As the canoe touched the water, years of trauma came flooding back. Joseph began weeping, sobs that seemed to come from the depth of his soul. He was re-living that terrified 16-year-old boy, watching canoes sink, not knowing if his family was alive or dead.
“Why am I crying?” he asked himself. Then he realized that he had never dealt with the trauma of the war. For 32 years, he had carried this wound, carefully avoiding the very place where God saved his life. Joseph heard God’s voice again: “If you are to start a radio station that will bring about healing and the gospel of Christ, you need to start with you. The healing process begins with me.”
Joseph now understood why God had waited 19 years to fulfill the vision. If he had been called to start this ministry right after the war, his heart would have been closed to the very people God wanted him to reach.
Today, the Kioo Radio tower stands overlooking three nations. The name “Kioo” means “gift” in the Kissi language – the same name Joseph gave his daughter, born after years of miscarriages, a gift from God after much waiting and pain.
From this strategic location, the radio waves will carry the gospel to the Kissi and the Fulani people; even the very group that once threatened to destroy Joseph’s family. The president of Liberia – himself a Kissi – broke ground for the project, a sign of God’s perfect timing.
That foundation, built on the rock of God’s faithfulness and love for His people, extends across the waters of the Makona River – no longer a barrier of fear, but a bridge of hope.
In the quiet moments, Joseph Kebbie knows that God’s healing is complete. The river that once divided has now become the river that heals.
By Jeff Benedict, December 2025
Read part one and two of this story by clicking below:
