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DREAMS OF HOPE AND VISIONS OF DIVINE INTERVENTION A Personal Story of an Eventful Life—This Far Daniel O. Ogweno --------------------------- Copyright © 2008 by Daniel Owino Ogweno All rights reserved. Dreams of Hope and Visions of Divine Intervention By Daniel Owino Ogweno Printed in the All rights reserved solely by the author. The author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. The views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the publisher. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Authorized Version (King James Version) of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When a scripture reference is marked with a specific version, e.g. NKJV; KJV or NIV, etc. it shows the recommended version in relation to what is being discussed. ************************************************* To my Saviour, The Lord Jesus Christ, The Son of the Living God! ******************************************************* Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul (Psalm. 66:16). ************************************************* Table of Contents
Preface. Part 1: THE CHILDHOOD DAYS AND THE LONG JOURNEY TO SCHOOL —Chapter 1— SETTING THE STAGE: (AN INTRODUCTION ) I am giving you a block: Will it be a stumbling block or a building block?—the choice is yours! May I Be the One to Tell My Story. Secret Management. —Chapter 2— MACALDER TOWNSHIP, NYATIKE A new born baby greets the world he is entering into by an emotional expression of pain—crying; when his life is lived, people mourn on his behalf at his death—hence, pain at birth and pain at death! I Was There but I Can’t Remember a Thing. Three Days with Leopards in a Hole. My Mother Left. Something to Thank God for. —Chapter 3— CHILD LABOUR OR LABOURING FOR SURVIVAL? Being sick and yet not even aware of it is a life-threatening condition, but being poor and not even conscious about it is a life-lightening position. While sickness is definitive, poverty is relative. Toiling for Survival A Sack for a Blanket. Working Was Natural Sources of Income. —Chapter 4— SURVIVED WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN GRAVELY TRAGIC It was bad enough; it could have been better, but because it could have been the worst that could ever happen, I can only sigh in relief that there was a divine intervention. At the Hands of My Brother Lucas. Almost Lost an Eye. Fell From a Tree. Storm at the Lake. —Chapter 5— MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL—OR WAS IT WILSON? I am always with me; if God can protect me from me, that is, danger from within myself, how much more can He protect me from an external danger? At the Verge of Taking My Own Life. Ready to Die but Not in the Jaws of a Crocodile. What is Wrong Fearing Hell? —Chapter 6— MY SECOND ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL—OR WAS IT AN OLD MAN? Do angels have to appear with halo round their head to get our attention? If God sends an angel to pass a message will we heed it more than when He sends a man to deliver the same message? A Stranger Asking for Water. Another Story-Telling Old Man. Why Do I Think the Old Man Was an Angel? Blessed by My Uncle, Andrea. —Chapter 7— WHEN I WAS A CHILD…. There is something behind and beyond what you are seeing. How long it will take you to see it depends on how soon you are willing to concede grounds to those who have been here longer than you. Doctors Were Enemies. Couldn’t Tell the Difference Between Right and Left Shoes. Wondered Why Adults Buried Groundnuts. Driver Getting Paid For Driving? My Pockets Bulged with Papers. A Pregnant Woman Couldn’t Be Hungry. A Disciplinarian of Goats. —Chapter 8— MY FIRST VISION—OR WAS IT A DREAM? I kept on dreaming for without dreaming how would I have talked of my dreams coming to pass? Things Going for Me. Asked God to Help Me Find My Lost Pen. A Snake in the House. Light Through the Roof —Chapter 9— PRIMARY EDUCATION Front-running non-starter attests to the fact that anybody can start anything. But starting is only important if it is ultimately crowned by finishing. It took me to start, for starting was no problem, but I had to rely on the LORD to finish The First Day in Kindergarten. No Money for Fees. Mr. Agan Zebedee’s Alliteration. My Version of Mr. Rajoro’s Song. —Chapter 10— SECONDARY AND HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION When a man comes to the end of the road that is when his sublime self-obsession is cut to size; his limitation exposed, giving way to divine intervention. He will only go beyond the road if he rides on the wings of Providence Sold a Piece of Land. The Deputy Headmaster’s Nickname. You Are Not Cheating! The Only Barefooted Boy in School Didn’t Do Well God Will Provide. Got a Place Where There Was No Place. “Why Are You Wasting Your Father’s Money?”. High School at St. Mary’s Yala. PART 2:
The Futility of Self-Gratification
An Innocent Relationship—a Miracle!
Radical or Liberal Christian? —CHAPTER 14— “You Are Not Handsome!” —CHAPTER 15— Almost Married at 20
—CHAPTER 16— Preaching Instead of Teaching Is Cheating! Leading Is Pulling Not Pushing I Have Been There Patron of Christian Union Preaching Itineraries My Third Encounter With an Angel—Or Was it a Man? —CHAPTER 17— Remember Me When You Get There —CHAPTER 18— Things Falling into Place PART 4:
Choose What You Are Going to Do! —CHAPTER 20— 1997: A Challenging Year Indeed!
