BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

*****ADVERTISEMENT***** “Reaction Tour is honored to be returning to Uganda for a fourth time in January 2016. In honor of our friend, the late Pastor Bethuel Dongo, our anthem going into this camp is, “For the Lord, and for Dongo.” We are honored to be able to do something great for Pastor Dongo’s people. I owe so much to this man, who literally saved my life! We will have 500 students in attendance, and expect to have a glorious camp! Our hearts and prayers are with the Dongo family and church.” —Courtney Copeland Read Courtney’s blog about Pastor Dongo, go to reactiontour.com. Reaction Tour exists to empower kids around the world, through the display of God’s love, using the avenues of sports, discipleship, dance and music. See how you can sponsor a child to go to camp. To learn more about Reaction Tour and its trip to Uganda, visit reactiontour.com ************************************ *****article continues***** Dongo had been born in Eastern Uganda in 1959 on a dusty piece of land with seven huts—one for each of his father’s wives. Each wife had borne seven children. His father could not support all seven wives and 49 children, and each wife and child had toiled hard to scratch sufficient food from the parched soil. When Dongo was 12, Idi Amin had overthrown the elected government and declared himself president of Uganda. He’d closed all churches and deported the missionaries. His eight-year reign of terror left more than 300,000 dead, piled in heaps under the scorching African sun. Somehow, Dongo and his family had survived, only to be stalked by a new government, intent on murder and mayhem. “Give us your money!” someone screamed, as men in military uniforms burst into Dongo’s house. “We have no money,” Dongo replied. Looking into the faces of the intruders, Dongo knew he was a dead man. So this is it, he thought. Today I will die. I made it to 25 and just got married. Dongo wasn’t afraid to die. But there was a lot of life he’d still like to have lived. He had only just gotten married, and it would have been nice to raise a family. Dongo watched as the men ransacked his house. They packed up the dishes and all their clothes. They took everything they owned. As they left, Dongo saw murder in their eyes. A deafening blast erupted as bullets ripped through a closed door. The gunman heard Dongo scream and saw blood rushing like a river under the shattered door. Turning, he left with a satisfied smile. Homeless “The bullets hit me in the hand,” Dongo explains. “Blood poured from the wound, but there was nothing left in the house to wrap it with. At that time, just walking around after dark meant you might never return. But I was losing so much blood that I had to go for medical treatment. “A friend showed up to help us. We walked in the dark for one-and-a-half miles while blood continued to run from my wounds. The pain was overwhelming. It was not just in my hand; it went through my whole body. I lost two fingers and had the wound stitched with no anesthesia or pain medicine. We never went home again because there was nothing left for us. We stayed with my wife’s sister for almost six months.” Back in 1979, when Amin was forced to flee from Uganda, the church had come out of hiding. That same year, Dongo had given his heart and life to Jesus. Leaving his family and the seven huts, he’d moved to Kampala and soon became a missionary. From there, Dongo traveled around the country holding crusades, witnessing on the streets and planting churches. Now, while they lived with his sister-in-law, he still traveled on the weekends to hold crusades. In 1985, Dongo helped plant a church in Kabalagala, a Kampala suburb. When no one stepped up to shepherd the people, he became their pastor. While the war raged on, Florence gave birth to a daughter who was their delight. After almost two decades of war and senseless murders, death now stalked the people in the form of poverty, privation and disease. Two years later, in 1987, their daughter died of measles. There was no vaccine available in war-torn Uganda. 14 : BVOV

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