Jacob  (right) grew up in South Sudan’s Nuer Tribe, a community that worshipped several idols. “As a kid, I was initiated into the worship of one of our gods,” Jacob says. “One day, after coming home from performing a ritual, I dreamt someone shared Bible verses with me. I can still remember them!”

Among the verses he received was Hebrews 4:12 NIV, “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Jacob kept having dreams. In another one, he saw a large number of people sitting. “Someone called them to be with Jesus, but I was left behind,” he relates. “I asked, ‘What about me?’ The person who brought the people to God’s kingdom answered, ‘You will be next!’”

After graduating from his medical studies, Jacob started a military career in the South Sudanese Armed Forces medical corps. His Nuer culture favors polygamy, so he married four wives and had 18 children. Although his life seemed successful, Jacob felt something missing in him.

One day, an evangelist preached the Gospel of grace to Jacob, who immediately felt peace. He realized this was what he had dreamed about. “I committed my life to Christ that same day and was baptized,” he says. Not long after his baptism, Project Philip Bible studies were announced in his church. He joined eagerly and loved to study God’s Word.

“The lesson from Ephesians 2:1-10 changed my life because it talked about me,” he recalls. “I used to worship other gods, and according to Paul’s letter, I was spiritually dead. But it also says I am saved by grace. When I read this, I said, ‘Wow! Thank you, God, for your grace and mercy.’”

Jacob sees God’s blessings in the lives of himself, his wives, and his children. He asks for prayers for his large family. “For now, I will stay with all my wives because I don’t want to divorce three of them, which would affect them emotionally and make their lives difficult,” he explains. “However, if some of them would decide to go because of my new life in Christ, I’d let them go without adding a new wife. I am a Christian now!”