my life unfolding.....
The Christian life if it is going to be productive and effective for the Kingdom of Heaven requires a continual dying to self and coming alive to Jesus. A continual reckless surrender to God's often uncomfortable, unpredictable and sometimes inscrutable ways with you. It requires a confident humility, a stubborn, even mad resolve to accept the process and remain open to receiving from God that which is birthed in the mud of the storms and floods you face. An abandoning of personal expectations of how it would/should go, and doing everything you can to keep in step with where God calls you. It is a choice to be happy with how God leads you and allows your life to go, a decision to be happy for nothing, knowing God means you the absolute best, and God Himself is your inheritance and very great reward. This is how I can sum up my life flowing Jesus thus far. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus. This is easier said than done. Faith most often makes sense in hindsight.
I'm a first generation born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and a first generation pastor/church planter. My family always knew about Jesus and was fascinated with Jesus in the religious sense. This Christian thing is about relationship. I was born December 1979, and I gave my heart to Jesus in 1999. Youngest of 5, I was first in my family to get born again, a decision that was resisted by my family at first. You see, we grew up attending Catholic church and my family thought we were just fine because we went to church and had religion. Departing from that was taboo. Only thing is, we did not have a relationship with Yahweh. Church attendance and religious observation does not make you right with God. Repentance and dependance on Jesus and the finished work on the cross is what makes you right with God.
Both my parents are deceased now, but I know they are in Heaven because they both made a decision to believe in and follow Jesus. I had the privilege of leading my dad to Christ a few months before he passed away in what was nothing short of a miracle of redemptive grace. A miracle that repaired and healed a lot of the broken father son experiences that were filled with shame and embarrassment. He was an alcoholic most of his life.
My family was poor, we grew up wearing air-conditioned clothes. If you don't know what those are, they're raggedy old clothes with holes in them, when you run the wind blows through you. I knew I was called to full time ministry from the day I gave my heart to Jesus. So I joined the Christian fellowship at my college and got actively involved. This is when I experienced a miraculous physical healing touch of God first as a new believer. After college, I started volunteering with children's church at Watoto Church as a facilitator for worship with the kids.
I was later invited to join the Watoto children's choir as a singer/chaperone. I served at Watoto for 7 years and got to travel to many parts of the world; Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Asia, New Zealand and South Africa raising awareness and support for Uganda's AIDS orphans. I served my last 2 years as choir team leader and pastor.
In 2009 God asked me to resign the job and move on, and I did.
I started a safari business - Border-less Travel and invested my time hosting mission teams and safari parties to East Africa. Knowing that I was called to full time ministry, walking away from my job at Watoto and starting a safari business did not make sense at all. God said it would as I kept going. The business actually became really lucrative, I became rich, haha! In 2013, God asked me to go back to my hometown - Mbale in Eastern Uganda and plant a life-giving church. It takes money to plant churches, so where did the funds come from? The very business I started and thought was a departure from ministry. Musaale Church just celebrated 12 years in existence and all I can say is, if it was not for Jesus, and people God sent to be involved who are committed to seeing His vision for planet earth fulfilled against all odds, the church would not be around. You see, my business, my primary ministry support went under, the rich man became broke, haha! I can now confidently say, I am rich in Christ without reference to things. The church has grown to support itself, but there is still a long ways to go in line with the vision we have for the things we would like to see God do.
In 2019, God asked me to step away from active involvement in the church in Uganda and let other people lead. He said to get on an Abraham type journey to America for the next phase of my life. I struggled with that because I needed a schedule, a plan. God simply said get up and go. I got up and went after some persuasion from God. I started at the back of my mind thinking God would have things set up and I would hit the ground running. But I arrived into nothing, and I have had to figure out each day at a time, each step at a time. I had expectations, but my hopes got turned upside down. Stumbling forward, gambling forward, trusting that God still has a plan even when clearly the bottom has long fallen out and I am walking on rock bottom.
Truth be told; Rock bottom is a firm foundation. Christ Jesus Himself is the rock at the bottom. I have been learning to be happy for nothing. This is hard to come by, oh but what joy it is to be satisfied in Jesus alone with no outward attachments.
I'm still here stumbling forward with Jesus. Just when I thought my life was set and I had paid the price, I'm daily realizing the price is so much higher than I anticipated it would be. I have had to do things I never thought I would just to survive. Dreaming is free. Living the dream on the other hand will cost you everything. Following Jesus is costly. Jesus Himself said it would be. He said to count the cost before you commit.
‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” (Luke 14:28-30)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. (Matthew 16:24-27)
I'm not married yet, doing ministry like the Apostle Paul. My story will change though because God has promised He has a beautiful young lady suitable just for me.
I have written about my life story and ministry journey in more detail in my books "IDENTITY and "THE FAITH NOMAD," both available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble among other places books are sold.