Samuel Simão

Samuel is a dedicated and cheerful frontrunner from Beira, a large coastal city in Mozambique. His family consists of ten people, his parents and eight siblings. They live all together in a tiny two-bedroom apartment. This young man remembers his childhood as a challenging period which gave its consequences into adulthood. Due to family financial difficulties and particularly because of his father’s alcohol addiction, Samuel started to work hard at a very young age.

Having this difficult background, he was lost in the world of sin, drinking alcohol, and being involved in a manifold fight. Exhausted by such a life, one day he decided to visit the local church. Samuel shares, “by the grace of God, I understood the message as I never had before, and that day I decided to give my life to Jesus, and my life changed in a radical way that as a result, society (family, neighbors, friends) started to see me differently and to respect me as a person.” A year later, he met Young Life, where learned he more about Jesus and fell in love with the ministry because of its mission and vision. He joined the team immediately, as he felt a calling from God to reach lost kids.

Now as a Developing Global Leader, Samuel is attending Zambezi University where he is pursuing a degree in journalism. He is excited to improve his skills in the area of communication, which would be useful in Young Life ministry. He wants to bring up a generation of well-trained leaders and someday be on Young Life staff. Samuel will be the first in his family to graduate from university.