Despite persecution, Kabala from Cameroon is excited to celebrate his first Easter

Kabala is amongst many new Christians worldwide who will experience Easter for the first time this weekend. It will be a time of celebration and exploration, but also risk. Please pray for all believers worldwide who will mark Easter in the shadow of persecution. 

Kabala is from Cameroon, which is number 43 on the latest World Watch List

“I couldn’t stop thinking of who Jesus is,” says Kabala* from Far North Cameroon. For about a year, this curiosity grew, until earlier this month he became a Christian – and this weekend he’ll celebrate his first Easter!

The decision to follow Jesus is a hugely brave step to make, and one the 27-year-old long battled with given his Islamic upbringing which involved teaching the Quran to young Muslims in Cameroon and Nigeria. “I asked myself: If the Quran tells me Mohammed is dead, and Jesus lives and He has the keys to Paradise, why then do I believe in Mohammed and not Jesus?”

The question led him to a local church. “I met with an elder and told him my desire to become a Christian,” he shares. “He prayed with me every time we met, and he said he would discuss my case with other church leaders. On that day, he took me to church to meet the pastor and elders and they admitted me as a Christian of the church.”

• What's it like to be a Christian in Cameroon?

Undeterred by lavish gifts

Kabala was overjoyed at his newfound faith, but it wasn’t shared by his father. “Since the beginning of Ramadan, I have not gone to the mosque and my father noticed,” he explains. “He confronted me that day and asked why I stopped going for prayers. I told him I had become a Christian. He angrily left the house and said nothing.”

“That same evening, my father informed my father-in-law of my decision, and I surprisingly received seven Muslim youths in my house who offered me a bundle of money,” he continues. “They promised to buy me a motorbike and give me a business place where I could sell grilled meat if I stop the ‘foolishness’ I had started in the name of Christianity. I refused and they left my house grumbling and assuring me of trouble I will face in the future for my decision.”

• How can I pray for our persecuted family over Easter?

“I don’t know much about Easter”

Kabala is excited for Easter, expecting it to be a time of both celebration and exploration. “I don’t know much about Easter, but the pastor explained to me that it is that period when Christians understand who Jesus is and how He died and resurrected so that we can all go to paradise,” he says.

Kabala is married and has a one-year-old son. He lives with his parents, while his wife lives with her parents in a safer area in the community. His wife is also from a Muslim family, but Kabala said she is willing to support him in his Christian faith. He feels the pressure of persecution and is making plans to move with his wife and son to another region after Easter.

“My prayer for Easter is that Jesus will strengthen my faith in Him, and I will know Him more and more,” he says.