"I was very upset and frightened as I ran through the dark Kumba forest because my father had thrown me out of our home. He was a devout Muslim and would not let me, a new convert to Christianity, stay under his roof. I could not travel up the road because soldiers were there and they would indiscriminately shoot anyone travelling along the road at night! Two voices spoke into my mind. The first told me to go home to the safety of my father and denounce Christ, but the other told me to go on. If I went back I would have no hope for the future, but if I stayed with Jesus I would have the assurance of eternal life. I stumbled on through the darkness of trees and undergrowth until I found my Christian friend, Zaake Vincent, who lived in a village just beyond."
Abel stayed with his friend for a whole month.
Before all this happened, Abel had been looking for a teaching post and had applied for, and got, a job in Masaka Baptist Primary School. He was surprised that a Christian school would employ a Muslim but he found the staff friendly and welcoming. He had always been devout. He prayed five times a day and tried to do good deeds, but felt that all the good he had done when placed in the scales of judgement would never out weigh the bad.
It was during this time in Masaka that he met Pastor Aloys who persistently, but lovingly, told him about the love of God through Jesus Christ. He gave him a Bible which he read. Unlike the Koran, this was in English which he could understand, and here he learned of how God sent his only son to take the punishment in place of us. At first, he felt that the love of his father was more important and refused to accept Christ but as he read more from the Bible, he learned that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. The Bible taught that salvation was to be found through a personal relation with Jesus Christ. This gave him not only relief, but a new excitement and in 1985, he accepted Jesus! On returning home, Abel was soon to realise the true consequences of this decision.
Becoming a Christian brought persecution from his family. Abel's father hated him for it but his mother still loved him. This caused conflict between both parents. His mother wanted him at home but his father would not allow him back. After an absence of one month, his father eventually relented and allowed him to come home. Here, Abel talked to his friends and family about his new found faith. Later he married Harriet, a young singer in the church choir and felt the call of God to become a pastor. After training with Uganda Baptist Seminary, he become pastor at Masaka Baptist Church and later planted a church at Kinoni. Some years later Abel became vice president of the Baptist Union of Uganda and was ordained.
Anyone who meets Abel is left in no doubt about his love for God. He is a true example of a Christian servant whose desire is to bring others to Christ.