From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth.
-Acts 17:26a
In Part 1, we met East African pastor Peter J. Wamono who is currently serving a stint here in the Roanoke Valley. He shared part of his journey from being an impoverished youth wearing what he jokingly called “air-conditioned” (torn and ripped) clothes in Uganda to joining a Christian ministry that has taken him around the world to perform at the White House, Buckingham Palace, and elsewhere. His story continues here:
Upon learning of his first trip from his native Uganda to the USA in 2003, Wamono was ecstatic about the opportunity.
When Wamono first came to the United States, statements like “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” caught his attention. He could see the impact of the God factor on a nation under God. However, he was quickly taken aback to realize that even with the obvious influence of the God factor on what America had become, many here do not want to associate themselves with God or acknowledge Him.
“I thought many people here would want to talk about Jesus,” Wamono told the congregation, but he quickly learned “very few people here want to talk about Jesus. Most people would rather talk about their dog than about God.”
Wamono explains: “Growing up in a country that was not under God, but under witchcraft and worship of lakes and rivers, I could see the obvious difference God makes in a society. People in Uganda are waking up to the fact that the spiritual heritage they inherited does not serve them and they are aligning themselves to the God of Heaven; they want to be a people under God.”
A major part of his message that night to a Roanoke congregation was, “Americans, you need to take your Christian heritage seriously. Your official national motto is ‘IN GOD WE TRUST,’ but few people believe that.” He explained it this way: many people in Uganda and much of the world are struggling to learn about the Bible and how to apply it to their lives and cultures, and are experiencing its benefits.
In contrast, the USA has been built on centuries of a Judeo-Christian consensus and worldview that has played a crucial role in giving us the freedoms, influence, and prosperity we have enjoyed and still enjoy. However, instead of appreciating, cherishing, and protecting that shared history, we are neglecting it and allowing it to be dismantled and demolished, which will lead to a bad place.
Wamono is thankful his parents eventually encountered the life-changing faith he has. He explains: “I got to lead my dad to Christ in what was an experience of God’s redeeming power. He passed away in 2013, my mum passed away in 2015. They both knew Jesus as Lord and savior.”
Pastor Wamono is still in the Roanoke area on his faith mission to the United States. He feels a calling to plant a life-giving church or churches in the United States, and to remind people in the United States to cherish the value of a heritage under God.
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Want to know more?
You can keep up with Pastor Wamono, buy his book, or donate to his ministry at his website www.peterwamono.com.
On his website he has a July 11 blog post “Cancel Culture is not a new thing.” Much of what is called ‘cancel culture’ in the US is framed as “non-whites struggling to overcome past oppression by whites.” However, it is fascinating to read how Wamono–an African–has a very different interpretation.
Pastor Wamono has written his life story in his new book Identity. He describes his book this way:
This book is a true story of how a young man born in poverty, alcoholism and dysfunction in Uganda, East Africa, found God or was found by God and experienced transformation that brought about a 180-degree turn in his life. It is an honest story about the depth of depravity God called me out of, my brokenness, my weaknesses and failures, doubts, shortcomings, fears, losses, gains, successes and adventures. This book is a true tale of a life touched, revealed, exposed and transformed by the living God. I have been as honest as I can possibly be about things I worked so hard to hide about myself for a long time in order to keep up appearances. This book is a reveal of my journey to discovering God and unveiling me and my purpose, and I think it can help someone looking for their own meaning and purpose in life. It is not deep theology, just a true story of a life transformed. I think many people may find themselves somewhere in these pages at one point in their lives. I pray and hope in reading this that the reader will find the true freedom in Jesus that I have found and keep finding as I daily become the man God created me to be. The journey to your dreams and your purposes in this world is the journey to discovering yourself and discovering the one true God.
