Alain teaching the 12 Foundations Stones
I’m Alain Kanku, a lieutenant of the Democratic Republic of Congo Army (FARDC). I met Richard (a long time TFI member) and his family in Goma, in November 2010. I received a small gospel tract. When I read it, the message encouraged me to invite Jesus into my heart, to be my Savior and Lord. I asked for the name of Richard’s church and he gave me the address of his house which was not far from mine.
A week later, my wife and I went to visit them. That evening they were reading “Hearing from Heaven.” I asked myself, “How can someone hear from God without days of fasting?” I was very impressed and attracted by what I heard that evening. Richard told me that it was easy to hear God’s voice when you are familiar with His Word. I then started to read the Word of God, and began taking the 12 Foundation Stones course along with others who Richard was teaching.
Two months later, I left Goma for military service in Masisi (120km away), where the rebels from Rwanda (FDLR) terribly disturb the population. One morning at 3am, just before we were to leave to dislodge the rebels who were 16km from our camp, I woke up. I prayed, as I was accustomed, for our team’s protection. It was then that God showed me that it wasn’t a good time to attack. I asked the Lord to give me wisdom to explain this to my captain, John; as I knew he wouldn’t react well.
“Slacker! You are afraid of war! You are pretending to be a prophet to escape the given orders” the captain said. It was 5:09am, January 04, 2011. He then took his pistol and put it on the table in his office. “Now, it is here where you are going to die, instead of dying on the field!” he said. “Do you want to change your opinion?” “No!” I answered firmly.
When he heard that, he ordered an officer to place me at the front of the troops. While our troop of 42 was leaving, I told the officer, “I’m convinced that voice was from God. Since I’ve done 14 years of military service, what would frighten me to go to war?” After a few minutes of silence, the officer went back to our captain’s office, explaining what I just told him. Suddenly, the captain came from his office and held out a big stick of wood and ordered a soldier to hit me with it. The pain was atrocious, but I was happy to be able to stand through such a test. Then two soldiers threw me in jail.
In jail, I began asking myself if I wasn’t confused. Were they my own thoughts or not? Can God really speak to me?
Around 10am, seven soldiers arrived back at the camp. Two of them were seriously wounded. I heard them explain to the captain that they were ambushed 3km before reaching the village. The soldiers fled but many were killed. A few more weak and wounded soldiers made it back to the camp.
One of the officers said that if they had listened to what I told them, nothing bad would have happened. Upon hearing this, the captain became furious! He had me pulled out of jail and handed me over to the service of security for espionage, so that they could determine if I was a spy of the rebels. They threw me in a hole full of water. After two days, they transferred me to the military court at Goma where I was sentenced to eight years in jail.
Within a few months, and without explanation, my case was re-examined, and a month later and I was judged innocent! I was released and sent back to the training center, where I served two months. I became a Lieutenant and returned to Goma on April 13, 2011, where I took on fulltime service.
On May 22, I received a letter from captain John, who wanted to know more about how I knew we would be attacked. I decided to offer him a copy of the booklet “Hearing from Heaven.” I also introduced him to Richard. Captain John wrote me an open letter to apologize for what he had caused me. I am happy to testify that he has since received the Lord and is now studying the 12 Foundation Stones course with Richard. This is once again proof that everything that happens to us has a purpose and it’s for our good.
Originally Published in 2011.