The Apostle to the Opelousas in Bloomington, MN

The son of a white man and Cherokee slave, Joseph Willis gains his freedom and swims the mighty Mississippi in 1798, riding only a mule. He was born into slavery. His mother was Cherokee, and his father a wealthy English plantation owner.He fought as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War under General Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox.In the Louisiana Territory, he preaches the first Gospel sermon by an Evangelical west of the Mississippi River.After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, he blazed a trail for others for another half-century that changed American history.Joseph Willis's life is a story of triumph over tragedy and victory over adversity! His accomplishments are still felt today.