Silas Nkandu

As a boy, Silas Nkandu’s single ambition was to become a great football player like Zambia’s all-time greatest goalscorer Kalusha Bwalya, but this would all change when his younger brother suddenly died.

“I liked football and most of the time I missed lunches to play the game with my friends,” Silas remembers.

Similarly, Silas’ family had put a low priority on God and religion, instead, his father loved to drink and his mother saw no need for God in their lives.

“Then, after my younger brother died, my father and I began thinking about God,” Silas continues.

“I thank God that my friends started taking me to Sunday school at a Christian church.”

A short time later, Silas’ family was hit with another tragedy. Without warning, his father also died.

Silas recalls: “Losing my father deeply affected me. I felt like it was the end of the road for my life. Without my father’s financial support, my siblings and I could no longer go to school. But, miraculously, the people who took me to Sunday school helped me to keep going with my education.”

Silas continued attending this Christian church in Mansa, Zambia, without any noticeable difference in his life, until one Sunday morning God spoke very clearly to him.

That morning, the preacher stood and said, “Now is the time for you to repent, to turn away from your evil ways, and receive the glory of God, because you may die before tomorrow and face God’s judgement.”

The preacher referred to 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 22 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 2, in the Bible, which says, “Now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.”

He then turned to Acts chapter 17, verse 31Acts chapter 17, verse 31, where the Bible warns, “[God] has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed [God the Son, Jesus Christ]. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him (Jesus) from the dead.”

Silas recalls: “When the preacher said that tomorrow was not our own, I immediately remembered how suddenly my father had died. I knew my life on earth was not guaranteed.

“Before the preacher had finished, I stood up and said, ‘I believe Jesus is the Master of all creation.’ Immediately people started clapping. I was the only one standing and I was then fifteen years old.”

That day Silas trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, but it will be some time before he devoted himself to God’s work.

“Although I knew how great God is, I did not obey God’s command to be baptised as a public display of my faith until many years later after I had seen God mercifully protect me from death.

During his service in the Zambian army, Silas narrowly escaped death twice.

He recalls: “In 2001, as I walked near the Angolan border, Angolan solders fired in my direction, but missed me. Later, in Mpulungu, a fellow soldier accidentally fired three rounds of his machine gun towards me. One left a hole in my trousers and two more made holes in my shoes, but I was unhurt.

“Convinced that Jesus was truly Master of everything, in 2005, I devoted myself to His work and the following year I was publicly baptised in water.”

Knowing Jesus has changed Silas completely, including how he treats his wife and children.

“The more I learn about God’s great mercy towards me, the more I understand the mistakes they make. Also, some of my work colleagues challenge me because I am a Christian, but I give them credit and respect and they treat me in kind.

“In circumstances beyond my control, God protects me and often leads me to protect others. On one occasion, God enabled me to rescue a fellow worker from an unjust prison sentence.

“God has graciously given my wife and I children and brought us back to health when we get sick.”

Silas, now 36, resides in Kabwe, Zambia. “I pray that God would continue to protect me and continue His work in me to bring many more people to Christ — that everyone I know may be saved.”

Knowing Jesus has changed Silas completely, including how he treats his wife and children.