Podcast appearances and mentions of richmond wandera

Pastor Richmond Wandera shares his powerful journey from poverty in Uganda to becoming a pastor and nonprofit founder. His story reveals how one sponsor's monthly gift and his mother's fearless generosity transformed not just his life but an entire community.In this episode you'll learn:How small acts of generosity can create ripple effects that transform entire communities. Why obedience to God's call — even during your darkest moments — can leave a lasting legacy.How to shift your perspective from scarcity to abundance by realizing "there is always room.”Resources From This Episode:Download our free resource "Chosen, Called and Confident" to start recognizing how God can transform your ordinary life into something extraordinary. Sponsor a child through Compassion International, and see your generosity help transform families and communities in Jesus' name. Learn more about Pastors Discipleship Network founded by Richmond Wandera.Click here to download a transcript of this episode.Want More on This Topic? Listen to “God Has Given You What You Need To Do What He's Asked” with Rachel G. Scott.Watch “What Is My Assignment From God While I am Here on Earth?” with Dr. Joel Muddamalle and Shae Hill.Read “Caring for Others Through God's Love” by Angie Smith.

We’re talking about how to train Pastors when 50 000 are being added to the Church each day in Africa.Your support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Sunday we're excited to welcome Dr. Richmond Wandera from Uganda as our guest speaker. Once a sponsor child himself, Richmond has an inspiring story of how his life, and his family's, was transformed through Compassion's child development program at their local church. Now serving as a Senior Pastor, he equips and trains thousands of pastors across East Africa. As a church we currently sponsor two children through our Seeds Kids and XS Youth ministries, and as a combined church community we support over 130 children.

Life, Culture and Current Events from a Biblical perspective.Your support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Calvary. We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@calvarycc

Welcome to Calvary. We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@calvarycc

Join us as we listen to the latest message featuring Dr Richmond Wandera! Our heart at Highlands is to lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus, so you can have a life full of purpose as you grow in your faith and lead others to Jesus. Connect with us here: Website: ⁠https://www.highlandschurch.au⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/highlands.au⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/highlands.au

From misery in the slum to being sponsored by Compassion through school, Richmond excelled and thrived in his studies. A successful career in accountancy beckoned, but his desire to challenge poverty structures and develop leaders meant his life heading in a very different direction. What a story! Listen here: Do you want to sponsor the next Richmond?! Go to www.compassion.global Do check out www.pdnafrica.org for more information on the Pastors Discipleship Network. --- Support our work and double your impact with a monthly gift for the first year! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greatlakesoutreach.org/inspired⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠--- Weekly episode WhatsApp link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greatlakesoutreach.org/whatsapp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Weekly email notification: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greatlakesoutreach.org/inspiredemail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more from Simon, visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠simonguillebaud.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Produced by Great Lakes Outreach - Transforming Burundi & Beyond: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greatlakesoutreach.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest speaker Richmond Wandera joins us to share how the local church is lifting children out of poverty across East Africa in Jesus' name.

On this special bonus episode of The Overcomers, I get to sit down with Pastor Richmond Wandera. Growing up in the slums of Naguru, Uganda, Richmond experienced a life that few could imagine. After the murder of his father, his family was plunged into poverty; a life where survival became the primary focus. Richmond shares about his transformative journey from hopeless adversity to passionate advocacy for children's rights and the local church. His life took an unexpected turn when his mother sought help from a local church, an act that would bring Compassion International into their lives and set Richmond on a path toward hope and healing.Lauren and I love the mission of Compassion International and have sponsored children through Compassion for almost the entirety of our marriage. We believe in Compassion's mission to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. When you sponsor a child, you ensure access to quality education, medical checkups, healthy food, clean water and most importantly, the love of Jesus. My goal is to get 100 kids sponsored by partnering with Compassion. I hope you'll join me in sponsoring a child through Compassion today.All you have to do is pull out your phone, open up a text and text Overcomers to 83393. You can also go to Compassion.com/Overcomers to choose a boy or girl to sponsor.FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:Instagram | Youtube | Website | NewsletterIf you've enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show is to help others find it! Please subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends. Thank You.Resources MentionedPastor's Discipleship Network - Founded by Richmond WanderaFollow Richmond: Facebook | Instagram

In this episode, Jennie invites Pastor Richmond Wandera to share his extraordinary journey from the streets of Uganda to becoming a source of hope to his community as a pastor. Richmond's story begins with a childhood marked by tragedy and struggle, but through the intervention of Compassion International, his life takes a miraculous turn. Listen to learn more about Richmond's story and how you can make a difference in the lives of children in Uganda facing similar hardships.Join us on our mission to sponsor 1000 kids through Compassion by texting JENNIE to 83393 or by visiting http://compassion.com/madeforthis. Sponsor a child through the link today and receive a copy of 'Find Your People' in the mail as a thank you!MAIN POINTS:00:09 Jennie Introduces Richmond Wandera00:30 Richmond's shares what life was like in Uganda as a child04:03 How Compassion International gave him hope07:30 Finding God in suffering11:20 The ministry of presence as a pastor15:14 The importance of living simply18:00 The global food crisis and how we can make a difference20:57 How you can partner with Compassion InternationalHELPFUL LINKS:Sponsor a KidJoin the newsletterSign up for texts from Jennie and the teamCONNECT ON SOCIALS: Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | TikTok | Pinterest

