I was living a life full of lies, theft, hypocrisy and stubbornness. My family life was unstable with my father gone and my mother often absent and troubled due to difficult life circumstances.
I was 15 when I was first introduced to breakdancing. I was drawn to it as a way to make friends, and have some sort of stability in my life. With community as my driving desire, I joined a local crew in Yaounde. I felt like I truly belonged to something!
But even with this new community, my life was still a mess. I was performing poorly at school, which ultimately led me to fail an official examination.
During this time I was hearing a lot about God from random places. Maybe my failure was a result of God punishing me. So I made a resolution to stop all my bad behavior so God would be pleased with me and allow me to do well in school.
A week after making that resolution, I realized my actions were getting worse and not better. I was becoming desperate. Would God ever be pleased with me?
A few days later a group of students approached me and my crew members. They asked if they could share God’s Word with us. I accepted because I thought this might please God.
They shared the gospel with me. Then they read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God opened my eyes immediately. My work was in vain. God had already accomplished it. I believed that day, and I was free!
With my new found freedom, I felt a desire to proclaim the gospel within the Hip-Hop community. In the beginning, no one was willing to listen to me. They mocked and alienated me.
I was losing the community I desired, but by God’s grace I persevered. As people saw that I cared for them, they started to listen.
During this time, I met Michael Swalley in a Facebook Group for Christians in Hip-Hop. Michael and I started going through a disciple-making curriculum. He also started to share with me the vision of Break Free.
After six months of weekly meetings, Michael invited me to be a missionary with Break Free. I was overjoyed!
God has used Break Free Ministries to give me community, develop and strengthen my ministry approaches and provide resources to make disciples.
Today, three dancers from my crew are disciples of Jesus Christ, and many other dancers in Cameroon are hearing the gospel. We have been able to run three Alpha groups and have a home church that meets every Sunday.
By God’s grace, I have been able to share the love of Christ with many other dancers and build a community that will impact Yaounde and Cameroon for many years to come!