UGANDA MARTYR'S DAY REFLECTIONS ON BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR TO SAM KUTESA

Three of my five children - Ruth, Timothy, and Ethan

Last night I was homesick.   I spent the evening reading newspapers from East Africa and drinking chai (tea.)    My spirits healed a bit.

I also remembered that today is Marty's Day in Uganda.   I've decided to keep my Ugandan children home from their American school day.    My children need to know being a Ugandan means one has a dignified place in the history of Christianity.     There are many historic events for which Uganda is remembered for, but I want my children to never forget two.   First, Christianity in Uganda began with martyrdom.   Two, Uganda was a catalyst in the East African Revival.   All Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa must include Uganda in their history.   

As I read news last night I discovered that Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs Honorable Sam Kutesa has been nominated to become the president of United Nations General Assembly.   He has been endorsed by both the African Union http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/643128-au-endorses-kutesa-for-un-presidency.html and the Non-Aligned Movement http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/656153-sam-kutesa-heads-for-un-top-job.html.

Honorable Uganda Minister Sam Kutesa

Yet, Honorable Kutesa's nomination has controversy.    Social media is rapidly promoting a petition for United States Secretary of State John Kerry to deny Honorable Kutesa a visa to enter the United States and for United Nations member states to vote against Honorable Kutesa's presidency http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/stop-sam-kutesa-from-becoming-president-un-gen-assembly?recruiter=45859428&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_mobile.

Honorable Kutesa has a controversial past http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Push-to-block-Kutesa-UN-job-gathers-pace/-/688334/2334132/-/item/0/-/jc2fg5/-/index.html.   The Western media is reporting on Honorable Kutesa's past and focusing on the Anti-Gay bill recently signed by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/01/uganda-anti-gay-minister-human-rights-kutesa,  http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2014/06/01/ugandas-sam-kutesa-at-the-un-bring-him-on/, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/03/the-u-n-s-next-president-is-a-gay-hating-friend-of-uganda-s-corrupt-dictator.html,and http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/06/01/3443560/sam-kutesa-un-general-assembly/. 

I have never met Honorable Kutesa.  However, our lives are intertwined as neighbors.  His daughter

was my neighbor in Uganda.   Though she came from a very influential family and married into another still she greeted us, stopped by our home to drink chai, and always extended neighborly kindness.    I can't help but believe the Spirit of the Lord moves in the Kutesa family.    Without the Lord's movement in one's heart how else would such humble hospitality thrive?

I am also friends with Honorable Kutesa's sister-in-law.    Her husband is one of my better non-believing friends and advisers.    Our families attend movies together and share meals. I always come away wiser.   My friend has as many failings as I.   We've both married well to gracious women who love us and accept our failings.    I can't deny that gift of the Lord.

Lastly as a Mulokole (Born Again / Saved / Evangelical) I inherited the legacy of the East African Revival.    Sam Kutesa's father, Kosiya Kyamuhangire was one of the early leaders of the East African Revival.    Mzee Kyamuhangire was a true visionary who died on a mission in Gahini, Rwanda.   His death seemed inconsequential at the time.  His grave was unmarked.    Yet, he was a true visionary who saw the colonial borders separating East Africa as irrelevant.   He left a legacy of a dream for a united faith and people.   His ideals saw the family of God rise above artificial divisions such as race, nationality, denomination, and ethnicity.    I cannot count the number of times this legacy marked both the readings of East African history and ordinary conversations in churches, schools, government, business, and social settings (http://www.newvision.co.ug/mobile/Detail.aspx?NewsID=632330&CatID=1, http://en.igihe.com/news/president-kagame-pays-tribute-to-kosiya, http://allafrica.com/stories/201206250097.html?viewall=1, http://www.chimpreports.com/index.php/mobile/news/4848-kagame-pays-glowing-tribute-to-kutesa%E2%80%99s-fallen-dad.html.)

Honorable Kutesa is my neighbor.   My Boss instructed me to love my neighbor as myself (Leviticus 19:18,  Matthew 5:43,  Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33,  Luke 10:27, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8.)  How do I practically do that?  With today being Martyr's Day it seems especially relevant to reflect on the art of neighboring a controversial neighbor.   

