This is the story of one such man, Valeria.
Valeria is the young man on the left; Justus is on the right. Valeria is 27 years old, not married and living with his father. He lives surrounded by family in the mountains and hills of Ibanda just north of Queen Elizabeth Game Park in the Southwest part of Uganda. They grow matoke, coffee, avocado, sugar cane and other things. His life story today is much different from what it was just a few years back. Why? God's has changed his life.
Valeria moved to Kampala a few years back to find a job. He became a security guard and was making little money. He failed to show up for work one night and a car was stolen from the place that he was to be guarding. He was arrested, charged with negligence and sent to Kasangati Prison for three years. He was hopeless.
A volunteer team from the US visited the prison with me and the IMFC team to share the gospel while Valeria was there. Valeria heard the Gospel message, prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and God changed him. While in prison he completed the Bible Way books and helped Francis, the IMFC team member that works the prisons around Kampala. After leaving prison, Valeria joined the team in Kampala and learned how to do the work of producing followers of Jesus Christ who know how to produce other followers of Jesus.
Valeria returned to his home in Ibanda in September 2017. He has shared the gospel in the villages around his home and in Ibanda town. Over 1,000 books had been distributed to people who have heard the message and prayed to receive Christ. 38 people have been baptised. He travels hours by foot to do the work. 66 people that he calls his leaders came to meet me in January. Each of these have many people they are meeting with in house churches and doing the Bible Way books. These are people that he has trained to produce followers of Jesus. They came from as for away as 25 kilometers to meet me.
I asked Valeria why he did this work. Why would he walk so many hours never receiving anything to do it? He said the message he heard in prison changed his life and he wanted his family and neighbors to hear the same message so it could change their lives. They are hearing it, and they are being changed.
Valeria is one of my heroes like those unnamed people of Acts 11:19-24 who fled Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen. He is the reason I travel. He motivates me. I keep asking myself the question, "How many more people could be like Valeria? People simply needing someone to come share the Gospel with them and train them." So I go. I don't have to meet people like Valeria. I just need to train producers who will meet them. They will do the rest with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ with them.
Pray for Valeria and the people he is training. This is the first work we have in Southwest Uganda. From here the message could reach Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo and beyond. Thanks.
Jimmy
IMFC
Jimmy@imfc.us