God is in the business of transforming terrorist rebel leaders into men of God!
 

Martin Aboda: Escape from the LRA

We are seeing it over and over again!
Our Father is in the business of transforming hearts and changing lives in order to change a nation!! He is - not once or twice, but every day - changing rebel leaders to Godly leaders. 
Terrorists, to peacemakers. 
Killers and murderers, to vessels of healing and hope!
Martin’s journey is one such testimony, and today he is one of our key department leaders in Favor of God!
 

Martin was 8 years old when he was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army to become a child soldier. He served 12 years in guerrilla warfare with acts of terrorism beyond imagination. He was trained well in the use of AK47’s and became the leader in land mine placements in the bush of Sudan and Northern Uganda

Although Martin's life was full of bloodshed, fear and darkness, fervent prayer was being made for the release and escape of these thousands of abducted child soldiers. Through these prayers, Martin’s heart was touched by God, and one day as believers prayed... he risked an escape with his 5 wives and 8 children. As he made the flight for freedom, his path led him to the love and light of Jesus Christ. He found a family in Favor of God, and his heart began to heal.

Through Favor’s love, discipleship, and support, Martin has been able to start his own farming business, buy land and build his own home, as well as see his daughter’s life mercifully saved by God’s love and healing through a critical surgery. His story tells of his journey through terror into a life of peace… from taking life, to giving life.

More of his story from Martin himself …

Martin Aboda

I want to thank God for being able to share my story with you. My name is Martin Aboda and this is my story, it has not been an easy walk but nonetheless it has been my life. In 1992, when I was just eight years old, I was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and taken to Sudan as a child soldier. They trained me in Kenya along with 31 others to set land mines. I was ranked second best in our group at setting and dismantling the mines. For a time I was even taken as an attendant to help Kony, and so I was pushed and pressured to do many things that I never wanted to do.

Supernatural Protection

For twelve years my life was always on the line, and I was tormented by the darkness around me. However God protected me even in this darkness. In 1996, I was sent with 31 other children into the battlefield, yet I was the only one who survived. In 1998, I had gone into the bush with five others to get food for the camp. We were ambushed as we went, and I was the only one who returned. From this point onward I started realizing there was a God who was watching over me. He did not just exist but He truly cared and loved me so much.

Three Days Under The Anthill

During 2000, the war was intense. We would begin fighting on the front lines at 10am and finish at 3am, firing bullets and hiding for 17 hours a day. On one of these days a plane flew over us which, of course, meant bombs. The plane dropped a bomb right beside my hiding place. There was an anthill near and as the bomb hit the ground the soil from the hill buried me, leaving only my head above ground. I stayed in the bush in this state for three days.
 

A Ugandan Anthill

During those three days, enemy soldiers continued to walk directly beside where I lay. Praise be to God, he made me invisible and none of these soldiers saw me for the entire three days. It wasn’t until the fourth day that some fellow soldiers walked by and found me buried in the dirt. For three days I hadn’t had any water or food, but once again that God really protected me and showed His love towards me.

A Daring Escape

In 2003, I found out that my mum and dad had been burnt inside of their house. When I heard this, it broke me inside. By this time I had 5 wives and 8 children, but at this news, I made up my mind to go back home. My first wife told me, “We can’t go, if we leave they will kill all of us.” But I was adamant that I was going to pay my respects to my parents, if it meant dying then I would die and be with them.
 

Sudanese Countryside -Photo by sidelife

We set out toward Uganda from Sudan and walked for three days without rest, because we knew soldiers were pursuing us. There were 53 of us travelling together, but we moved in smaller clusters within the larger group for safety. When we reached Karuma, we were ambushed. Planes began to fly overhead showering bombs, and the soldiers who had been pursuing us now opened fire. One bomb exploded near me hitting my legs with shrapnel. The six others in my group died in this attack. I escaped only by covering myself in the gore of a fallen friend and pretending to be dead. I lay there until some other soldiers found and rescued me. Later I found that twenty others had been seriously injured, but upon rescue our group was sent to the capitol city of Kampala where we stayed for nearly two years.

A New Family

I never did return to my home village. Instead, in 2007, I went to Gulu to search out a way to support my family. My lack of education and skills were a serious barrier, but I began to pursue a driving course and that is how I first met with Favor of God Ministries. Favor of God Ministries has done so much in my life that words cannot express or appreciate it’s extent. I just thank God so much for Mum Carole, together with the team who are supporting her, may God bless them each so much. I don’t have a father or a mother but God brought Mum Carole as a mother to me.
 

Hope for the Future

God has blessed me with my own land through Favor of God Ministries. I desire to one day build for my children upon that land. I look on these dreams and continue to pray over them, day and night, laying them at His feet. I have written each dream down and I believe that God will bless me as I continue to pursue Him.

Please continue to stand with me in prayers that God will open doors for me to pay the school fees for all of my children. I pray that God will take full control of my life to walk in all He wants me to do, and that I would not dwell on my days as a soldier and the things I have done. To instead focus on His work alone.