Before Jesus
I grew up in a polygamous family and I had sixteen siblings. Because I wasn’t able to get a basic education, I learned to brew a local drink called ‘waragi,’ an alcohol made out of bananas. Eventually in late the 80’s I began the business of buying and selling alcohol. Obviously, there is no way I could do that type of work without testing it. Slowly the habit of drinking grew from testing the ‘waragi’ to being a drunkard man.
At the time, I knew of men and women who used to preach to us about Jesus, but I was hesitant because I thought I didn’t need Him at all. Most times drunkenness would lead me to fight with people. After one fight, I don’t recall what the reason was, I lost four of my upper teeth. I realized at that time that I needed a savior in my life because I was going to lose everything including life because of alcoholism.
A Life Changed Because of Jesus
In 1996 I met a man on a bus on my way to visit my brother in Mubende from Kabale. He preached to me the good news of Jesus who forgives all sins. Everything he said was matching to my personal life and I thought he knew me even though he did not.
From that day I began speaking to myself that I needed this man who will forgive my sins. In the same year I confessed Jesus as my personal savior. When I migrated in 1999 from Kabale to Mubende, I started fellowshipping at Kacungwa Community Church. I have lived a transformed and happy life ever since I received Jesus as my personal savior.
Being a Pastor in Uganda
I felt the call to be a pastor and responded in 2014. It’s been an amazing journey of bonding more with Christ, loving people and sharing with them. I do livestock keeping and subsistence farming. I have 6 children. Being a pastor in my community is seen as someone who bears a higher wisdom and understanding of leading others in faith. One of the challenges I find in this community is severe poverty. Most of the time the congregation and other community members expect you, as the pastor, to assist them yet you are also poor.
I also face of a big challenge in my life of only being limited to one language. I can’t speak any other language. In my community there are many illiterate people. We are very thankful to [Expand Uganda] for providing us with Bibles in our local languages. May the good Lord bless you abundantly.
Prayer Requests
Pray for more people to draw close to Jesus and our children to be able to go to school as we have a very big number of kids from the community that are not able to have education because of poverty.
Sponsor-a-Pastor Program
Pastor Justus is part of Expand Uganda’s Sponsor-a-Pastor Program. He along with 29 other pastors and churches need a solid foundation for sustained, positive change, but we need your partnership to make it happen.
Would you prayerfully consider partnering in our Sponsor-a-Pastor Program?
(The information in this article was gathered and translated by: Naphtali Abamwikiriza. Edited for clarity.)