Double interview episode featuring Richmond Wandera and David Kim. Richmond Wandera is a pastor, leader and founder of Pastors Discipleship Network in Kampala, Uganda and a former Compassion sponsored child and shares his story of being lifted out of poverty as a child. And David Kim, discipleship and spiritual formation pastor at Westgate Church in San Jose, and author of Made to Belong and A Kids Book on Change. Plus check out the 5 Things from the Internet List for this week. Make sure to visit http://h3leadership.com to access the list and all the show notes. Thanks again to our partners for this episode: CONVOY OF HOPE - donate to the Maui Wildfires Relief at http://convoyofhope.org/donate. Convoy is the trusted partner for delivering food and relief by responding to disasters in the US and all around the world. Donate at http://convoyofhope.org/donate. Right now, Convoy of Hope is still helping war victims in Ukraine, providing basic needs like food, hygiene supplies, medical supplies, and more. Along with earthquake victims in Morocco. And the Maui Wildfires. All through partnering with local Churches. Please support their incredible work. To donate visit http://convoyofhope.org/donate. And KINSMEN JOURNAL – Kinsmen Journal is a one of a kind publication, content hub, and community for men. Centered on Faith, Fatherhood, and Work, Kinsmen is a leading voice in the conversation surrounding spiritual formation and marketplace integration for men. Visit http://kinsmenjournal.com. Check out the FREE weekly newsletter as well as the FREE podcast on Faith, Fatherhood and Work with publisher and founder Peter Ostapko. Again, visit http://kinsmenjounral.com to subscribe for FREE to the weekly newsletter and access the incredible content and community.

“I looked at my future and said, “Here I come.” - Dr. Richmond WanderaPastor Josh sat down with Dr. Wandera to talk about his incredible story. At a young age, he faced incredible loss and hardship, but his life changed forever when he was connected with Compassion International. A 15-year-old girl on the other side of the world used her babysitting money to sponsor him. As he said, she chose to “live simply so others could simply live.”  If you would like to sponsor a child, visit compassion.com.

Join Amber and Corey this week as they talk about the amazing ministry happening at Compassion with Dr. Richmond Wandera!Sponsor a child today!Compassion.com/KidzMatterPodcastText KIDS to 83393

We have a dream of helping 1000 kids in Northern Uganda find sponsors through Compassion. Listen as Jennie and Chloe share why we are partnering with this specific region and how you can help us reach our goal. You will also hear from our friend Richmond Wandera about how Compassion is impacting the food and hunger crisis in Uganda.Sponsor a child through Compassion today and get a copy of Find Your People!HELPFUL LINKS: Join the newsletter | Sign up for texts from Jennie and team CONNECT ON SOCIALS: Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Pinterest

In a podcast special Justin is joined by Ugandan pastor Richmond Wandera to talk about the joys and challenges of ministry in Africa. They discuss theology, syncretism, witchcraft, secularism, prayer and revival in East Africa. The life of Richmond and his whole family was transformed because of Compassion International's child sponsor programme. You can make a difference too To sponsor a child through Compassion International & Unbelievable? USA: text JUSTIN to 83393 USA & GLOBAL: visit https://www.compassion.com/justin Donors from the USA will receive Justin's book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' as a thankyou gift.

In this episode of Leading Simple, Rusty sits down with Richmond Wandera as he shares his story of growing up in Uganda. At only eight years old, he and his family encountered devastating loss and poverty. Despite that, it paved the way for him to experience the incredible love of Jesus through one 15 year old girl's babysitting money. Special thanks to our sponsor, Compassion International. If you want more information about how to sponsor a child, go to compassion.org/rusty.

This story will change you. Listen today and join us. Over 200 kids sponsored by you guys so far... THANK YOU! 200 lives changed forever!Sponsor a child through Compassion and get a copy of my book Get Out of Your Head: https://www.compassion.com/madeforthis

In this bonus episode of Leading Simple, Richmond Wandera shares his story of growing up in Uganda. At only eight years old, he and his family encountered devastating loss and poverty. Despite that, it paved the way for him to experience the incredible love of Jesus through one 15 year old girl's babysitting money. Special thanks to our sponsor, Compassion International. If you want more information about how to sponsor a child, go to compassion.org/rusty.

Sometimes you might assume that the students in your group are only looking for comfort, entertainment, and fun. After all, the world we live in is complex and your students have a ton of pressures that they deal with every day. However, we know that the call of Jesus is to live a life of sacrifice and purpose--and you play an integral part in helping your students realize that! Join us on today's episode with Richmond Wandera from Compassion as he talks through how he has called young people to live a life of sacrifice and how the sacrifice of a high school girl changed his life forever.    Want to hear more of Richmond's story? Check out this video: https://vimeo.com/623679494/fc32d1a69f   Want to check out more from the Youth Worker Community and Compassion? Check out this link: https://www.youthworker.community/project/povertychallenge/   Want to get involved with Compassion Canada? Check out the work they are doing here: https://www.compassion.ca/good/    We want to see YOU in person during our On The Road tour in October and November! You can keep up to date with our plans and pivots here: https://www.youthworker.community/ontheroad/    Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Trinity Western University. Their mission is to develop godly Christian leaders: positive, goal-oriented university graduates with thoroughly Christian minds; growing disciples of Jesus Christ who glorify God through fulfilling the Great Commission, serving God and people in the various marketplaces of life. They are passionately committed to helping you discover how to be fully and faithfully present in the world and to play a vital role in God's work of healing, hope, and renewal. Learn more about this leading liberal arts university with campuses in both Canada and the USA at TWU.ca Submit your youth ministry question at youthministry.team.

