A New Life For Atou

Atou was the first orphan taken in personally by Pst. Joseph. Atou’s mother and grandmother were members of our Guiri church. His mother died, and Joseph kept him until Atou’s father remarried and the stepmother took him home. About that time Joseph moved far away to evangelize and plant churches in the Yacouba region. He lost track of Atou because of the war. When Joseph made this recent trip to Guiri, a little boy, now 11 years old, came running up to him yelling, “Papa…Papa!” Atou had not seen Joseph since he was 4 years old. During this time his stepmother had died, and Atou had again been abandoned by his father. With no one to care for him, his time had been spent running from rebels, begging for food, and basically just living in the remote villages and jungle for the past four years. He stood smiling at Joseph, with ragged clothes, dirty, and hungry. He had never forgotten Joseph or his love and kindness. Joseph said, “Atou?” He could not leave him standing there, so he put him on his motorcycle and took him to his home in Abidjan. He is now learning Scripture and experiencing the loving care of Joseph and his family. It’s a whole new life for Atou.