I and my wife Fiida are the Founders and Lead Pastors of Zion Glory Ministries, consisting of Zion Glory Church, Zion Junior School and Zion Orphanage Center here in Uganda. We are happily married and Blessed with one daughter so far, called Nabiryo Zion Praise; who is just now 4 years old.  However, we have 102 (One Hundred and Two) adopted Orphans and Vulnerable Children here at Zion Orphanage Center directly under our Care and Support. 

I grew up a total (typical) Orphan, my father passed on when I was just one year old, and my mother passed on when I was 5 years old. Life started being hard at that early age. My aunt took over me when I was but 8 years, she divorced and that was another challenging and critical situation I will die to remember when my life almost became impossible.  My aunt dumped me as she had to begin her own new life after divorcing her husband. I remained with no one to care [for me]. 

The day I met a lion at around midnight when I was in the jungle, is the day I thought my life had come to the end. This is the day I left my aunt’s place moving to a place I didn’t know, with not any  transport means, no clear direction of where I was going, the night caught me in a forest where I decided to risk and take a night. The Lion meets me and I recognized it from a distance, my dear Brother, very long story of how God rescued me but this reminds me of Daniel in the den of Lions, truly God can rescue His own even at a point where you cannot expect anyway out. I can’t imagine how the Lion having smelt me, starting to roar, as I started running, it also started running after me, when I met a cross road, I took a different direction and when it reached at the same cross road it took a direction also different from mine, God is really God. I cannot explain how but that’s how God rescued me from the hands of the hungry and roaring Lion. 

I started life on the street at the age of 8 years, closing to 9 years. I started Sleeping on the Street, alongside the road, in the water tranches (pipes) and in the jungle, eating on Dustin (eating out of trashcans) till I went to one of my uncle’s home. He seemed passionate but his wife was a hard (Bad) and terrible hearted woman, having kept me for 2 years. I studied with one of his sons in the same class. My aunt was so envious and angered to see me being ever the best in class (ever leading her son). Even in the midst of torture and lack of Scholastic Materials, while she provided her son with everything her son could appear amongst the last performers in class. They decided not to pay for my school fees, Scholastic Materials and neither to provide other personal basic necessities, But the School administration gave me a full School Bursary (scholarship) on the criteria of good performance. 

My Uncle’s wife furiously chased me away from home when I was at 12 years old. Life again became meaningless and this is when I almost cursed these four (4) days in my life: The day my mother conceived me in her womb, The day she delivered me on Earth, The day my father passed on and The day my mother passed on. 

I again went back to start life on the street. I started asking myself so many questions but with no answers, Sleeping and eating on the street, asking God why not to take me where He had taken my father and my mother. (Sometimes even as I am sharing this my life story, I feel tears which are uncontrollable, But these are not tears of sorrow But tears of Joy due to the Victory amidst what God made me to sail through). I could go to the market places and wash plates in the local restaurants after which I could eat the leftovers while washing plates, not washing plates to be paid but to have access to any leftovers, eat some and pack in the polythene bags to so that I can eat it at a later time. I was almost living a life of a mad person. 

One day, when I was just idle and disorderly moving on the street, I met a street Evangelist who asked me whether I knew about Jesus? Before answering him, with deep annoyance, I asked him whether “his Jesus” knew me. The man confidently answered me how Jesus loves me and how He knew me before I was formed in my mother’s belly and quoted Jeremiah 1:5:  “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” I fainted, collapsed down and started crying, remembering all I have gone through, and now a stranger telling me about someone whom is claiming He knew me before the day I had already cursed in my life. 

This preacher gave me kin attention and took me to his home. It was around 5pm but I hadn’t eaten anything since the previous day before. He gave me something to eat, preached to me, and I chose to give my life to Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Then he started asking me many questions. I freely and openly Shared with him all about me. It was good enough he knew the village of my origin where we went with the following day for him to investigate and ascertain the truth of my story. He asked the village authorities to officially hand me over to him to be under his Care. After this, this preacher took me and introduced me to his Pastor, called Emmanuel. The preacher shared with him how he found me on the street and all about my life and together with his wife Pastor Emmanuel was passionately touched and adopted me to be part of his family. 

I was with Pastor Emmanuel under life rehabilitation, providing me with whatever I wanted for life. I really learnt a lot of lessons when I was with Pastor Emmanuel. He had no biological Child with his wife but had nine (9) of us adopted Children. They thoroughly treated us in the full capacity of their own biological Children. I was nurtured, mentored and inspired by him and his wife, and because of the Love and Care they exhibited to us, I could always pray to God to help me be like pastor Emmanuel. When pastor Emmanuel one time heard me praying to be like him, he called me after Prayers and asked me why do I want to be like him and I bursted into tears, remembering how far he has helped me from. Later when I shared with him, Pastor Emmanuel Prayed for me and Prophetically said, “God is going to use me to mother, father, Mentor, nurture, Care and Support Children more than I do (Pr Emmanuel).” I cried the more because I wondered how this will happen, seeing sometimes the struggles he could go through with his wife to make us survive. 

