In this episode of The Evangelism Podcast, Daniel King interviews Evangelist Oury Saw from Guinea. They discuss a recent gospel campaign in Guinea where many miracles took place, including the healing of a blind eye and a deaf ear. Oury Saw shares his testimony of how he came to believe in Jesus Christ, despite being from a Muslim background. He talks about his experiences of persecution and rejection from both his family and the Christian community. Oury Saw also discusses his passion for reaching Muslims with the love of Jesus and shares some strategies for effective evangelism. He emphasizes the importance of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance when reaching out to Muslims. He also shares stories of village campaigns where Bibles were distributed and miracles occurred, leading to the acceptance of the Bibles. The episode concludes with a prayer for Guinea and a hope for the nation to be saved.
Transcript:
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:00):
Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast. I’m Daniel King and I’m excited about telling people about Jesus. Today I have a very special guest with me, Mr. Oury Saw, from the Nation of Guinea. Thank you for joining me on the Evangelism Podcast. Thank you, sir.
Oury Saw (00:14):
Yes, it’s a pleasure.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:16):
Well, we are here in Guinea, in Guéckédou, and we have had a wonderful gospel campaign this week, right in the soccer stadium in the middle of the city, and last night thousands of people came. We had so many wonderful miracles. There was a woman who had a blind eye who was healed, a deaf ear that was healed. So many other miracle testimonies. So God is really working here in Guinea and you have been helping to organize this event. So tell me a little bit about this city and the process of organizing.
Oury Saw (00:58):
Well, here is, this is the city is called, well, first of all, I thank you for the interview and everything. Yeah, thank you. The city calls Guéckédou and this is like the Kissi and the Mandingo. There’s so many in this place, those two tribes. So they are mostly unreached people and the Lord put into my heart to come and to have a campaign in this city because now we find out like some churches are here, pastors, the church aliens. So we collaborate together to work to make this thing possible with their own collaboration. Even though I am a leader of this campaign and preparing this with them, and I appreciate what the Lord is doing here and now we see the result of coming together with all the leaders, with all the pastor, with all the churches and what the Lord is doing in front of us with in front of our eyes. So we see it with our own eyes. So praise God for that.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (02:13):
Praise God. Well, you are a Muslim background believer and you have a tremendous testimony of how Jesus rescued you. Can you please tell some of your testimony in how you came to believe in Jesus Christ?
Oury Saw (02:31):
Well, this is something that I could not even imagine in my life. One day a Fulani can become a Christian. I have never imagined this, but
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (02:44):
It became, tell me the tribe that you’re from.
Oury Saw (02:46):
I’m from the Fulani background
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (02:49):
And most of them are Muslim. Is that
Oury Saw (02:51):
Yes, my father, mother and all my family, we are Fulani. So in fact we the Fulani, the adult who brought Islam into the whole West Africa. So in Guinea, the majority, we are majorities and our parents fathers bring Islam in this country. So one day I was in Liberia, but it became a time I was thirsty about God. Really I was looking because I has been trained to be a mom because I study, I memorize the Koran and all this because we as a Fulani age, as seven, 10 years, you have to memorize the Koran mostly in the Fulani tribe because we believe that we are so proud like that. So the ordination or the tribe will be boast upon them to say that we know the current modern you and all this. So you see, I went to Liberia once and something that come into my heart.
(03:52):
I was really thirsty for God and I was saying to myself, God is greater than the religion. But to be honest, I was not satisfied with religion. Something I can do more you more you do more. You think you never do something more you want to do and all. I was tired with that because it is less the religion. What I do is not what God do. So I was very tired of this and I tell the “Lord,” I said, “please, I want to know you. I know you are greater than religion and I want to encounter with you, so maybe you can give me peace because I don’t have peace with no religion and all this.” So every time, that’s my five prayer, I always do it every day. And I was really looking for God. I was thirsty for God. Really. I was not even satisfied.
(04:42):
I tell you, I was not satisfied with this religion. So one day I come, I was passing by a place and I made this people, Christian was standing there and I asked them, I just passing my greet, the people as newsworthy, greeting people normal. And I said, oh, what you doing here? I said, no, we come to pray. Are you a Christian? Yes. Oh, okay. So we just come to pray here. What you are invited if you want to. Then I said, okay, but don’t ask me why did I say, okay, I don’t know why this. I say, okay. And I just say, okay. Then I jump in it. So they started worshiping beating drums, which is not the case in the mos. It was so strange for me and what all they were doing. I was looking at them, oh, this is the way to worship.
