Defender of the Weak – Ministry in Uganda

My name is Joshua Makawa. I come from a country whose religious history and the church are darkened by Idi Amin’s tyrant regime against the gospel. Amin ruled Uganda between 1971-1979. When I read from the history of Uganda’s religion, my passion increases to embrace the gospel all the more. My hope is a chapter of revival in an oppressed land starts today and the banned evangelistic movements come back stronger than before.

How I came to know the Lord

My journey to Christianity is unique. I yearned for a spiritual connection with God, so I joined a cult because I wanted to see the “so called” prophetess lady who lived by country side through my sister. She was travelling with a group of “born again” so I had to be “born again” in order to meet face to face with this prophetess “woman of God”. Her description compelled my heart to accept the invitation. I was a young boy of 18 years at the time. I was told that the prophetess woman of God had super ordinary eyes. Of course it wasn’t true! But as a young boy, who wanted to achieve what I had accepted, I was eager to believe and make a difference. Little did I know that she ‘the prophetess’ was the leader of a cult, a liar, an agent of the darkest kingdom claiming to live within the house of God! Her teachings were not of scripture and after five years I finally changed to the church because this cult hindered my spiritual growth. This was in 1993 when I started down the path to Christianity. I served with a new church and discovered that missionary work was quite interesting to me.

It was in the year 2001 that I attended a Christian Congress in Nairobi- Kenya. I was empty during this time of the meeting to things concerning a ministry. But something during that congress touched my heart. I was called to reach out to a hurting world of abandoned children who find it hard to live in dark and harsh conditions on the streets. To minister to the lonely poor and elderly in their homes, to the prisoners, and to the sick in hospitals. The congress at Easter taught me secret weapons of changing the hearts of many people using the gospel. I learned the gospel is not for selfish motives, but for the defense of weaker people. The gospel is a uniting factor, warring against the dictatorships of materialism, which comes only with intention to cause division in humanity. The gospel has helped me to stay closer to people who are abandoned, staying in lonely places, visiting the ghettos of this world, and the poor with my missionary work. The gospel looks at humanity as one family.

In my community I’m identified as Pastor/Evangelist.

My Biblical Pursuit 

Jesus according to the gospel in Mathew 9:36-37, the gospel writes; ‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’’. ‘Get this as the picture of the world today’. People are looking for directions. As a leader of the ministry of the gospel I need to help in the proper guidance of direction for the people in the interest of the will of God.

This is my ministry, ‘Proper guidance for my community to live together, work together, and listen the gospel together. This is what it means to live as a one family.’

The Unique Challenge of Ministry in Uganda

In Kampala much unrest in the city is a result of the lack of respect. Respect is very important amongst the people. Without respect the young ones ridicule the old ones, their peer groups, their teachers or guardians, their parents etc. The youth have always violated against the will of the old people’s longevity in existence because they are looking for properties. They want them to die, thinking that when they die there is a possibility for them to acquire the land and other properties, which after selling them, they purchase motor bike (boda-boda) for transport business in towns and many cities. Some of the old people are being lynched to death, under claims that these elderly are actually “witch doctors”. In some places in Africa the Old are condemned by the population to death. This is a growing trend which needs to be closed down. There is no alliance between generations. This hatred against the old people in Africa has eaten up our society and the youth are the masterminds of these projects seemingly intended to injure the old people and to leave them lonely till death. Building an alliance between generations is what my ministry is aiming at. The harmony of the people, by the people, and for the people.

My Local Church’s Support

One of the local churches’ gave us the space to share love with children from slums with social and scholastic difficulties. The support to these children with various difficulties requires the heart of good men and women that look at other people as fellow brothers or sisters. We are lobbying for space within the church premises for an entertainment form them as well for the old people! Old people find it joy to be reminded of their old youthful days with music.

My Family’s Role in Ministry

My family always prays for me that we prosper in the works of God and the entire ministry to acquire many fruits.

Why CLI has an Important for My Ministry in Uganda

A scholarship with CLI would enable me to learn outreach programs with intimacy. Because of the limited funds to enrol for seminary institutes in Uganda, at CLI, I see the opportunity to accomplish this dream. I need to learn various methods of missionary work to communities. The world is hungry for God. A materialistic approach to life and dictatorships in our world decay the hearts of people. Outreach programs in lonely places and societies often abandoned is where I want to serve.