Sweet Dreams
The love of a Christian family wins a poor schoolteacher to Jesus.
My parents named me John Opit, but sadly our family did not last long. My mother died when I was five, and my father married another wife. My stepmother mistreated me so much that after secondary school, I left their home to find my own way. My stepmother did not want me to continue my studies, but I persevered. Yet even with my education, I struggled to find suitable work.
One day as I helped a group of school children with their mathematics homework, a man named Pastor James walked by. He watched keenly as I tutored the children. When we finished, he asked, “Have you ever been a teacher?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“Would you be able to come and teach in our mission school?” he asked.
I couldn’t see what he liked about me. I was poorly dressed, with a dirty, faded jacket. I hung my head. “I do not have proper clothes to wear.”
“Young man,” he said, “come as you are.”
The school campus had no house for me, so Pastor James hired me a small room. I did not have a mattress, a blanket or bedsheets, but Pastor James bought me everything I needed to look like a respectable teacher. Then he took me to Maranatha Primary School and introduced me to the staff and children as the new primary sixth and seventh grade mathematics teacher.
Pastor James’s wife, the school bursar, told me that I would be coming to their home for my meals. Among all the teachers, I wondered, am I worthy to have meals with my boss? I could not understand this family’s kindness. Not only did they feed me, but they insisted that I sit with them at the table!
Before supper, Pastor James’s whole family gathered for Bible study and singing. I had never seen any other Christian family conduct home worship, and I admired it. Even the little grandchildren recited memory texts and led out in prayer and singing. How I wished I could be like those children! How I wished to be an expert in the things of God.
During the coronavirus lockdown, something strange happened: I began having the same sweet dream every night. Night after night, I saw many people in white robes eating with me at Pastor James’s house. The scene was beautiful, though hard to describe. When I shared my dream with Pastor James, he told me to read Revelation 19. I read it, but I did not understand. When I went back to him for an explanation, he said, “God has a purpose for your life.”
The following night I had another dream, different from the first. The same people—but too many to be numbered—were gathered with us on the banks of a river in our village. With robes as brilliant as the sun, they sang the same songs which we sang at worship in Pastor James’s house.
When I shared this new dream with Pastor James, he said, “Opit, God is calling you to be baptized.” I did not answer right then, but the following morning I asked him if he would baptize me. He said, “Everything is possible if you believe with all your heart.”
Sabbath, June 20, 2020, was a day I will never forget. My abounding joy, the feast Pastor James’s family made in honor of my baptism! Such love to poor little me. God indeed has a purpose for my life, and it is bound up with the Seventh-day Adventist church—the true church of God.
Location
Uganda
Author
James Musinguzi is a retired pastor who is still active in evangelism and church planting. (Narrated by John Opit.)
How You Can Help
Pray for John as he begins his new life in Christ.
Pray for Pastor James as he plants new churches in unentered areas.
Give. Needs in Uganda include new church buildings, training for church planters and worker support. Send your gifts marked “Uganda Churches” or “Uganda Workers” to:
Mission Projects International
PO Box 151
Inchelium, WA 99138
To give online, visit:
www.missionspro.org/donate