The instructions of my Boss in Leviticus 19 is a hodgepodge of rules for neighborly living thousands of years ago.   Some seem rather silly in today's context such as not planting two kinds of seed in a field or using two types of material in a garment (Leviticus 19:19.)    However, when compared to the documents of their day these rules have many enduring principles such as truth, justice, and the protecting of life.    This instruction of loving one's neighbor as one's self has a unique interpretation, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord, (Leviticus 19:18. New International Version.)"   Loving one's neighbor means we know when our neighbors have done wrong.   Yet, we don't nurture a wound and seek an opportunity for revenge.    Instead we forgive and seek to build unity.

So much of the news from social media and Western news on Uganda focuses on the recently signed Anti-Gay bill.    Yet, the whole story is not told.  

There is historical evidence that homosexuality exited in pre-colonial Africa.   Yet most historians conclude the Baganda (largest numeric ethnic group in the nation-state of Uganda) found the practice of homosexuality abhorrent.  Buganda faced competing interests between Muslim Arab traders, French Catholic missionaries, and Protestant missionaries from the United Kingdom in the early 1880’s. Many believe that Buganda Kabaka (King) Mwanga was influenced to become a homosexual practitioner by Arab Muslims. When his pages resisted his homosexual advances it led to their martyrdom on June 3, 1886. It is little wonder why the discussion on homosexuality so rapidly stirs such deep emotions.    Uganda does have deep historical wounds related to homosexuality and violence.   I cannot imagine that these old stories do not impact today’s perceptions.   Uganda’s history of homosexuality is perceived as one of outside influence and violence.

These old wounds also recycle themselves in contemporary times.     With Uganda's culture of same gender affection and many still living in economic poverty, Uganda youth can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation by those from outside Uganda.   (For more pastoral reflections see http://www.hekimagreatlakesmessenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/can-we-heal-wounds-faith-and-ugandas.html.

With so many wounds of the past and present it is tempting to neglect the mercy and justice of Godly love.    My boss however makes it clear - Revenge is bad manners for neighbors.    Mob justice directed against homosexuals is wrong.    Mob justice on social media directed against my neighbor Kutesa is also wrong.    Our neighborly task is redemption.  

 The dictionary defines redemption as “atoning for a fault or mistake” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/redemption,) “to make (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) better or more acceptable, to free from what distresses or harms,  to free from captivity by payment of ransom, to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental,  to release from blame or debt,  to free from the consequences of sin” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redeem.)    Both extremists in this debate seem to have lost sight of the possibility of redemption.

Redemption goes against our depraved human nature (Genesis 3.)   It calls us back to the human dignity of being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27.)    How do we practically return to God given dignity?   

My Boss instructed us that when religious manipulators stir us to hate we choose to pray blessings upon those who choose to be our enemies.   He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43, 44.)"

As we pray we are changed.   We no longer count score of rights and wrongs.     My Boss said, "To love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33. NIV.)”   After all as we count score we find that we too have our failings.  

We may try to define neighbor as someone just like ourselves.   The easiest ways to see our neighbor may be through lenses such as nationality, race, denomination, political party, ethnicity, and economic standards.     

However, what if it comes down to affections and affiliations nurtured by shared fears and wounds?  

My Boss told a story to address the misconception that my neighbor means someone just like me.    Old theologians call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37.)   We could translate Samaritan to any cluster of people our wounds make us easily despise.  (For instance - http://hekimagreatlakesmessenger.blogspot.com/2013/10/somali-transporter-rescues-mbale-trader.html.)
  
All are worthy of love.   No one should be the victim of mob justice.   

As the Uganda Martyr's went to their death they did what Jesus' followers through out time did when faced with injustice.    They prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:60. NIV.)”

Thus on Martyr's Day as the mobs debate and posture the Martyrs call us to another way.   We cannot deny either the historic or contemporary wounds.    Yet, redemption is possible.    We pray for those who choose to be our enemies and act with kindness, grace, and love to all.   My neighbors include the Kutesa family as well as the victims and perpetrators of contemporary mob justice. 

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE NATION OF RWANDA

Antoinette Kanyabutembo and me

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak at the Rwanda National Prayer Banquet in Silver Springs,  Maryland.    Antoinette Kanyabutembo asked for me to speak on, “My experience with the nation of Rwanda.”
 

            The Lord gave me the privilege to pastor in Rwanda.   With that came the experience of sharing in the rituals of life – birth, marriage, sickness, and death.   One great privilege was listening to the bzee (elders) of Rwanda.    We live in a season of history in which those who experienced the East African Revival will soon be gone from this created earth.   Now we have the opportunity to listen to their voices.   Frequently this is at family gatherings and even hospitals.

          

Prayers at the Banquet

  The bzee of the East African Revival had the original vision for the East African Community.   They began in an isolated village of Gahini, Rwanda.   Yet, all who consider themselves Balokole (Born Again, Saved, or Evangelical) in Sub-Saharan Africa will trace their history back to Gahini.   The Revival started with prayer.   It concluded that unity was no respecter of divisions of nation, race, ethnicity, nor denomination.    The Revival spoke a simple word of our Lord, “Go.”  It went to locations like Burundi, Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda.   Those who went planted churches.   They started schools.   They preached, “Man is made in the image of God.”   They began the intellectual seeds that broke colonialism and called for independence.   

East Africa Revival Leaders

            Some of those who went, “disappeared.”   Factors like poor communication systems, distance, and political instability resulted in their extended family being unaware of the outcome of the “going” for generations.    They lived out the words of our Lord, 

^“And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29.  New Living Translation.)”

Jesus' Great Commission

One of the privileges I had with the nation of Rwanda was being with extended families when those who had left during the Revival grandchildren returned.   It was a privilege to see bzee meet their nieces and nephews of departed brothers and sisters.   The Lord’s words were true.    They had received a hundred times return plus eternal life.   Some of those simple Rwandan missionaries of old were buried in unmarked graves.   They had little power of earth.   Yet, few have their enduring influence.

Another part of my experience with the nation of Rwanda is in my wife, Jana’s childhood in Kenya (1968-89) and our young adult years in Uganda in the 1990’s.    Though some may argue that Rwanda was peaceful in the 1970’s and 80’s not all Rwandans lived in peace.   Political nonsense created refugee living.  

Yet, our experience watched as agaciro (dignity) refused to accept the fate of destitution.

Joseph receive his brothers

  Like Joseph of old, Rwandans excelled.   They were good students.   Farms and businesses that employed Rwandans thrived.

As we were “foreigners” and out of place it was frequently these Rwandan refugees who gave us compassion and wisdom.    They gave key advice came at just the right moment as we pondered new understandings and undertakings.  

Our family was next door in Uganda when the Genocide began.   We initially thought, “Surely not.   This must be an exaggeration.”   Then the bodies began drifting into Lake Victoria.   We did nothing.  My repentance has been a resolve to engage.

From 2005 to 2012 we had the privilege to serve in Rwanda.   We lived during a season that was much like the stories of Judah’s return from Babylonian exile.   

Rwanda Presidential Scholars Graduation 2010

As Ezra taught the law we saw the building of educational institutions.   University attendance boomed to over 72,000 students.    New schools were built.   Scholarship programs thrived.    

With this came a compelling vision and new policy framework.   President Kagame told us, “Others can walk.   We must run.”

Like Nehemiah building the wall of Jerusalem our security in Kigali was excellent.   My beautiful daughters were safe to walk at night.  Roads, infra-structure, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses were being rapidly built.   

It was a privilege to serve in such a season of hope.

As my family prepared to go into exile as missionaries to America it was the bzee of

Mzee William Rugege

Rwanda who blessed us.    I had the privilege to serve Mzee William Rugege Holy Communion my last Sunday in Rwanda.   As I walked him back to his seat he held me close and whispered God’s blessings in my ear.

As our family has returned to America after 19 years of service in Africa the transition has been overwhelming.   It is the Diaspora who nurtured us.   They have called and asked those simple questions, “How are you?   What can we pray for?”   When we feel at loss we remember we were blessed by Rwandan bzee.   The best advice comes from them.   They tell us heaven is home.   Everything else is temporary.   Yet, while on this earth we must make it as much like heaven as possible.

As many of us at this Prayer Banquet are in exile what should we conclude about our temporary stay?

Have you seen today’s USA Today headline, “Hope Dims for Immigration Bill”? (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/02/06/boehner-immigration-prospects-dim/5257015/) 

Can you imagine such a headline in New Times?   Can you imagine a Rwanda headline of dimming hope?   Can you imagine a Rwanda that is unable to empathize with those living in exile?  Can you imagine a Rwanda whose leaders don’t open a Bible to see that all who follow Christ are described in terms like “foreigner, alien, and refugee.”?

Our temporary stay in exile is about being missionaries to America.    You see America needs Rwandan missionaries in her midst to become all God intends.   I can quickly find five areas where Rwandan Diaspora must speak to America as missionaries.

Boy Jesus at Temple with Bzee

First, America’s bzee (elders) are lonely.   Few listen to their wisdom.   One joy I have repeatedly seen is Rwanda youth taking the time to listen to American bzee.   Few others do.

Second, in a fast paced America with many To Do lists Rwanda teaches America that children are a blessing.   We have time to be with them.   Their cries in our solemn assemblies are actually the whispers of God that our community is alive.     

Doreen Rwigambo

Third, I believe when we get to heaven we’ll see a Bible where the Lord chooses which language best describes His intent.    When God’s word says, “Made in the image of God,” and English translates the concept as “dignity” God’s full intent will best be said with the Kinyarwanda word, “Agaciro.”    Humanity in creation is full of dignity.   All life is infinitely valuable.    Our human creativity and labor reflect God’s intent from Creation.

Fourth, is Umuganda (community work.)     I live in Chicago.   We’ve had lots of snow.   I can’t believe as I watch elders, widows, and single moms try to shovel out of snow alone.    Umuganda tells me that when our community has a little hiccup of life all of us with some measure of physical strength go outside, pick up a tool, and labor together.    America needs Umuganda.

Kinyarwanda dancing at Prayer Banquet

Lastly, when I was a child in America I remember being told that the nuclear family is the basic social building block of society.     When I arrived in Africa I had a startling realization.   Africa sees the basic social building block to be the extended family.   When I read my Bible I realized Africa was right.   Why do we have all these genealogies if extended family is not how we build society?

In the America I returned to I believe most Americans now see the most basic social building block to be the individual.   In the process America has become a lonely polarized nation.     America needs Rwandan missionaries to teach America about community.

Honorable Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana

Thank you very much for this opportunity to share my experiences with the fine people of Rwanda.

SOMALI TRANSPORTER RESCUES MBALE TRADER

Have you heard the latest news? A Mbale trader, Samson Wesonga was ambushed by 6 thugs on the Jinja – Kampala Road on Tuesday, April 1. The ambush took place at mid-day with in the Mabira forest. According to Wesonga, the thugs had placed a tree across the road, and when he slowed down to stop, they way laid him at gunpoint. Then they beat him severely, stripped him naked, and left him for dead.

The thugs took Wesonga’s Nissan pickup UAB 272M, 10 boxes of Blue Band, 5 boxes of Kimbo shortening, 300 kilos of posho, and 2.6 million Uganda shillings.

Wesonga came in and out of consciousness several times until his rescue, and reported several travelers who stopped to observe his condition.

The first was Jim Bob Allister, missionary for the Evangelical Missions Alliance. Allister was driving a Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up.

“I thought I was saved,” reported Wesonga. “Everyone knows Bazungu have lots of money, and are such kind people. The Muzungu greeted me with ‘Jambo, rafiki. Habari?’ When I tried to explain my condition in Kiswahili he called his translator. Then I heard him say ‘Time is money. I have an important meeting with our mission board, and can not be late.’ Then he drove off.

The next to stop was Apostle Bernard Okidi with the Divine Church of Deliverance and Healing. Okidi was traveling in a Toyota Hi-Ace with a group of Christians going to attend a crusade.

Wesonga reports, “Again, I thought I was saved. Surely, a group of Balokole would help me. They are the chosen people of God.”

Again Wesonga was disappointed. Okidi reportedly called for God to heal Wesonga. When there was apparently no response from God Okidi remarked, “Brother, you do not have enough faith to be healed. I must wipe the dust off of my feet from you, and move on to our crusade where people do have the faith to be healed.”

The next time Wesonga awoke there was a leader from one of Uganda’s traditional churches.

“I was too delirious to get this man’s details,” reported Wesonga. “All I can remember is robes and religious babble. As he drove off in his Pajero I heard him say, ‘We don’t know who this man is. He could be a rebel or escaped prisoner. We can not jeopardize our good standing by getting involved with this type of man.’”

Finally, Somali transporter, Abdu Mohamed, rescued Wesonga. Mohamed was driving a Shell

Petrol lorry, UAB 573N.


“I didn’t know what to expect when the Somali pulled over to the side of the road,” reported Wesonga. “I was too weak and tired to be scared. I thought maybe he was an angel coming to take me to heaven.”

Mohamed quickly had his turn boy, Nyusef Abdullah, begin cutting branches to alert other travelers of the accident. As Abdullah was alerting others, Mohamed got the first aid box from his lorry and begin applying bandages and ointment. He also gave Wesonga a slice of bread and some water. Then Mohamed and Abdullah carried Wesonga to their lorry, and transported him to the Kawolo, Lugazi hospital. Abdullah rode on the top of the lorry so that Wesonga would have room to rest comfortably on the trip.

