Sister Mbabazi Mpuga's Testimony
HALLELUJAH for the Body! The gates of Hades cannot prevail against the builded church. Indeed, we have had a firsthand experience of this fact.
As a saint in the local church in Kampala I can testify that the moment I heard Brother Tim Knoppe speak about a living Christ, I realized that I had been feeding on "husks." The first meeting I went to was at Godwin and Sarah Kihuguru's place. I had arrived straight from Babylon and had a mountain of concepts. I remember we were in the book of Ephesians (1:18), and Tim asked, "What are the riches of Christ?" I only knew the prosperity gospel, but when he did not mention any money, I had so many questions. Tim spoke to my spirit, and the Lord began to break my concepts. By the time we had scratched the surface of the inexhaustible riches of Christ, five hours had passed and my questions had evaporated mysteriously. Praise the Lord!
How subjective is this Christ! As I kept on going to the meetings, the seed of Christ began to grow, watered by the Word. Light bulbs began to go on, and I drank the living water. Feeding on these healthy words was what I needed for the storm ahead. Tim and Donna Knoppe were a pattern. Donna would always encourage me to keep feeding on the Word. They never tried to manipulate us.
In one instance we had a service meeting. There was so much to do, and I asked Tim, "Why don't we just do it?!" Tim replied, "Or maybe we just do nothing...Abide!" Oh, Lord Jesus! Thus life was infused into the saints...No force, no manipulation.
Suddenly, we heard that Titus Chu was coming to Kampala. Tim had never even mentioned his name prior to that time. I wondered who this Titus Chu was. The Knoppes explained that he was a leading brother from one of the local churches. The moment he arrived, such a fuss was made. His word was the final word; Tim Knoppe and Steve Lietzau were totally silent. It reminded me of the clergy-laity system.
Titus Chu said we were few, and that if we were not careful, we would become a clique. I began to panic and wonder if we were going back into works.
The climax of what he said still stands out vividly in my memory. My husband, Sam Mpuga, and I were invited to spend some time with him and his daughter one evening. He asked me what my father's profession was. I told him that my father was a govern-ment Minister. Titus then advised me that if he were me, he would have used my father's position to give me a wonderful career!
Soon after his visit, Titus Chu sent Keith Miller and his wife to Kampala. From the time they arrived, their focus was the campus. I once talked to a campus student who had come over for a meeting at our home. He boasted that he had very good people skills and could draw crowds, and he told us that was why Keith regarded him very highly in the campus work! When I heard this, I knew there was trouble. I rebuked the brother and asked him where Christ was in all that activity. He looked at me blankly. There was no Christ.
Tim and Donna Knoppe left for a holiday. Little did we know that they were not coming back. When we heard the news that they would not return, we felt deserted. So young - but we knew the taste of life.
Shortly after this, Titus Chu and his co-workers cut us off from the work they were carrying out in Kampala. By that time, the Lord had clearly shown us the difference between life and religion. We still had the Life-studies to feed on, and our experience confirmed that the gates of Hades could not prevail. Tim Knoppe later came and explained everything of the situation to us. We had no idea how rich the Body was! The saints wept for joy at having been reunited to the Body.
We, as the saints of the church in Kampala, are feasting on the Word, the Life-studies, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry Magazine. Praise the Lord there is only one leadership and one ministry. The Lord clearly showed us the difference between life and religion. The Lord clearly showed us those who had come among us who were not with Him!
