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Friends And Family
Conversations from the studios of God's Way Radio in Miami, FL.
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Friends And Family
From the Front Lines to the Faithful: Billy James' Transformation from DEA Officer to Missionary in Uganda
When a man puts down his gun to pick up a Bible, you know there's an extraordinary story waiting to be heard. It's my honor to welcome former DEA task force officer turned missionary, Billy James, as he recounts the pivotal moment that transformed his life into one of deep faith and service. Our conversation traverses both the challenges and the triumphs of embracing a calling that transcends borders and cultures, all while nurturing a young family in the ways of Christ. Billy's journey is a testament to the remarkable change that can occur when a life is fully surrendered to divine purpose, setting a powerful example for generations to follow.
There's something profoundly beautiful about finding a partner whose heart beats to the rhythm of the same spiritual mission. Billy opens up about the journey he and his wife embarked upon, which led them to the heart of Uganda, where their shared calling blossomed into schools that infuse Christian values into the education of hundreds of children. Our discussion also spotlights adoption stories that resonate with a divine touch, and we grapple with the significant societal issues of our time, such as the sanctity of life and the victory of faith over the shadows of superstition. These narratives are not merely our own—they are invitations to witness how alignment in marriage and ministry can carve out legacies of faith that endure.
Finally, Pastor Billy James gives us an inspiring update from the front lines of the Uganda Kids Project and Agents for Christ's 10th Hour Project. It's a humbling reminder of how modest contributions can spark significant change, with just ten dollars feeding a child for an entire month—a stark contrast to the cost of a single meal in a Western city. We explore the genesis of a high school in ashungo, and celebrate how initiatives like the 10th Hour Project are guiding young adults towards a life of purposeful service. Join us for a conversation that reinforces the power of availability to God's will and the ripple effects of faith in action.
You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's Way radio exclusive where we introduce you to some amazing people. In John 15, verse 15, jesus says I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's our aim that God would be made known to you. Stay with us until the end of our conversation for more information on this program and other unique offerings from God's Way radio.
Joey:Billy James, my brother, great to have you here.
Billy:Great to be here again.
Joey:And you know, man, we just looked it up together five years the last recording we have and we're scratching our heads, we're going no way. You know it must have been sooner, but possibly five years since we've heard from Billy James as far as a lengthy interview and conversation. So I'm so looking forward to the update. And we had talked as well before we started recording about just wanting to catch up and be with people that don't know. You, don't know the ministry. I always love to ask people how they came to know the Lord, and you said you wanted to share. We're kind of fast forward through some of that so we can talk about what God is doing now in the world and in the country of Africa and the village of Oshunga. But I got ahead of us, billy James, how did you come to know the?
Billy:Lord. Well, I was a task force officer working with the DEA when God used a drug dealer. I pulled out my badge. He pulled out a gun. I had a gun but I couldn't get it out. It was wrapped up in my sweatshirt that was hiding it and he got to pull the gun, pointed to my face and tried to pull the trigger and the gun didn't fire. God used that incident in my life to bring me to the end. I'd been living a secret life and desiring to follow Jesus, but I was afraid to surrender, and that was the thing that brought me to the end of my running from God and brought me to running to Jesus.
Joey:And you used this phrase that you turned in your gun and badge and picked up a Bible. I mean, was it that radical, was that quick that you made a change?
Billy:Yes, I walked into my pastor's office at Calvary Chapel Southeast in Portland Oregon and surrendered my life to Christ. And the next day I quit my job, turned in my gun, my badge, all my equipment and picked up my Bible and started serving Jesus. I joined a men's discipleship program for the next two years and drew close to Christ and began to serve Him with all my heart every day.
Joey:That is awesome and God can do that. There might be people listening that they think, man, I've tried for so long to break this habit, this addiction, to get out of this secret life, and they think, oh, there's no way. There's no way, God could do it. God can do it. He doesn't always do it that radical, that quick, but he can.
Billy:Well, I know this, that it was the best day of my life, the day that I quit running from Jesus, quit hiding my sin, quit pretending to be a Christian, quit fooling myself. Two people knew the truth about me Jesus and I knew the truth and I was only lying to myself and to God. And that day I gave my life to Christ was the best day. It says in the Bible if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone and all things are new. And that day I became a new creation in Christ and I realized I'd been wasting my life being lied to through sin and the devil and the world, and what I really needed in my life was Jesus and to walk with Him daily through His Word and through His Spirit.
