John Azumah grew up in a large family in rural Ghana. His father had four wives! But of all the children at home, only John attended school -- in spite of the suffering it caused him.

Bullied

"There was lot of bullying," said John, "and I just couldn't cope with the bullying. I started hating myself because I couldn't defend myself."

By the time John got to college, things got worse.

"I was picked on most of the time by the seniors," he said. "I was sent to fetch water, sent to wash their clothes. Sometimes I didn't have time to go to my classes."

Then one fateful day a student in anger locked John in a travel trunk and left campus.

Locked in a trunk.

"I began to suffocate," said John. "I began yelling for help and some of the students looked for him. They couldn't find him, and so they broke open the box, and I was unconscious. I was taken to the hospital and revived."

That incident brought John's plight to the attention of Thomas -- a committed Christian. He invited John to live in his dorm room.

"He made an announcement that no one should send me to fetch water," said John. "So he basically took me and sheltered me."

In Thomas' room, John began to feel safe for the first time in his life. And as he watched his roommate, John began to see God in a different light.

Thomas was different.

"He would rise up from his bed at 5:30 and Thomas would pray," said John. "I was brought up to believe just that there is God, but you can't speak to God. So this was the first time I saw and heard someone speaking to God and that struck me."

John wanted to know more about this "Christian" God. So he went to church with Thomas where he heard an amazing message about God's love!

"God loves people irrespective of how you are, where you come from, whether you are strong or weak, whether you are physically handicapped or whatever," said John. "God loves you just as you are."

John read his Bible.

One day as the service ended, John accepted the pastor's invitation to receive Jesus Christ as savior. God not only saved his soul, he began to change John's life. But John's father was far from happy when he heard that his son had become a Christian. He ordered him home from school.

"One of the things my dad did was to literally give me an ultimatum to either change my mind or find a new place (to live)," said John. "But at no point did I even consider recanting and going back."

That commitment nearly cost John his life. One night his sister and mother warned him that his family was planning to poison him and urged him to leave immediately. So John left for a neighboring country. With no money and no legal documents he became an easy target for slave traders.

In the jungle

"One Ghanaian met us and deceived us and literally sold us as bonded slaves," said John. "And we were asked to work in the jungle to create a farm. And we were in the jungle for about three years literally without any salary -- no pay.

"I came into very close contact with wild animals. There were several instances. I came very close to death. But somehow I was always rescued."

John was surrounded by danger on all sides, yet he found great comfort in reading his Bible. And John's trust in God's goodness helped him to overcome the grief he felt when he learned of his mother's death.

Mother died.

Amazingly, after three years John was able to escape his captors and he rushed home, trusting that something good would come out of his years in captivity and the tragic death of his mother. He was not disappointed.

"My father was very remorseful," said John. "He came to me and said that I should forgive him. And my dad accepted me. That's how we got reunited as a whole family again."

After the reconciliation between father and son, John started assisting a local church pastor with Sunday morning services. Seeing John's enthusiasm for teaching, the pastor encouraged him to pursue further study.

With his family

God opened one door after another for John, and today he holds a doctorate from the United Kingdom. He has pastored churches in the UK and in Ghana and teaches all over the world about the one who has made all the difference in his life.

"When my owner, my creator, touched me, met me and touched me, my value suddenly shot up," said John. "That is how I see the transformation that has taken place in my life. It is God. It is Jesus. It is because of the touch of Jesus Christ that I am what and where I am today."