Saturday was Uganda Martyrs’ Day and celebrations are held June 3 every year at the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Namugongo, Kampala. This day is a public holiday, which brings millions of people from near and far to make pilgrimage to this Holy Land. Over the past couple weeks we noticed groups of people walking along side the road carrying belongings and water, we saw many as we traveled to and from Kampala last weekend. People young and old come all the way from other countries in Africa – Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and more. They walk miles and miles, for days and weeks, to honor those who sacrificed and shed their blood in the name of Jesus Christ. Celebrations begin on May 25 in many places, especially in towns where some of the martyrs were from with the final celebration and mass on June 3 at the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine. We’ve seen the grounds where the monument and museum are and would like to go there one day.
There were forty-five converts to Christianity that were murdered between 1885-1887, among them the first missionaries to Uganda. There is an interesting story about the martyrs and the king who had them killed here: http://www.buganda.com/martyrs.htm
I am thankful this country’s leaders are open to Christianity and that those who follow Christ are not put to death, but we still pray for all the people here that come from muslim families that come to follow Christ and denounce the faith their culture and family live by. The ones that are thrown out of homes and villages just because they accept Christ as their Savior. They sacrifice all they have always known for their faith. We are praying for our neighbor who has come in private a few times to talk to Christian about God, Jesus and the Bible, he doesn’t come to Bible study and we believe it may be because his family are devout muslims. It is a hard thing to go against everything your family and friends believe in so please pray for this man and for Christian to have the wisdom and words to say to him to help him understand the love Christ has for him. For all of us.
His Grace For The Journey 