by: Kathy Davis | Sr. Director of Wholistic Care
Walto was born in the city of Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia in 1974. His mother died when he was very young and, though many long years would pass, his grief did not diminish with time. Each day when Walto returned home from school, his heart would ache as the empty house was a constant reminder of his mother’s absence, so he busied himself caring for his father’s cattle. Within a short amount of time, his father remarried. Sadly, Walto’s stepmother dealt with him harshly. Over time, his uncle observed the stepmother’s negative impact on Walto and offered to care for him. They moved to Addis Ababa where his uncle taught him to weave and help run his business.
Despite his uncle’s concern and care, Walto struggled with deep anger and became very violent. Walto’s behavior eventually became too aggressive to manage, and his uncle had no choice but to send him back to his father. Sadly, Walto repeated the cycle of being shuttled back and forth between his father and his uncle due to his escalating aggression and violence. No matter how hard Walto tried to change, his efforts always fell short. This downward spiral resulted in deep despair and a persistent and haunting temptation to end his life.
A woman named Hase lived in the same compound as Walto and over time became aware of his struggle. Hase shared the gospel with him and assured him that Jesus loved him and that he died and rose again to offer forgiveness, restoration, and healing for his broken heart. Shortly after Walto began attending church, he committed his life to Christ. The church became an instant family of loving brothers and sisters who supported him and encouraged him to grow in his faith through Bible study and prayer. His depression began to fade, and he began to see his desires reoriented through the lens of God’s beautiful design.
It was God’s truth about suffering that would carry Walto through ongoing and unrelenting challenges. Just two months following his surrender to Christ, his uncle gave him an ultimatum: renounce his faith or leave his house. The positive changes in Walto’s life didn’t seem to matter to his uncle. Walto made it clear that even if he was to be excluded from his family inheritance, he would never deny his eternal inheritance with Christ. He chose to leave, moving in with a friend. Walto encountered even deeper resistance to his faith in this relationship and was forced to move again. Walto managed to settle in a new area where he found employment as a weaver, but all of his weaving tools were lost in a fire. During this time there were consecutive days when he had no appetite and wouldn’t eat, then he suddenly became very ill. The illness was diagnosed as an infection that eventually required surgery on his small intestine. The surgery, unfortunately, had complications that left Walto writhing in excruciating pain, struggling with severe depression, and very nearly losing his life. But God remained near and preserved his life.
As Walto recovered, buoyed by God’s faithfulness to him, he was eager to share the gospel and encourage others who suffered with loss and pain. Walto began to hear the call of God in his life that would take him into full-time ministry. Though he feared that this ministry call wouldn’t be enough to sustain him financially, he continually heard God’s voice calling him to deeper trust. Walto was assured that the Lord permitted all of these challenges for God’s purposes and that his suffering would not be wasted.
The more he faithfully shared the gospel, the more he realized that this boldness with others was not his doing but was granted by the power of the Holy Spirit. His faith continued to grow, and it became personally clear that his true Father was the Lord.
I had the privilege of meeting and hearing Walto’s story at the most recent World Orphans evangelism training in Ethiopia. Walto is married with one son and is in full-time ministry
with a local church. He is part of a committee working to assist vulnerable families through Home Based Care and is impassioned to see transformation for others take place like it has for him through the limitless power of the gospel.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 NIV