Richmond Wandera is a pastor and entrepreneurial leader from Uganda. This episode is deeply moving as Richmond shares his story, the impact of Compassion child sponsorship on his life, and how he is now training and equipping pastors and ministry leaders in the very church that helped his family out of a desperate situation. There is so much to learn from Richmond and the work that Compassion is doing in the world to help. --- Listen to our weekly episodes of the podcast: Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/xw8k2t2r Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/ytms6na7 Google: https://tinyurl.com/bjraf4vy --- Learn more about Compassion Canada Website: https://www.compassion.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compassionca/--- Learn more about Word Made Digital: Website: https://www.wordmadedigital.com/ Connect with us on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/fsycm98m Join our Facebook Group "Digital Church": https://tinyurl.com/hfwuecm9 --- Thank you to our Season 6 sponsors: Compassion Canada: https://www.compassion.ca/​​​ WayBase: https://www.waybase.com/ --- Music: "Good Morning" by Laxcity Musicbed Licensed

Justin Brierley hosts a dialogue between NT Wright and Ugandan church leader Richmond Wandera on the challenges and opportunities facing the church in Africa.   Richmond was able to escape poverty as a child because of Compassion International.   Please sponsor a child:   Text JUSTIN to 83393 (USA only) Or visit http://www.compassion.com/justin   Every sponsor from the USA will receive a copy of Justin's book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with Christians, I'm still a Christian'.   We hope to see 100 children sponsored through Compassion and the Ask NT Wright Anything Show.

Justin Brierley hosts a dialogue between NT Wright and Ugandan church leader Richmond Wandera on the challenges and opportunities facing the church in Africa.   Richmond was able to escape poverty as a child because of Compassion International.   Please ...

Mattias Martinson möter - Richmond Wandera i ett specialavsnitt inspelat via länk. Richmonds barndom var smärtsam och utmanande, präglad av extrem fattigdom, sjukdom, förlust och hopplöshet. Hans familj gick ofta utan mat. Han led av malaria nästan ett dussin gånger, och hans far mördades. När han sponsrades och började gå på Compassions utvecklingscenter för barn i en lokal kyrka förändrade vården, utbildningen och kärleken han fick dramatiskt hans liv. När hoppet växte började Richmond snabbt utmärka sig i skolan. Efter examen valdes han till Compassions Leadership Development Program, vilket gav honom möjlighet att få en universitetsexamen. Detta formade till slut banan för hela hans liv och byggde i honom ett hjärta för att uppmuntra och inspirera till livsförvandlande förändring i individer, samhällen och nationer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Richmond Wandera, a pastor in Kampala, Uganda and listener of Unbelievable? talks to Justin about the history of Christian revival in Africa, elections and Covid in Uganda, witchcraft, secularism and the problem of the prosperity gospel in churches. He also share his story of coming from the slums of Kampala through to theological education and church leadership in a show in partnership with Compassion. To sponsor a child through Compassion via Unbelievable? http://www.compassion.com/justin Or text JUSTIN to 83393 (USA only) As a thankyou, USA sponsors will receive a copy of Justin's book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian'

Are there cultural differences to good leadership? Dr. Richmond Wandera of the Pastor Discipleship Network shares insights on leading through struggles, keeping your eyes on the vision, and whether the vision should change or stay the same. Richmond is President at Pastors Discipleship Network, Pastor at NewLife Church, Leader, Speaker, and advocate, and on episode 96 of the Tremendous Leadership podcast, he shares what it takes to pay the price of leadership. LINKS www.pdnafrica.org Contact Dr. Richmond Wandera if you are able to partner with richmondug(at)gmail.com www.tremendousleadership.com/pages/podcast The Price of Leadership https://tremendousleadership.com/products/price-of-leadership-life-changing-classics-volume-xi QUOTES “Those in leadership face the challenge of twice lonely. They need to meet the needs of their people, but also drink of their own remedy.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “Loneliness is not only relational.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “It’s not always obvious to a leader that they’re lonely.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “The nature of leadership is that you are a shepherd that cares for the sheep.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “True leadership is leaving the 99 to look for the one lost.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “Every six months I go off to pray and receive my vision statement.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera “The vision must not be written in rock. You must look at it again.” – Dr. Richmond Wandera

