Written by: Ashley Wagner
Hope 4 Liberia continues to grow and expand in amazing ways. Many of which that can only be explained as, “It was God.” One of the ways that we have been blessed has been the core team of people in Liberia that are holding everything together for us on the ground. As the ministry grows and as we move closer to the exciting day when we are finally able to move all the children in, we naturally have need of more people to fill the many job descriptions required for running an orphanage. The process is a tedious one but exciting, none-the-less, as we see God’s hand in bringing us just the right servants for our ministry.
Today, I have the privilege of introducing you to one of Hope 4 Liberia’s newest team member… Mr. Bayama Wymon. The man of many hats is our compound Bible teacher, social media content creator and groundskeeper. Since many of you will not have the pleasure of meeting him face to face, I thought I’d take this time to help you catch just a little glimpse into his heart and life.
From my short time of knowing Bayama, I would describe him as having a gentle soul, an evident heart for the Lord, and his love for children is strong. His voice is calm, and he has a laugh that comes easily; it’s no wonder that the rumor on the street is that he and children get along quite splendidly.
He’s a man that, by his words, values hard work, which will especially come in handy as his job description includes not just one title, as you can see, but three. Bayama thrives on relationships with people and values honesty, discipline, and self-control…all character qualities he is striving to cultivate in himself.
Bayama was born and raised for a majority of his childhood in rural Lofa County, which is situated in the northern region of the country. It’s one of the largest counties in Liberia, rich in natural beauty and much cultural diversity due to being home to 6 of the 16 major Liberian tribes. The beginning of Bayama’s life was surrounded by the catastrophic events of the civil war and the rebels that caused much unrest in his area as the fighting increased. Due to this, he spent the first five years or so of his life with his mother in a refugee camp, seeking protection from the crisis that raged around them. When it was safe enough, he was sent back home where he lived with his mother’s younger sister and her family. He describes his Auntie as being the most influential person in his life. The woman who raised him as her own, he affectionately referred to as his “superwoman” in one our conversations together. He was given love and care but unfortunately, not a foundation in the Lord.
Bayama described his upbringing as being Christian but, as he stated, most of Liberians would claim to be Christians but really live no differently than the world. This eventually led him on a pursuit to find a religion that fit him but without any outside guidance, as even his mother herself was not a Christian. His journey was a winding one, full of searching as he navigated the darkness, trying to find the light. As he shared his account with me, the road he traveled went from limited understanding to searching and then to finally finding joy in having a very personal and intimate relationship with Christ. The goodness of God and faithfulness of the Holy Spirit was more than evident in his life. As he searched to fill a void, the path took him from investigating the Jehovah’s Witness until began to question their teachings. He then was drawn toward the liturgical Catholic church while also attending a catholic school. This seemed to satisfy him momentarily but there was still a part of him that felt something was missing. The search continued on, from worshipping at a Seventh-Day Adventist church to exploring the Islamic religion from his circle of high school friends; many of which were Muslim. All of this and yet…nothing leaving him yearning for something real.
Until, in his words, his uncle, in 2014, “led me to discover the beauty of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the freedom that comes from having true faith in Him. I realized that salvation is a gift, freely given to all who believe in Him and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. I was convicted by these propositions that I felt were the absolute truths I had always longed for.” This discovery started him on a journey of desiring to reach his country with the gospel, and not just through the typical means of standing before a congregation but of using mainstream media, like the radio, to spread God’s word to people that wouldn’t be able to be reached otherwise. If you would ask this intriguing man what he is passionate about, it would be teaching about Christ by means of radio which is at top of his list. He also said quite enthusiastically, that he is passionate about a lot of things. This includes his love of children and working with them. Every morning, he wakes up feeling fervent about SOMETHING which indicates the kind of heart that will put his all into whatever he does. Just another reason why I believe he will be perfect for his role as Bible teacher to the children entrusted to him, among his other jobs, and be a godly role model on the Hope 4 Liberia compound.
Besides working on the campus of the African Bible College University as a “Jack of all trades”, which is also the place he acquired his double major in Mass Communications and Biblical studies, he enjoys reading in his down time. With this new job at the orphanage, I’m not sure how much leisure time the children will allow him but hopefully he will still get to enjoy some quiet moments with his favorite books. 😊
I hope that you all will take the time to pray for Bayama as he begins this new position. Pray for strength, physically and spiritually. Let’s pray for patience and for wisdom, as he leads the children into knowledge of the Lord and hopefully into a personal relationship with Him.