Samuel Morris

Sometime during 1872 in the forest of western Africa, Prince Kaboo was born to the chieftain of the Kru tribe. In his area, tribes were constantly warring against one another and the defeated chieftain had to provide his eldest son as a hostage against payment of war debts to the victor. When Prince Kaboo was a teenager, the Kru tribe was defeated and Prince Kaboo’s father could not satisfy the conqueror’s demands. The enraged chieftain ordered Prince Kaboo whipped every day with a thorny, poison vine. When Prince Kaboo was thrown on a tree-made cross for his final beating, a great light appeared and a loud voice spoke out of the air telling Prince Kaboo to run. Miraculously healed in that instant, Prince Kaboo escaped into the jungle. Unable to return to his village, and unarmed and alone, he faced certain death in the deadly, dark jungle until a heavenly light showed the way to a settlement where he met his Deliverer and was born-again.

Prince Kaboo was taken into a Methodist church and given the name, Samuel Morris. Driven by an intense drive to know more about the Holy Spirit, Morris decided to go to the United States to further his education. Morris didn’t know that he was destined to become the first African missionary to the United States. With no money to buy passage, his simple faith in his heavenly Father led Morris to a ship’s captain short of crew members.

Miraculously, the first person Morris met in New York took him directly to the Bethel mission maintained by Rev. Stephen Merritt. Merritt was leaving Bethel when Morris introduced himself in halting English but promised to return and talk with him. Upon his return, Merritt found Morris on his knees praying, surrounded by 17 prostrate and weeping men who had just given their hearts to God.

As Morris and Merritt talked about the Spirit-filled life, Rev. Merritt discovered that he was the one being taught by the unassuming young man who would be called "the apostle of simple faith." Merritt, feeling that Morris needed an education to fulfill his calling, sent Morris to a friend who was the president of Taylor University. The university was enthralled with Morris. Wherever Morris was, as he began to pray the Holy Spirit would descend and believers and unbelievers alike would fall to their knees.

Samuel Morris died at 21 years of age, during the severe winter of 1893. The impact of his life moved things and people. Due to his influence, a lukewarm, American university caught fire with a vision for lost souls and missions, and over the next several years, many were called to be Morris’ replacement in Africa and other parts of the world. Morris’ story was translated into five languages and became a rallying point for men called to missions around the world.