Richmond Wandera is a remarkable man. His life was torn apart by violence and poverty. One act by a 15 year old girl began the healing that transformed his life and the lives of those around him. In this episode of Bleeding Daylight he tells his incredible story in his own words.Richmond speaks honestly about the day he lost his father, his home and his childhood. He discusses the devastating effects of poverty and the part we can all play in seeing the end of extreme poverty. Emily OlsenWherever there shadows there are people ready to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. This is bleeding daylight with your host Rodney Olsen. Rodney OlsenRichmond Wandera has an incredible story to tell. He's the senior pastor of new life Baptist Church in Kampala, Uganda, and is the founder and director of Pastors Discipleship Network, a non-profit that serves, equips and trains thousands of pastors across East Africa. He has a master's degree in spiritual formation from Moody Graduate and Theological Seminary in Chicago and holds a PhD in philosophy of leadership from Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary. Now it might sound like Richmond has lead an extraordinary life and he has but perhaps not in the ways that you might think. His childhood was painful and challenging, marked by extreme poverty, illness, loss and hopelessness. His family often went without food. He suffered from malaria almost a dozen times. Violence visited their home in a tragic way. And today, we get to spend a little bit of time unravelling some of that story. Richmond, thank you so much for your time. Richmond Wandera Thank you, Rodney. I'm happy to be here. Rodney Olsen I want to talk about that moment, when as an 8 year old your life came crashing down, but before that, what are your memories as a young boy? Richmond Wandera   I was the third born of six children and I was born to a mother who was married off at a very, very young age at the age of 17. By the time she was 25, she had six children and I was a third born of that, as I already said. But my father, he was a lawyer, okay, and he was able to provide for our family. So he wasn't the typical lawyer that you'd imagine with a suit and tie and you know, all of that, no, no. He was the kind of person who couldn't wait to take off the tie and who couldn't wait to take off the suit. And I recall two specific instances with my dad. Us driving to watch his favourite team play and he's going clearly over the speed limit and we're at the back slamming the side of the car saying KCC, KCC because that was his favorite football team and it was all chaotic, but it was fun. And I do remember that the time when he believed that he could lift all six of us and my mother our bed and he tried and we knew he hadn't succeeded but he believed he had. So I do remember very, very fond memories of my dad and my mom. And Rodney, we were really one united family heading towards a bright future until all that changed. Rodney Olsen  Tell me how that changed. Richmond Wandera I was eight years old when I was rushed out of school, only to come home and find that my mother and father we're not around yet there were a lot of people gathered around the house and people were crying and wailing and they'd put three massive old pieces of wood in front of our house and lit them on fire. In Uganda when you see that, you know that death has come to that home and I did not know who died. I did not know what happened and then it dawned on me when I saw the blood in front of our home that someone has been taken away from our home. Oh Rodney, I learnt later that day that my father had been murdered in the presence of my mom, and my mom was in hospital for witnessing what my father had to experience. Something happened to her body. She changed. On that day it seemed like I'd lost both my parents my father, physically he was killed and murdered. But my mom emotionally and psychologically she was not the same. My mom was the kind of woman you called when you're having a bad day, she was sunshine, she could talk your ear off. She was very loud and happy but Rodney, the woman who returned home, my mother, she was different. She was quiet. She was subdued. She was not laughing anymore and Rodney, that really affected us. Not just the loss of my dad, but the change of my mom and we began to experience some forms of injustice that are hard to describe. I think the first one was when my mother tried to get the benefits from my father's work and she was told she had to pay money for those benefits to be processed out and she ended up not take getting a penny for my father's work. The other thing that happened was my uncle who should have taken care of us was in financial problems about that time and he ended up taking what belonged to my father, my father suits my father's clothing, the furniture at home and basically sold all of that to take care of his own financial problems, leaving my mother and her six children in a more desperate place. Rodney OlsenThere was six of you children, what was the age range? Richmond WanderaThe oldest was 12 while the youngest was one. Rodney OlsenSo you've got a 12 year old older sibling was that brother or sister? Richmond Wandera Brother. Rodney OlsenYou're eight, in the middle there and you have a one year old. So seeing this with your mother, you're not only having to process your own grief and as an eight year old, I guess that was a difficult thing enough, but trying to process what was happening with your mom, Richmond WanderaAgain, we had seen women in the community be abused, and unfortunately, women have been looked at, categorized and sadly, completely abused in in our cultural space. Now that's changing, thank God,but, but by the time this was happening, women were not regarded as having equal rights as men. It was hard to see my mother just in tears and she's just helplessly trapped. She couldn't talk to any of the elders or any of the community leaders or any of the people in the tribal group that were in a place of influence, because she was a woman, she basically did exactly as she was told and so it was hard to see that. So she is already in a place of difficulty, having lost her husband, and now six children are hanging on to her for hope, as well as all this injustice that's coming to our home. We're in a government system that does not provide welfare to people in her state. And so she's actually in this place of total devastation. Her health is not good and so Rodney, it was in this time, that the worst came when we were asked to leave the home, because we only had that house that we're living in because of my father's work. And once he was out of the picture, we had to leave the house and that's how we ended up in Nagaru Slum. Rodney Olsen I want to explore that slum and find out a bit about it. But, but first, maybe some background because this is all happening against a background of what's happening in Uganda at the time. Tell us, tell us about your country. Richmond Wandera  You're right, Rodney. This is happening against a very massively dark background. 1971 was the beginning of a reign of Idi Amin who was a brutal dictator and he ruled the country for nine long years. Many people at the time thought it was the end of the world because of so much death and the reckless behaviour of the soldiers and the army and the killings that just were unending. But 1979 when Idi Amin was overthrown, it plunged us into a new era of another form of darkness, which was again continued reckless death but it just really was a season where we had so many presidents each coming in as a rebel leader and no one coming in by the vote. In between 1979 and 1986, we saw another very dark period. I think the height of the war in Uganda happened in 1986, which is popularly known as the Luwero Triangle War, where two rebel groups who are pressing against the government simultaneously. Again, this is a long period 1971 to now 1986 a whole period of just death in the country, and many people fearing for their future and so that has now caused Uganda to be the world's second leading country, with the youngest population right under Benin. 