Wednesday, March 4, 2015

SIMEO ONDETO MY SHIELD: THE GOD WHO RESCUED MY LIFE



Testimony of Jeff Ogola

The story of Jeff Ogola (aka Jeff Henrys) is an inspiring melody of how God saved his life and the life of his family at the most needy hours. Tracing the evidence of the hand of Simeo Ondeto back to his grandfather’s time, Jeff has found safety in the unwavering shield of the Lord all through his life, even during the times when he had relapsed and left the faith that he had known as a child. Here is his story as shared this week with lejionmaria.blogspot.com

Times of My Grandfather

“My grandfather was a polygamous man; a true luo man who married 5 wives. Each of the wives had their homes and my grandmother was the second wife. At my grandmother’s home located in Wangaya 2 of Kano North East Location, everything seemed well except the sudden barrenness that struck my grandmother as soon as she had given birth to my father. Her real problem is that each time she conceived then she would either have a miscarriage or still birth. And in the event that she gave birth, such a child would die soon after birth.”

“Therefore, the early 1960s were years of real agony and misfortune for my grandmother. But as the Luos believe that nothing wrong happens without a cause, my grandmother decided never to just sit around and weep hopelessly over her problems. She decided to move around in search of help, whether medical or spiritual. Back in those years, herbalists, witchdoctors and spiritual mediums were still thought of to be reliable sources of solutions to problems that have no medical solutions. So, she walked around seeking the help of these people, from village to village where the most powerful of them could be found. Unfortunately, her journeys were in vain and her troubles persisted.”

Visit to Simeo Ondeto

“My grandmother had already lost 8 pregnancies by the time she came to learn about Simeo Melkio Ondeto. Through a conversation with her woman friend, my grandmother heard that there was a great prophet from Awasi, whose name was Ondeto, and that this powerful prophet could even raise people from death. According to the woman, if my grandmother could only seek the help of Simeo Ondeto then her problems would be no more.”

“Excited about the possibility of having her problems solved once and for all, my grandmother set out to meet Simeo Ondeto. This was in the mid 1960s. Her meeting with Ondeto occurred in Awasi, when Ondeto had visited his home town to preach the word of God. Surprisingly to my mother, by the time she came into Ondeto’s presence, the man of God had already known her and her problems. And Ondeto spoke to her saying: ‘My daughter, welcome to Legio Maria. May your womb be loosened now so you can go out there and share your testimony with others? Now go and share your testimony!”

“My grandmother did not even speak out her problems to Simeo Ondeto but the Lord knew her and relieved her from her burdens. And in 1968, she gave birth to her second child, and then many more children followed. The shame of my grandmother had been removed and the glory of God was surely revealed in her life. Through that experience, my grandmother became a devout member of Legio Maria and served God and his son Simeo Ondeto with all her heart.”

Another Trial

“Years later, when I had been born, the enemy struck once again. This time, it was me and my sister who were the victims of the devil’s evil plans. I was still pretty young when this event occurred and it still bewilders me when I recall just how it occurred. Those days, our family lived with in Mathare North. But one day, when my father returned home from his work, he found my sister too sick and pale, while I had my arms severely broken.”

“He rushed us quickly to the hospital and he was interrogated by the doctors and nurses. My sister was just a few months old and so she could not talk, so it was me who was asked what had happened to me. Because of my underdeveloped speech, all I could utter in response to the questions was ‘mama’ and it was taken that it is my mother who did this to us. So my mother who had traveled to Nyakach, over 300 kilometers from Nairobi was called back to Nairobi and both of my parents were quickly charged with child abuse. And my father was immediately locked up as my mother assisted with investigations.”

“At such times of trouble, you realize that only God can allow the truth to prevail and prevent impending grief. So when my grandmother learned that her son was in detention she quickly went to Simeo Melkio, who was then in Ahero, to help her out. Immediately she reached Simeo’s presence, the Lord broke out in laughter saying: ‘Ooh, I see. They want to resolve the work of the devil in court. But can they imprison the devil or judge him in court?’ After Simeo had spoken these words, he ordered two of his guards named Agus and Odagi to travel with my mother to Nairobi, pray in our house in Mathare North, and to accompany her to court.”

“My grandmother did not have the money to pay the fares of all the three, but Simeo said to her: ‘worry not about how you will reach Nairobi. Just go back to your home and prepare for the journey. You will reach Nairobi and all will be well.’ Agus, who died in 2014, and Odagi used to be Simeo Ondeto’s guards those days and they used to stand at his back wherever he went. But on the day of the journey to Nairobi, both of them went with my grandmother and when they arrived in our Nairobi house, they prayed so much.”

“It took a few days for the High Court handling the case to return a verdict of no evidence against both of my parents, and it also took a few days for both I and my sister to heal. My arms healed miraculously, and to this day, I still have the X-ray pictures of the extent of damage as proof of how terribly my arms were damaged.”

Simeo Makes Me His

“There are so many things that Simeo Melkio has done to me and my family. He has been our lord and protector all through. Nevertheless, due to the scorn that came with being a member of Legio Maria, it was always tempting to leave the faith. With the peer pressure that came with being a mid-teen in high school, I found the faith of Legio Maria impossible to hold. I wanted to enjoy myself, to experiment with everything, and to enjoy life. These are things that I felt I could not enjoy when I was a focused member of the Legio Maria faith.”

“I experimented with drinking alcohol and soon I became an addict. To add to my moral decay, I engaged deeply in fornication, thinking that I was enjoying myself. And to make matters worse, I quickly doubted the claims of Simeo Ondeto to be God and told off those who repeated those claims to me. In fact, I became so faithless that all that Simeo had done to my life was lost and forgotten and I never again gave him any honor. And by the time I was in college, I was a complete heathen. Most of my college evenings were spent in bars, drinking beers, enjoying the bustle and experimenting with barmaids. And while my life had become terrible, I never realized how low I had sunk.”

“But one day when I had taken as many bottles as I could afford and was staggering along the busy Tororo-Kampala highway in Uganda, I lost my way completely and could not trace the direction of our college. Wobbling and stumbling on the highway, and with trailers speeding on the road, I was staring at the possibility of losing my life while trying to cross the road. A trailer passed by and almost hit me. I looked at it with the silly gaze of a drunkard, unaware of the huge risks that came with my spree drinking, and almost ready to hurl insults at any trailer driver who sped past me.”

“And there on the road; there in my terrible condition, Simeo Melkio remembered me. And as I was trying to cross the road and staggering around to trace the gate of our college, I saw Simeo Melkio coming straight to me. There on the roadside, Simeo stood by me and engaged me in a memorable conversation that changed my life.  He came shining brightly in his glory but his face was the usual black Simeo I had always seen in the pictures placed on the wall and altar of our home. He asked me why I doubted him; he asked me why I was always on drinking sprees; and he asked me why I was falling deeper into heathenism. I had no answers.”

“Simeo shared with me a lot in that conversation; and at the end of our discourse and when he was gone; I found myself sober and traced my way back to college. And when I had arrived, I made a commitment to return to the Lord who had been my shield since childhood. For me, therefore, I am a Legio Maria not because my parents were Legios, but because I met Simeo Melkio on the road when I was in the worst condition possible and he rescued my life. He, the living God, rescued me from the trap of substance abuse and fornication sprees, and has made me a living testimony of his glory. He saved me, I tell you the truth. And for that saving power and the living experience I had with him on that day along the busy Tororo-Kampala highway, I have known that Simeo Melkio Ondeto is God. This is my story; this is my testimony; and this is how I found myself back at the feet of Simeo Ondeto and worshipping him as the living God.”