EXPERIENCE - KISABA, THE FISHERMEN'S VILLAGE | KAIROS GLOBAL | MAY 2019

Author: (Francis) Daimy Muringathery

Intro: Daimy (Francis) Muringathery shares about his heart touching experience of sharing Christ in Kisaba village in Uganda and points out that we need missionaries more now than ever!  

Ronald (A JY from Uganda) and I started our journey from Kigungu,Uganda on a container boat (the boat which brings in the fishes from the island every three to four days). Since it was a container boat, it went directly to the Bukasa Island without stopping anywhere and it took us only four hours. The boat journey was challenging especially at some places with high tide. However, the most tickling experience was when the motor stopped working and we were being tossed by the high tide, while stranded in the middle of the water. By the grace of God, we reached safely on our destination. The people in Kisaba village on Bukasa Island were very happy to receive us, also were surprised to see a non-Ugandan reach there through the rough water.

It is a totally different world out there, disconnected from the mainland. All houses and shops are made of wood except one. This house, which was made of bricks, belonged to the Local Council Chairperson. He is a rich man with the luxury of a toilet and a bathroom inside his house. The village has one common toilet, where we have to pay 400 shillings for each use. The village has three cinema halls where news will be played in the evening; people can watch news by paying 200 shillings. Away from the village, there’s a medical center (similar to a clinic), and that was not constructed of wood but of iron sheets. Though the people in the village are not rich, they never go hungry as fish is always available. We had fish for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Fish being their staple food, fish is also their oil field.

I was astonished by the life of the fishermen. They are on shore only for four to six hours a day; rest of the time throughout the year, they are in the water (no holidays). They leave by 4 pm and return back only the next day between 10 am and 12 pm. They go into the deep waters, lower the net and wait for the whole night then come back with fish; sometimes with just one or two fishes and sometimes empty handed. Interestingly, it is just a handful of people who take the risk of going fishing. Even the people who run the container boat are not courageous enough to go fishing. Fishermen are not ordinary people. It takes courage to go fishing. Whom Jesus chose were not simple and ordinary people.

The sad part of the Kisaba village life is that, there is nobody to guide them. About 90% of the fishermen are addicted to marijuana, they have no stable family, and most of the villagers are affected by AIDS with very poor and unhealthy moral life. There is no faith in the village; compared to the rest of Uganda, they hardly get to hear about Jesus and to see a witnessing family or even a Christian. The village is desperately in need of someone to spread the word of God there.

There are no missionaries, priests or nuns in that village/Island. There is a small chapel in the village and a catechist in charge of it; they get to see a priest once in six months. On the day of our return journey, we missed the boat and had to spent another day in the village. Meantime, we could spend a quality time with the catechist and a couple of Christians. We also organized a two-hour program for the next day morning. The village have speakers fixed in different parts to make any announcements, and they announced about our program. The next day, we had 10 people for our program, it was a blessed time.

After the program, couple of people invited us to their houses to pray, and some even asked us, “we don’t know to pray, how do we pray?” It made me understand the innocence of the disciples while they asked this question to Jesus. The people who came for the program said we reminded them of the first missionaries who came to Uganda, sailing over the water. Our return journey felt normal and not challenging, knowing the Lord is the one taking care of the things. Once back to our homes, Ronald was affected by Malaria, but still we were filled with joy that we were able to be an instrument in His hands.

The Lord made us stay back so that we tell them about Jesus. I’m sure the next time we visit them, those 10 people will bring many more and the chapel could be full. We could see the thirst of the people to know and experience the truth. 

Anybody out there who is ready to reach out to these people in need? Lord is calling out, can you be my fisherman for men?

A JY from Bangalore, Daimy (Francis) Muringathery have been a part of the Jesus Youth movement for 19 years. Since 2016, along with his family, he is based in Uganda for mission.