70% Rodney, listen, 70% of my nation's population is below the age of 30 years and 50% of the 70% is below the age of 15. So we have a very young population, but this has come as a result of long standing civil war and in the midst of this background that our story is happening and so it's not just a crisis within our home, but it's a crisis of the nation. Rodney OlsenThe nation's in crisis your family's in absolute crisis, and as you say, you end up in a slum paint us a picture of that slum. Richmond WanderaNagaru Slum was regarded by many as the forgotten community. I mean, it's a valley of over 19,000 homes but each home, not having a space more than five by five meters. No home was that size and moreover, it was small homes one after another, a whole line of homes probably sharing the same toilet, and no places for children to play. No hygiene, no hospitals. It was a place where most kids do not go to school and so everybody knew if it is crime or drugs or whatever you thought of this gang activity as more from Naguru. The police and the government had in some way kind of given up on that community. So when my mother said to us, we found a space in Naguru where we will move to you can imagine the fear that ended our hearts as children. We're going to Naguru this place and indeed when we arrived, I remember walking into our house and looking around and all the eyes of the community just looking at us like, "who are these people coming in" and so we’re those coming in and I entered in saw this one roomed house, and I saw what seemed like sunrays pressing through the iron sheets, as like what happened when it rains. Rodney, I was soon to find out because not all long after that our rainy season kicked in and I recall one night the rain being so strong, the wind being too too strong that our center iron sheet was not able to bear that wind and it was literally blown off the roof. Rodney our home just became one giant bucket. I remember us picking up whatever we could and basically standing with those clothes and blankets and those items right close to our shoulders and our chest and standing on the side of the house as the rain came through. We couldn't run out because it was dark and lightning and thunder and wind. We couldn't stay in and it was that night, Rodney, that I felt like I had lost myself. When I reflect on what I was lost that night, I think I didn't just lose dignity but I lost identity. I lost who I was that kind of almost like life was just screaming angrily against against me as a child. Two other things that I could say is my constant waking up in the morning and fearing because of the bumps of mosquito bites on my skin that I would get sick of malaria. I've seen so many kids died from malaria. And after my mom had said to us, there's no more money for food, I remember just going out and spending a lot of time on the street trying to survive and I wouldn't wish that on any child., No child, Rodney, should live through life like that. Not in a world that has the resources that we have. Rodney OlsenWe often imagine poverty as, as a lack of resources as a lack of stuff so to speak, but you're talking about something that's much deeper than that. Richmond Wandera   Absolutely. Rodney, again, most people if you ask them define poverty or describe poverty, they'll use very physical descriptors for that. They say poverty is a lack of food, it's a lack of clothing. It's a lack of roof over your head, it's a lack of having that shelter and while that is true, that's only one side of poverty. I think the real monster and the most devastating side of poverty is the invisible side. It's that voice. For me. It was like an ugly voice that constantly spoke to me I couldn't escape it, that I was nothing. I was unwanted. Nobody knew my name. Nobody wanted to know my name. Every time I thought of something happy or what I want to be in the future, it's just you didn't even have food the previous night. You're not sure you're gonna have food tonight. What are you thinking about? Dreaming about a future and you? It just makes it feel like you're a joke like you completely, like you don't exist. I remember Mother Teresa saying that, feeling forgotten, and feeling unwanted. is a much greater poverty than the lack of food. Rodney, I totally agree with Mother Teresa's words because I know what that felt like. Rodney OlsenHow does that eight year old living in those sort of circumstances, having poverty speak to you daily about you not being worth anything, how does that boy become the man that sits before us today? Richmond Wandera Well, it's just a beautiful thing, what happens when people choose to act. You know, I think everybody's looking at this and nobody's actually surprised that there is poverty in the world and that there are people who are suffering. But I think the story becomes beautiful when people act and not just empathize or have compassion. So I was only about nine years old now and my mother hears that there is a church in the neighbourhood that supports children. Now remember, my mother is was a woman without faith, and my father didn't believe in God and we all were just in a space where we believed in our old African tradition and just looked at people at churches like go there, those are those people and we just just didn't connect with them at all. And Rodney to describe the courage that my mother took it was, it's like me being a Christian today walking into like a Buddhist temple or something asking for help for my children. It's weird because it's like okay when I enter that, what will I find? Am I allowed to greet as a woman, am I allowed to, to greet the vicar, or the pastor, and what do I say? I mean, it's just very weird walking into a space, which practices a different spiritual expression from you. It's scary. But my mother because she was desperate, she walks into this space and says, "Look, I'm desperate. This is my story. If you guys can help, please do". And Rodney, my mother was surprised she was surprised at how fast the Compassion workers at the local church came to our home and they came with cameras and with pictures, I mean with files and they took our birthday information and background of us as a family. And they took pictures of us Rodney. I remember standing in front of this camera and the flash went off and I felt like hope was coming felt like hope was coming and indeed three and a half months after that, we got the news we got the news that a, listen, and this this gets gives me chills just saying, that a 15 year old girl called Heather had decided to sponsor me. Just thinking about that just grips me a fresh all the time that my life was rescued by one act of a 15 year old girl and when my mother was told she almost fell off the chair. She's like this could easily be my daughter. And Rodney, I can't get, I fail to get my mind around that. I mean, if you think about most 15 year olds and what they think about themselves, but also what other people think about 15 year olds, they don't give them a lot of credit. They keep saying to them look when you're older when you're 24, 25 and you've got a job and you have some spare income, then you will make a difference, then you'll change the world, then you can be a part of this fight. But at the age of 15, Heather, she had the maturity to take a babysitting job. And out of that, was able to take care of me. For me, , that's wild. It's beyond my understanding, but it's shaped what I believe today about 15 year olds. Rodney OlsenDo you think sometimes we don't expect enough from our teenagers from our 15 year olds, 14 year olds, 18 year olds? Richmond WanderaAbsolutely. Absolutely. Rodney, I believe just in that can be seen from how we treat them, and how we organize programs for them and what opportunities we provide for them to make a difference. It's evident wherever you see or wherever you turn, that 15 year olds are treated as those who will make a difference later and not today, and we've got to change that. We've got to change that. We've got to call a 15 year old and say, "You have everything now to do whatever God has called you to do right now. Whatever your passion is, or whatever the impact that's lined up for you to do right now you can do it right now." And Rodney, I'll tell you one way I am doing that in my community. So young kids when they reach the age of 14, I begin to call them sir. And people wonder why are you calling this kid sir but I, the whole posture changes. When I'm the Senior Pastor right now the church that rescued me as a kid, when I come up, I'm usually dressed up as expected in my community that I will be it no matter how hot it is, I'm dressed a certain way. But I look at this 14 year old I say good morning, sir and Rodney, there is a physical impact of that word. I mean, you just see them standing before you say ah, immediately almost speak responsibility to them. And Rodney this, what I'm finding that when you look at a 15 year old and say you have now all that you need to make a difference right now sir. Really? The world doesn't say that to me. The school doesn't say that to me. Clearly my peers don't say that to me. You saying that to me? What do you see that I don't see? And so teenagers can change the world. And one teenager changed my world. Rodney OlsenHow did that change look for you? Once you found out Heather, a 15 year old girl who didn't have the capacity to sponsor you, but said, I'm going to and I'm going to take a babysitting job to do that. How did that start to change your world? Richmond Wandera You know, when Heather took a babysitting job to sponsor me, she was able to provide Compassion International with $48 a month, and from that Compassion was able to send that money to the local church in my community and that local church was able to provide very specific needs that I had. The first one was food. You know, food is so basic, and if you live in a country where food is available, easily accessible, this point is not as strong but it is an extremely strong point. If you live in a country where people have died from starvation, and so food was provided for me, health care was provided for me. I still remember my health care