“Praise God Rev. I am Rev. Fr. Joseph M. I got your number from someone in Heartcry missionary group. I have been for so long listening to the sermons of Brother Paul Washer and I can’t hold it anymore, my soul is longing and restless for true Christ and salvation. Thank you so much.”
Above is the message that I received in December 2020 from a Roman Catholic priest, accompanied by his picture at his parish in western Uganda. I have received a number of messages and emails like this one. A face to face Q & A has always helped me to know who is serious and who is not! For this reason, my reply to him went as follows, “Good afternoon to you dear friend. Thanks for reaching out to me. I’m very glad to hear that you’ve been listening to the sermons of Brother Washer, and that, through them you feel your soul is longing and restless for true Christ and true salvation. Glory to the Lord! I’d like to know more about you sir. Where exactly do you live and serve from? Can we plan a face to face meeting?”
Joseph was more than ready to hit the road and travel 300km to Kampala, simply to have a talk with me! I knew that he had come to the big city only to meet me because, after our talk, at around 2pm, he immediately boarded a bus back to his parish. With the new Covid-19 transport fares that were doubled in Uganda, to me that was a big sign of his seriousness!
During our meeting, Joseph narrated his amazing story to me, and here is the summary of it in quotes: “I was born in a staunch Catholic family. My parents were yearning to have at least one priest in their family. They sent me to the seminary for that very purpose. After becoming a priest, our Archbishop liked me so much because of my zeal in the work. For me to serve better, he offered to send me to Nairobi to study one course that is not taught in Uganda called ‘Mariology.’
It was during that course in Nairobi that the Lord started talking with my heart. As we went deeper in the study of Mary, I realized that a lot of the information was contrary to Scripture, and I started doubting what I was being taught. After my course, I came back home restless. I wanted to get genuine truth about Mary from non-Catholic preachers, so I decided to search the internet.
Providentially, the first person I landed on was Paul Washer, who was speaking against the lies of Roman Catholicism on YouTube. I liked him so much because he was preaching what I had never heard in my life. I decided to look for more of his sermons. In my search I landed on his ‘Shocking Message to the Youth’ that made me cry the whole night in my room. It’s after listening to that teaching that I decided to look for help.
I wrote to HeartCry and someone there told me that they have a church they work with in Kampala. I couldn’t believe it! He gave me your contact and that’s how I managed to reach out to you. Pastor, to be sincere, I can’t hold it anymore, I’m ready for anything for the sake of Christ.”
Joseph finds himself at the crossroad where he needs to decide which route to take. Kampala is far from his parish, and he suggested that he was willing to come to be discipled at RBC, waiting for what the Lord wants him to do. Well, that’s a big decision that needs a lot of wisdom from the Lord, because, at RBC he will be jobless and without shelter, while priests are very well catered for. If we are to take a risk and invite him to leave his parish, we need to provide him with accommodation, food, etc. This is not a small decision that a small church like RBC can easily take. We can do it just by faith! We are still praying for more wisdom from the Lord through His Word and the saints.
Please pray that the Lord would guide us in how to help Joseph, and please pray that Joseph will receive new birth from above.