Joey:So awesome, so wonderful and again, like we had talked about before, we want to continue on with the story. I mean, you think about it, you think of who's listening. We can talk about just the salvation of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, how he saved us, how he frees us and delivers us. So much of what we're going to talk about today. We could spend hours and hours and hours on. Remember Gospel of John. Right, if they were to write down everything that Jesus did, it would fill all the books in all the world. But we have a time that we want to cover a lot of things. So you got an immense discipleship group and then you know there's parts of the story I don't even know How'd you end up in an RV preaching all over the United States?
Billy:Well, it was at that discipleship program, where I was praying, I felt like God spoke to me and said that we were going to be missionaries to the United States, and I wrote it down in my journal and waited four years it took before God said it's time. We sold everything, bought two RVs, Me and my wife, my wife's sister, her husband and our two kids each had two kids so eight people in two RVs going around the country sharing the Gospel and encouraging others to live for Christ.
Joey:How old were your kids at the time?
Billy:My daughter was like 12 and my son was 10 and they were young, but we began serving Jesus I think even younger than that was to blur the dates exactly. You lose track.
Joey:Yeah Well, I want to ask you just quickly to really hone in on that topic, on that detail of the story. You know I have little kids myself. We're showing pictures and bragging about our kids loving our kids. Earlier we had a meal together and it could be hard. You know, it could be hard to want to serve the Lord and you have babies or teenagers or young kids. What do I do and not? And there might be people listening and, billy, I don't think you'd be offended at the language to think, wow, that guy's crazy. You know he did what he did. What would you say to those people that think that's that's too much, that's that's too crazy. I can't do that.
Billy:Well and everything else is going to pass away. It says that the who does the will of God abides forever. So teaching your kids to follow Jesus is the only thing that really matters. God will provide when you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It promises that all else will be added unto you and includes taking care of your children. And raising kids is difficult, but with raising kids without Christ being the center is impossible. The world has nothing. The world is hopeless and empty, and drugs and alcohol and all the things the world tries to offer, money and materialism and all the stuff that leaves you empty. And only Jesus will fulfill your children, and that's that's what you have to focus on.
Tiffany:Yeah.
Billy:And you just spent time with your kids as well. We, we were with them all the time.
Joey:Yeah, I was going to say they probably have fond memories of those years.
Billy:Yeah, driving around it was a good time to watch Andy Griffith episodes and eat cereal at night before we went to bed, all of us in prayer and after doing ministry. So it was good, good times. But then God sent us to Uganda. So yeah, so changes.
Joey:So we get to there. Now, Billy, I want to help the listeners make the connection because we want to get them all the information possible. You know we'll put things on our social media and our website to try to you know what they call in computer terms, drive traffic to you guys the website, the YouTube page. We want people to see what's happening and this is something that I'm still learning, kind of making sense of in my head. There is agents for Christ. There's, I think forgive me if I say the wrong name 10th hour project.
Billy:Yes.
Joey:There's the ministry in a shunga which is Calvary Chapel, a shunga. So what connect all those dots for us?
Billy:So we started as agents for Christ agents. I was an agent for the United States government, then we became agents for Christ and then, after doing that ministry for three and a half years, god basically separated us and started two, two different ministries, still all under agents for Christ. One is the 10th hour project in New Mexico and that's a men's disciple discipleship program for young men and women. It's a gap year program in New Mexico. And then the other ministry is Uganda kids project in Uganda and they all, we all, serve together. The kids in the 10th hour project go there for nine months three months into Mexico doing biblical discipleship, three months in America traveling doing outreach in America and the three months in Uganda serving with Uganda kids project and Calvary Chapel a shunga. So they're all connected. One ministry has grown into two.
Joey:Great Across the world, great, great. So that clears it up. So that's all the information on agents for Christ, 10th hour project, uganda kids project. They're all going to be related in a sense, but we know there's projects that God's doing in a shunga and Uganda kids project that we're seeking the Lord's provision. We're talking about buildings and things. So let's, that was pretty good. That was about. That was less than 10 minutes. We covered a lot of ground there. So let's jump to a shunga Calvary Chapel, shunga, uganda kids project. Maybe you want to tell us how it started. Maybe you want to just jump right to what God is doing now. I leave you to start us off.
Billy:We went to Uganda with Compassion International and it was like our boot camp. We worked at an orphanage and that orphanage closed and God opened the doors for us to start our own nonprofit called Uganda kids project and sent us to the small little village in Southwest Uganda called a shunga, where no white person had ever lived. We were the first white people to ever live there. We went to this couple acre grass hill, lived in Walmart tents and watch God start from a tents and carrying water and having a bathroom, be a hole in the ground and cooking over a fire, to building the first first building.
