A Clean Slate in Cameroon

Henri Bokali felt stuck. He had a wife and four children to support, and he had just lost his job at a mechanic’s garage in Cameroon.

If he was honest, Henri knew that he only had himself to blame. He hadn’t been a good employee. At one point, he stole an expensive car part. When the garage owner discovered that the part was missing, he blamed Henri’s supervisor and took the cost of the part out of his paycheck. The supervisor nearly lost his job because of it — and nobody knew that it was Henri who had taken the part.

Later, a customer came to the garage who owed Henri money. Henri took the keys and the papers to the customer’s car, holding them hostage until the debt was paid. The customer quickly lodged a complaint against Henri with the garage owner.

As Henri reflected on how his actions had finally caught up to him, he thought of his older sister. At one point, she had lived a wild life. But when she became a Christian, everything changed. Henri wondered what it was about her faith that could make such a difference.

Henri got his answer when he met the Every Home team in Cameroon. This team shared the gospel with Henri, and suddenly, the change that had happened in his sister’s life made sense. Through tears, Henri told the Every Home team that he regretted his past life. Then, Henri’s heart was flooded with peace and joy as he put his faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

A few days later, Henri met with the Every Home team again. He had talked to his sister, and she had urged him to set his past wrongs right. He confessed to the Every Home team about stealing the car part from the garage and the keys and papers from the customer.

“After he told us all about this and his fear about the fallout from his past, we encouraged him with a few Bible verses to obey the Lord,” the Every Home team in Cameroon says. “We encouraged him in his project of restitution.”

Unsure of what to expect, Henri went to those he had wronged and shared his testimony with them. He told each man about the difference Jesus had made in his life — and then he confessed his crimes to them. They were shocked.

When Henri returned the car keys and papers to the customer who had owed him money, the customer removed his complaint against Henri at the garage.

And when Henri offered to return the stolen car part to his old supervisor at the garage, the supervisor told Henri to keep the part. Henri didn’t even have to pay him back for it. Instead, the supervisor encouraged Henri to continue down the path he was now on.

“Brother Henri urged both men to follow him in the Christian faith,” the Every Home team says, “but for the moment, they were just amazed at the change in Henri’s life.” Today, Henri is part of a Christ Group that he attends with his family, and he is looking forward to being baptized. He might even have a new job at a garage that his brother owns in another town.

But most importantly, Henri is living a new life with Jesus now. Miraculously, those he had wronged forgave him, wiping his slate clean. Their forgiveness is a reflection of the greater forgiveness that Henri found at the foot of the cross — a forgiveness that gave him new life.