Episode overview
This session features an intimate conversation with Ezra Ward, who shares his testimony of growing up in Ethiopia, discovering his calling through the church, and later becoming involved in street evangelism and gospel ministry. He describes being raised by a faithful mother, learning about Jesus in Sunday school, and feeling drawn from a young age to preach and serve.
Ezra reflects on the many hardships he experienced in ministry, including danger, persecution, arrest, and constant pressure while preaching in challenging regions. Even in those moments, he emphasizes that Jesus remained the center of his life and the source of his courage. He speaks about seeing people respond to the gospel, being delivered from spiritual oppression, and growing in faith through suffering.
The conversation also highlights Ezra’s personal journey beyond ministry: his deep gratitude for those who supported and prayed for him, his relationship with his wife whom he knew from childhood, and God’s guidance in leading him from Ethiopia to Canada. Music is presented as an important part of his spiritual life, not as his primary ministry, but as a personal expression of worship and healing.
The session concludes with Ezra singing “I Love You Father,” first describing its meaning in English and then performing it in Amharic. The song becomes the emotional centerpiece of the interview, expressing love, surrender, and worship through every trial and every season.
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Story behind the songs
“I Love You Father” is presented in the session as a deeply personal worship song from Ezra Ward’s life and faith journey. Ezra explains that the song expresses his love for God through every circumstance — “through my pains, through my problems, through my up and down, through everything.”
The heart of the song is surrender, gratitude, and devotion. Its message centers on loving the Father not only in moments of joy, but also in hardship, loneliness, uncertainty, and struggle. Ezra also describes the presence of God and the Holy Spirit as everything to him, which gives the song a deeply intimate and prayerful tone.
During the interview, Ezra shares that music has been part of his life since childhood. He sang in choir during Sunday school and came to see worship as a source of comfort and spiritual strength. Though he says music is not his main ministry, it has remained a powerful part of how he connects with God.
The performance of I Love You Father in Amharic gives the song additional emotional weight and authenticity, tying it to Ezra’s roots in Ethiopia and his lived experience of faith. In the context of the session, the song serves as both a testimony and a worship offering — a simple but profound declaration of love for God.
Notes & reflection
- What role does worship (like music or prayer) play in my life when I feel alone, afraid, or overwhelmed?
- Where do I struggle to trust God during difficult seasons, and what would it look like to say, “I love you Father” in the middle of those moments?
- Am I willing to step out in faith and share my beliefs, even when it’s uncomfortable or risky?
- How can I grow in courage and obedience, trusting that God is with me no matter the situation?