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Honor One Another

September 16, 2008 - Read all blogs

Uganda is known as the “Pearl of Africa.”

Matthew 13:45 “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

We came to Uganda because we found the pearl of great price which is the very kingdom of heaven where the King rules supreme. His subjects are called friends and they serve Jesus out of love. In the kingdom of God are also precious people. They are usually those that the world overlooks and even sometimes shuns. These dear ones are the pearls of which the kingdom is made of. I want to share with you about one such pearl by the name of Job.

We have a dear friend, Pastor Joel Mugabi. Pastor Joel has a sister, Joy in the distant village of Bubala who has a handicapped son, Job.  Job was born without legs and partial upper arms. Both his father and mother despised him although the mother tried to hide her feelings from Job. When Job learned to speak he said to his father, “You don’t love me. Why do you come around? At that time, the father left the home completely to live with his second wife. Although he still lives in the village, he has offered no support to Joy, the mother. The family has been shunned by the other villagers. They have lived through deep pain. Most believed that Job was cursed. The mother knew that she would be the only one to show love to her child. She became a Christian and decided that she needed to change her heart toward her son.

The day we met Job or the first time, he had been sleeping. He had a look of surprise on his face when he saw a white woman in his home. I picked him up and held him. Joy and Job were both very happy and loving to each other. The mother handled Job with great care and tenderness. She sat him on the sofa and he was able to balance. He had amazing control of his body. Once on the floor, he was able to “walk” holding onto the coffee table. He used his arms to drag himself around on the floor. I was so happy to see him hop up onto the footrest of his wheelchair. From there, he was able to get into the seat of the wheelchair and turn around with a big smile on his face.

Job is seven years old. His mother takes him to the local village school every day. He is learning to write letters and numbers using pencils or crayons.

Job has the most adorable personality. He uses his eyes and facial expressions to speak volumes. He had us all laughing and soon became the center of attention.

Aloysious started playing Luganda worship music through the speaker system. Many people from the village began to gather to listen and watch him climb up the side of a building to spread the tarpling which we use for the movie screen. Job came to the door of his house and began to move his arms and shake his body in a dance. He has smiles ear to ear. What a beautiful child.

I spoke to the village and said that God had sent us to this remote village because He wanted to honor a child that was made in His image and who He loves very much. I asked everyone to treat Job with great honor. I asked the villagers to applaud and give honor to Job. They clapped and shouted for a long time. The mother was shocked, and I was tearful.

The heavy rain did not discourage the villagers. Once it stopped we started the movie and they stood in the mud to view the story of Nick, the man who also has no arms or legs. The villagers cheered as they watched Nick play soccer, ride a horse, and jump off the diving board. He brought them a challenge that the value of a person was not what was seen on the outside but helped them to identify what was really important. I prayed that their eyes would be opened up to see the wonderful person inside Job’s limited little body. Pastor Joel prayed with the people. The father was standing near me during the movie and I was also praying for him.

Pastor Joel has returned to the village to share the gospel with the people and follow up with the family.

We are looking into special equipment to aide Job in his daily life. We went to bless but as it turned out, we were the ones who received the greatest blessing.

God bless you,

Pastor Bill and Linda Campbell