Testimonies

estimony from a woman in Kenya:

“My name is Ziporah Mudiri. I am 78 years old. My husband died when I was 40, and my life was full of pain.

I was left with three kids. It was a struggle to take them to school and provide food for them. As this was too difficult for me, my kids ended up on the streets, begging for food. My relatives were nowhere to help me. They all abandoned us.

I remember that I went to church, and I was given a Bible to read, but the more I read, the more I got confused. I didn’t understand anything that I was reading.

I stopped going to church and got introduced to a cult that promised to solve all of our problems. We did funny things in a form of worship. We would worship naked without clothes in odd hours of the night. We would go to the rivers at midnight to bathe, but this changed nothing.

Last year, I joined the Zarephath widows’ group, and I began to read and pray with the other widows. We learned were sin came from. We also learned of the need to have a Savior and who the Savior was. The Bible finally began to make sense to me, and I understood that all that I needed was my Savior.

Pastor Wycliffe introduced us to Jesus and I gave my life to Jesus. I opened my home for other widows to come and pray with me as they teach me more of the Bible stories. I used to be like the Israelites who worshipped other gods instead of the one true God.

After years of being gone, one of my daughters came back home. She had been involved in prostitution and had contracted HIVAids. As I cannot read and have been praying for help, I asked her to read the stories to me. As she read, she also understood the need for a Savior. She has now given her life to Christ also.

Thank you for the booklets that help us to understand the Bible.”

From Wycliffe in Kenya:

“Today, we ended our conference for the widows. The work with the widows began four years ago with only twenty women who had come together to encourage one other after their husbands had died. Now, there are 520 women divided into twelve groups from fifteen different villages in Vihiga and Nandi counties.

We taught the chronological lessons in the Swahili language, and the challenge was not to simply read the books alone, but to make sure that they would read to the children and to the grandchildren as well.

Because the widows are poor, different people have contributed to pay for some booklets for the widows.

-Pastor Jacob Majani of PAG Malindi paid for 20 copies of lessons 1-10.
-Madam Elizabeth Lugaye paid for 20 copies of lessons 1-10.
-Rev Bony of PAG Chavakali Karani paid for 60 copies of lessons 1-10.
-Rev Francis Ombajo of ADC Givole collected from the members of his church and they paid for 100 copies of lessons 11-20.

From Sister Khaitesi in Uganda, a former Muslim. When she received the Lord Jesus Christ, she was chased from her home, and no one ever wanted to see her:

“I have been listening to the Word of God for a very long time. Every day, the Bible was read on the radio. I used to listen on my phone using my earphones, as listening to preaching is a great crime in our family. As my father puts it, ‘That is shame to the whole Muslim world!’ But with my phone, I could hide and listen.

One day, the preacher taught about destiny. He asked questions like ‘Who am I?’ ‘Where did I come from?’ ‘Why am I here on earth?’ ‘How will I go back?’ These kept me searching for the truth, knowing that there is judgment after death just as we believed in Islam (though Islam has a very unfair judgement!).

Through studying the chronological Booklets, I came to believe in Jesus Christ. The love of God in the Bible who gave His Son, and His constant grace drew me to Him and understanding how sinful I was. I said “Yes” to the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, there was one thing yet lacking, and I asked God through prayer to provide it for me. The Bible, the greatest weapon of all time, was what I lacked.

Indeed, God is faithful as He says in His Word, and on Sunday, I was able to receive a gift of a Bible! This is a tool for me to teach the world to know the Light. It is a time to let the Light in me shine.

I am so happy to have the family of Christ as a part of my family. Though my physical family rejected and disowned me, Jesus is Lord and I am so much joyful.”

Felix–Keep praying for her to be strong and grow in the love of God.

One of the teachers at the Gahumbwa school in Kenya shares her testimony:

“My name is Mary Consepter. I have been a teacher for ten years now. In my years as a teacher, I have never come across such a simple, yet profound teaching as we received from the chronological booklets.

I will confess that I have been going to church, but I had no personal intimacy with God. This was because I did not understand why I needed Him, even though I was born of Christian parents.

Reading the booklets opened my inner eyes and ears to know the truth. When Bithian came to our school with the books, I despised them as they were too basic. Little did I know of the golden nuggets in the books. I learned that I needed to have a personal relationship with God. I was convicted of being a pretender who had already been saved when in essence, I needed to be saved.

I was hiding in my parents’ salvation, but in reality, I was a sinner who needed God. I envied my fellow teachers. I was full of hatred when others were promoted instead of me. When students performed well in their subjects, my hatred multiplied.

I was a sinner, and the booklets opened my eyes to see who I really was. God has changed me. During one of the lessons, it was clear that I belonged to the bad team, the team of Satan.

Bithian asked that if anyone wanted to belong to God’s team, then they were to give their lives to Christ. For sure, I did without hesitation. She prayed and I felt a heavy burden fall off of me. I felt lighter and since then, I am a happy woman.

Previously, I went home from school with a bad attitude that almost cost me my marriage. My husband used to complain about my attitude, but now, we are all smiles when I go home. Even we teachers need Christ.

I can now loudly say that I am born again, and that Christ is my Savior. Thank you for the chronological booklets.”

The schools are now closed for the public as the student sit for their exams. We trust, however, that God will continue convicting more and saving more souls to His glory.

