Sandrah Nakalanda

Hello, my name is Sandrah and I am from Uganda. I was in African Children’s Choir 24.

I was born into a family not too foreign to most Ugandan children, an absent father and a teenage mother with no financial foothold. My maternal grandfather was an influential person in the Muslim community in Kampala yet, my maternal grandmother, was a Christian church worship leader. So I grew up observing both Muslim and Christian religions.

The place where my family lived was in one of Uganda’s biggest and worst slums, in a neighborhood filled with crime and disease. And from a very young age, for me life equated to struggle, hardship, and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Education was a dream; however, God had other plans for my life.

Every morning, as a child, I would hear my grandmother get up to pray. And every Sunday we went with her to a neighborhood church. That is how I was first introduced to Jesus, through my grandmother.

In 2002 I was selected to be part of the 24th African Children’s Choir, and was further introduced to Jesus Christ through the daily devotions and Bible studies we did.

When I returned home, I continued to go with my grandmother to her different missions. In hindsight I think, growing up, Christianity was more of my grandmother’s religion, and because I loved my grandmother, I loved Jesus.

I was 16 when my father died. He had just come back into my life and I was crushed. I started to question a lot of the things I thought I knew about God. While I continued to go to church every Sunday, I started to veer off course and make bad decisions.

At some point, everything that I thought I was seeking in the things I did, I could not find. My grandmother came to me (such a wise woman) and she said, “You know, just because I have not said anything does not mean that I haven’t seen the decisions you’re making, but just take your time.” That is what she told me, “I want you to discover who Jesus is for YOURSELF, not who He is according to me.”

I remember thinking that this woman has given her life to this faith for over 30 years. And when you looked at her life from the outside, it wasn’t filled with luxury and privilege. But there must have been something there that she couldn’t find anywhere else. So I said to myself, “Take the time and get to know Jesus for yourself.”

I was actually going to church all this while, but I was not fully there. So after that I made it an intention to show up for service, to show up for fellowship, and be fully present because I wanted to encounter Jesus Christ.

I clearly remember an evening when I was at home in my room and I had not opened my Bible for months. I’m sitting there and I’m thinking how people say all the time that, “Jesus spoke to me, and Holy Spirit reached out to me,” and I thought that would be so nice if that happened to me.

So I opened my Bible and ended up reading John 14:27 that speaks about peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

To this day that verse has guided me throughout my life, because in that moment I experienced a feeling of peace that I hadn’t found after my father died. That was the first time I actually felt peace.

So I just continued step by step: it wasn’t a miraculous transformation overnight.
You don’t wake up and you’re a brand new person. It has really been just steps towards Jesus, Him showing up along the way, showing up for me in times I could never have imagined.

I was able to graduate university at the top of my class. I was awarded a first class honors degree in International Relations and Diplomacy. I was the first person in my family to graduate, and they are so proud of me.

Step by step, every day I learn something new about who Jesus is. Every day I learn more and more about why I love Jesus and why this is what I’m committed to, that I will serve the Lord for the rest of my life.

That is my story.

More Faith Stories

There are people who sometimes have a stomachache and think it's cancer, they think it is a terminal illness. Sometimes people think there is no solution, but it is only a stomach discomfort. It's something bad that you ate that upset your stomach. It is that people that are losing their faith. They get concerned about so many things. They wake up and see the car with a flat tire, and it is a bad day.

There are more important things we need to learn. We need to seek the Lord, because time is short, time goes by quickly. I've got three children: my first daughter is 25 years old. My son is 21 and my other daughter is 16. I mean, time goes by fast.

This means this is an opportunity for you to devote your heart to Jesus Christ, so that He can save you, so that He can be your guide, so that He can be your path, so that He can be everything in your life. Listen to this message, share it with your family. If you do not have a family do not think you are alone. God is with you wherever you are. God will be with you come what may.

Now, what happened with COVID two years ago was unbelievable. God put us to the test. Many people died, and that's something that's coming ahead. There will be more illnesses, there will be more regulations. But if we keep our faith in God, if we continue to trust in God, He will give us the peace we need, the peace the world needs.

Sometimes in the community, there are a lot of people who are watching their backs. For their own protection they hire bodyguards that watch over them night and day because they feel insecure. But we have God to protect us. Day after day, God protects us. God takes care of us. God gives us strength.

I strongly encourage you, I dare you to seek the Lord. This Why I Love Jesus ministry goes across the globe spreading the word of God, telling the world Jesus Christ is real, He is not dead.