The Dream About Heaven —CHAPTER 22— Poor in Europe? PART 5: —CHAPTER 23— President of USW
An Active Follower
Enough Answers —CHAPTER 26— Lowest Achievable Goal —CHAPTER 27— Could Not Tell it All EPILOGUE ************************************************* Acknowledgements When one is writing a story like this, there are many people that one would remember. The story about me is not just about me. It is about my relationships: my wife; my children; my mother; my father; my brother; my cousins, aunts and uncles, etc.; my pastors; my friends; my teachers; my students; my schoolmates; my neighbours, etc. It is therefore impossible to acknowledge all these specifically. I am grateful to my family. I am who I am because of them. My wife, Laura Caroline Ogweno; my children: Victor, Jim-Jif and Baraka: thank you people for putting up with my being “absent” as I took the time to write this book. ************************************************* Preface More often a politician speaks because he has to say something but a prophet speaks because he has something to say. I believe the writing of my story is not prompted by “I have to say something”. It is, rather, because I have something to say—a story to tell. This story will first and foremost give God all the glory and I believe inspire somebody; it will be a stumbling block to those who have chosen to grope in the darkness and a building block to those who seek the light of Christ to shine in their hearts and illuminate their paths. At one point it was impressed in my heart that I should tell my story but as usual, I kept on postponing it. I convinced myself that I will write it at one time or another—or better still, when I am old so that I can bring together everything I have experienced in my long journey of an eventful life. I was surfing the internet one day when I came across a discussion forum. My attention was drawn to a case where a lady was seeking help to get a lost friend. It turned out that the discussion that ensued revealed some little personal leanings. The lady had some personal challenges and I felt that I could help. We withdrew from the forum and started corresponding by e-mails. I felt that it was God’s will to share with her part of my story to encourage her that she had a hope. It was when we were corresponding with her that a voice spoke to me to tell my story not only to her but to the world. Of course, I didn’t tell her everything. I only told her what I believed was relevant in her situation at the time. I felt that by sharing part of my story with her, she would see that she wasn’t the world’s most destitute. One thing I have come to learn is that when you are sick, for example, you may easily overrate your sickness until you go to the hospital and meet people who are sick—some so sick that death is knocking at the door of their life. This is when you may stop making a big deal of a sickness that isn’t so bad after all. When we share what we have gone through or what we are going through at the moment, we are likely to help someone not make a big deal out of a small deal of a challenge. This can be remedial. For example, I once met 19 year-old young man who was depressed because years were piling on his age yet he had no job. I told him that I was 40; had dependants in my home country not to mention my family, yet I didn’t allow the fact that I was jobless to depress me. That helped him. Okay then, now I would tell my story to the world, but just how much do I tell? Because of the sensitivity of some cases, I decided to write under a pseudonym. I struggled with this idea for a while. The reason is that I am not good at hiding. I am real and open; want to be God’s open letter to my neighbourhood. I always prefer to identify my face and personality with my background, beliefs, experiences and utterances. If I chose a name that is meant to hide who I am, the purpose of this story may be defeated. The story would be authentic if I show my face with it and reveal my identity. There was no doubt left in my heart that I shouldn’t hide if what God made me to be and the mission He assigned me to carry out was to be accomplished. It was settled that I shouldn’t attempt to hide under any circumstance. I believe God spoke and guided me along a path whose horizon beckoned the story of my life. But deciding on what to write and what to hold back became another difficulty. As I decided to tell it the way it is, I must confess that I will breach some confidential codes here and there as well as “betray” a number of people (not for malicious motives). This is because there is no way I can tell a complete story of my life in isolation of other people whom I have related with in one way or another. I have not consulted them to get a green light to write about them as I write about myself. As all know, in life one is wont to relate and interact with people in different circumstances where some of these interactions may reflect negatively as others glow with brightness and eulogy. The fact that someone may be portrayed to have played a negative part does not mean lack of forgiveness; neither does it imply that I am putting in record the ills that transpired in such relationships. According to me, the bad things I have experienced, whether they were betrayals; beatings; persecutions, poverty, etc. have all worked together to leave a positive mark in my life. I harbour no bitterness. If the joy that I have had in life is something to admire then it is a testimony that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord (Rom. 8:28). I am trusting God to help me give out my life as an open letter as far as it is sensible. But even as I talk about diverse things some of which are secret and sensitive, I must confess that there are two or three things that I am not permitted to talk about in the public sphere. Why keep some things secret? To answer this question, let me give an example: You may go and confess that you killed someone’s son, father, mother, etc. but you may not go and say to a man: “Now I am saved and I want to confess all my sins—I have been having an affair with your wife! Please forgive me for it.” Actually, I know of a case where someone did exactly that. After getting saved, a man went and told another man how he was sorry for what he did to him. He explained that he was saved and wanted to clear his conscience. He told the man that he had been having an affair with the man’s wife. The enraged husband almost killed him—he got a scathing beating. The woman was also critically beaten and divorced. Something like this you may only confess to God and He will forgive. The few things I intend to keep do not have anything to do with fornication or adultery but I used the above example to show that some cases may not be wise to talk about. I pray that as I release some of the secrets and the sensitive issues, they will not boomerang on me as lack of wisdom. I also pray that those whose cases appear here in a negative light—whether they are part of my family; relatives; friends; brethren or acquaintances—should know that the intention is not malicious: it is not meant to scold or shame them in any way at all. I wish I could tell my story in a vacuum, that is, without referring to anyone. It is understandable nevertheless that there is no story one can tell about himself without talking about the people that he relates with in one way or the other. I may be asking for an impossibility but I will ask it anyway: I want to be the one to tell my story. I have explained this into details in chapter 1 and justified why I beseech the reader to let me be the one to tell the story, especially the sensitive parts. May God bless you as you read! Daniel O. Ogweno -------------------------- |
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