(05:31):
This is the way to worship and all this. It’s like I was judging them in everything they do. But after the service, the missionary, the pastor told me, the missionary asked me, how did you feel? How did you, I said, oh, it’s okay. In reality, no, really. I was not happy with that. I was not. But he then told me next week I’ll be here. I said, okay, next week I will come because I always keep my promise when I say this. I will do that. My father teach me. So everything you say, do it. So I said, okay. Next week I will come. You promise? Yes, I will come. I will come. Surely I will come and I continue to come. The next week I was sitting there. Then they started beating all this on the same thing. But my attention started going a little with when he speak about Jesus, that’s why it’s good. It’s good to preach Jesus. It’s good to talk about Jesus. It’s good to really. Then he was talking about Jesus. I started listening because we have Issa in Koha. So I was listening to what he’s saying, the love of God through Jesus and all this and all that. Then I started interesting because I hear love forgiveness and all this and all that.
(06:41):
But the missionary thing, because I came from Guinea and I study French because he’s a French speaking country. So he brought me one carton of Bibles. He said, this is for you. Then I opened. I find 12 Bibles inside. He said, okay, thank you very much, but not knowing I have never studied French and I only studied Arabic. That’s what I studied and I, I opened the book. I could not read because I don’t know nothing about this. When I went home, there’s something that happened and the voice, I just hear the voice, did you want to read? Then I look up, I look down and I come and open my window. I go out. I look and I never see nobody, and I went in the room. Then he said, did you really want to read? I said, I look under the bed and everywhere.
(07:36):
I just say, but the voice is clear. Then I said, but when the voice is talking, then I always have peace. It’s give me peace. Every time he speak, he give me more peace. Then I said, yes, I want to read. He said, okay, follow me, repeat after me. Then I opened the Bible in John one one. That’s the first passage I read in the Bible. In the beginning was the word and the word was God, and the word was God in French. So we read the first chapter. When you read, I repeat the chapter. When we finish, we finished the first chapter. Then he said, you can go. You continue to the second chapter, you alone. Then I was like, my spirit was fixing in French. All the French was given to me. The writing was there. I cannot explain it, but you see something miraculous when God want to do things, he did it.
(08:23):
So I started reading the Bible. Then I started reading the Bible. I started reading the Bible, chapter two. Then I finished the whole Testament. When I read, I understand when I read, I understand when I read, I understand. So I finished the whole New Testament. So I continue to read it seven times in the two days. I finished that seven times. In the two days I could not reading the book of John, leaving the book of no, the whole New Testament seven. In two days I read seven times. I could not even sleep because something grabbed me. I have the grace to open my eyes 24. By 24, I don’t even want to sleep because I find out something that is above my own knowledge that I have never knew in my life. So I was there eating the Bible, eating the word of God.
(09:10):
So when the persecution started that the full brothers became a Christian, this was the problem for me. So the Holy Spirit speak to the missionary into the mission, telling them one morning they were praying, go and pick Oury. Bring him here. So they went and find me. Then pick me, me into the mission, and they give me a room whereby I can stay. Then I have to say, finally I am escaped from my environment, whereby people are starting. But I stay there. There’s one brother that called Matthew Canton, and that was my room mate, and he was on that side. I was on the side. Then one day I asked him, I said, Matthew, will you tell me who is Jesus? Really? Who is Jesus? Then look at my eyes. He see that I was sincere, really. I really wanted to know who is Jesus.
(10:05):
Then he said to me, “He is the God Almighty.” I said, “What?” Yes. Then I turned my face to the wall like Ezekiel did. So afterwards I said this prayer, Jesus, if you are God the creator of the universe, I want to see you full stop. So that night I saw a vision. I saw nobody told me this a real vision. Then I saw heaven open, and when I see this heaven open, then I saw a man was coming out. When he was coming out, I saw people in his back and he was wearing this red robe red one, and these people was waiting the white garment behind it. So he come and he come until he reached down, he was walking in the cloud, coming down. So he come in front of me, side in front of me, like five meter. He just stood up.
