Story Time at Hanwell Book 2: Stories Inspired by True Life Events

By Agaba Samuel Rujumba

Paul Rudisha is a young Kenyan priest in waiting from Maasai. He is sent to England by his local diocese to complete his pastoral duties before being ordained in the Roman Catholic Church. But soon his journey to priesthood is tested by a stumbling block of four talented orphans and their mother, who need a father figure, and a mentor as an answer to their prayer. Will the priest in waiting forsake their love and betray their trust after reintroducing them to a world of happiness they had lost?

Will he leave behind the blossoming affection towards the widow?

The Bishop thinks the young priest in waiting is a perfect father for the four children, while the neighbour admires their family life.

But Paul doesn’t see it that way and so, he must protect his priesthood career at any cost- Even if it means completing his assignment in Kenya, so he can be far from a daring and glaring temptation.

Double pulled by the love for the four children and a pursuit for his career, Paul must make a choice acceptable to God- A decision he will never regret.

“Nothing happens by coincidence. There must be a supernatural force against evil that controls matter, time, space as well as our thoughts in giving shape and direction to the unfolding events as they happen on earth. Absolutely nothing other than the immortal can be responsible for such control. This justifies my thoughts for the existence of a force so strong and mighty, incomprehensible, a force far greater than our understanding and imaginations, a supernatural existence in control of all that is seemingly complex and mind blowing as par my other stories which are based on true life’s events.”

Agaba Samuel Rujumba.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728386416

Agaba Samuel Rujumba

Agaba Samuel Rujumba is a story teller- a passion he was born with and developed at a tender age. He was born in the East African country of Uganda and attended Uganda’s prestigious institution of higher learning of Makerere University. Before relocating to England where he was discovered by Hanwell SDA church, Samuel taught conversational English in South Korea using his gift of storytelling and skit acting of which skits, he imagined and wrote. Realizing the stories have such a great moral impact on both the children and the adults alike, he has published a second book, Story time at Hanwell book 2.

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© 2019 AGABA SAMUEL RUJUMBA. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

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 of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/11/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8642-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8641-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Front cover picture taken by the author.

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Table of Contents

Virunga Shall Never Die

Sunrise on Smoky Mountain

Lewam, the Hopeful Young Girl from Ethiopia

Knocked Down but Not Destroyed (Part 1)

Knocked Down but Not Destroyed (Part 2)

Bordie, the Faithful Dog

Words Are Powerful; Use Them Cautiously

God Promotes Godwin

The Reward of a Good Samaritan—Part 1(Barbara’s Story)

The Reward of a Good Samaritan—Part 2

Tony Learns to Be a Responsible Child

A Father’s Love

A Teardrop of Zion

A Father’s Return

The Story that Rocked a Church in Uganda

The Basket of Fruits

Dad Is Destiny

The Curse of a Broken Promise

Forgiveness Is Your Key to Kingdom Blessings

The Helping Word—Part 2

Dedicated to the memory of:

Mrs Resty Kahwa Rujumba Imanywoha. Beloved Aunt, continue to rest in peace.

And

In memory of Chris Owen of Tulse Hill charitable trust.

Death did not know thy posterity shall sway.

Acknowledgements

My gratitude and thanks go to my creator and maker, who through my father Sarapio Rujumba, and my mother Joyce Kanengyere, blessed me with life- A life of impact.

I will always treasure Mrs Myrtle Dehany of Hanwell SDA Church West London, for being an encouraging mother to me.

Sister Sarah Lubanga for always appreciating the little things I regard as nothing.

Mrs Moureen Kotalawela of Coloma convent girls school, Upper Shirley- Croydon.Thanks for being a vessel of my blessings, and I will never forget that basket of fruits.

My fine Artist Mr Musoke Steven Sekindi of Uganda, for giving my stories a life using clear illustrations.

I would like to thank all the parents and children of Hanwell SDA Church West London, for discovering and appreciating my talent. You gave me confidence- Something money can not buy. I will always love you!

Virunga Shall Never Die

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

—1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

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Mbambu, a young girl of seven years from the ethnic Nandi tribe of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, lived with her seven siblings and their parents on the foothills of the Virunga range, very close to the modern city of Goma. Mbambu’s people were agriculturalists, and their main cash crop was robusta coffee, which was very marketable in Europe and the Arab world at that time.

Planes landed in Goma, bringing tourists from all over the world who were interested in the wildlife safari in Virunga National Park, which bordered Mbambu’s village. But the planes also carried away tonnes of robusta coffee, ivory, gold, and diamonds. As you can see, Mbambu’s region was very rich in natural resources.

In 1975, when she was seven years old, Mbambu started going to school. Every time she came back from school, she shared with her parents what she learned in class, her experiences at school, and the many stories her teachers told her. Her parents were very proud of Mbambu, especially after she told them that she wanted to be a doctor.

Every morning as she went to school, she met a white man coming down from Mount Nyiragongo, which formed part of the Virunga mountain range. Their morning encounters made Mbambu curious about what he was doing up on the mountain. She became very anxious to discover what was happening on the mountain that this white man was very interested in.

