Azotus
"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)
Azotus: A real shepherd and Jesus’ friend
(written by Abraham Eritrean)
In 1976, a few months after I joined the family, I was in Marseilles (France) at the African border base. One Sunday, I went with a brother and a sister to Mother Eve's colony near Marseilles, as we heard that things were inspiring there and we wanted to join them, but through a series of discouraging events, it turned out that I would not be able to be in their home.
At this low time in my life, the Lord brought this big black American brother. With a radiant smile on his face, he gave me a warm hug. His Bible name was Azotus (Act8:40).
Azotus was really a great blessing to us all. With his humble spirit, the Lord used him to change the situation from what seemed a defeat to a great victory.
Before he left for Africa, he was our shepherd. Under him we were liberated to live according to our faith. He was always encouraging us to accomplishing our sweet Master’s commandment through Dad’s letters to fulfil our calling and spend more time in the Word and with the lost sheep.
One day on our way home he saw my old jeans, and we stopped by a jeans shop. Using what funds we had between us, our quota for that day, we bought a pair of jeans.
One very cold winter day we were out litnessing together. I was shaking from the cold and almost freezing. Azotus brought me to a cafe and ordered 2 drinks to warm us. Afterwards I felt so much better. He was like a short sunshine in a very cloudy dark day.
After being in different places, I moved to Ghana and Azotus was the shepherd there. They were reaching the schools and churches with music and skits, conquering with Jesus’ Love through the Word of His faithful David.
Azotus was such a great example to me, getting up very early in the morning taking time to hear from our great Master through prayers and His Word. Then he would give us time to pray, while he went out to buy what we needed for breakfast.
I can still see him organizing the day after counselling with the Lord, a pencil behind his ear. And then giving warm hugs to all, always ready to dedicate his free time by taking our place on the dishwashing schedule, so that we could get enough Word time.
He always was the last to sleep after he had his time with the Lord through His Letters and prayer. His Love for Jesus, Dad and The Family has made him one of our greatest Family’s Warriors, being a real example to the world.
One day just before the RNR, the Lord gave him (and me also), through my mouth a prophecy about the RNR, that a change was going to happen like to Gideon's band.
But not all had the blessing of seeing and enjoying this little diamond of dust shining His Love. One day Azotus was replaced by another and with heavy hearts we said good-bye.
A short while after the RNR, Azotus was in Lome Togo. One day, while out swimming, he went to be with the Lord to continue His shepherding from the Spirit World with Jesus.
It is such a great pleasure to be a part of such a special Family made of just such special people, expressing their totally love for Jesus by dedicating their life till their graduation. -- Abraham Eritrean
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From Gabriella I met Azotus only for a short while in Cincinnati way back in 1971. But I never forgot him. I think once he shared a Bible verse with me, but what stood out the most was his humility and gentle spirit. I have this mental photograph of him: this tall black guy with a bushy afro peering over his Bible at me. At that time I was immediately struck with the thought, "Here is a really sweet person." That's all I remember. Then a few years later, I heard that this same sweet soul drowned while being a missionary in Africa. I felt so sad. It's hard to explain. Here was someone that I basically met for a few minutes years before, and yet I felt a sense of loss. When I was working on getting this web-site together, one of the first people I thought of was dear Azotus. But I had no idea how to get any information on him and I knew no one that knew him. A few days later, here came the email from sweet Abraham Eritrean telling the story of a precious brother that he could never forget. Then after combing through every picture in the Book of Remembrance, I found this one obscure photo. TTL! God bless you, dear Azotus! We love you and we pray that this memorial for you encourages you that you were a bright and shining light to us all. See you up there, sweet brother! Taken from the main Guestbook:
Name: Judy
City/Country: Sacramento,Ca.
Comments: I was very touched by these memorials, as I remember well, our dear brother Azotus, whom I traveled on the road with when I was just a babe, and just joined the Family back in 1975. His loving sample and shepherd's heart has stuck with me , that I'll never forget. When I first heard of his home going I was deeply saddened, as I remember what a faithful brother he was, but now with Jesus! God Bless you with the vision for this beautiful site, so sweet and heart touching!
