THIS PHOTO was taken in the Gbeto church the first Sunday after the chief was saved. Pastor Guy (left) with chief Dorothy in the middle. Pastor Ken Haley is at right.

Elders of the West African village of Gbeto had passed along a story for years, foretelling the arrival of a white man who would visit the village with a message “about the true God.”

That white man was former Ocqueoc Baptist Church pastor Ken Haley, who was involved in starting a church in the village 11 years ago. It was a village that had been known as a voodoo stronghold in the area.

Haley pastored the Ocqueoc church in the 1980s and again recently, before current pastor Ken Marsh took the leadership reins three years ago this week. When starting a village church, out of respect for the chief, Haley had to visit him first before moving forward.

Because the elders had prophesied Haley’s arrival, he had to be welcomed. “That very same day, we gave him (the chief) the true message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” stated Haley in an e-mail newsletter to supporters. “We have visited the chief often over the years and have given him the gospel many times.”

Haley, who serves as a missionary with his wife Debbie, had brought the saving message to the chief for more than a decade, but each time the chief said he wasn’t ready. In November, Haley became burdened about the chief’s spiritual condition and health. The chief is suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. Haley traveled in a fierce rain storm in horrid driving conditions to once against share the message with the chief, and this time “he bowed his head in that village hut, and in the presence of about 20 family members prayed to accept Jesus as his personal Savior,” stated Haley in a December update.

IT TOOK Haley two years to re-raise his support from churches to return to West Africa. About four years ago, he returned to the states so his wife could receive medical treatment on an ailing shoulder, and during that time, Haley took over Ocqueoc Baptist during their time of need.

It was perfect timing, according to Marsh. “Although he was advised to take a medical leave of absence and not drop his churches, he didn’t think that was the best idea, because he didn’t know how long Debbie’s treatment would last,” said Marsh. “He was here for a year, he lived in the parsonage, and Debbie was treated…and after a year it was looking good.”

The Ocqueoc church took them on originally for $150 a month and recently increased their support to $300. “He’s our missionary,” said Marsh. The church currently supports nine missionaries. Two of the nine are commissioned and sent out under the authority of Ocqueoc Baptist. They are the Haleys and Rex Freel, a Korean missionary, who lost his wife a year ago. Linda Freel was the first westerner to donate organs in Korea.

Haley visited churches to talk and explain his ongoing work. The couple was able to obtain the financial backing and return to Benin, Africa in May 2011.

“The first few months were spent settling in,” stated Haley in an e-mail this week. He’s with his wife visiting a grandson in Tennessee for a month- - a gift from a supporter, who paid for the trip home. The Haleys found an apartment, furnishings and a vehicle. “We used this (transition) time to visit, encourage and assess the existing ministries we started in the past,” stated Haley.

Of the three churches started in Benin and Ghana, all three pastors working in those churches were trained at the Bible Institute the Haleys helped to establish. He started conducting courses in September and is presently training two pastors to become professors in the school.

“We have started a new church in the village of Ouedo-Adjagbo,” state Haley. “Church planting is our main ministry.”

AS FOR the village people of Gbeto, they remain astounded that their former voodoo worshiping chief has become a believer in Christ. “People in the village can’t believe the changes in their chief,” stated Haley. “He hasn’t missed church since he got saved.”