number UG 129/0064 I can never forget that because it was given to me and said Richmond anytime you fall sick, don't even run to church or run to the Compassion project run to any dispensary or hospital around you. They will they all have our list of sponsored kids and hey, they'll take care of you and don't worry about the bill. And Rodney that was, the second benefit. So first was education was was food second was health. The third was education. Rodney, in our country, Uganda. If you don't have money to go to school, the doors are closed, and until someone with the ability to open those doors shows up, the doors remain closed. For me, Heather, she was half the way around the world but because of her generous sacrifice, I was told Richmond, you can now go back to school. This is gonna be your scholastic materials, and I was given a school uniform and I still have a picture of myself running to school and it changed and unlocked my potential in massive ways. But then the other thing is I got a chance to be a child again. My time on the street had ripped childhood off of me completely and there was no time to be a child because I had to provide for my sister and my brothers, I had to protect them. There's no time to be a child, but here I was now in a space where there are merry go rounds, the see saws and it's a church, it's a safe place, and there I was and I was also under the care of people who were not necessarily paid to take care of children, but they felt it was a calling from God to take care of children and so they would work extra hours without any additional pay. They do this work and take care. And Rodney, it was there that I met Pastor Peter. Pastor Peter became the father that I did not have. He stood with me, he mentored me to this day, and he's worked closely with me. And all these doors were opening, because one 15 year old, had made a decision to live simply so that I could simply live. And I could not be more grateful. And so the way I live today is really to give back as much as I can and make a difference as a way of saying thank you. Rodney OlsenThere were voices back for that eight year old that was saying, You're worthless. You're never going to be anything. Richmond Wandera Yeah. Rodney Olsen You're a joke. What were the the voices that came from Heather for you? What were the words that you experienced from Heather? Richmond Wandera You know, it's such a serious problem of poverty, because poverty like a voice speaks to the child again, constantly, as I mentioned earlier. You're worthless. You are nothing. Nobody wants you, and so that level of poverty, that invisible poverty, there is no amount of money you can throw at it, to overcome it. There's no amount. You could clothe me up well, but the voice remains. You could give me Vaseline for my face and lotion and the voice remains. There is nothing you can do using money to overcome that voice. The only thing that overcomes that voice is a counter voice. A counter message, and Heather's letters brought to me words like Richmond, I love you. Richmond, I'm praying for you. She was part of a Presbyterian Church and so she could send me kids pictures of the kids of the Presbyterian Church. She wanted she sent me a picture of her pet dog and said, "Hey, do you love dogs?" She completely didn't understand that we have no pet culture back home, and so that was a really funny question that she asked. But she sent me stickers. She sent me cards that had music in them and Rodney these, these small and simple things, were able to awake the Richmond that was slowly dying. And she said words over and over again words that I was not hearing in my community and I believe that there is there is something to be said about the community in which your child grows in. When a child grows up in Naguru, all they see is gangs and fighting and dirty water and death, and it shapes the child's person, not just the body but the child's person. And so when I got these counter messages from Heather, at first when she said I love you, I thought you don't even know me, how can you love me? But Rodney, Heather said that enough times that I believed her. And that's the work of God. It's a miracle. It's a miracle that a person who believes deeply darkness about themselves can actually change that belief system because of the words that are countering the message that they have always been hearing. And I believe that it doesn't take that much to change the life of a child. It really doesn't take that much. But it takes that constant presence and that affirmation and that belief that, hey, I'm here with you. There's nothing you can ever do to for me to let you go. I'm here. And I think that children can tell and I was able to tell, and I believed Heather's words. And I think that's what brought the healing that I currently experience and now I'm very passionate about extending to other children. Rodney OlsenYou mentioned Pastor Peter a little while ago, and I believe that there's a particular story that he shared with you that made a radical difference in your life. Richmond Wandera So I joined the project at a very young age and but I like I said to you earlier Rodney, I didn't come from a family of faith. We didn't believe in God. We didn't believe in Christianity or anything like that but we just wanted help and we found help at the church. And it was at that church that I met this man, Pastor Peter, who later on became the father that I did not have but again, on joining the project, we began to hear about the gospel, about the good news of Jesus Christ, I received my first Bible at the local project. I began to read this book, and then to interact with friends about it, and then to hear all these stories that were very, very exciting and engaging and I wish I had made the decision earlier but it waited until I was 14 years old, that I finally heard this story from Genesis 39 and 40, about this boy, Joseph and Pastor Peter spoke with passion and pleading with us about Christ and he said, that this boy, Joseph, he went through all these difficult things in his life, not of his own making. He went through all these challenges, but there was a God who had a good plan for him. And Rodney, my heart was touched and I could feel deeply that I'm, I need this God in my life, I am a sinner, I need to repent and change and become anything that this God would want me to be. Then Rodney, that is how I made my decision to follow God and I had no idea that it was going to completely change my future and change my family. Few Years later on, I was 19 years old, and Rodney, I had had the opportunity to see all five of my siblings make a decision to follow Christ, all of them led to Christ by Pastor Peter. When I was 19, I had the absolute joy of seeing my mother invite herself to church and she sat at the back and Pastor Peter was going as he normally goes every Sunday, talking with just passion about God, and my mother, she walked forward, knelt down, accepted Christ in her heart and Rodney in that moment, I just knew that our family will not be the same again, and that was true. Because all the injustices that had happened to my mother, the man who basically swindled all the money that she was entitled to, as a result of my father's work, and basically stole that money from her when she needed it the most. My mother was able to forgive him. My uncle who took from us at the point of desperation, my mother looked at him and forgave him. My uncle ended up falling sick of cancer and when my mother invited us and said, "Look, let's go and take care of uncle in hospital", I knew that my mother had finally forgiven. That action was almost impossible for a person who treated you so badly at a time when you needed them the most. Two days before my uncle passed, my mother led my uncle to the Lord. In the first days I remember just being there with tears in my eyes as my uncle when we first arrived at the hospital, he refused to look at us. He refused the forgiveness that we're offering saying, look, I deserve to go to hell I deserve. of course, my life, I don't deserve your forgiveness. And he also suspected that we aren't actually able to forgive him and so he he looked away for a while and then after that, my mother looked at him and just kept caring for him. A few days into it. My uncle was insistent that whatever I will get after I die I deserve because of my actions. So just leave me letting me be. And my mother looked at him. I remember Rodney, my mother asking one of the most profound questions I've heard. My mother asked my uncle, could you use your finger to point at anybody here who you think deserves to go to heaven, who's lived a life that is so right? My uncle looked, and my mother said, that's it. It's all by grace. All of us. None of us deserve it. That's why it's a gift. And Rodney, it was just tears. As we saw my mother lead my uncle to the Lord and I came back with such an understanding of the gospel after the day like, like, like I've never seen. And all this change is happening, simply, my mother obviously, heard the gospel from Pastor Peter, but she would have never been in the church space, if it wasn't for Compassion. and