My name is Joseph and my brother is called Samuel. We hail from the beautiful country of Kenya. I am a land valuer by profession while my brother serves as a court clerk. We thank God for the privilege of being husbands and fathers in our families.

I grew up in an Adventist Christian family and raised up on a strong Christian background. I thank God for my parents who taught us the beauty of the Christian life. They raised us up while serving God in the colporteur ministry. We were born three in our family but God gave my parents another burden of raising up five more children of our late auntie. Together we grew, knowing the truth of God’s Word and organized ourselves into a family choir to praise our God. I fondly remember the days we went for camp meetings, pitched our tents, and learnt many wonderful things during our childhood. We had the privilege of going to school in an Adventist school but resources were limited.

Being the last born, I had to be taken to a government-sponsored public school to allow my older siblings to finish their primary and secondary education in the Adventist school. I thank God for the exposure I had in the Adventist institution because this strengthened my faith in the secular school. It was difficult and almost next to impossible to uphold my Adventist faith, especially in my high school days.

When it came time for college, God helped me join the University of Nairobi. It is here that I found a vibrant Adventist church largely composed of students and a few associates who would periodically visit the young congregation. The many activities we got ourselves involved in included the annual missions which empowered our church to make great efforts to spread the Word across our country. I came to know many places and people through missionary work. This motivated me to engage in literature evangelism work while a student. I am grateful to God for my parents and for all their encouragement and support to serve in His vineyard.

Even with all the exposure I got in my Christian life, I still had an unsatisfying life. I was envious of the progress that my colleagues outside church had made. I strived to live like they did, walk in their company, and compete with them in several facets of life, especially after campus life. Though I was not as successful as they, God in His mercy allowed me to get a company of good friends to encourage each other heavenward. However, I moved to a place away from my Christian friends, justifying that I wanted to get closer to my place of work. Still the Lord pursued me and I was once again drawn to serve Him in my local church as a young church elder. I took the duty cheerfully but was not truly converted at heart.

At this time, I decided to enter a marriage union. I must say, though God helped us get into this union successfully, we still had a lot to learn, unlearn, and relearn. We started a peer reading program with some friends and successfully read many books on the subject of marriage and relationships. What we didn’t know is that an intellectual knowledge would not make our homes a little heaven on earth. We needed Jesus to settle the beautiful truths and counsels into our hearts and minds.

It was not long after our marriage that the devil was on us to attack, separate, and even destroy our newly found love. Around this time, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and because of the government restrictions of movement, we found ourselves together with my family members in our rural home. We would often follow the 100 days of prayer program by the world church and together pray as a family. With the troubles in our marriage and the pandemic, my heart turned wholly to God for help. We had quite a lot of time to study, pray, and watch sermons. Thank God for technology that exposed us to special and soul-stirring messages by Spirit-filled servants of God. The Revelation of Hope Ministries’ sermons were one of those sermons I listened to the most times. The Lord touched me in a special way and opened my eyes to know the true condition of my heart as well as my need for Him.

I first heard of Taj Pacleb through a Christian friend who shared with me the morning devotion he was privileged to share during the GC session in San Antonio, Texas, in 2015. The sermon he preached (“Preach the Word in all the World”) was captivating and a blessing but the ones that I listened to around the time of the pandemic were as though God was talking to me as if present in those meetings. From the Revelation of Hope Seminar series to the Potter’s work, Great in the Sight of the Lord, Caught in the Net, Who in the World Would Want Us? The Perils of Emptiness, Champion of Love, Stay on the Wall, the Reflections of Hope episodes—what a blessing these messages have been to many who desire the kingdom of God!

I introduced my brother to a number of blessed men of God preaching the gospel in the online platform but he, too, was attracted to the simplicity and clarity of the gospel as presented by Pastor Taj. He often stayed awake late into the night following the 35-part Revelation of Prophecy seminar series taking notes in a new 4-quire notebook and watching unto prayer. God was working in our hearts and a renewed life. A resolute determination to live after the ordinances of God sprang up in our hearts. In November last year, my brother’s family was blessed with a second born son who they named after Pastor Taj.

We pray that God will use the ROHM to prepare many for the Lord’s coming and advance the course of His kingdom. “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21, KJV).

A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS