Testimony from Uganda
By Editorial Staff
Published December 2007
GAINESVILLE, FL (FR) – “You’re just a schoolboy,” the army officer told 17-year-old Paul Sandy. “Why are you telling people about things that are too complicated for you?” Uganda was under an iron-fisted military regime at the time, and Sandy and his friend, a pastor, had been arrested for preaching the gospel at an open air meeting. They narrowly escaped execution.
Sandy was the interpreter for the English preacher. During the message, Sandy said soldiers arrived and disrupted the meeting. “They told us to sit on the pavement, and then they cocked their guns to execute us … but then a jeep with soldiers pulled up. They beat us up with the ends of their guns and then took us to the Malili army barracks for interrogation.”
Sandy and his companion were brought into a small room and accused of instigating unrest and bringing confusion to the people. “We continued answering their questions and preaching to the officers. Scriptures flowed from our mouths. Jesus once said that we shouldn’t worry about what we were to say when we were delivered up to the authorities – and that scripture was made real to me during that experience.”
When asked by the military officers why they were preaching, the brave teenager answered: “We have a commission from our Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel. We can’t help but carry out our commission.” Eventually they were released, but Sandy was sternly told to not preach the gospel again. “I was ready to die, if that was the time. Imprisonment for Christianity was common in my country,” he added. Sandy has a noticeable scar on his right hand from the beatings he endured that day.
Today, 24-year-old Sandy is a student at the University of Florida who is aspiring to be an agriculturist. He became a Christian during the reign of Uganda’s fiercest dictator Idi Amin. Uganda has had seven different presidents in power since it was thrown into a state of war 25 years ago. Says Sandy: “I’ve had to study through political instability; many times it got so bad that they closed the school and people left work.”
In 1979, war started while he was in secondary school. “I was very far from God, and my mother was not a Christian. My father died when I was one.” Falling shells and soldiers in his hometown, Kampala, the capitol city of Uganda, were a common sight.
“We narrowly survived by God’s grace,” he said. While sleeping at home one night, Sandy awoke to hear heavy footsteps advancing towards his bedroom. “The person turned the door handle and then came to my room. The glass in my window was broken, and I saw him point his machine gun inside and then there was a heavy blast of fire.
“He fired into my room and most of the shots went a few inches above my brother’s bed. If he would have raised his head, he would have died,” he said. “I never got to know the person’s intentions, but I survived.”
Another incident took place which caused Sandy to think seriously about where his life was going. Around 7 p.m. one evening, one of his brothers and some friends were talking in their home when his oldest brother – a doctor – arrived unexpectedly. Suddenly, they were ambushed by soldiers. “They shot everywhere, and my two sisters were afraid that they were going to be raped … so they escaped and hid outside the house.
“The soldiers grabbed my mother, held her at gunpoint, and threatened to kill her if she didn’t tell them where the two girls were hiding. Then, they turned around and opened fire on all of us. We all went down. When we got back up, none of us were wounded. We all survived. I can’t tell you how we survived, only God knows. It shook up my life.”
Sandy’s two brothers were Christians at that time. His oldest brother gave his heart to Jesus after being healed through prayer while a medical student. “The rest of us thought Christianity was weird,” said Sandy. “We teased our brothers, and it was very difficult for them to witness to us.”
Sandy remembers the exact date that he became a Christian. It did not happen after hearing an evangelist on one of the many television or radio programs available to American Christians. On the evening of July 29, Sandy said “I found that God was speaking to me. His voice was very real.
“I couldn’t push it away or put it aside. The voice asked, ‘Who has your life?’ and it was like a sword through my heart. I knew my life wasn’t in my hands and couldn’t give an appropriate answer. If I died at that point, I knew I would go straight to hell because I wasn’t forgiven of sin, and hadn’t received Jesus into my life. Everything became clear, it was suddenly as if my eyes were opened.
“I realized I was far from God, and needed His forgiveness. When my brother woke up, I told him that I had become a Christian. He thought I was teasing him.” His brother was convinced, however, when Sandy asked to go to an evangelistic crusade with him.
Because he had been a troublemaker in school, Sandy’s friends gave him two weeks to see if his conversion was genuine. “They couldn’t believe me,” Sandy related. “I passed out tracts and was nicknamed ‘Young Jesus.’” A friend slapped him on the cheek and expected a violent reaction. “In my heart I heard a voice saying, ‘He’s trying you.’ I walked away laughing.”
Since then, Paul Sandy has led several youth groups in his church in Uganda, and has traveled through the U.S. with the African Children’s Choir as a chaperone. “I feel that God has called me to be His witness and I have a burden to take the gospel to Uganda. I feel indebted to my country, especially to the orphans. I would like to see Uganda become economically self-sufficient.”
- by Leilani Corpus
Forerunner - Home » The Forerunner Newspaper » World Events
Your comments are welcome!
Abortion Clinic 911 Calls
Exposes the Dangers of Abortion to Women!
These shocking eyewitness accounts expose the dangers of abortion not only to unborn children, but to the health and lives women as well. An antidote to the smokescreens of the liberal media, these six short clips show what really happens in and around abortion clinics.
Although the content is emotionally gut-wrenching, these videos have been used in church seminars and small groups to educate Christians on the abortion issue and to lead people toward a pro-life position.
Watch these pro-life videos on-line.
“These videos helped change my mind from pro-choice to pro-life. Your videos are what did it for me. I will be walking in next year’s March For Life in San Francisco.” — A. Jackson, California
“I was going to have an abortion until I saw your video. Praise Jesus!”
— M. Drew, YouTube Commenter
$9.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism (DVD)
Download the Free on-line Study Guide!
Just what is Calvinism?
Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology?
This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer.
Running Time: 257 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
God's Law and Society (DVD)
Download the Free on-line Study Guide!
God’s Law and Society powerfully presents a comprehensive worldview based upon the ethical system found in the Law of God.
Speakers include: R.J. Rushdoony, George Grant, Howard Phillips, R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misconceptions related to this volatile issue:
1. Are we under Law or under Grace?
2. Does the Old Testament Law apply today?
3. Can we legislate morality?
4. What are the biblical foundations of government?
5. Was America founded as a Christian nation?
6. What about the separation of Church and State?
7. Is neutrality a myth?
8. What about non-Christians and the Law of God?
9. Would there be “freedom” in a Christian republic?
10. What would a “Christian America” look like?
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal Bible study.
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction!
Running Time: 240 minutes
Watch over 60 on-line video interviews from God’s Law and Society.
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
Massacre of Innocence (DVD)
Exposing The Occult Roots of Abortion
This presentation looks at the spiritual roots of abortion and exposes the myths surrounding child killing. Little known historical facts about abortion and how they relate to modern feminism are presented logically and accurately. Has been effective in converting many to a pro-life position.
Massacre of Innocence goes where no pro-life presentation has gone before in “tearing the lid off abortion” to reveal the spiritual realities we must battle if we will bring an end to this crime. The presentation is absorbing, fast-paced, informative and incredibly devastating to any attempt to justify abortion.
“… an extraordinary statement … a powerfully articulate presentation about what abortion really means, and why a great and moral nation like the United States must not allow the slaughter to continue.”
— Congressman Robert K. Dornan
Running time: 85 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
The Beast of Revelation: Identified (DVD)
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation?
Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry’s insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation — and even more importantly — amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview!
Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue — but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today.
Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study — for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John’s famous letter “… to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (Revelation 1:4)
Running Time: 145 minutes
$17.95 — ORDER NOW!