I joined Pastor Emmanuel’s family when I was 13 years old and had dropped out of school in Primary Six (P.6). Pastor Emmanuel shared with his wife and they took me back to school in Primary Seven (P.7). I completed my Primary section where I happened to be the 3rd best performer in the whole district in the National Primary Leaving Examinations. Pastor Emmanuel Loved me more and was extremely happy together with his wife! I received a district Bursary to go and study from the school of my desire and I chose to study from JINJA SECONDARY SCHOOL nearby. It was a mighty and giant School here in Uganda, where we could study with children of high government officials. (When I just remember such I can’t control the tears of Joy from my heart). When we sat for Uganda National Examination Board, my performance was exceedingly good, and I was given a government sponsorship to KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY to study a Diploma in Science Education, after which I went to MAKERERE UNIVERSITY to do a Bachelor Degree in Zoology. 

I also enrolled for Theology under WORLD MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL, ASSOCIATION OF THE CLERGY AND COLLEGE OF BISHOPS where I Studied School of Ministry and I am an ordained Pastor, legally authorized and allowed to perform all sacerdotal Services in accordance with Divine and State law. 

Just in the next proceeding emails, I will share with you how my call for Ministry started while I was just still in school, up to now. 

My wife’s story is just almost the same, but more painful, tear causing and unbelievable But I thank God for helping her sail through, and compatibly joining us together for a common cause. My wife Nakalema Fiida, grew up with her mother alone. Her father died when her mother was Six months pregnancy (my wife was Six months old in the womb of her mother). She never saw her father at all. Her Father was polygamous Muslim man. My wife was the last born of his family and mother. His father produced over 26 known Children from the uncountable women (wives) that he had, including those he could produce outside the home. Her mother was a weak woman born with some disabilities on her body, so this made her mother to grow up in an isolated and segregated kind of life with so many tortures from her family by virtue of her in-born disability. In addition to her in-born disabilities, having lost a husband (becoming a widow) added more psychological and mental torture to her life. She hated herself and this made my wife to grow up without any parental love from her mother, yet the Father has died. 

Being the last-born and the father having died when she was still in her mother’s belly, she went through serious hardness from day one of her life on Earth. My wife told me how she and her mother struggled with her mother trying to get what they needed to eat. How they could sometimes sleep on an empty stomach. How they could stay without basic necessities of life; bathing without soap, washing without soap and how she could Wear torn clothes. They spent most of their life working as hirelings, working for people to get what to eat and other basic necessities for life.

My wife got saved at a very early age. She was so much loved by her Pastor because she is gifted in leading Praise and Worship. Her Pastor highly wanted to see all possible ways of helping her but the Pastor couldn’t afford. But he could pray for her and give her with the appropriate counseling, encouragement and guidance. During school time, my wife toiled and struggled with her mother to get School Fees and Scholastic Materials. Though she went to a UPE village school, her performance was exceedingly and extraordinary good. This helped her to easily be close and friendly to Teachers at school who loved her and easily started Supporting her. 

In the struggle to get the basic necessities, my wife went through so many temptations. Men would come to ask her mother to give my wife to them for sexual abuse so that that they can support them with their families (giving them conditional Support). Some Male teachers also could seduce and propose to her due to her vulnerability, promising to provide her with the basic necessities in case she accepted. However, God granted sufficient Grace to my wife that she remained focused, determined and strong in the faith and instead could preach the gospel of salvation to those who were deviating her attention. She was a student’s Leader and Chairperson Scripture Union at school. 

When my wife finished her Senior four (S.4), because of her good performance, she was picked by the Area member of parliament and Minister, who pledged to sponsor her to do a certificate in Nursing at Mukono Diocese School of Nursing and Midwifery. 

I and my wife Fiida, shared the same passion, even  before we have almost gone through the same journey of life and worse of it all herself being a girl Child. We fully received the vision, passion, zeal and desire to Care and Support fellow Orphans and Vulnerable Children. This is always our prayer to God; Not to see any Child going through such a meaningless, hard and challenging Life. Our Motto with my wife says; “We will Starve to Save the Orphans and Vulnerable Children.”

Of the 102 Orphans and Vulnerable Children under our Care and Support now, we have met Children with similar and related stories of life like ours, some have even more painful and touching stories than ours. As fellow workers and partners in this God’s divine assignment of serving the Orphans and Vulnerable Children, my Earnest Prayer is that May God continue to preserve you all over there and us here to be Safe and May He provide to you, lead your steps and plans and connect you to more people over there who will be inspired as you are so that you can fullfill His ordained purpose in the lives of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children here in Uganda in Christ Jesus name. 

“Building a Sound Future Generation of Hope”

Yours in Partnership,

Pastor Lwabya Ronald