Meet Lauben.
Andrew (soon to be Lauben) Ntunguru was born March 1, 1990 to Obed and Harriett Ntungura. He was the youngest of seven (would have been nine but the eldest twins died very young). Things were going well for the family at first, Obed had a good job and all of the children were fed and in school. In 2000, Obed died of lung cancer and all of the families resources dried up. All of the kids dropped out of school to come and work the farm and try and support themselves. Most of them didn’t even make it past primary school (goes up to about 7th grade). Lauben himself dropped out in Primary 4 (P4 -around age 10) and for four years did his best to provide food for his family. But in 2004, Juna Aramagara was established, found Lauben and three of his siblings, sponsors came in from Chicago and the family made it back to school! Things were looking up for the whole family…
However, on July1st of last year, Lauben (or Andrew at the time), met Jesus Christ and made Him his Lord and Savior. Prior to that day, Lauben told me that most of his thoughts were either about stealing or girls. Stealing because that was the fastest way to get some money or some food in his belly, and girls because at least that was one enjoyable thing about his life. But when God opened up his eyes to the Gospel, and gave him the faith to believe, his thoughts changed. No longer did he hear voices in his head to steal and to be with women, in fact Lauben HATES evil things now (not that women in general are evil ; )) He truly wants to honor and serve God with his life. He has experienced the provision and goodness of the Lord and has one of the purest desires for God to be all. Since that last year he has persevered in prayer for a sponsor to get him through school, so he might fulfill of of the new dreams and hopes God has given him.
I asked him about the dreams for his life he replied that he just wanted to live his life for God. He would love to be a traveling evangelist preaching the good news of Christ all around East Africa. He wants to find specific people he can help, namely orphans who have lost hope like he once did. I asked him if he had anything he would like to tell people in America and he said, “I will act like a strong man and help those who cannot help themselves.”
I believe in Lauben so much. I’ve realized that God almost always gives me these pictures of people in the future. Pictures of what people will look like if they truly surrender to God and serve Him with their lives. Well I have this picture of Lauben, strong and bold, proclaiming the Gospel all over Africa. I see him mature and sober minded, yet with a gentle heart. I see him coming back to Kishanje (his home village) and sharing the hope that he received. I see him grounded in the Word, with a complete devotion to serving God. This is an investment that I KNOW will return 30, 60, or even 100 fold. Luaben and these students love God, and fully understand God’s principal of blessed to be a blessing to others.
I was a business major in college and even majored in economics. I am very particular about how I spend my money, wanting to make sure I maximize marginal benefit and return. Well this is the surest investment I have ever or will ever commit to. Investing in the Kingdom, where month and rust cannot destroy (Matt 6:20), saving lives and restoring hope. Is that something you want to be apart of?
Change a life, bring hope, help transform Uganda…Juna Armagara.
