Ajalo Hellen

This is a long testimony, but it will bless you if you will take the time to read it. This lady has a gift for story-telling and metaphor. She gives real sense of what her life was like and how it has changed because of Christ's love shown through Manna.

I am called Ajalo Hellen. I have four children though now I am a single mother because my husband ran away from home when life got hard. Anyways we live here at Banda 1 in the area called Acholi quarters because many came from Acholi sub-region in Northern Uganda. I am one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who came to Kampala to escape the wars back home in Gulu thinking that life would be better here. But now I have a story to tell you…this is my testimony of what happened!

So here I am working very hard as every one else here at the stone quarry just up the hill very close to my house where I am renting. So from Monday to Monday I would be here working not even noticing that some do not come some days…thus Sundays. To me there were no public holidays. I would only miss to show up there when I was sick or I had to take my kids to the clinic.

My fingers developed a bad shape…they got bent like a monkey’s curved fingers for holding a tree branch because of daily holding the tool we use for breaking down the rocks here. But was not a problem because almost every woman here has this happen to them. We just have to deal daily with scorching heat of direct sunshine and lack of near drinking water for us when thirst comes. Everybody here suffers with back aches as we have to sit for long hours on the ground. We also have to accept the very little money we are paid for all day’s work: thus from 7:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m., we get about 1,500 shillings (about 82 cents US).

We used to look to this hill for our survival. Some days this rock really disappoints everyone and thus you really see how hopeless we are, trusting this rock  but this was all we had to hold on to. Sometimes we feel we have been condemned to this and there is no other way of life available to us. But then God brought Manna Ministry through you.  This really opened us up to see Hope beyond hope.  To me the Quarry was my only provider and living hope, not any one else. So when it failed to do so I would go back to my house and curse the day I came into the world and cry a lot. But one day I thought about the words a friend shared with me about God being our provider and creator and that He cared for our needs and there are lots of people whom God has changed their lives.

And just as I wondered about what if God is there, I decided to speak to Him even when I did know Him at all. I just cried out aloud instead of talking because there was no other way to talk it out, only tears could say it out. So I cried for help. So for days I just cried even at work. I became very thin. My only alternative was to go back to the camp; that was it!

Then just before my planned journey back to the camp…then came the IMFC team. They asked me lots of personal questions about my life, and I saw them write every detail down on paper. I became suspicious and asked them to explain why they needed all these details from me. They told me not to worry since they just wanted to know me very well so as to pray for me. I let them.

In the night I dreamt that some men came with some items in white bags and they told me that I should only open it home because it was all mine to use. I did not understand this dream so I kept it to myself. But the dream continued to haunt me so I looked for answers quietly.

Then just exactly three days before I was scheduled to travel I was called to come to the playground here to get some thing for because I qualified! What!!! I qualified they told me! For what I asked?!  My neighbors told me that my name was on the list of those considered for the help of food from Manna Ministry. Then it all came to me about that dream again. Ho, I remembered! Now the meaning came straight to me. The men were you the IMFC team, the white bags was bags of the food, indeed they are in white when I got them!  Indeed we did not open the bags at the distribution. We opened them at home. It was all mine in one bag to take home. I also got saved that day!! Because God spoke I could not miss his voice.

I got baptized at Munyonyo. I am now not about to go back to the camp because I got hope now!  I will be ok. God is in charge. That is what pastor John Barnett told us and I believe it! Not because it’s him who said but God says so! We even have a church here

Before I did not know what Sunday was like but now to me it’s a day of celebrating what God has done in the week amongst His people and its also another day to worship God. We also share with others the love of God. I have never missed out on this opportunity, even to go to Kibuli to join with others like me to celebrate or even to fellowship at my new church (Banda 1 house church)

Because of your love toward people like me and others scattered around these slums in Kampala, you gave us the opportunity to hear the Good News of the Gospel and now my life is changed and others too. This has challenged me to do the same for others. I have a lot to thank God for because of you but let me say it out loud in my native language of Acholi…Luo: Apwoyo matek, Rwot ku mi wu Gum!! [Thank you so much and God bless you all.]

And now life is worth living just because you allowed God to use you to minister Hope to us. Glory back to God!!

By the way my Ajalo is an Acholi name which means” I have given up” and so from my testimony here you allowed God to use you to help me meet my Jesus and now I have a new name though I still use the old one for official purposes. I am now called Hellen the one with living hope. Not about to give up because my redeemer lives, His name is Jesus!