Billy:We called it a shunga mission out outreach center, or I mock, and we built that building and felt like God told us two things to do Put in a well, giving the people water for their bodies, and teach the Bible giving them water for their spirits. That's what we did. We planted Calvary Chapel as shunga and we put in a well and from that initial step of faith and the Walmart tents, you can still go to Walmart and get the same tent. They're $99, they pop up in one minute. We lived on the side of a hill in the grass and nowhere is Uganda for three months in a tent, which people really thought we were crazy. From RVs to tents.
Joey:They were going to think you're sleeping under a tree, forget you start downgrading, but it was good.
Billy:It was one of the best years of my months of our lives. We lived in those tents for three months and it's really great picture that I want to forget about, because the Bible says that when this earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a house eternal from God in the heavens. And when we moved out of those tents after three months and moved into I mock, I forgot to zip the front door on the tent and a storm came, kind of like the storms in Miami, and it ripped through there and completely destroyed that tent and gave me a really good picture of how this tent is destroyed. We have a new home and heaven eternal.
Billy:But it started from that simple step of faith and a little bit crazy. Most people thought we were crazy. A lot of people ask about my wife. They're like how did you find a wife who would live in Uganda in a tent for three months? But the funny thing is my wife was the one who wanted to live in the tents. People were saying we should live in a hotel ten miles away and drive back and forth.
Billy:My wife is like no way, we want to live amongst the people. So my wife is the one who wanted to live in the tents and I was all for it. But it was some of the greatest days of our lives because you realize how simple life can be and how it's better when it's simple. Living in an RV was very simple and you realize you don't really need very much. But living in a tent was even simpler and it was really some of the best years of our marriage. Our ministry was in those tents for three months. It was only three months, but starting a ministry of faith, god did great things.
Joey:You know again so many details that we could pick up on and run with If you just joined us. This is a recorded conversation interview with Billy James from the Lord. Brother in the Lord, he does so much he's been you know I don't know if you would call yourself this an evangelist in the US, planted a church in Africa, discipled many people. He just serves the Lord and right now he's with Uganda Kids Project, kavir Chabo Oshunga. But yes, we have the opportunity to have him here in the studio. We sat down, recorded this conversation and you're hearing it now and pay attention because God is moving, thank you. Thank you for tuning into God's Will Radio.
Joey:You know one of the things that, billy, you mentioned is you know your spouse how. They have the same heart, the same mindset, almost. You know I've heard this before it's like a, like a godly competition. Who could love Jesus more? You know who wants to serve Jesus more. Can you speak to that? You know you work with young people. You work with gap year students and I think that means from high school to college. You have that break, that gap. How important is it, as you're seeking the Lord and you want to serve the Lord, to find a spouse on the same page.
Billy:Well, the Bible says that a man finds a wife, he finds a good thing, and a godly wife is required. Like people say, if you don't, your wife doesn't love Jesus, she'll never love you. And it's the same for us, for the men If we don't love Jesus, we can never truly love our spouses. But having a wife that's like minded in ministry, that just is willing to do anything for Jesus, is what we have the same heart. She was willing to. We actually we said it, we were when I was going through a discipleship ministry. She was at one church in Portland Oregon and I was at another church in Portland Oregon. This is many, many years ago.
Billy:And it was like God had spoke to my wife during that service and asked her where will you go for me? And my wife answered I will go to the ends of the earth for you, lord. And I was at a different church and God spoke the same thing to me and I said I go to the ends of the earth, I'll go anywhere for you, jesus. And after service we called. We weren't together. I called her and said man, you won't believe what happened, what God. I felt like God spoke to me. Where would I go for him and she said, no way. I felt like God spoke the same thing to me. So, just to move the spirit, two different people will give us the same call, the same heart doing, willing to do the same thing. Live for Jesus Christ.
Joey:Yeah, amen. What a great story to just illustrate that point that you have to be seeking the Lord in a sense for yourself or on your own. You'll get that love with Jesus first, and then he'll connect you with the person that has that same mission, that same vision. So you moved out of the tent, you moved into a more permanent dwelling, and what happened next? Or, if you want to fast forward all the way to today, continue please.
