Tewodros Lema

"I was born and raised in an Ethiopian Orthodox family and was brought up by my grandparents until I was 12 years old. My father was killed when I was only six months old, and before I turned one, my mother left Ethiopia in search of a better life for our family. I grew up surrounded by both deep love and deep loss. In 1996, at the age of 12, I moved to Toronto to be reunited with my mother and siblings for the first time. Although I attended a Pentecostal church with my mother for more than five years, I refused to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I believed that doing so would be a betrayal of my grandparents and the faith in which they had raised me. Having already lost so many people in my life, I was not willing to lose anyone else because of my mother’s faith. However, after years of attending Bible studies with the church youth group, the Lord began to soften my heart.

One day, while reading Exodus 20:4, something changed within me. I came to understand that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. In that moment, my heart was transformed. The Lord has given me tenfold what I once feared losing by following Him. Today, my wife Dvora and I serve as missionaries in the Toronto branch. We have been married for over 13 years and are blessed with four children: Mielli, Tuvel, Elroee, and Orelle. Jesus became the Father I had been crying out for all my life. In Him, I am made new, and in Him, I am truly blessed."