Jesus Touches Hearts of Primitive Uganda Forest Dwellers Who 'Used to Live Like Animals'
Over two centuries later, Jesus Christ has finally arrived in a remote forest in Uganda inhabited by primitive people who have not seen the advance of civilization.
These are the Batwa Pygmies living in the Bwindi forest of southwestern Uganda, according to Dr. Scott Kellermann, an American physician studying the Batwa people, CBN News reported.
Kellermann, who founded The Kellermann Foundation, said the Batwa people "are very diminutive," standing only four and a half feet in height typically.
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"Actually, they were pre-Stone Age," he said. "They had no stone implements."
Their way of life was abruptly disrupted in 1992 when the Ugandan government decided to turn their habitat into a national park and World Heritage site for endangered mountain gorillas.
As a result, the Batwa people were evicted from the forest. After centuries of living in caves and trees, they became refugees in their own land. Thousands of them walked out of the jungle to a world alien to them and who treated them the same way.
Fortunately, there were people like local Christian missionary Tugume Gerald who came to their aid.
"People could not even give them work to do because they thought maybe these pygmies are like animals," Gerald said.
Gerald began sharing the Gospel to the Batwa people with its message of hope and redemption. It was the first time they heard about Jesus, and it quickly impacted on their lives.
They eventually became believers. One of them, Jovanis Nyirakayanje, later became an evangelist.
"It was the first time anyone had ever told us about Jesus," Nyirakayanje told CBN News. "We were servants of the Devil, but then we heard Christ died for our sins and that changed our lives!"
Many more of the Batwa people came to be baptized in the faith, eventually leading to the establishment of the first Batwa pygmy church in the region.
Another missionary working in Uganda is Tom Faunce from Frontline Outreach. According to Mission Network News, Faunce has been distributing Scripture booklets and providing humanitarian aid to the impoverished people of this country wracked by conflict and violence.
Faunce often travels alone with the support of World Missionary Press, the organization that supplies him with Scripture booklets. Faunce also uses the Jesus Film and audio Bibles in his ministry.
Faunce said missionaries like him face trials, but they kept pressing on to do God's will.
"That is the cost, sometimes, of stepping out to do Jesus' will. But there is no greater joy in life than to serve Him. As for me, I will never let any man stop me," he said.
