We have known Jacob, a young man in our neighborhood, since he was a high school student. However, our relationship was not really close. This changed about two years ago when he made himself the soccer coach of the neighborhood children, including the two we foster. The children really liked him and respected him. What impressed us was the fact that he only coached them during breaks and vacations and, for the rest of the time, encouraged them to focus on studying and to take school seriously.
When our oldest foster son had trouble with math and physics, and we were looking for someone who could tutor him, Jacob volunteered to try. Although he said that he had never tutored students before, he did an excellent job, and our son’s grades improved. Other children soon joined and we organized regular classes. In the evenings, we could hear his deep, pleasant voice coming from the gazebo at the back of our property, where he studied with the children. He was always on time and took his job very seriously.
A few months ago, our project decided to open a little internet center in one of the locations where we have a church group. Since Jacob is selling and installing this kind of equipment for a living, we entrusted him with the job. We ran into a number of difficulties setting up the place, but each time, Jacob went out of his way to solve problems that others had created. We were very pleased with his performance.
He runs the internet center himself, and whenever we need help getting some papers done, such as birth certificates, ID cards, etc. (which are all done online in Benin), we can count on his help.
Jacob is just so pleasant to be around. He is reliable, serious and prompt and has a lot of acquaintances but not many close friends. Why is that? Because he doesn’t drink and doesn’t go out at night but rather stays home with his wife and young son.
I have been praying for Jacob a lot lately. He considers himself a Christian but doesn’t attend any church and has not accepted our invitations so far. I see a lot of potential in him, and I know that he would be a great worker for the Lord if he truly gave his life to Him. Would you please pray with me that Jacob would meet Christ personally and allow Jesus to be his closest friend?
