meet with my coworker and me in three days. I spent those three days in intense prayer. Then, with my coworker present, I asked Yaya again to express his decision. He said he felt destined to work for God but did not know what shape his work would take. I wept with joy at what God had done.
Yaya continued: “For the past two years, I have been learning from you. Despite our differences in religion, you have never stopped loving me in good and bad times. Though I was born into a Muslim family and grew up in an area where Christianity is not welcome, I am not a Muslim. My family’s polygamous home made me a victim, raising me without pity, respect for women’s rights or care for children. But in Christianity, I have seen the opposite—the spirit of sharing, love, forgiveness, compassion and empathy. I come from a Muslim background, but from what I have experienced for the past two years, the whole world should embrace Christianity.”
While working with the project team, Yaya regularly experienced persecution from family members and neighbors. Fortunately, that did not deter him, and Yaya continued growing in Christ. In February 2020, he boldly took the step of baptism as his Muslim wife, Ellen, watched. “Before joining the church, I had never experienced such love and joy,” Yaya said. Regrettably, His mother told him that she would never forgive him for becoming a Christian. Yaya’s wife, however, experienced such love from church members that she, too, took a stand for Christ and was baptized in November 2020 (see the September 2021 Carrie James article).
Yaya increasingly became a leader in the church and an indispensable part of our ministry, freely sharing his testimony and leading Bible studies with others, including Nama, a man I met at a motorcycle repair shop who was becoming disillusioned with Islam, especially its lack of an offer of salvation (see my March 2021 article).
He and Ellen then moved to another village and began giving multiple Bible studies because of their gratitude to God. One such series of studies Yaya gave was to Mariam, a Muslim woman who had attended Adventist schools as a little girl (see my December 2022 article and the article by Seth Miller and Fernand Bonnet in April 2023).
Yaya’s love for Jesus was evident, and over time we could see his desire to serve God included formal training as a pastor. In 2022, we began sponsoring Yaya’s theological training in Cameroon and, through God’s grace and many providences, he completed his studies in July 2026 and graduated on August 4, 2026.
Filled with tremendous appreciation, Pastor Yaya wrote the following letter to Adventist Frontier Missions on September 9, 2026.
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Dear AFM,
We wanted to take a moment to express our deep gratitude for the gift of this new life that God has given us through you.
This letter is not only a thank-you for covering the cost of my university studies in Cameroon, but also for delivering my family from the religious falsehoods we were victims of in the past. Your mission in Mali introduced us to the Gospel of Jesus, which we had hated and mocked for so long. Now, we confess Jesus Christ—the Answer to humanity’s woes—with joy, peace, and unshakable hope in our hearts. It is a miracle in our lives, and God has done it through you! Now we know that God has a blessed plan for our Malinké community. We are the first to be converted, but there will be thousands more by God’s grace.
As for your financial support, you have fully fulfilled your duty. I lacked nothing during my training. I will also never forget that you covered my family’s travel expenses to Cameroon, which was a great help to me during my studies.
I earned a “Highest Honors” grade, and this success would not have been possible if you had not provided me with what I needed for my mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
AFM, we praise the Lord for you! We are delighted with our new life because we now have the resources.
Yaya Kamissoko & Family
