Big Lake pastor recalls discipleship visit to Uganda

Recently it was my privilege to travel to Uganda and disciple pastors. Uganda is an amazing country! It is twice the size of Pennsylvania with a population of 40 million people. Uganda is a very young country. The average age is only 15 years old. The people of Uganda are very strong. Very few people have running water or electricity in their homes. The women haul water every morning and every evening. Every one to two square miles is a well. We saw one woman with five gallons of water on her head, five gallons under her right arm, a baby on her back and she was pregnant. I’m not saying that the women of Uganda are as tough as Alaska women but maybe they are a close second!

Most of the people walk everywhere. Some have motorcycles which are equivalent to a 1979 Honda 125. I saw seven people on one motorcycle- five children plus their parents. Uganda is a fertile country. Most people dig in their gardens for four to six hours per day. Two years ago the rainy season did not come. Eight million Ugandans suffered from famine. The man who picked us up from the airport speaks thirteen languages! Uganda is a great country.

Our host David, a Ugandan, gave us strict instructions to only drink bottled water. David always threw every empty plastic water bottle out the window of the vehicle. At first we thought he was not environmentally aware. He was littering! David explained, “No. The plastic water bottles are very valuable. Children will pick them up and haul water with them. They now have their own water bottles. They may even fill them with stones and use them to play soccer.” We handed out lollipops to the children. Many of the children even ate the paper wrapping of the lollipops.

Our task was to teach the Bible to Ugandan pastors. We heard many encouraging stories. Pastor Jimmy (every Ugandan has an African name and an English name) takes the truth he learns into the Congo. The Congo is a very dangerous place. The Congo has tremendous mineral resources- copper, gold, diamonds, uranium. However, seventy armed groups wrack the nation. Pastor Jimmy risks his life and crosses into the Congo and disciples Christian leaders. The Word of God is moving forward!

Pastor Kennedy claimed to be 57 years old. Many Ugandans don’t know their exact age so they arbitrarily choose a year and a birthdate. Pastor Kennedy was born a Muslim and served in Idi Amin’s army. Idi Amin slaughtered three hundred thousand people in Uganda in the 1970’s. Amin slaughtered his own people and at times he even slaughtered his own army. Kennedy’s entire unit was arrested by Amin. Only two people from his unit survived. Today, he is a believer in the Lord Jesus and faithfully teaches the Word of God.

We ministered in Kitcum-Matidi in northern Uganda. The Acholi tribe, in the north, consists of five million people. They are a very industrious and hardworking tribe. The government often views them because of their strength as a threat. Idi Amin viciously persecuted them from 1973 until 1979. The new government after Amin also persecuted them. The Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony devastated the northern region. The Lord’s Resistance Army murdered the men, attacked the women and forced the children to become soldiers. Only recently have the people returned to the area from the refugee camps. Today, there is a thriving church in Kitcum-Matidi. We met with the church leaders- only four of them possessed their own Bibles.

We encouraged the pastors to study, believe and teach the Bible. The people of Uganda are a God fearing people. However, the church in Uganda is filled with the health and wealth prosperity gospel. Mysticism is rampant in Uganda. We reminded them that the Bible is a supernatural book. God used forty different men over fifteen hundred years to write the Bible. Yet, there is only one divine author. The Bible is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is supernatural seed (Mark 4:26-27). Martin Luther said, “The Bible is like a lion. It does not need to be defended. Just let it loose and it will defend itself.” The task of the spiritual leader is to teach the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2). Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). There is great hunger in Uganda to learn and apply the Scriptures. Jesus promises to build his church as the Word of God is taught.

The people of Uganda helped us to understand the Bible better. The Bible is written to a shame/honor culture like Uganda where families live in the same village for generation after generation. The worst thing is to dishonor your family. We pictured the woman at the well in John 4 coming to draw water at noon because of her shame. Jesus offered her salvation and forgiveness. It was easy to picture Jesus and the disciples walking from village to village in Israel as He discipled them.

We were reminded again of the great opportunities we enjoy as Americans and Alaskans. We live in the best time of history. In 32 hours you can travel from Alaska to Entebbe, Uganda. Our calling is not to spend our lives hauling water. Knowledge is at our fingertips. We possess multiple copies of God’s Word- even study Bibles. We have power tools to make our lives easier. We have running water and electricity in our homes. We live in the top 10 percent economically worldwide. We serve a God who sent his Son Jesus to die for our sins. We can be reconciled to the Father through the death of Jesus. God speaks to us in the Bible. We can use our lives to serve the Lord Jesus. We are blessed!

Ethan Hansen is the pastor of Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.