Sam sits down to take a break from his shift that ends at 1 a.m.—his eyes closing for a moment to recharge, then opening again.

It’s an unusually slow night at Spike’s, a sub and pizza joint at Drake University, and all the workers seem relaxed. On his break, Sam leans back in his chair, puts his feet up and smiles as if to say, “Man, it feels good to relax.”

Growing up in southern Sudan, Sam was surrounded by civil war and spiritual turmoil. The Christian-influenced south and the Islamic area of northern Sudan sets the stage for the conflict that brought Sam to the United States and the war that still rages on in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan. It is a country that is still struggling to find an identity, stem genocide, and move forward—all stuck in the muck of a corrupt political system.

Sam works at Spike’s alongside several other Lost Boys of Sudan—a tight-knit brotherhood of cousins and friends—all with equally remarkable stories. His friend and coworker William once walked 2,000 miles to get to a refugee camp where he could escape the violence—the same refugee camp were Sam would become a designated representative for the hundreds of young men that had gathered.

Sam is comfortable with leadership, confident that he can make a positive difference in the lives of others through serving. “There is no leadership without God,” Sam says.

Despite his circumstances, Sam has hope. “One of my favorite passages is how Jesus says in Matthew that we should knock and that the door will be opened to us. Are you suffering? Then ask for help,” Sam says.

Sam seeks wisdom from the Bible to sustain him. In fact, he’s read it in three different languages. “I like to compare,” he says with a smile. “It is easy for me to relate to the Bible because I understand how the biblical characters suffered for righteousness then, and how my family and countrymen suffer today in much the same way. That is what gives me hope.”

His hope becomes real as he prays for God’s help in all things and expects him to come through. “Hope isn’t going to a casino and praying to win big. The Lord knows your heart and will provide for you,” he says.

Sam will probably never know fame or fortune, but he has a fierce love for justice in his heart. “The world is just looking in all the wrong places,” he says. He smiles and remembers that his break is long over and that there’s still time to make a few pizzas before the 1 a.m. curtain-call.