Ayo on the Value of Survival Faith

Ayo’s immediate family is originally from Nigeria. He went to the United States in 2003 to obtain his masters in civil engineering at the University of South Carolina. His wife, whom he met while they were in college in Nigeria, went to the United Kingdom to study her masters studies as well. When she finished grad school, they got married and went back to the United States. They believe that meeting Pastor Kevin was divine providence.

Ayo was no stranger to Sunday schools as his entire family went to church on Sundays and he was brought up in a Christian family. But his personal relationship with Jesus Christ did not start until the final year of high school when he got invited to a revival, and he began to understand and accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Going to the United States in 2003 helped him grow his relationship with Christ. He joined a fellowship on campus where he formed relationships and made friends. This helped build a good foundation for his faith.

He believed that God has chosen to plant him and his wife in the United States so they can reach out to other foreign-born internationals. They are more responsive to Ayo because they share similar experiences. He has experience with the word “foreigner” that a lot of Americans do not have. The bible makes it clear to welcome the foreigner. And you can’t appreciate that if you’ve never made yourself a foreigner. God took Ayo from his homeland - Nigeria - and made him a foreigner for the gospel. So that he can be sensitive to other foreigners. And he is bearing witness to God’s sovereign work of fulfilling the great commission to reach other foreign-born internationals and bring them closer to Christ.

Ayo’s passion has been to reach people far from God, especially foreign-born internationals. He believed that God brought them to the US to go full-throttle on their faith and take advantage of the good opportunities they have. Whereas if they were in another country, they were praying for basic things - food, shelter, security. But when they already have those here in the United States, that’s the time to go for something bigger and exercise their faith. Looking outwards instead of inward has allowed him to see the hands of God move in a greater way. This enabled him to feel fervency for the Lord.

Ayo and Pastor Kevin talked about how blessed they are to be part of a church that reflects Revelation 7. Where we read that in front of the throne there was the vision of a crowd of people that no one could count. It was endless. And there was representation from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, all worshipping Jesus. That’s what Heaven is going to be. Anyone and everyone.

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Global Hope India: For over 20 years we have been watching God radically transform thousands of Americans & Indian Nationals through missions. We’ve taken nearly 1,000 Americans on short-term mission trips to India. We work with 12 long-term indigenous church planting partners located in North, South, East, & West mainland India as well as Northeast India. We empower the Church in India to make Christ known through leadership, child, & village development projects. Global Hope India is a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Morrisville, North Carolina. All gifts are tax-deductible. More about GHI.

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Meet Pastor Kevin: Pastor Kevin is Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India and your host for Living the Dream Podcast. He’s a poor kid from rural North Carolina, but get this… He just returned from his 50th trip to India in 20 years. If he doesn’t yet hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the most trips to India then he’s got to be close. He’s flown over a million miles to 27 different countries. He’s taken nearly 1,000 people on mission trips to India. Global Hope India has seen thousands of Indian Nationals and Americans radically transformed by God through missions. The miracle continues! More about Pastor Kevin.

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