A Powerful Story of Partnership
“A person who knows how to partner with others is like a miner who discovers a rich vein of gold.” - Bekele Shanko
One of the most fascinating podcast conversations I’ve ever had was with the head of the Ethiopian branch of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), Bekele Shanko. In fact, it wasn’t much of a conversation because most of the time, I found myself gob-smacked by his story and spent most of our exchange listening.
Bekele grew up in a small rural village in south-central Ethiopia. There was no water, electricity, running water, church, or other Christians around. To fill this void, people in the community worshiped anything they could find. Animism was common, and people worshipped all sorts of objects, such as large trees, the moon, and the sun. Witchcraft was rampant, and Bekele’s dad worked for a prominent witch doctor.
In the heart of a polygamous culture, his dad had three wives who had a combined eighteen babies. Twelve of them died. As Bekele described, it was like growing up in a cursed family. If ever his father did not obey the commands of the witch doctor, one of his healthy children would suddenly die.
So certain were they in this curse that when Bekele was born, his parents didn’t bother giving him a name for the first few years of his life. In their minds, Ethiopian names held great meaning, so why name a baby when there was a good chance he would die? Finally, when he turned four, his parents decided on the name Bekele. The name means “he has grown” and speaks of a seed that germinates.
Thinking it odd that a child from this “cursed family” had survived, the witch doctor saw something in Bekele and asked if he could train him to become his servant—just as Bekele’s father had been. Bekele’s father agreed, and Bekele went into training. Reflecting on this season, Bekele said, “It was a hopeless life under spiritual darkness.”
This is where the story gets a bit crazy, and if you’re not one to believe in the supernatural, you’ll just assume Bekele is either nuts or a flat-out liar. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact of my own supernatural experiences, I’d be inclined to dismiss his words as well.
