On September 5, 2014, I arrived at the KNUST campus as an unbeliever with one focus: to succeed academically and enjoy campus life. Faith wasn’t on my radar. I was determined to live life on my terms, free from religion.

That same day, two students from the Navigators, Frank Hayford and Yvonne Nortey, approached my friends and me, inviting us to their Bible study meetings. I wasn’t interested, but when they mentioned, “We always share item 13 (free food),” I couldn’t resist and joined with my friends.

I became a faithful attendee of their meetings, but only for the food. The Bible study teachings went in one ear and out the other. One event I’ll never forget was 5Fs, a yearly socializing program where I ate to my satisfaction and joked with my friends, “These people have money to waste, we’ll eat for them.” I even packed extra food for later use. This habit continued throughout the academic year, and I thought I had found the perfect deal: free food without any commitment.

At the end of the year, the Navigators invited us on an outreach trip to Nkum, a village in the Central Region. My friends refused, but I reluctantly joined.

The outreach was nothing like I expected. As I interacted with the villagers and shared the little I knew about Jesus, I realized I didn’t have the faith I was trying to share. The joy and conviction of the other team members exposed a deep emptiness in my heart. However, I ignored this realization.

After the trip, Mrs. Elikplim Ansah, who had been my quiet-time partner during the outreach, invited me to read the book of Romans with her. Each day, as I read and shared with her, the words of Scripture began to stir something within me. One day, I came across Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The words were simple but carried the weight of eternity. At that moment, I knew these words held the answer to the emptiness I had been feeling since the outreach.

I brooded over this for days, but eventually, I confessed my sins and declared Jesus as Lord of my life. From that day, everything changed. I began to feel the weight of my sins; things I had once enjoyed now filled me with guilt. Lying, which I had done so casually, became the first thing I knew I had to surrender.

When school resumed, I was invited by Mr. John K. Ansah to join the second-year discipleship group. I joined, and the consistent weekly meetings helped me grow in my understanding of God’s Word and my relationship with Him. I also learned how to share Christ with others.

As I reflect on the years, I find it both amusing and humbling how a simple pursuit of “item 13” (free food) led to my salvation, discipleship, and ultimately, a calling to lifelong labor as a full-time field staff of the Navigators Ghana. God’s ways are often unexpected and surprising. What began as a quest for free food turned into the most profound transformation of my life.