How Fred Meets Jesus: A short Story. Written by: Bigthan Kawagala, Age 11

Once upon a time, there was a man called Fred. He used to go to the bar. He had six wives. He was a muslim. One day, a pastor met him at his house. The pastor gave him food. He asked him, “Which religion are you?” He said, “I am muslim.” The pastor told him to get saved, but he did not listen to him at all. He also told him to come to church. Fred lied to him that he would come. When Sunday reached, the pastor waited for him. He didn’t come that day. But one day, God changed his heart. The parents of Fred did not believe him. He left all his riches, cars, and wives just to follow Jesus. The next Sunday, everybody was surprised to see him in church. He told the pastor he wanted to become saved, but the pastor did not believe what he said. The pastor prayed for him and he was saved. He started going to church every single day.

The End.

Bigthan Kawagala is the firstborn son of Pastor Brian Lukyamuzi and his wife Eunice Lukyamuzi. Kawagala has grown up watching his parents serve the Lord with everything they have. When he brought me this short story to read, I realized tears were filling my eyes and a smile so big my cheeks hurt spread across my face. Not only because I was so glad that ‘Fred’ had been converted to Jesus, but because I saw firsthand the beautiful example Kawagla’s parents had set for him. When you read his story, you see that Fred did not come to the pastor, seeking the truth of Jesus, but the Pastor went out, seeking Fred, meeting him at his home. So often, we as believers, especially in the western world, sit inside churches waiting on a lost soul to wonder in. While I do believe the church is a place specifically designed for the broken and lost to come and encounter the King of Kings, I also believe that we must go outside of the comfort of our church. There are so many places in scripture we see that as believers and ambassadors of Christ, we are the ones who go out, instead of waiting on the lost to come in. In Mathew 28, we read the famous Great Commission. In verse eighteen Jesus says, “I have been given all authority on heaven and on earth. (19) Therefore, go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Isn’t interesting how He commands us to “GO.” and make disciples, not “stay in your churches and I will send people for you to make into disciples.” Eleven year old Kawagala understands this deeply, do we? Will we go, seeking the lost? Next in the story, we see that the pastor did not show up empty handed, he went to meet a need. Now, some context here, in Uganda most people cannot afford food, even for their children, so it is common to see people in ministry spaces giving food away to meet a obvious and desperate need. This is another mirroring action of what Jesus did. In the book of John, Chapter Nine, Jesus heals a blind man. He met a physical need. It was only after this, that He also let the blind man see spiritually. We must follow in the footsteps of Jesus, seeking and meeting people where they are, providing them with an act of love and meeting a need, ultimately building a relationship. We see also in this story, that the pastor waited on Fred when Sunday came. We can infer that he had been praying for Fred, and he was expectant of what God would do in Fred’s heart. Even when Fred did not come, God still did a work in his heart. Sometimes we do not get to see the fruit of the seeds we plant, but we must have faith that God is the One who finishes the work. In Isaiah, Chapter Fifty-Five, verse eleven, it says, “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” If we are following the will of God when we go out to spread His Word, then we must then have faith, believing what His Word says is true, and continue to pray for those we share with, even if we never see them again. In this story, however, Kawagala shows us the fruit that can happen. Once God changed Fred’s heart, he could no longer live the way he was living. This shows us the power in which God has, and the result of accepting Him into our heart. We are changed, born again, and the ways of our old life no longer satisfy us. Even Fred’s parents could and did not believe him when they heard. It was so supernatural, they could not comprehend. But it was true. So Fred left everything. He didn’t just leave his six wives, and keep his riches and cars, he left EVERYTHING. Jesus calls us to do the same. He wants all of us, not parts of us, so we must leave everything to follow Him. When Sunday came again, even the church was surprised to see Fred walking in, again, such a work of God, we cannot comprehend. When Fred walked in and told the pastor he wanted to be saved, the pastor doubted his commitment, not knowing that Fred had left everything he had behind to follow the Great I Am. Regardless, the pastor had been praying for Fred, and I imagine despite his speculation of Fred, how excited he must have been to see him here, asking for salvation. So the pastor prayed, and Fred received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Has there been a time when you felt rejected, or hurt by someone you were trying to reach? Maybe someone lied to you, or let you down. In the end, would you be able to do as this pastor did, welcoming them, praying with them, disciplining them? We must have an unoffendable spirit, setting aside our feelings and pride, all for the sake of reaching the one. To end, I believe Kawagala is going to reach many, bringing them to Christ. His understanding of the gospel is so apparent in this short story he wrote. I challenge each of you, and myself to see ministry the way that eleven year old Kawagala does, because Jesus tells us to, and lives depend on it. What will you do when you find Fred?