The modest city of Hounde in Burkina Faso is home to one of eight radio stations operated by Radio Évangile Développement (RED). RED exists to reach the Burkinabè with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph Kaboré, chief director of the station in Hounde, has been serving there since 2003.
One day, while Joseph was at the station, a man named Will walked in to ask if Joseph could put a message on the air about his missing identification card and papers. Will had somehow managed to lose them while he was at a hospital in a village 200 miles away. He was getting treatment for open sores, a malady he had suffered with for eight years. Will had at one time been a rich man but had become poor in his quest to find a cure. His infirmity made his life very difficult. He couldn’t ride a bike or sit for very long periods of time without incredible pain.
Joseph told him, “The fact that you have lost your ID and papers is not random, it was for you to come here.” Understanding how deeply this suffering had impacted his life, Joseph continued, “It is to find the solution, and the solution is Jesus!” The man recognized his spiritual need was greater than his physical need and trusted Jesus for his salvation.
As Joseph reflected on this story, he said, “Will came to the station to find his ID by giving a message on the radio, but instead found Jesus.” As far as we know, Will did not find his identification papers or healing from his sores. But what Will did find that day was a new identity, an identity that can never be lost and one that will someday bring complete and final healing.
Written by Ruth Weber