There have been many stories in this world which were looking forward to changing history, but we have this story of faith that we believe, come what may, the Lord will be with us.

So if you have relatives, share this experience with them: brothers, sisters, parents. If your family has never been in contact with Jesus, now is the time for you to tell them to embrace Him, to embrace God. Tell them about the story in the Bible that says there is a man in hell, being burned there, and he would like to have a chance of getting out of there. But unfortunately, he has already lost the opportunity. In other words, there is no way he could leave hell.

And you who are there watching this testimony, this word of the Lord, this is the opportunity that you get. Maybe we don't wake up tomorrow; we don't know what will happen tomorrow.

This is the moment for you to say, "Lord, forgive me. I have failed a lot; I've failed in several things, but I want You to be my Savior, I want You to be my shield, I want You to be my strength, I want You to be everything in my life."

Make your decision. Sometimes in day-to-day life, we make decisions, many of them, but this is the most important decision you should make in your life. That is to devote your life to Jesus Christ, commend your life to Jesus Christ, so that He can be everything in your life. May He be your peace, your strength.

At times, people have enough money in the bank and think with that they will change the world, think that will be their protection. But money is only an ordinary piece of paper. In the end, the paper will run out, the money will run out, but treasures we did will remain when we're in heaven.

So let's make this an invitation. Let's hope this message will reach someone in need of it. So you who are out there, this message is meant for you.

My stepfather was an alcoholic, and we had a difficult life. But God changed us. When I began going to this church in 2000, God changed me. God changes you, and God wants to do great things with your life.

So, I mean, maybe you are also having a hard time with an alcoholic father, an alcoholic mother. Let me tell you, I had bad thoughts in my head about finishing him, killing him, destroying him, so that it all would end. But when I got to the feet of Jesus, when I started going to church, God made changes in me. God makes changes in you. God changes your mind.

When God entered into my life, and I looked at my stepfather again, I saw him in a different way. I held a grudge inside my heart, but nevertheless, God was working on me. God worked on me and gave me peace. I was smart enough not to commit a crime. God showed me the way I should live.

In addition to being at peace with God, He gives you intelligence. God gives you wisdom to be on the side of right every day in our lives.

So, this is an invitation, whether you're a woman, or man, or youth. Young people sometimes make decisions which scar their lives forever. To put it another way, if you are young, make your decision to accept Jesus: don't wait until tomorrow and say, "No, I'd better wait before accepting Jesus Christ, before accepting God in my heart. I've still got a long way to go. I want to live my life, and I want to do things. When I'm older, I'll see whether I change." But we don't know what happens tomorrow, so you should make up your mind today.

I've had some friends who made their decisions too late. I had a friend who said he was going to drink his life away. He was going to drink, that's what he was going to do. He was going to do drugs, to live a totally careless life. He thought he was being cleverer than God. But he wasn't, nobody is smarter than God. At the end of his life he was going to seek God's forgiveness.

Had God been given the opportunity, He would have forgiven him, He would have indeed. But my friend didn't take the trouble to get to that point. He was doing his drugs, drinking and whatnot. Then he grabbed a gun and shot himself in the head.

I mean, we don't know what was the last moment in his life, whether he asked forgiveness or not. We only had the word he killed himself by putting a bullet in his head. Odds are he didn't have the opportunity of begging God's forgiveness, and he lost his life. Or better expressed, do not let the enemy fool you. The enemy hampers your life.

That means to move on and accept Jesus Christ. He is going to give the answers. He is going to give you the peace you need. That's my testimony, and I know this is on behalf of God, so people would turn to Him.

People get lost, people haven't wanted to recognize their faults. God has a plan for your life. That means if He gave you this plan, accept it, accept it. We have free will, people make their own decisions. God has already chosen some individuals. God has predestined people. Whether you are predestined or exercising your free will, make your decision and follow Jesus Christ.

Your life will change, He is going to transform it, and He is going to help you in every way, be it economic, social, psychological, whatever you need, God is going to help you.

Thank you for your time, thank you for this opportunity that God gave me to share my faith. I come from Houston, Texas, but I've been working here in Delaware, and this is an opportunity God has granted me to share good news and continue to spread good news. We're the ambassadors of the word of God. So thank you for this opportunity, and let's move forward with this testimony which is for the benefit of society.

2 Comments

  1. Kathleen Henry
    Kathleen Henry on May 10, 2022 at 11:30 am

    Powerful testimony. I also am proud of you, Sandrah.

    Reply
    • Sandra
      Sandra on May 11, 2022 at 4:36 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply

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