From being a priest in the kingdom of darkness to an evangelist in the kingdom of light—this true story will shock and amaze you! Jesus Christ appeared to Joshua Blahyi as a blinding light and told him that he would die unless he repented of his sins. Joshua Blahyi grew up in Africa, became a powerful pagan priest in a local tribe, and then became one of the most feared warlords in Liberia. Under demonic influence, General Butt Naked fought and killed while he was naked; he personally sacrificed men, women, and babies, and forced children to abandon their families and fight with him. Then, in a radical transformation like that of Paul on the road to Damascus, Joshua met Jesus face to face. His mission now is to reach out to others who are under evil’s delusions and reform the lives of his former soldiers, enemies of Jesus Christ, and anyone in need of hope and love. Joshua Blahyi’s incredible story has been told in documentaries on PBS, CNN, BBC, and other media including the New York Times. His story appeals to everyone interested in foreign affairs, Africa’s mysterious spiritual culture, civil wars, Christianity, and child soldiers.

This book provides a comprehensive narrative history of Liberia’s first civil war, from its origins in the 1980s right through the conflict and up to the peace agreement and conclusion of hostilities in 1997. The first Liberian Civil War was one of Africa’s most devastating conflicts, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians, and sending shockwaves across the world. Drawing on a wide range of local and international sources, the book traces the background of the war and its long-term and immediate causes, before analysing the detail of the unfolding conflict, the eventual ceasefire, peace agreement and subsequent elections. In particular, the book shines a light on hitherto unseen first-hand Roman Catholic indigenous and missionary sources, which offer a rare intimacy to the analysis. Detailing the impact of Liberia’s individual warlords and peacemakers, the book also explains the roles played by non-governmental agencies, national, regional and international actors, by the UN, ECOWAS and the Organisation of African Unity, and by nations with special interests and influence, such as the USA and other West African states. This book’s detailed narrative analysis of the Liberian conflict will be an important read for anyone with an interest in the Liberian conflict, including researchers within African studies, political science, contemporary history, international relations, and peace and conflict studies.

Sometimes you find yourself in a place in life that is less than ideal. Maybe you are like Joseph and feel theres no chance for promotion. Or youre like David and are just trying to survive. Perhaps you feel like Paul, who labored away in obscurity and lost it all. For whatever reason you feel as though you are in a wilderness and you cant seem to escape. At times like this, panic can set in and lead to choices that are less than what God has planned for your life. How do you avoid this? How do you endure? In The Wilderness, author and pastor Mary McLain looks to the examples of three men in the BibleJoseph, David, and Paulwho had to wait years to be able to do what God called them to do. Marty also speaks to his own past experiences in the ministry and his years spent in a spiritual wilderness. He shares how he struggled to endure in the season of life that seemed to bear no fruitbut he shows that with perseverance and trust in God, he was able to hold on and discover the path to fulfillment. If youve ever struggled with the wait or found yourself lost in the wilderness, unsure of where to go next, Gods command is to endure. Be comforted to know that you are not alone, and some of the most powerful testimonies in the Bible came after a long period of waiting. You have not been forgotten.

This is a book hoping to embolden doubt and sharpen unanswerable questions, all in the context of loving the self and one another. Ridiculously, it believes the world can be healed through such a hope. It is especially addressed to those allergic to the word “faith,” and others who feel confident and proud in the faith they profess or system of thought they live by. Humbling Faith helps us see how our beliefs, or non-beliefs, our belongings and identities, often remain flawed, myopic, self-absorbed, unredeemed. The hope is that such awareness of our brokenness can fuel greater ethical partnerships and dialogue, promoting peace from our recognized need for one another. Humbling Faith is not only a resource towards humbling other faiths, but most importantly, your own.

Set in Monrovia during the administration of Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, this riveting debut is a story of recovery, atonement, and the continuing quest for peace and justice in a nation plagued by conflict and inequalities since its founding by freed American slaves. Life in post-war Liberia is not easy, and it is especially challenging for Bendu Lewis, a young woman who counsels traumatized survivors of Liberia's civil war while struggling with memories of her own war-time experiences. When the warlord who once held her in captivity suddenly shows up in town, she decides that for her own healing, and for the voiceless victims of the war, she must bring him to justice for his past atrocities. In her pursuit of Commander Cobra, Bendu finds much more than she bargained for, including the courage to finally confront and make amends for her own painful war-time secret.

IN WAR RIGHT CAN GO WRONG AND SOMETIMES WRONG IS THE ONLY RIGHT THING LEFT TO DO. Anik is a rookie human rights lawyer with a mission to make rape as a weapon of war recognized as a crime against humanity. After she is humiliated by the loss of a high-profile case against a Nazi war criminal who had been hiding out in Canada, she looks for redemption in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab. Against the backdrop of a devastating African civil war, women refugees provide evidence to Anik that atrocities are happening where a UN peacekeeping operation has been deployed. Together with Omar, a renegade politician, Anik embarks on a quest for justice that takes her into deadly conflict with an ambitious UN general and a vicious warlord.

When bullets hit Agnes Kamara-Umunna's home in Monrovia, Liberia, she and her father hastily piled whatever they could carry into their car and drove toward the border, along with thousands of others. An army of children was approaching, under the leadership of Charles Taylor. It seemed like the end of the world. Slowly, they made their way to the safety of Sierra Leone. They were the lucky ones. After years of exile, with the fighting seemingly over, Agnes returned to Liberia--a country now devastated by years of civil war. Families have been torn apart, villages destroyed, and it seems as though no one has been spared. Reeling, and unsure of what to do in this place so different from the home of her memories, Agnes accepted a job at the local UN-run radio station. Their mission is peace and their method is reconciliation through understanding and communication. Soon, she came up with a daring plan: Find the former child soldiers, and record their stories. And so Agnes, then a 43-year-old single mother of four, headed out to the ghettos of Monrovia and befriended them, drinking Club Beer and smoking Dunhill cigarettes with them, earning their trust. One by one, they spoke on her program, Straight from the Heart, and slowly, it seemed like reconciliation and forgiveness might be possible. From Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first female president, to Butt Naked, a warlord whose horrific story is as unforgettable as his nickname--everyone has a story to tell. Victims and perpetrators. Boys and girls, mothers and fathers. Agnes comforts rape survivors, elicits testimonials from warlords, and is targeted with death threats--all live on the air. Set in a place where monkeys, not raccoons, are the scourge of homeowners; the trees have roots like elephant legs; and peacebuilding is happening from the ground-up. Harrowing, bleak, hopeful, humorous, and deeply moving--And Still Peace Did Not Come is not only Agnes's memoir: It is also her testimony to a nation's descent into the horrors of civil war, and its subsequent rise out of the ashes.