At the Kawolo, Lugazi hospital Wesonga was given 34 stitches for 3 lacerations on his head. Also, a broken right arm was set. While in Lugazi, Mohamed reported the crime to the police. He also placed a phone call to Wesonga’s family in Mbale to notify them of his condition. Mohamed stayed the remainder of the day in Lugazi with Wesonga, and then paid his bill of 122,000 shillings as he was released from the hospital that evening.

Mohamed then transported Wesonga to Mukono where he put him up in Collines Hotel. He left a deposit of 300,000 Uganda shillings with the management. He instructed the hotel to care for Wesonga until he returned from Kampala on Friday, April 4. Mohamed plans to transport Wesonga home to Mbale on his return trip to Mombassa next week.

In related news police spokesmen, have asked for the public to help in locating Wesonga’s Nissan pickup, UAB 272M. They also caution travelers to exercise caution when they approach non-police or UPDF roadblocks. They promise to apprehend the thugs who robbed Wesonga, and bring them to swift justice.

The N.G.O. Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has promised to investigate the Evangelical Missions Alliance and Divine Church of Healing and Deliverance. “We need more men like Mohamed in this country, and less of these phony N.G.O.’s,” they said.

Shell Uganda Management has nominated Abdu Mohamed for the Shell World Citizen award. They have also re-imbursed him for the expenses in aiding Wesonga. Management said, “Mohamed is typical of Shell employees who are driving Uganda into the 21st Century.”

When interviewed Mohamed was asked why he chose to help Wesonga. He humbly replied, “What else could I do? As I have traveled I have learned that all men are my neighbors.”

For further information on this interesting piece of news from Uganda check out the original source (Luke 10:25-37.)  His name is Jesus of Nazareth. He told this story to illustrate the failings of law keeping without compassion for all people. A doctor named Luke recorded it in a historical dissertation approximately 2,000 years ago.

CONFESSING THE SINS OF MY FATHERS AND MYSELF

One of my most dear earthly homes, Rwanda is in a period of mourning from the horrific Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.   In grief many emotions overwhelm us – denial, anger, sadness, and acceptance.   Grief that is caused by human sin must never be accepted as a cover up of the darkest actions of man.   Rightly, the victim’s blood cries out for generations for justice.   Yet, in the cries sometimes we deny our own dark places that make such horrific actions possible.   In true acceptance we seek to change our own lives, and resolve to make a world where human initiated horror is unlikely to ever happen again.

These seasons of grief bring us back to one of the oldest spiritual disciplines – confession and repentance.    God requires those of us who build after tragedy to humbly acknowledge the actions of our fathers and ourselves that created such tragedy.   A Diaspora builder of old confessed,

 “O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with

those who love him and keep his commandments; let thy ear be attentive, and thy eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant which I now pray before thee day and night … confessing the sins of the people… which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father’s house have sinned.  We have acted very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments… (Nehemiah 1:5-7, Revised Standard Version.)”

I am an American Mulokole (Evangelical / Saved One.)   My people have sinned greatly.

I have read the histories and listened to the stories of Africa’s Great Lake’s Bzee.   My people, the nation of America has sinned greatly.  We repeatedly manipulated political processes in Africa’s Great Lakes after Independence.  We supported regimes who repeatedly forfeited their moral authority for our gain of resources or political stability during the Cold War.   We cared little for the consequences upon the people of Africa’s Great Lakes.   During the Genocide we hid in nuances of grammar, legal technicalities, and political rhetoric.   We could have done more.   We were cowardly.

My people, the Balokole have sinned.   We retreated into a world of the spirit and forgot the affairs of men on earth.   When Independence came we did not offer a prophetic voice.   We did not participate in building of enduring institutions.  In the end, the killing fields of Rwanda were our own church buildings.

I have sinned.  From my childhood, Rwanda fascinated me.   My earliest Ugandan friends were Banyarwanda.   Yet, when I read hateful literature that masqueraded as academic reasoning I was silent.   When my Bazungu clan mates repeated mythology that would later justify Genocide I was silent.   When the Genocide began I did not write a single letter or make a single phone call to any government official who could have made a difference.

I offer my God and the people of Rwanda my deepest apologies.  I pray that my people and I will never act in a similar way again so help me God.