The African Prince that Sparked Revival in Indiana

Kaboo was born a Liberian prince in the Kru tribe. During his life he would overcome capture, torture, and racism through God's power.

At age fourteen Kaboo's tribe was attacked by a neighboring tribe. They kidnapped Prince Kaboo as a hostage, forcing his father to pay exorbitant prices for his safety. Eventually, the Kru tribe was drained of their resources, and this led to his torture.

At one of his regular floggings, there was a flash of light that stunned his captors. Then Kaboo heard a voice tell him to run. His bindings fell off and he suddenly had the strength to flee. After several days on the run, he found a coffee farm that took him in. While there, he began to work and attend the local mission church. He learned about a man named Saul who encountered a great light and was freed from his bondage to sin. The parallels to Kaboo's own story caused him to trust in Jesus. He was baptized and took the name Samuel Kaboo Morris. The more Kaboo learned about God, the more he was compelled to preach the gospel in America. He went to the docks and in exchange for transport, he worked on a ship bound for New York City.

On the ship he found himself abused once again. Yet, even through this immense pain, Kaboo forgave and prayed for the cruel crewmembers. Because of his witness, many of those same crew members came to follow Christ.

Once he finally made it to the US, he met a missionary named Stephen Merritt. Merrit said Kaboo was filled with God's Spirit. This compelled him to raise funds and send Kaboo to Taylor University for Biblical education.

While attending Taylor University Kaboo would draw crowds from around the world to hear him speak. He ministered to his fellow students and was known to pray for hours every day. A local newspaper called him, "The boy from Africa who [charged] Fort Wayne with the electric power of God."

Kaboo's dream was to return to Liberia and preach the gospel to his people, but this would never happen. At twenty-years-old Kaboo came down with a fatal case of pneumonia. In his final days, he proclaimed, "It is not my work [to go to Liberia]. It is His. I have finished my job. He will send others better than I to do the work in Africa.” And through his faithful witness in life and death, many went around the world to share the hope of Christ.

Today, you can visit Fort Wayne Indiana, and see his tombstone that reads, "Prince Kaboo; Native of West Africa; Apostle of Simple Faith; Exponent of the Spirit-filled life."

Stories like that both encourage and convict me. Kaboo's faith and perseverance are inspirations to all Christians. His story comes from a long line of faithful people who overcame incredible obstacles to achieve what God called them to. One such hero of that faith that came before Kaboo was Nehemiah.

Tomorrow we will see how Nehemiah overcame seemingly impossible obstacles to complete God's call on his life. Anyone facing obstacles will find Nehemiah's story so helpful. I hope you will join us for worship tomorrow!