Kenyan Counterfeiter Comes to Faith
Andrew Namutare was serving a five-year sentence at Kenya's Kakamega Prison in Nairobi when he met and befriended a fellow prisoner named Jacob Wekesa. Andrew recalls vividly when his friend first opened a Bible and read aloud this passage from Isaiah 54:7-8: "'For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the LORD your Redeemer.'"
In that moment, Andrew says, he realized that he had lived most of his life without hope.
Andrew's life of crime began with printing counterfeit money; in two years he had passed millions of dollars. Despite several arrests, Andrew's cases never made it to a law court because he was able to buy his way out of trouble each time. Andrew came to believe that money was more powerful than God.
Andrew's luck ran out when he was arrested and charged with making duplicate keys to people's homes and then selling them to burglars. Bribe money could not save him from prison this time.
In prison Andrew hit rock bottom, realizing that his criminal activity had cost him all he had—money, friends, and family. He contemplated suicide. Then, for the first time, he prayed to God, saying "Please give me something to hold on to because I can't go on."
God answered by sending Jacob, who introduced Andrew to the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC) distributed by Lutheran Hour Ministries—Kenya. Andrew is currently working through the BCC courses, and credits the program with helping him understand the Christian faith. He is looking forward to starting his life over, and he gratefully acknowledges God's hand in turning him away from a life that was good for nothing to a life filled with joy in knowing God.
In Kenya, as in other parts of the world, Lutheran Hour Ministries has been effective in witnessing to prisoners using BCC. These Bible courses allow inmates to study and learn the Word of God individually, or as groups.
For more information about LHM—Kenya, also known as Nuru Lutheran Media Ministry, visit www.lhmint.org/worldwide.
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