Being creative is a learned skill that is not normally developed until we are “squeezed”. When life hands you lemons, it is time to build a lemonade stand.  By David Kamanzi #000011

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Be Creative

By David Kamanzi   From Uganda Africa

My name is David Kamanzi from Mbarara, Uganda. I pastor a church called Tower of Faith Community Church and I am the Executive Director of Love and Dreams. Today, I would like to talk to you about the value of work. As all of you know that it’s God’s plan for us to work. This group began to grow in my life as I’ve been running the ministry and as pressures and the needs kept on growing for us to take care of the now over 122 children in our community. We started with five and as it keeps on growing we realized the need.

So the fear to accomplish what God has birthed in your life, then you begin to think about God’s plan for your life, God’s plan for you and I realized his plan; God has a wonderful plan for us and He said, “I will bless the works of your hands” He expects us on top of preaching in the church, to perform ministry in everything we do, he expects us to work with our hands to do something in our lives. And so, I realized “yes”, this is the time we need as the Church and as the Body of Christ know the potential and the plan of God.

I would like to share a little bit of the story of my life when I started the ministry. Even before then when I was still living on the streets there was a need. You’re living on the streets and you don’t have anything you just don’t have food so you have to think about ways of getting some food, getting something to eat. I remember we used to think about things that will bring us income. Some of the things we used to do was to collect empty mineral water and we would take them and clean them and resell them for people who are selling water, or things, or drinks. So that creativity because we wanted to survive. Some creative things can be bad. I remember I was living on the streets and I would collect the empty bottles and sell them so we could buy drugs but you see that was a bad creative way. There are great, good creative ways that God will give you visions to creativity to find work, to find something to do and He will, out of what you’ve done, bless the “Works of your hands”.

Another story, when it would come time for Christmas, I remember, we used to go around and ask our friends to give us some work to decorate their hotels, to decorate their banks, to decorate all these big offices because we needed money, we needed to have food. We knew we needed a Christmas tree that was number one; so, we would go to a neighbor and ask them if they would let us cut their trees that they don’t want or take care of their fence. So, we would cut their eucalyptus tree and then get those parts of the trees that we needed to do that decoration. I remember when we used to buy a bucket, we would buy Christmas lights that have music, could put in balloons and candies, and decorate a very good tree; and then people would come and look at what we have done and they would appreciate.

And, so number one thing work will give you dignity, so they would appreciate what we have done and say you guys are creative; Wow! Look at what you have done and on top of that, they will pay us money. Remember we’re talking about the value of work. The value we get when we try to do some work. And so, it created and gave us some value when people begin to see us, not as street kids, not as beggars but as people who can do some work and get a pay and they began to appreciate us. And also, my second point is work gives you pride and so we felt we no longer want to live the life we were living. We felt some pride we felt we can do something and people will appreciate us because of what we have done, you know, and so we kept on, and this is how we provided for our needs on the streets. And, until God rescued me out of the street life and that I came to know Jesus as my personal Savior, it is a long story but today remember we are talking about the “Value of Work”.

So, from the age of 19 to 15, that’s what I was engaged in looking for creative ways that we could support ourselves, we would find something to eat. Then from my age when I was getting married, when I met my wife, and then I was also in ministry and we had big needs in our ministry; we needed to provide for the children. Remember some of these children we got off the street and brought them home we needed to have food, we needed to have medication, and all these things. And so, we began to think about also creative ways, what are some of the things we can do to provide for our big family. And this time we started with five children in our home but our home kept on growing today our home houses 22 children that we rescued out of sexual exploitation and street life out of the drugs.

I thank God that He has transformed my life so that I can be a blessing. Yes, I tell my children that “God has blessed us to be a blessing to others”.