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One Sunday morning, Mbambu took the path leading to the mountain with the hope of meeting the white man to ask him what he did up there on the mountain. It was not long before he came into sight with his backpack on and holding instruments in his hands. As he was about to pass Mbambu, she said, "Hello, mzungu. (Mzungu" is a unisex Swahili word referring to anyone foreign and white.)

Hello, young girl, and how can I help you today? the mzungu man asked.

My name is Mbambu, and I am seven years old, going to be eight, she answered, shyly extending her little hand to greet him.

Nice meeting you, Mbambu, he said, shaking her hand. I am a mzungu from America. My name is Peter. I am studying to be a volcanologist, answered Peter.

I want to be a doctor when I grow up. What do volcanologists do, Mr Peter? an inquisitive Mbambu asked.

They study volcanic mountains and warn people if one of them is about to erupt and destroy people and their property. They do this by monitoring changes in any given area, watching for any visible signs, and warning people of any impending danger. That is why every day I go up the mountain to see if there are any signs of a volcanic eruption in the near future.

What are the warning signs of a future volcanic eruption, Mr Peter?

Most volcanoes give warnings and signs beginning weeks or months before they erupt, Peter answered. "Rising very hot molten rock, called magma, causes solid rock to break, sending earthquake signals; it may also cause an avalanche. That is when lots of rocks fall downhill. These earthquakes may also cause cracks in the ground as the ground shakes. These cracks are called lines of weakness and may be escape outlets for molten hot rock, hot steam, and gases—such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hot sulphurous gases—which may emerge and pollute the environment.

I recently observed from my thermometers a slight increase in temperature in the environment and the surrounding water wells. This indicates that magma is slowly but surely rising, causing temperatures to rise, since the atmosphere is heated from below. If one day you see plants withering and notice a change in the taste of water with no explanation, warn your parents to vacate the area, Peter advised young Mbambu.

Do you see Mt Nyiragongo? Inside it is a lake. It is not a water lake, though; it is a lake of very hot magma. The day that molten rock escapes through the cracks in the mountain, it will flow downhill and incinerate everything in its path. Mbambu, I have told you these things before they happen so that you are aware.

That was a good story, Mr Peter. I will tell my family about your fears. With that, Mbambu said good day to Peter.

In 1975, Mr Peter, Mbambu’s mzungu friend, went back to his home country of America. He was seen off at the airstrip of Goma by Mbambu and her family. Every day, Mbambu reflected on what Peter told her and kept a watchful eye. She even told her family about his fears.

Two years passed with no obvious signs of Mt Nyiragongo erupting. But sometime between September and October 1977, there was an earthquake, and it scared Mbambu. She reminded her parents and siblings of what Peter had told her two years earlier. They listened to her but didn’t take her fears and concerns seriously because Mbambu was a young girl. They later laughed at her and mocked her to get her to shut up.

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Please listen to me! We need to leave this place, Mbambu begged.

Young girl, listen. We have lived for many years in this village, and what you are saying is alien to us. Besides, if we leave, who will harvest the coffee to get money for your tuition to go to school? answered her father.

Early the following morning, Mbambu awoke covered in sweat. The night had been so excessively hot that even her parents talked about it. Again, Mbambu warned her family of the impending danger if they didn’t vacate the area for a much safer place.

Tremors, especially at night, increased in frequency and magnitude. Mbambu found it very hard to sleep. In Africa, before going to school, children Mbambu’s age fetch water from the valley’s spring wells, and there was one close to Mbambu’s home. As she came close to the well, she smelled something. It was a pungent smell coming from steam escaping from a crack in the ground. Mbambu ran quickly to the spring well and found that it was unusually warm, with water bubbles rising to the surface. What more evidence did she need that the volcano was about to erupt?

She quickly filled her water container and ran home. On reaching home, panting, she told her mother what she saw. Mother, Mother, quickly. We have to gather our belongings and leave this place. The mountain is going to erupt and kill all of us!

She ran to her father in the coffee plantation and said, Father, Father! The mountain is going to erupt. We have to leave now before it is too late. Neither of her parents seemed to care or listen to Mbambu’s warnings.

She quickly ran to school and told her teacher what she had seen at the well and told her classroom friends to vacate the area before it was too late. The teachers laughed at her. Some of her friends bullied her. Mbambu became so sad because no one cared to believe her.

She ran to her neighbours and her extended family and their friends, telling them the same message. But they all seemed to be busy harvesting coffee and didn’t care to listen to her warning.

On coming back from warning the people around the village, a thought came to her. She would pray so that God would intervene and so they would listen and believe her. After saying amen and opening her eyes, she saw steam rising at the summit of Mt Nyiragongo in the Virunga range.

She quickly ran home and found her mother pouring out the water she had fetched from the well that morning, saying it tasted off. Mother, look at the rising steam at the top of the mountain! We must leave now, before it is too late.

Don’t worry yourself, my child. It has always been like that. The mountain has rumbled and quaked for many years and produced mist at the top. Your fears and what you are telling us are just illusions your mzungu friend used to scare you. Now you must get into the house and change into your uniform or you will be late for your afternoon classes.