(10:57):
Then he look at me. He just gave me a little smile then, and he went with the cloud. I saw him. The heaven was closed. But one thing that I understand, he never speak to me because I have never asked him to speak to me. I said, I want to see you. He respect that He honor my word. Wow, what a God. So really, I wake up at night and I say, Matthew, I have see Jesus today. He come to visit me. I saw you with my own face. So something happened again, and the Holy Spirit had to teach me about God is all knowing God and the Holy Spirit take me first into my body. He take me to cca, and he saw me the whole process, deal that they’re doing there. And he told me, I’m not here. He take me to the Buddhist temple. He said, I’m not here. He take me to the voodoo place. I said, I’m not here. He just make me travel. Yes, in the spirit, he’s told me I am not here. And he bring me back into my body again. And I wake up and I say to Matthew, Matthew, wake up. I have travel all night. You are sleeping there. You see something like that. And it was really something that I, but one of the thing that has broke me, put me down is when the Lord share with me his omniscience
(12:22):
Brother, the Lord has with my brain, little brain that you see, he share with me his omniscience, knowing everything at the same time, not one after the other. He knows the situation. He know what you think. He knows. He share with me what people think, what people say and everything together. Not one after the other. He knows everything. At the same time. He shared with me, wow, that day. And I stood up and I just wake up and I said, I just stand into my room. I was not sleeping. It was real. And I take my two hands. I put on my head and I shout. I said, Lord, stop. Then all of a sudden he stop. Then I come to myself. I realize I touch my body and I notice that I’m here. Really, I am here, and I understand this thing, this God that we are serving. He knows everything. He shared with me for just maybe 60 seconds, 55. Second. I was afraid. I just say, stop. And he stop. That was the final to tell me that I am the God that knows everything you see. And since that time, I will argue no more. Everything was clear for me,
(13:45):
And I have to stand again, study, pray, and get baptized. And I said, I want to go to my country. This is how God bring me here. So praise God. And now the Lord is doing his work to his body. That’s my body. So really, I’m so grateful of what he’s doing right now.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (14:08):
So tell us about the work that you’re doing. You have a real heart to lead Muslims to Jesus, to introduce them to this same experience that you’ve had, and what does that look like?
Oury Saw (14:23):
It’s sometimes when my only goal with them, when I, because I know how to approach them. God give me the grace, approach them to talk with them, the Imams and all this, but I don’t, I see something that touches my heart is like they’re tested individually. Really. They have a problem. They know it. Today, God is bringing the Muslim. Yes, we have some imams. We have some people that get saved. There’s some rabba and all this thing. They’re coming. And the challenge that I have today is like I am, to be honest with you, when Samuel preach the good news to David and he tell him, you will be a king and you will be all this that good news for David. But afterwards, persecutions come. When this persecution come and he run. He went to the one that tell him about the good news that Samuel Samuel have to let him in for the wild.
(15:31):
And I know if you preach, I know there’s so many Muslims right now that I’m hosting to my place because they’re there and they have been cast out. And right now I’m praying for God to give us, to be honest, a place, a hosting place whereby they can stay. And it’s possible even having some learning to do some work like mechanic, like Cary and all this so that they may continue their life later and something like that. But it’s sometimes very hard. And one night I remember three person come together and knock at my door ba. I said, what happened? When I opened my door? I see with the mattress some people which have cast us out and something like that. I was like, wow, come on. You can come in.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (16:19):
So you were very welcoming to them. Yes, yes. And it’s because when you first became a believer, you didn’t feel like you were welcomed anywhere.
Oury Saw (16:29):
Yeah, yeah. They have. Yeah. I know when I come back to Guinea, the churches, I went to the churches, they only, I was having the zeal to evangelize. I go out and preach to gospel and people was getting saved. But for me, they have never welcomed me. My parents kicked me out and the Christian never let me in, and I was just in between. It was very, very catastrophic for me. I sleep outside sometime, brother. I was sleeping on the table just in the bench. My cover clothes is mosquitoes when I wake up in the night and just find out sometimes I spend three days without eating. And I was there. It was so complicated. It was so complicated for my life. But yeah, I was like, people were so busy about auditing and no one was looking. Really, when I think about that, I don’t want those week get converted now for them to pass through that procedure. No, I don’t want it.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (17:24):
Tell me the testimony of evangelist Billy Bimba. He was here this week. We were actually using his platform, his sound system. And when you were a young believer, you heard him preach.
