Yared Getahun grew up in Ethiopia as the eleventh of twelve children, in what he calls a cultural religion. Faith was something the family had, not something that had them. Then his oldest brother gave his life to Jesus, and the change was impossible to ignore.
His brother had been tough and hard. Almost overnight he became, in Yared's words, humble, gentle, and caring for the family. That did not come from nowhere, and Yared wanted to understand it.
The change he could not argue with So he opened a Bible and started reading for himself, drawn to the parts about being saved by faith and not by his own performance. At sixteen he made the same decision his brother had made and gave his life to Christ. He did not stop there. His choice went on to draw most of his large family to Jesus too.
Today Yared helps coordinate training and counselling for a major evangelistic gathering in Addis Ababa, in a country where most of the population is young and searching. He worries for a generation chasing instant gratification instead of purpose, and he points them where he found his own.
One changed brother was enough to move a whole family. You never know who is watching your life and quietly deciding to follow your Jesus.
