BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Stepping off the plane into sweltering heat, Courtney felt a rush of relief. At least here, no one other than her classmates knew her name. She could disappear into the crowd and become anonymous. At least that’s what she thought. Stepping off the bus that took them to God Cares High School, Courtney stood in the middle of a crowd of her classmates as they were introduced to Pastor Bethuel Dongo. His dark brown eyes scanned the group, then focused on Courtney like a laser. “I know you,” Pastor Dongo said. “I know you by your eyes. I know you by your grandfather.” The man can’t know me, Courtney thought. He must be confused. With that, he walked away. “I’d known for a long time that God had called me to ministry, but I didn’t want to do it,” Courtney admits. “I was in Uganda for two weeks, and during that time I realized what God had done. He’d pulled me out of my natural habitat and used Pastor Dongo to get my attention. He’d taken me all the way to Africa so that I would connect with him. “We took long walks together and talked, and the more I got to know Pastor Dongo, the more I respected him,” says Courtney. As a child, Pastor Dongo had grown up under the rule of Idi Amin Dada who had overthrown the government, closed all churches and performed mass executions of thousands of innocent people. Later, Pastor Dongo had survived the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel cult operating out of northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Congo. He’d been shot, lost two fingers, and survived. After becoming a Christian, he preached the gospel as his country was torn apart by war and AIDS, leaving 2.5 million children orphaned. Pastor Dongo and his wife, Florence, started schools, feeding programs and orphanages. They also adopted 14 children in addition to their four birth children. In a country torn apart by war, starvation and poverty, they raised 18 children. “Pastor Dongo and I connected on a deep level,” said Courtney. “He saved my life, just like he’d saved the lives of countless Ugandan children. Over those two weeks, he described life in Uganda and how much they’d needed the strength and encouragement of my grandfather’s teachings. How desperate they’d been to learn how to live by faith. Through him, I began to grasp the responsibility I had to my grandfather’s anointing.” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Read Pastor Dongo’s story in our January 2016 digital issue. Click on the archived issues folder at magazine.kcm.org. (The folder icon in the black toolbar at the top of the page is the archived issues folder.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Lord Casts the Vision Courtney had always excelled at sports, and playing basketball with the kids in Uganda turned out to be spectacular fun. Although they’d never had the opportunity to be coached or to play on a team, they were agile and athletic, mimicking every play they saw. “Wow! That was great!” the kids shouted when Courtney made a jump shot. “Show us how!” She watched their eyes sparkle with excitement. Their faces radiated joy. Here on the court, they were like sponges, open and ready to learn. She thought back to all the years she’d attended summer camp and how much she’d loved it. The sports and other activities had been so much fun that they’d caused the kids to be open and receptive to the Lord. Courtney dribbled the ball, ducking and blocking her opponents before making another hoop. As she did, she had a thought: What if we brought that concept here? Coached the kids in sports and other fun activities while teaching them to worship and become spiritual leaders? Long after she’d returned home and graduated from high school, the vision of those camps in Uganda stayed strong for Courtney. She enrolled in business economics at the University of Arkansas and pulled a straight 4.0 GPA. But the vision she had for the children in Uganda persisted. Finally, she decided to present the idea to her grandfather. The Prayer of Petition “Papa, I want to tell you something. I feel called to Uganda.” Courtney spilled her story and Kenneth Copeland perceived that it was from the Lord. He anointed her with oil and prayed for her. “Now,” he said, “let’s write a prayer of petition.” Together they wrote, prayed and signed their prayer of petition. “The name Reaction Tour dropped into my heart,” Courtney recalls. “I didn’t like it but the Lord insisted that was the name. I asked a friend to design a logo based on it. When I saw his logo, I knew the name was right. 12 : BVOV

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