Oury Saw (17:37):
Yes. When I was a young believer, when I come newly freshly to Liberia, to Guinea, and anyway, Liberia is my spirit hometown anyway, because I get saved in Liberia. Anyway, so I met with him during the war, Liberian war, and we meet with him at, and I was desperate, sitting without no help and nothing, spend three days without eating nothing. And one of the funny thing, I evangelize Fuller brother like me, he gets safe and afterwards the parents kick him out. So he come to his Samuel. So he come to me and he tell me, they kick me out. I said, oh, I have no place to stay, but we can stay here. We sleep on the bench here. Something like that. So it’s during that period that I met with Brother Bimba. He just encouraged us and he gave us word of encouragement. He pray for us. He tell me always to look upon the one that called me and something like that. And that build me up that I will because I was having someone that we take his hand and put on my soldiers, something like that. And yes, and it has been a very big encourage for me.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (18:50):
And so then you lost contact with him for many years, for more than years. And now God has brought you back together after 20 years. And it was so beautiful to see both of you rejoicing
Oury Saw (19:02):
And
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (19:02):
Encouraging one another. It’s so wonderful to see how God directs our steps through the
Oury Saw (19:08):
Years. And I was praying for that. And when I was praying, I said, God, I want to see that man keep my alive. I don’t want him to go to heaven without saying no once. And I pray that for God now I’m so happy to, because God has exhausted my prayer. I just want to tell people it’s not when you pray sometimes that you want to see result, but every good prayer, every good prayer that you pray, God will answer that. I tell you, I don’t care the time that we take, but it’ll come to realize. So I
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (19:36):
Take that I love Muslims and I know that God loves Muslims very much. And even in my hometown in the United States, we have many Muslims. Just in the last couple of years, over 800 families from Afghanistan have come. And so at Christmas time, we invited many of the Muslims over to our house and we celebrated Christmas together. But if someone wants to reach Muslims for Jesus, what’s the secret? How can they do it?
Oury Saw (20:08):
Well, I think this is just a direction from the Holy Spirit and you just need to be a man of prayer that listen to the Holy Spirit. Because sometimes when you, you’re coming to them. For instance, for me, I usually wear my Muslim tradition cloth. So they may understand sometimes with the Muslims, you should be very, very pure exterior, exterior, something like that. And you have to be very, very someone that is so quite not much poop, boom. When there are people that listen in their heart. They know how to observe. They always observe your way of living the way observed it. And the way, for instance, for me in my hometown, I don’t eat pork. I don’t go at night. No, I stay at home because I have some neighbors that always watch what we do and observing. When you become a Christian, how you behave because we are here to reflect Jesus anyway.
(21:22):
Yeah, because they really don’t know what is Christianity, but God want them to know them through us. It’s love, brother. When you go to them, pray with them, just ask them always. Maybe you can pray for me, but did you have any situation that you think that we can handle it to God? Yes. This is the first thing that you always, I ask people. Some people told me I’m sick or I have this problem and have this situation, and I know God will always intervene. I know it is his will, so I just check their own situation. They are problem. That’s what I focus on. I don’t focus for them for salvation first, but what is? Because I know when those problems are settled, then they will listen for salvation. But as long they have this thing on their mind and tell you we talk until tomorrow, they’ll always focus on this, their own mind.
(22:24):
So I take my time to pray for them. And when they ask me, when they say right now, when I was coming to my eyes, saw two brothers get safe because they were having some situation, dramatic problem complication. So I lay hands, I pray for them. After two days, problem was resettles and then told me, your God has settled my problem. I said, this is the physical. The biggest one is inside. He can settle that one too. Your relationship with God. You see, it’s just the wisdom with the direction of the Holy Spirit. I think the direction in everything we do, we have to be humble in front of God and ask him, what can I do? Even though you will know what to do, but always ask the Holy Spirit. He will give you more wisdom. He will give you more love for the people.
(23:15):
Some people need deeper love. Yes, to the extent that love is there to support all the make, yeah. You will always support this because the love is there to not for you to feel what they do in repost and all this. I would just want to share this one brother. One day I was doing a campaign. Somebody take a stone and he come and stone my head. Pow. He just come and beat me, and he just beat me. I could not respond even to say a word, never. He was a Muslim. He was not like what I say about Jesus and all this. He just come and stick a stick, started beating me and started putting everything on my. Then the blood started coming out on my face. Then when he finished everything he said down there, then people was gathering. Then my team, I tell my one, so my team, the strongest one in the spirit. I said, come, thank come. Let’s say, let’s go for that now. And we went. We meet the man. Then I said, brother, you know my friend, and why did I have never take a stone or a stick to return to you? What he have did to me. You know why he said no. I said, well, you see, I’m serving the love in God.
