Joshua Milton Blahyi is one of those larger-than-life people: the ones with stories which defy human comprehension. His conversion from a warlord to a pastor has been extensively studied and, despite the obvious initial doubts, it holds true to this day. And it becomes clearer when you read his book “The Redemption of an African Warlord”, or when you see his interviews at The Telegraph, Daily Mail, The New Yorker, documentaries such as The Redemption of General Butt Naked, The Vice Guide To Liberia, etc
And his story starts when he was only 11, when he became High Priest for his Krahn tribe in Liberia, with duties that involved regular human sacrifice to a deity the tribe worshipped. Later in 1991, during the liberian civil war, Joshua initially joined the militias of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), fighting against a government led by a general who had cut off the ears of the former president before ultimately killing him and showing his naked body on the streets of Monrovia.
With time, Liberia grew to have over 200 warlords fighting for power, and their war names such as “General Mosquito”, whose worst enemy was the conveniently named “General DDT”, throws an idea of their approach to the conflict. Joshua became one of those, and it was his nom-de-guerre that perhaps was most interesting: “General Butt-naked”. The reason being that he went into battle utterly naked, with the idea that he would be protected from harm by the deity he still followed. This is not unheard of: in some cases, in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the police would empty entire clips of bullets onto drug lords with no effect and, when they were finally killed, pieces of paper with black deities written on it would be found stitched into their clothes.
So, Joshua would perform a child sacrifice before entering into the battle zone, feeding his soldiers (children mostly) with pieces of the heart of the sacrificial victim in order to gain protection from the deity he still followed.
All that changed when, during a fight, his pistol exploded. Afraid, he tried to retreat, only to then see a “figure brighter than the sun”, who asked him “My son, why are you enslaving?”. It is worth noting here that to call someone a “slave” is very offensive in his language, so he responded that he was not a slave, that in fact he was a king and destined to be so. During that dialogue, he could only see downwards where the feet of the figure should be, as they were covererd by a cloud that made the brigthness more bearable. The figure then replied that, yes, he was supposed to indeed be a king, but that he was now behaving like a slave, and that he could either convert and live or continue the same way and die, and disappeared.
Not knowing who that figure was, Joshua told his soldiers to retreat and he slammed himself shut in his barracks. Until a missionary appeared out of nowhere in his room and told him that the figure was Jesus and that he should indeed repent, then disappearing. Joshua then went to the guard outside the door and demanded to know why he let that missionary in. When he heard from the guard that no one had passed by, he shot him in his two legs. The guard was never able to walk again and died years later, but not before Joshua asking for his forgiveness.
Joshua’s conversion continued and eventually he became a preacher, and among his many followers are his former enemies. During that time, a comission was formed to investigate those generals and their war crimes. During his testimony, which can be seen online, Joshua was the only one to publicly say he killed at least 20 thousand people: all the other generals denied having killed or committed war crimes. In fact, he is the only one to this day to accept Liberia’s new president idea to restablish the war crimes court, while other former warlords say could actually reignite the war.
For Joshua says it is that war and the insistance of politicians and former warlords (some who are part of the current government) to keep reminding them that is throwing the youth into drugs, as it removes the so critical forgiveness that Jesus preaches. And it is in his war against drugs that Joshua is still a warrior, concretely against one called Kush. A crazy mixture of fentanyl, tramadol, cannabis and… human bones. For to obtain the last ingredient, tombs are continuously prophaned to the point of the police having to monitor cemeteries. And it is devastating the youth of Liberia, with 1 in 5 addicted to the drug, and spreading to neighbouring countries such as Sierra Leone.
For wars do not end when they end: they stay dormant for decades, as the world saw when WWII was born out of the ashes of WWI only 21 years later. So, the reality of Liberia is of a very real possibility of a revival of that horrifying war, and that’s what Houses of Joseph tries to avoid by keeping the youth away from those memories and the drugs they lead to.
Thus, it is with a great honour that we announce that Joshua Milton Blahyi is becoming a Houses of Joseph Ambassador. These are people in places of conflict who are already doing important work with children in many forms, as Joshua is doing through his work of keeping them off drugs and away from the sad memories that only lead to hatred.
To this end, we asked him a few questions on his life and mission:
In one sentence, how would you describe yourself?
I am a very courageous but considerate person
You underwent a dramatic change, from going from a warlord to a pastor. How was Jesus involved in that?
Jesus was the center of my conversion. I had no idea He existed before my encounter with Him. His presence is irresistible. And without Him I wouldn’t have changed because I am sure no one can have that encounter and remain the same.
What is your current work regarding drug use in the youth in Liberia?
I look at it as not just a work but a sentence. In my mind it is a way of paying back to the society I’ve caused unrepairable damages.
What do you think should be done first to restore peace and dignity to the country's children?
Besides what I am doing now, the legal system and its binding laws of my country needs to be revisited and enforced properly in order for the children of this nation and the next generation coming to have peace of mind.
Any final thoughts worth sharing?
No man can function without a spiritual counterpart. God made man to function with spiritual consciousness along side the physical. In my both life experiences spiritual consciousness is vital to man survival on this earth.
Houses of Joseph is supporting Joshua’s mission to keep children off drugs in Liberia in order to prevent another horrific civil war. Help us with our mission through prayers and donations. Thanks, and God bless