We hope you were able to attend our kickoff worship service!

Joseph Oppong, (Geography & Assoc Dean Toulouse Graduate School) spoke about his journey from Asankrangwa, a small town in the Western region of Ghana, to life as a medical geographer and Christ-follower. He began in extreme poverty: abandoned by his father at three months of age, he lived with his mother, grandmother and eight siblings in a small room “about the size of my current office.”

He went quickly and easily through primary grades, but was unable to attend secondary school because of the family’s poverty. He moved to the city and found his father, who tricked Joseph into working for two years with the promise of paying for his education. Once his father’s deception was uncovered, he moved in with his brother, and had a steady job, yet more setbacks occurred.

“For the first time in my life, I had a regular monthly income; I rented a room, and began to ‘enjoy independent life.’ I liked to dance, drank occasionally, and loved the girls. I maintained this life style until 1972, the year my brother was going to graduate. Six months after graduation, my brother Anthony, died. I was devastated, and resolved that I should live it up because I would probably die like my brother.”

Life DID get better for Joseph. To skip ahead in his story, he did come to know Christ in college:

“Finally, after crying for what seemed an eternity, tears streaming down my face, I looked up and prayed roughly as follows: ‘God I know I messed up this life real bad. But if you are still interested in me, please take my life and make meaning out of it.’

The rest of his story can be read at Meet The Prof.

**While it was sponsored by the Christian Faculty-Administrator-Staff Fellowship, all of our events are open to the entire UNT community.