(24:42):
Teach me in his life, he has beaten. He never respond because of if I do the same that you did to me, you will feel the same pain that I feel. But for me, I want to receive and endure that pain for you not to have it. You see? Then he wake, he look at me. He said, what? I said, yes, what you did to me, I will handle it. I will take it. I’m suffering. Yes, but if I did it to you, you’ll suffer us. I suffer. But for me, I don’t want you to suffer. Then the guy started crying and he started crying and he hold my feet. He said, forgive me and all this, and he started telling me, who is that person teach you all this? I says, Jesus Christ, and he give his life to Jesus. That’s why I said the Holy Spirit have a way of direction to reach people. Not only one way, but he knows.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (25:52):
Tell me about the village campaigns that you do.
Oury Saw (25:57):
Yes. We do a lot of village campaign with God mission like submissions with some people that help. We go to the, sometimes we have to work three, four hours, go and four hours come into the mountains and going and claiming doing campaign, and people respond. So many people respond, and we even share Bibles, hundreds of them Bibles and
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (26:22):
People accept the Bibles,
Oury Saw (26:26):
Which they’re very, very enthusiasm. Oh, yes, they are happy to have, they’re fighting to have it. Yes, they are. So I tell you, it was some places we go to, we say, please help me to have one. Please, please, and one day I have to heal two brothers that we are going. Two fuller brother, they put their Bible onto there. Then the war one said, he said, it’s not easy to have this one. We praise God to have them. I have to go and keep it somewhere,
(26:55):
And I was very happy to hear that from this. Wow. That’s how God do things here. And I remember we went in the village, we share the Bibles and this muah came. Imams came and they said, and Greece said, give them back, give them back, give them back. They started shouting, and people bring back the Bibles. People can bring the Bibles and my friend son, they were holding her like this, and it was above him. He was there, what can I do? I say, hold them there. You have to hold them. Be strong. Then I said, Anderson, hold the spirit. Tell me what to do now. Please tell me what to do. Hold the spirit. Tell me what to do. I don’t want to do no funny thing here. Then the Holy Spirit say, okay, ask for someone that is, they know he’s not well, he’s sick.
(27:45):
Then I said, did you have any death here or blind or whatsoever here? They said, yes, we have. Madu is here. Madu is, he’s a deaf and dump. Yes, the same. Yeah. I said, okay, will you bring ou here? They said, okay. They bring mama. They said, if you Jesus can heal this mama Madu, then we’ll take your bibles said. I said, okay. Then I lay hands up on Mama Madu. I say, Jesus, now you say it and you know about it. Thank you for the miracle. Then I said to Mamadou, and I said to Mamadou, I have to go one step. If I make like this, you hate your hands. He said, you don’t need to go. I have heard in you. The people said, he said, I hear everything what you’re saying, no need for you to go. Then he started talking. Then his ear was open. Then they started jumping into the second that follow. They have picked everything. Wow. They take all the
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (28:42):
Bibles because of the miracle. They took the
Oury Saw (28:43):
Battle of They take the Bibles and they carry it. So you see, this is some of the challenge that we face, but we will never stop. We never stop. We still own it. Yeah. Yeah, brother.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (28:56):
Well, I believe that Jesus wants to save all of Guinea, and so let’s finish today by praying together for Guinea. Amen. And would you pray? Pray in French. Pray for God to pour out his spirit upon this nation. Pray for Guinea to be saved.
Oury Saw (29:14):
Hallelujah. Let’s pray. Amen.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (30:13):
Amen. Amen. Well, brother, or it’s such a wonderful privilege to meet you. It’s a great honor to be here in your country with you, and I hope that in the future we can see God do many great things as we work together. Amen. It’s exciting to see, so thank you.
Oury Saw (30:33):
Pleasure. Thank you very much. I’m so happy for that, really, and thank you, really, God bless
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (30:39):
You. Thank you for being on the Evangelism podcast.
Oury Saw (30:42):
Amen. Amen. Amen.
