Introduction, part 3

I want to give you an eyewitness report from one of my pastors, Jackson Weah, who shared this story while preaching in 1997.

There was a missionary couple sponsoring a Liberian man to the Baptist Theological Seminary.   The family loved him and felt that he would be an example to reach his own Mano tribe.  When he graduated from the Baptist Seminary they gave him an assignment with one of the local churches in Unification town as an Assistant Pastor responsible for outreach.  He had the habit of coming home late and troubling the family to open the door for him to have his food even though he was living in the boys’ quarter.  On this fateful day, the husband went to Monrovia to bring his son back for vacation and left the wife and a ten-year-old girl in the home.  The Liberian man came home that night very drunk, under the influence of narcotic drugs and demanding that the door be opened for him to come and sleep in the house.

The little girl opened the door; he entered and violently jumped on the girl attempting to sexually abuse her.   The mother tried to alert the police, but he took the axe and killed the mother.  A few minutes later he killed the little girl.  The husband had already reached Monrovia when he was alerted and drove back home.

When the so-called pastor killed the wife and the daughter in cold blood the entire community was in deep fear and the news spread like wild fire.  Since this couple was attached to the African Bible College the students were made to go on the scene and learn a lesson.  It was so pathetic and unbelievable.   I entered the room at the time the body had been removed but the blood was still on the floor.  Here is the wonderful part of the story:  The husband returned from Monrovia with the son and the entire community was wailing and crying, falling on the feet of the man. All he said was that his wife and daughter died a martyr death.  He said they gave their lives in the cause of the gospel.  The man went into the house, took a towel, soap and bucket and started cleaning the blood of his family while his oldest son of about fourteen years looked on.   He later went to the morgue to see the bodies of his family.  But above all he went to the prison to see the killer.  He told him, “The Lord has forgiven you and so do I.  I know what you did was the work of the enemy, but I am certain good will come out of this death.”   Well from that day the man prepared a meal everyday and took it to the killer in the prison.  Many did not understand this concept and felt that he connived with the man to kill his wife and daughter.  But one thing was certain, this man displayed the true character of Christ and his testimony drew lots of people to the Lord and even strengthened my own faith.   We were told that the killer died later on in prison.

I had also heard this story before the 1990 war and I always had to question in my mind how the husband could forgive this man.

To be continued…