Reluctantly, Mbambu did as she was told and left for school, but she had another plan—going to her extended family in the city of Butembo, since it was coming close to the Christmas season.

Mbambu left the following day, 23 December 1977. On that day, there was a small eruption in the village of Murara, which caused panic amongst the people of Goma. Some people left the town, but others stayed to protect their property. Then, on 10 January 1978, an earthquake took place. The crater walls fractured, and molten rock from the lava lake drained in less than an hour. The lava (the flowing very hot molten rock) flowed downhill at a high speed, incinerating everything in its path and overwhelming Mbambu’s village .At least seventy people were killed, and four hundred homes were destroyed.

If only people had listened to Mbambu’s warning, they could have been saved. But they overlooked her because she was young, and most of them lost their lives.

Sadly, among those who were caught off guard were some of Mbambu’s family members, despite her struggle to warn them. Her mother and two brothers escaped, as they had gone to look for her after hearing rumours that she was last seen on the bus to Butembo. It had been nearly three weeks since she left. She knew Virunga would never die but would remain active with its visible signs of eruption.

Now children, Make your mouth a fountain of unfiltered truth. Volcanic eruptions may never take place in your community, but other problems may be about to affect your community negatively. You are just like Mbambu and can give a warning to your family or community of any impending dangers, without fear. A heinous, evil person is worse than any catastrophic disaster and worse than the perpetrators of evil. It’s that person who has the capacity to stop evil or warn people about it but who instead sits and does nothing about it. For example, you can be an ambassador against environmental destruction by raising awareness of global warming, trafficking of animals that are endangered, racism and its dangers, the harm done by oil spills, and war crimes; you can form school clubs to raise awareness about dietary diseases and their causes, the abuse of drugs, or standing up to gang lawlessness; you can warn your parents of the dangers of smoking and drinking, because they cause cancer and harm your health as well, the cutting down of rain forests, and water and air pollution, which cause global warming and its effects; and you can form school clubs to campaign against poverty. You must pursue anything which makes the world a better place without fear, give a warning to such dangers affecting humanity without despair, and look at the future with optimism and hope without apology but with a conviction of leaving the world better than you found it. As a child like young Mbambu, you may meet resistance from careless and greedy systems of adult leaders, but with resilience, you should not let people change your view of the better world you long for. Don’t give anyone the slightest chance to discourage you or get you down. Use the vision you have through love and goodness inside you to stay strong as you focus on your dream of changing the world into a better place by being a little a bit above the ordinary. It’s that extra effort above the ordinary that is packed with the capacity to change the world. But also, like Mbambu, you can tell your friends at school about the signs of the soon-to-occur coming of Christ so that they are not caught off guard when the day comes. Do you know those signs? You can read about them in Matthew 24:5–8.

Sunrise on Smoky Mountain

Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? Nathanael asked. Come and see, said Philip.

—John 1:46 NIV

Smoky Mountain is the term given to a slum area which is also a landfill located in northern Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It’s where the poorest of the poor make their livelihood by picking up recyclable garbage for the recycling plants.

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Like ancient Nazareth, Smoky Mountain is a dwelling place for the poor and the disadvantaged, who are generally referred to as lower-class society. Can God redeem and change the life of someone from such a place?

Why is it called Smoky Mountain?

It is called Smoky Mountain because smoke is ever rising from the burning rubbish. Smoky Mountain was formed as a result of the continual dumping of rubbish, which formed a mountain after a long period of time. There’s poor sanitation on Smoky Mountain, and poor people earn a living through scavenging from the numerous rubbish heaps, where children like Nathanael collect plastics and metals for the recycling factories in the capital, Manila.

Nathanael’s mother taught him how to be a simple child and to respect anyone who is a peer of his parents. Nathanael learnt this advice well, and he gained true simplicity. Everyone at Smoky Mountain knew Nathanael as a child with a gift of simplicity. But some of his peers saw his gift as a weakness, and so they despised him, bullied him, and called him names.

Don’t worry about them, Nathanael, his mother told him. If they bully you, look to the other side and walk away. If they despise you, ignore and let them go. Let the people who naturally gravitate towards you enjoy your energy and goodness. Don’t spend your time seeking their acceptance, proving your worth by clinging to them. One day they will admire you when simplicity takes you to a place that is just right and you set your feet on the right path to a place of delight and success, where your dreams will be realized. I am your mother, and remember: God channels success through your parents. All you need to do is obey my simple instructions, and God will bless you to be a blessing to the world. Do you remember the story of Joseph and David? They obeyed simple instructions from their parents of delivering food to their brothers. This simple instruction they obeyed led them to a journey of being great men. Joseph became the governor of all Egypt, while David became the king of Israel.Esther obeyed her cousin Mordecai, and she became the queen of all Persia.

Nathanael once came crying and told his mother, Mother, some children from uptown laugh at me and say that I have hopes leading to hopeless ends when I tell them that I am a child of the heavenly king. They say that I live in the ghetto and that I should be real and get used to my situation rather than living a fantastic fairy tale.

You must have heard of a precious stone called a diamond, his mother said. "It is a very expensive stone. Surprisingly it is mined from the