For a long time I desired and planned to meet Brother John Mark Louse of Uganda but had always been interrupted by a Macedonian call to preach in other places. This time, in November, 2011, the journey was made possible.
I arrived in Uganda on 22nd November 2011. It was a long flight from Lusaka through Kenya to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). From Addis to Kigali (Rwanda) then finally to Entebbe airport in Uganda. The entire journey took 12 hours. It was so tiring but worthwhile.
Before I could proceed to Karamoja, Brother Bolahs Onyangu, pastor of Little Flock Church and Voice of God Recordings Library manager arranged a series of services in Kampala where I ministered. God was gracious to us during the services. On 23rd and 30th October I had the privilege of preaching on the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, on a weekly radio program hosted by Pastor Onyangu.
From Kampala I proceeded to Karamoja – a 12 hours’ drive on a terrible road. It was so strenuous a journey; the roads are so rugged and bumpy. At one point the road was so slippery that the bus slid and almost turned over as it skidded. As the driver struggled to keep it in control it eventually got stuck in deep mad. It took us 1 hour 30 minutes to remove the vehicle out of the mad and get moving. All in all, God made it possible for us to reach the destination. It was wonderful to see Brother John Mark and the saints in Karamoja. I must say that I learned valuable lessons of ministry as I communed with this aging and gallant servant of God. I was especially refreshed with the answer he gave me when I asked him the question, “how is your prayer life?” In answering Brother John Mark said the following;
Prayer is a life and the breath of a believer. A child of God should continuously be in fellowship with God with his heart and mind and not just the speaking of an audible prayer. It is for this reason that apostle Paul said we should pray without ceasing. Believers in Karamoja are always in prayer and fasting every Saturday from morning to evening. Apart from this, I have set Monday and Tuesday as the time I spend with my Lord.
These words of Bro John Mark about prayer are very important. If believers could be so prayerful and humble much of the problems, schisms, divisions and politics in the Body of Christ would not exist.
The soberness, sincerity and simplicity of the saints in Karamoja was so edifying. Saints of Karamoja are poor in material things but so rich spiritually, holding on to a sane gospel.
I was keeping up at the home of Bro. Robert, the assistant pastor to Bro. John Mark for the church in Moroto. One evening as I communed with him I requested him to share his testimony to me. After listening to his testimony I though other believers would also be edified in hearing it. I requested him to put it in writing.
Testimony of Robert Ojangole
It was sometime in the early 1990s when the region where I lived was engaged in tribal battles. One day whilst sitting down with a police officer I suddenly had a gun shot pass through my shoe, which got blown up. I thought I had lost my foot. I was in shock and as I screamed aloud a liquid poured into my mouth, chocked me as it got swallowed through my gullet. It was the brain fluid which gushed out of the head of the officer when a bullet blew through his head. I ran home, my siblings were crying at me supposing that maybe one of the bullets went through my body. But by the grace of God, I didn’t even have one scratch on my body. It was God calling me to salvation. Desiring to now serve God I started going to the Church of Uganda.
In January of 1992 I had the following strange dream:
I was in a bedroom sitting. A filthy looking and naked woman entered the room. She was speaking enticing words to me. She kept moving around the room in her nakedness, speaking nasty things. I sat still just looking at her. She afterwards left the room. As I kept sitting down and watching what was going on, another woman entered the room. But this one was different. She was so modest. She had a long dress and with a veil on her head. She sat on the bed. At that point a voice spoke into the room saying, “Arise, suck from her breasts!” Immediately I stood up and went to suck. I woke up feeling so confused about the strange dream. I knew that it had a spiritual significance. I asked the priest at my church to explain to me the meaning, but he didn’t know the meaning of it. Then it so happened one time that the Bishop of Canterbury visited our region. I managed to find a chance to see him; I narrated the experience I had to him and asked him to help me with the interpretation of the dream. But he explained words to me that I can’t remember or understand to this day.
Then sometime in March (1992), a stranger visited me and requested to spend a night at my house. He was a stranded Message believer looking for the house of a brother John Mark Louse. This man then invited me to attend their church service at which Pastor John Mark was to be preaching. Reluctantly I accepted the invitation and we went together for church.
During this service brother John Mark went to the pulpit and began to preach from the book of Revelation chapter 17. What he said in this sermon forever changed the course of my life:
A woman represents a church. A true church of God has the Word of God which dresses them with righteousness. A church without the true Word of God is a naked woman!…. Elshadai God is a breast-feeding God who can feed His children with milk.
The preaching pierced straight to my heart as it exactly answered the questions I had over my dream. That day I got baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I now help Pastor John Mark to minister in the church. God bless my brother, Andrew Phiri, who communed with me in my house in Moroto, Karamoja.
I only had three days in Karamoja. On Wednesday, at midnight, I started off back to Kampala. On the way back, again, there was trouble on the way. One vehicle got stack in the mad and we had to wait for four hours!
I arrived in Kampala safely. Brother Bolhas had desired and already arranged for us to go to Kenya, but I was too tired and was fighting against the time of my return air ticket. I took a Sunday service at Little Flock Church and the evening of the same day I flew back home.
The Lord willing, we intend to host brother John Mark for a series of meetings at Believers’ Assembly in Lusaka Zambia.
God bless you pastor,very inspired testimony.i learn something…