National transformation: what is God doing in Uganda!
Only 15 years ago, the world had written Uganda off as a hopeless case. The results of Idi Amin's plundering, his successor Milton Obote's reign of violence, and the brutal civil war of 1980-85 were an economy on the edge of collapse, the country bleeding from a thousand wounds, with inflation a rampaging 380% to 1000%. Tourism was threatened, and the Western embassies withdrew one after the other. Then came AIDS.
The world had no hope at all for Uganda.WHO experts predicted that the nation would collapse in 1997, with one third of the population dead, another third suffering, and the remaining third too weak to maintain the economy. The government saw no way out, so called church leaders together, admitting their predicament and asking "Can you find a ray of hope in this situation?"
One man spoke a prophetic word into the midst of this situation: "Whose report should we believe? The WHO experts', or God's word? God has a good plan for our nation, and a holy purpose." Not many listened to this voice, but those who did remained for prayer. The result was a movement which has since taken hold of the whole nation, bringing obvious change.
When the gospel arrived in Uganda in 1877, there was both a radical breakthrough and a spiritual battle. The first 36 Ugandan martyrs died at the hand of King Mwanga in 1886, but that did not hinder what is now seen as the roots of the East African revival, which started around 1920 in Uganda and Rwanda.
In 1971, Moslem General Idi Amin took over the government, starting an unprecedented and brutal persecution of all opponents, particularly Christians. He declared Uganda to be an Islamic state in 1975, despite the fact that only some 3% of the population were Moslems. Amin invited Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal to the 4-day ceremony, in which thousands of sheep and goats were ritually sacrificed. The Christians reacted by fleeing and prayer, and formed jungle churches, with 24-hour prayer. All differences between the confessions disappeared. "Someone's exact creed was not important, as long as they could pray," Mulinde remembers.
The return of peace after Amin's deposal in 1979 also brought a reduction in Christians' devotion to prayer; complacency and indifference set in. The church falsely believed Amin to have been the enemy.
Nation-wide prayer and fasting initiative!After recognising the mistake, an increasing number of Christians joined a nation-wide prayer and fasting initiative, with two aims: to unite themselves under God's aims for the nation, and to disarm the demonic powers behind their acute problems in prayer. The following is a sample of the many events which have since taken place (full report soon available on www.dawn.ch):
New covenant with the living God President Museveni repealed Amin's Islamic covenant, and gave the national flag to a group of intercessors as a prophetic symbol during a conference, re-dedicating the nation to the God of the Bible. That broke the dam.
Uncovering corruption Mulinde challenged the President to take more action against the tide of corruption in the nation. "We have our police and our system, but we cannot change people's hearts. That is the job of the church," replied Museveni. Together with the Christians, a public campaign for integrity and morality was started, which has spread throughout the nation. Museveni even appointed a Cabinet Minister for Ethics and Integrity, a born-again Christian, who started an investigation into bribery. Her appointment was sharply criticised by a number of Members of Parliament, and there have already been two attempts on her life. However, as a result of the President's backing and the prayers of many churches for the campaign, a growing number of corrupt officials have fallen from grace, and several high-ranking politicians have been forced to step down from office.
AIDS: values and condoms
The only nation in Africa in which the AIDS rate is decreasing
The government and churches united in a dual strategy: condoms and moral change through ethical renewal and a return to Biblical values - with phenomenal success. Uganda is the only nation in Africa in which the AIDS rate is decreasing, the dark predictions turned out to be false, and the WHO, facing a mystery, is investigating "the Ugandan phenomenon".
Inflation under control The inflation rate has dropped from 380% to between 6% and 8%.
The IMF and World Bank view Uganda as a prime example of economic recovery in Africa.
New unity among Christians God is drawing Christians of all confessions together to a new unity - the Uganda Christian Alliance, according to Mulinde. UCA is a network of ministries with the aim of "making disciples of the whole nation, and serving other nations".
Note: The video "National Transformation - what God is doing in Uganda" published in May 2001
The world had no hope at all for Uganda.WHO experts predicted that the nation would collapse in 1997, with one third of the population dead, another third suffering, and the remaining third too weak to maintain the economy. The government saw no way out, so called church leaders together, admitting their predicament and asking "Can you find a ray of hope in this situation?"
One man spoke a prophetic word into the midst of this situation: "Whose report should we believe? The WHO experts', or God's word? God has a good plan for our nation, and a holy purpose." Not many listened to this voice, but those who did remained for prayer. The result was a movement which has since taken hold of the whole nation, bringing obvious change.
When the gospel arrived in Uganda in 1877, there was both a radical breakthrough and a spiritual battle. The first 36 Ugandan martyrs died at the hand of King Mwanga in 1886, but that did not hinder what is now seen as the roots of the East African revival, which started around 1920 in Uganda and Rwanda.
In 1971, Moslem General Idi Amin took over the government, starting an unprecedented and brutal persecution of all opponents, particularly Christians. He declared Uganda to be an Islamic state in 1975, despite the fact that only some 3% of the population were Moslems. Amin invited Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal to the 4-day ceremony, in which thousands of sheep and goats were ritually sacrificed. The Christians reacted by fleeing and prayer, and formed jungle churches, with 24-hour prayer. All differences between the confessions disappeared. "Someone's exact creed was not important, as long as they could pray," Mulinde remembers.
The return of peace after Amin's deposal in 1979 also brought a reduction in Christians' devotion to prayer; complacency and indifference set in. The church falsely believed Amin to have been the enemy.
Nation-wide prayer and fasting initiative!After recognising the mistake, an increasing number of Christians joined a nation-wide prayer and fasting initiative, with two aims: to unite themselves under God's aims for the nation, and to disarm the demonic powers behind their acute problems in prayer. The following is a sample of the many events which have since taken place (full report soon available on www.dawn.ch):
New covenant with the living God President Museveni repealed Amin's Islamic covenant, and gave the national flag to a group of intercessors as a prophetic symbol during a conference, re-dedicating the nation to the God of the Bible. That broke the dam.
Uncovering corruption Mulinde challenged the President to take more action against the tide of corruption in the nation. "We have our police and our system, but we cannot change people's hearts. That is the job of the church," replied Museveni. Together with the Christians, a public campaign for integrity and morality was started, which has spread throughout the nation. Museveni even appointed a Cabinet Minister for Ethics and Integrity, a born-again Christian, who started an investigation into bribery. Her appointment was sharply criticised by a number of Members of Parliament, and there have already been two attempts on her life. However, as a result of the President's backing and the prayers of many churches for the campaign, a growing number of corrupt officials have fallen from grace, and several high-ranking politicians have been forced to step down from office.
AIDS: values and condoms
The only nation in Africa in which the AIDS rate is decreasing
The government and churches united in a dual strategy: condoms and moral change through ethical renewal and a return to Biblical values - with phenomenal success. Uganda is the only nation in Africa in which the AIDS rate is decreasing, the dark predictions turned out to be false, and the WHO, facing a mystery, is investigating "the Ugandan phenomenon".
Inflation under control The inflation rate has dropped from 380% to between 6% and 8%.
The IMF and World Bank view Uganda as a prime example of economic recovery in Africa.
New unity among Christians God is drawing Christians of all confessions together to a new unity - the Uganda Christian Alliance, according to Mulinde. UCA is a network of ministries with the aim of "making disciples of the whole nation, and serving other nations".
Note: The video "National Transformation - what God is doing in Uganda" published in May 2001
posted by Anonymous at 2:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home