Father Martin vs. The Machine Gun Preacher

While Chris was resting in bed with ecoli, I decided to get out of the house for a bit and head to one of the local coffee shops in Gulu to update our blog and grab a cup of coffee. As I was sitting in the corner, sharing my table with an Acholi friend, an interesting man walked through the door. He was in his late forties and literally looked like he just hopped off his Harley at the Ocoee Express across the street from our TN home. Of course I couldn't help but try to eavesdrop as to who this Muno (white person) was, because all of the munos running around Gulu are usually 20-somethings that look like river hippies. So, I started listening to him talk to people... and it dawned on me as to who this old biker dude was... a man I had seen a Dateline special about on NBC a year ago, and also read about him on the IC blog... the infamous Sam Childers, the machine gun preacher. He is a man who has lived here in Northern Uganda for about 15 years. He moved here shortly after he became a Christian because he had become aware of the situation here with the LRA, and he felt inspired to move to the region to create an army of his own and fight Joseph Kony's fire with fire. As I sat quietly listening to a conversation that was not necessarily intended for my ears, I heard Sam proudly tell this group of Canadian girls at the table next to him that he had been fighting the LRA for 15 years and it was because of his Sudanese People's Liberation Army that Kony and his child soldiers are now in the bush of the Congo and Sudan. I felt my blood begin to rise to my face at the thought of this older man taking a gun to fight the child soldiers who were once violently abducted and victimized... moreover, this man was claiming to be a preacher.
So, as I was walking out the door of the coffee shop to head back to the house to check on Chris, Sam touched my arm... "Hey young lady, and what country are you from?" I looked him in the eyes and responded by telling him I was from the U.S. Upon further inquisition, I proceeded to tell him I was a teacher and from TN. Then, I couldn't help myself... I had to ask him... "How do you reconcile the message of Jesus Christ with taking a gun and fighting victimized children?" He calmly smiled and said... "All I can say is that if I am in line in front of you before the judgement seat one day, you will have a long wait..." he chuckled... "I don't justify what I have done with the Word, I just felt as if there was no other option. I have seen people skinned alive, women mutilated beyond belief, and children abused in the most violent ways... if you ask them if what I have done is right or wrong... I am sure they will testify for my actions." I listened intently and he went on to say..."I have started 3 orphanages and rescued over 1,000 boys and girls from the bush, and I've never pulled my gun on a child. If someone was getting killed across the street right now, you may stand here and pray, but I am going to pray and then run over there to stop it." We continued to talk and he expounded upon his cause... as well as telling me that a movie was being made about his life called, "Machine Gun Preacher" with Gerard Butler from 300 as his character (I honestly thought this was a complete lie until I googled it and saw that it is totally for real and the movie comes out September 23). He concluded the conversation by sharing with me a story..."I discovered where one of the most infamous LRA commanders was staying and I travelled there to personally assasinate him because he had raped and abused many of the children at my orphanage in Gulu. When I arrived at the Acholi Inn, I walked up to the man and felt God speak to me. I wanted to kill this man so bad, but the Lord was urging me to share the gospel with him. I reluctantly sat down and began to talk with him. At the end of the conversation, he had confessed his sins and accepted the love and grace of Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. I left the Acholi Inn so angry because I wanted to kill that man so bad... but then I felt God speak to my heart and say, 'Sam, that man is dead... the old man is dead and he has been born again. You did kill him.'"
I walked out of Coffee Hut that day with a million thoughts running through my mind and I knew the exact person I wanted to share this experience with... one of our Spiritual Fathers here- Father Martin. When we got back to Anaka and sat down to dinner at the Parish, I shared the above experience with the Father. He smiled and mumbled, "Hmmmm..." Father continued to respond, "You know, during those dark times of war, almost every person in Acholi land was abducted by the LRA. Including myself and Father Thomas." Father Thomas said yes in agreement. Father Martin went on, "We have seen so much suffering and we have personally experienced the things that that preacher told you about (Father Thomas shared his abduction story and escape... then Father Martin continued to share his words of wisdom). However, you cannot heal a land filled with violence with more violence. That may seem like a quick solution, but in the end it only brings more pain and revenge. We need to look to Christ's true example of reconciliation in order to learn how to heal this land. Forgiveness must exist in the darkness in order to bring about Truth and Light." As we sat mesmerized by the wisdom of God, Father Martin told us about the coalition of Acholi religious leaders (Christian and Muslim) who have come together for the past decade to work for peace through non-violent means. He shared the powerful successes that they have experienced in bringing about peace to this place. Peace and healing through relationship, truth, and love. Perhaps we should all process through the commands of Christ, even in the most horrific and extreme situations. May we all humbly continue to work out our salvation with prayer, experience, and the grace of Christ. I love you all... and by the way, Chris is doing much better. Thanks again for your prayers.