Elder John Wilson Oketch was
born in on the 7th of July 1993 to Elizabeth Oketch and the late David Oketch in Kisumu,
Kenya. He was raised by his grandmother
seven months after he was born because his parents were separated until he was
four years old. He is the second oldest child with one older brother and 1
younger sister. He lost his father
in 2007 from cancer. Even though his father died and it meant he would need to
help support the family, he has always felt blessed. Since that time
of his father’s passing, his mother has been struggling to make ends meet and
support the family because of illness and low paying jobs. Expenses of the family were so high
that it made life very difficult for the family.
Young John changed schools his
final year because it was became a
compulsory boarding school that the family could not afford. Since he went to an inferior school, he
was not well-prepared to pass his exams and did not.
This did not discourage John
because he vowed to find other ways to survive. He looked for a job to help support the family and moved to
an apartment out of the home with his sister. He worked in the hotel industry for a stint where he worked
as a waiter and in a bar. After three months of hard work, he was promoted to
work at the front desk. He changed
jobs because it required him to work on Sundays and meant he would miss
Church. When he resigned from that
job, it took him a full month to find another position. He felt fortunate because he found a
job as a offloader after much prayer and hustling. It was a tough and embarrassing job, but he had to do it.
He was later promoted to be
the manager in the new branch, and so in appreciation to the Lord, he promised
to do something in return and serve a mission. Elder Oketch was introduced to the gospel by his mother in
June of 2009 and was baptized in December of that year. He later baptized his elder brother and
his sister in 2010. He was so
inspired by missionary work and was encouraged by the missionaries serving in
his ward. He feels that he will be
blessed by missionary service if he serves well and returns with honor. He is committed to work hard to
diligently serve the Lord. Prior to coming to the MTC, people broke into his home and robbed his life's savings.
He knows life can be tough
but he has always challenged himself.
Nothing he has experienced can compare with what Joseph Smith went
through in prison. One lesson he
always remembers from the beginning of his conversion is the example of our
Savior.