Compassion would never have been able to sustain its work in the past if it wasn't for Heather. And so I think about some of these connected pieces, names connected to names, churches connected to churches, individuals connected individuals, and I'm just saying what a tapestry of God's amazing plan. Rodney OlsenFast forward, you finished your schooling and then went on to university. What happened then? Richmond Wandera I had a passion to fight corruption, I had heard at the time that Uganda was the sixth most corrupt country in the world and my vision and dream was to heal my corrupt country by training accountants. So I went and studied very hard. And I graduated on top of my class with a bachelor's degree in accounting. And I graduated with such good grades that the university retained me as a tutorial assistant and I began to lecture at the university and I was passionate about teaching accounting, especially the ethical side of accounting. And that was a wonderful time but then, Rodney, it just kept before me the story of my mother and how she was completely freed from this unforgiveness and this bitterness that was very common in the Naguru Slum. I thought, look, I mean, our community in Naguru needs accountants and it needs business people and it needs the health and food and support but what I think our community needs is that which changes us on the inside, that which brings hope. So I began to pursue pastoral ministry and Pastor Peter, who was my senior pastor then was then promoted to become the General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Uganda and so Pastor Peter said to me, Richmond, I think it's time. It's time for you to become the senior pastor of this church. And so Rodney I knelt down before a group of elders and witnesses who basically named me the senior pastor of the very church that rescued me as a child. So I began to serve, but without training, and so I began to serve very diligently and later on the Lord opened the door for me to do a master's degree in spiritual formation and discipleship. Then it just hit me just hit me like a ton of bricks that now I was in the top 1% of pastors in my country who would finally now got theological training. That's like, wow, to whom much is given, much is also required. And so I pulled myself together and I began to pray and ended up launching the Pastor's Discipleship Network, which is a ministry that brings pastors together to study the Word to acquire ministry tools and ministry skills so that they can go and teach the Bible accurately but also lead ministry effectively. And so I began that with a focus on Kampala City, my city that I love. And I did not know that God had such a bigger vision for that. Today, we've expanded way beyond Kampala City across the nation to four other countries. So we're in South Sudan, we're in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we're in Rwanda and we're in Uganda. In the next year, we'll be launching our space in Kenya, where pastors come together to study the Word of God and to disciple each other. And so I look back and look at the number we're Rodney, we're now at 6,000. 6,000 pastors in the East African space that are part of this network, and we're diligently discipling each other and learning. And I think that where did it all start and I can't escape the fact that all this potential was dying on the street until a 15 year old girl put up her hand and said, I'll make a difference, I will join that fight. Rodney OlsenLife is so very different now to what it was for that eight year old boy, that happy eight year old boy whose life changed in an instant, and so much has happened since then. We talked before about the voices of poverty speaking to you. Now we know that they were wrong. We know that there were counter voices. But do those voices sometimes still try to get in your head? Richmond Wandera Absolutely. Absolutely. And I, I'll tell you just one specific story when I was invited to a very high profile dinner, and I honestly didn't believe I deserved to enter that space because I had categorized myself as being lower in the community strata and I decided, look, I don't know if it's gonna be very awkward walking through this space where everyone is a leader with such a good background such a good education. What would I be doing in this space?And yes, those voices kept getting into my head but that's why I'm passionate about breaking those lies. I got help. I remember Steve Wilson, a gentleman who has been very very helpful to me in helping me identify these lies that continue and linger on because it's not that black and white where you can identify it. Sometimes it's there and you don't even know. It's been with you so long that that becomes your new normal and till someone on the outside looks and says hello Richmond, why do you look at yourself like that? Why are you so constantly disqualifying yourself from opportunities, disqualifying yourself from our conversations? Wow, I need that and I realize, man, some of these lies still linger on in some way but will probably not as it is in some of the children's lives but I think for me, it's a constant battle. And that's why the more I talk to children about this the more I talk to fellow Compassion kids about it, the more I free myself from some of these things, and the sharper my eyes get in identifying some of these lies. And so yes Rodney, sometimes it's a constant battle. And I think in some way, it is an onslaught from the enemy to really affect our identity not just in Uganda, but around the world. There is an identity crisis. There are people who are wondering who they are, what they are, and inside people's hearts, there's always this tickling thought, I mean, what if I live my life more fully? What if I really unleash the potential that's inside of me, but quickly, then they quiet that voice? Because I, you know, probably not today, maybe tomorrow I'll I'll press that or press into that thought a little bit more in other day, but not now. And so it's just constant postponing of, of this suspicion that I could actually do more than I'm currently doing, but they keep extending it to tomorrow. And I think that that's it's pronounced even more in the poverty space. But I know that most people will recognize it and it's, it's the more we fight in our own lives and feel the impact that happens when we release ourselves more fully into serving others into being a blessing into making a difference, then the more we can to release others into their full potential. Rodney OlsenYou already touched on a real message for you, and that is that we should be living more simply so that others may simply live. Richmond WanderaYeah. Rodney OlsenMaybe that's a thought that you'd like to leave with us today. Richmond WanderaYeah, Rodney. I honestly believe that. It's not that complicated. Every time I choose, or I volunteer to live with less immediately that single decision, even though I make it now, it immediately frees up time, resources and talent, so that I could then allocate that to someone else. I mean, I'll just give you an example right now. So if I was going to have a meal today, and the meal, let's say costs $5. And I decided I am not having that meal, because I want to live simply, I'm just going to spend through today thinking and reflecting and pondering on the thought of what does it mean to make a difference, and I'm just not gonna have that meal. Immediately $5 is freed and that $5 is not just freed, it's also the time that have taken for that meal, that's also freed up and so I could give that $5 to somebody, as well as it could be spend that one hour which I would have walked to the place, had the meal and then walk back and I probably walked to another place and maybe there's a refugee family that's down the street that has a young boy that cannot speak English and is struggling in class and I could I could do that, or I could walk down the street and work with somebody, maybe someone who was disability or a special need and just spend time with them. Well, I could call up somebody who's struggling to understand something and basically, so I mean, it's a simple thing, but it's actually very radical. And when a person decides, like, look, I could spend all my money buying the latest toys and the latest this, or I could just choose to say, look, I have chosen, this is my life, I make a decision today to live simply. That's my choice. Nobody's forcing it on me. It's my voluntary choice. And when someone decides that, immediately that frees up resources, it frees up time and frees up talent, to be able to invest into the world and if that investment is made in people, it makes all the difference. Rodney Olsen And we get off the treadmill that the world wants us to stay on. Richmond Wandera Exactly. Rodney Olsen Richmond it's been such a delight to talk to you. Thank you so much for your time. Richmond Wandera Thank you Rodney. Emily OlsenThank you for listening to bleeding daylight. Please help us to shine more light into the darkness by sharing this episode with others. For further details and more episodes, please visit BleedingDaylight.netTranscribed by https://otter.ai