Wycliffe

From Kapsabet, Kenya where Bithian is teaching students in the schools there:

“My name is Timothy Mgondo. I am a very happy man after my daughter showed me the way to happiness. I took my daughter to this school as I wanted her to learn just like the other parents wanted for their kids. The first year was so bad for me as she was last in her class.

I used to drink a lot. At the end of her first term, I would come home and beat her with kicks and blows. I had become a laughing stock with other parents. I got deeper into alcohol due to my shame and I became a useless man.

Last year, I brought her back to school after she had spent an entire term at home due to my stupidity. In the second term, I saw a great change in my daughter. Her mother noticed this too. She was reading a lot and was very obedient at home.

I began to tell myself that I would not beat her again, and that I would accept the marks that she would come home with. That term, she was among the top third in her class. Instead of staying home to congratulate her, I went to the club to drink. I got so drunk that some men had to carry me home.

The next day, my daughter asked if she could read to me instead of me going to the club. She told me that she wanted to read to me the Bible stories which had helped her to learn how to read better as well as to do better academically at school.

At first I refused, but she insisted that if I didn’t listen, then she wouldn’t do well at school. All that she wanted was my support and my ears as she practiced her reading

We both agreed and I became a victim of not going to the club, but instead, listening to the stories. The stories began to convict me step by step.

I was convinced that I was just like the Israelites whom God loved, but yet had other gods. Alcohol was my god and I was in the wrong tribe. I had caused a lot of pain to my family, and I needed a savior.

My daughter kept reading the stories to me until I knew who the Savior was. She prayed with me, and I cried, knowing the pain that I had caused her.

I went to church with her the following Sunday, and she asked the pastor to pray for me to give my life to the Savior whom I needed. I am now at peace with myself and my family. There is joy and happiness in my family.

I thank God for whoever gave the books to my daughter, and taught her. Now, my daughter has taught me too. It is eight months since I have tasted alcohol. My health is good and now, I can help my wife with farm work. I thank Jesus for saving me. I bless my daughter for leading me to Christ.”

Bithian taught the girl in school. The girl went home and shared with her family. The girl is sixteen years old.

This testimony is from Wycliffe in Nairobi, Kenya who recently had his laptop stolen. His laptop had all of the chronological lessons in Swahili on it:

“I thank God for His grace and love. God really does comfort his children – and most often he chooses to do so through the arms, legs, voices, ears, faces, and tears of men and women who have been to the front lines and returned with battle scars. ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Someone who has ‘been there’ has the credibility and the understanding to know what it is that the person in pain is going through – the questions, the doubts, the fears. They can speak both compassionately and authoritatively because of their own experience.

God has used a friend to loan me His old laptop to keep using as I wait for God’s provision for my own. The police are still pursuing the robbers, The robbers have not yet switched on the computer, making it hard to trace it. We keep praying and I thank God for His provision of another computer. My email is okay, so I can continue using it now.”

Wycliffe

From South Sudan:

“In March of this year, I started meeting with a family of with their eight kids. At the time, the family was separating, as the husband was beating his wife, and there was no love in the family.

While I was teaching, one of their children shared with us what was taking place in their home, and asked me to go and share with them since Jesus gives peace.

When we went to their home, their father chased us away, saying that he did not want the Word of God because many people pretend to be preachers, but they are only green snakes in green grass carrying the Bible. He also said that he was a Muslim and did not want Christians in their home.

Sometime later, I shared the chronological booklets with one of their sons, and told him to read the stories to his family.

The father was anything but a father. He was drunk all the time, and became very abusive. One day, he even tried to rape his own daughter who was only ten years old, but two of his elder sons intervened.

Because of the father, the family lived separately, and the father would only come home to eat and afterwards, would go away. The children, however, loved one another.

I started visiting the family at their home to pray with them, and to share the Word of God. At times, when I would have money, I would buy sugar and bread for the family. I encouraged them to pray for their father.

Slowly, the father stopped drinking alcohol. He would come home and sleep most of the time. Sometimes, he would join us to listen to the teaching of God’s Word, but leave without saying a word.

After three months, the family noticed that he had surely changed. Two weeks ago, he called all of the family into the room, knelt down before all of them, and repented for all that he had been doing to them. He especially asked his wife to forgive him as well as his ten-year old daughter. The family is now happily reunited. The father is now born again!

We are praying for him to become a good father, that we would have more booklets to reach out to more people, and for boldness to teach God’s Word.

Ps.103:3 – Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Ps.103:4 – Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with
lovingkindness and tender mercies.

From David Okurut working in school/youth ministry in Uganda:

“My passion in school ministry is motivated by the hearts of the students who deeply want to learn the Word of God, and how they are willing to share with their
families. When these students are taught the foundation of the Word of God, and live a life based on the foundation of the holiness of God, the nation is changed.”

Jennifer, one of the students, shares how the chronological booklets have helped her and her family grow in the Word of God:

‘Reading the entire Bible is heavy stuff for us at home. Even I find it difficult, but since I started sharing the stories from the booklets with my family, we understand how we have sinned against God, how to pray, and how best to come to God which is through Christ confessing our sins. Only God is holy, and only God can save us. My faith in the Lord has deepened, and now I am able to share my faith easily with my Muslim friends without hurting them. Thank you for sharing with us the Word of God.’

Not only Jennifer, but other students have also grown in the Word of God, and just like Jennifer, are now sharing the Word of God freely. Thank you for praying with us. Thank you for helping us to grow, and above all, thank you for your help in providing the booklets which is causing the ministry to grow.”

David Charles Okurut