Copyright Subiaco Church 2020

Richmond Wandera speaks about how as a child he came to faith in Jesus and his family's lives were changed through the ministry of Compassion International. Richmond is the senior pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Kampala, and the Founder and Director of Pastors Discipleship Network, a nonprofit that serves, equips and trains thousands of pastors across East Africa.

Richmond Wandera from Compassion UK shares a personal and challenging message

Message from Richmond Wandera on Aug 26, 2018

Richmond Wandera moved to a 12×12 hut in a Kampala slum after his father was murdered when he was young. His mother sent him out to the streets to fend for himself until a young woman named heather began to sponsor his education through Compassion International.   Since then, Richmond has earned a masters degree […]

Steve Nicholson moved to Chicago in the 70s to plant a church where he and his friends could worship with guitars and drums. Over the years, the Evanston Vineyard has evolved into a large multi-generational multi-ethnic church that has become a training center within the Vineyard movement regionally and globally. Steve and his wife Cindy […]

On this week’s “Leading in the City” podcast, Richmond Wandera - Founder of Pastors Discipleship Network, Steven Milazzo (Lead Pastor of Bethlehem Assembly of God) and Matt Ristuccia (Senior Pastor of Stone Hill Church of Princeton) share their secrets for reaching wider communities, far beyond their congregations.

Recorded at Faith Community Church - 20.08.2017

Message from Richmond Wandera on Aug 20, 2017

This message was shared by Richmond Wandera, founder of the Pastors Discipleship Network, at the April 3, 2016 worship gathering of Christ Community Church of the South Hills.