Billy:Well, we felt like God told us to build a school, a primary school, and we didn't weren't sure. But we took a little step of faith. We started a classroom, one classroom in our eye mock, the admission center, and we had 15 kids and we started teaching them. And from that 15 kids, that small beginnings, god has grown our primary school into almost 500 children. Right now we have 500 kids there at our primary school and God's blessed it. We have all you gone and teachers, but God has brought Christian teachers who love Jesus. God's brought other missionaries to serve with us and recently we took our first test for the end of primary school in Uganda at P7. That's like seventh grade, the last grade in primary school. They take a government test and it really determines the quality of your school and the quality of the students and all of our kids scored division one and our school scored 32nd out of 2709 schools in Uganda we scored number 32, which was a great thing.
Billy:We give all the glory to Jesus. I'm the first that'll tell you if there's anything good in me, it's Jesus. If anything good in our ministry God did it, he gets all the glory. We just get to be involved in serving Jesus. So from that we knew God was calling us to start a high school. So that's what we're doing, right. We started our first. This year is our first year of our high school. We call it Garden High School, where you've gone to kids project Garden High School, and we have 27 high school students, our first class, and God provided the first building to start the school and now we're trying to build a gymnasium, basically like a main hall or a multi purpose room for a chapel, for sports, for just everything related to ministry with the high school students.
Joey:Incredible. I'm going to keep saying this, man, if we were to pause on every detail. You know 500 students and you're telling me some of those are overnight boarding school type students.
Billy:Yeah, we have about 200 kids that live on campus 24, seven, and then all of the high school students. The high school will be a completely boarding school student school because we're using at the high school using two different curriculums. We're using the Uganda curriculum, which teaches them the things they need to know for Uganda. We're also using a becca Christian curriculum from America, from Pensacola, florida a becca. So our students are getting an amazing education and a Christ centered Christian worldview to train up this next generation of Ugandans to to live for Christ and go out into the world and transform the world for Christ.
Joey:You know, I'm just so humbled. You know, I know we're on the radio, very professional, you know, but man, it's like Jesus. Are you just looking at me, lord, this guy you know, here this is getting so personal for me. My little girl does a becca. My oldest daughter, she's in the Lighthouse ministry, school ministry. Here at the church they do a becca. So I don't know, it's just such a I don't know, billy, if you're kind of seeing it with me, this connection, this Holy Spirit connection, how God wants to minister to people, and again, it could be a becca curriculum. There's so many curriculums but there's those little God details. You know, the same curriculum maybe your child is doing here. There's children in Uganda, high school students that are, that are at a boarding school with people that love Jesus, calvary Chapel family, that are learning. They have the same lessons. Wow, so sweet, so sweet. You also told me a little bit about I would love our listeners to hear about the structure, the religious history of Uganda, very unique place.
Billy:Yeah, it was. There was a huge East African revival that went throughout Kenya, tanzania and Uganda and the Anglican church from England, which was very strong, sent many missionaries and they went throughout Africa, east Africa, and planted churches all over. So the area where we are is very strong Anglican church area, which is really great In one way that they believe the Bible is the Word of God. They believe Jesus is death and resurrection.
Billy:they believe in the Trinity and they just were blessed to be able to teach them more about God's Word and to teach them specifically about the God desires to have a personal relationship with each one of them.
Joey:And so you're describing how it's very open. It's just for ministry, everything's open.
Billy:Yeah, the ministry there it's wide open. It's a Christian nation. The president is a Christian, his wife is a Christian, and so you can go into any school anywhere throughout Uganda and preach the gospel. And we've just been blessed to go into high schools with thousands of students and just preached Jesus Christ and it's endless. I could do it. Every single day I go to another school and preach the gospel and we're hoping God would raise up more people. We have a couple couples from New York that are thinking about coming back or coming to Uganda to serve with us, because we're such a huge opportunity to go out into the schools and preach the gospel.
Billy:So it's a wide open country right now.
Joey:Absolutely, and you also mentioned how that doesn't mean that everyone that claims to be a Christian is really living and thriving in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Billy:No, I mean. But that foundation that they believe in the Bible, they believe in Jesus, is a good starting point. So we've seen, even with our own kids, reading the Bible verse by verse and teaching them the Bible and teaching them to pray and teaching them the truth of the gospel. It is a personal relationship every day with Jesus. We're seeing huge fruit in our own kids. It's so amazing. Now our kids all will go out sharing the gospel. We take the kids out evangelizing every week, at least the older ones. There's too many of them to take them all out but we take one class at a time each week and we go out to the city close by and share the gospel and the kids are on fire for Christ. It's really awesome to see.
Joey:That's amazing, that's so amazing. And again, you know this is not something we've talked about yet today, Billy, but it's something that's coming to mind right now. How we could not not everyone does, I don't want to make such a sweeping generalization but we could think, oh, you know we can. When we think of Uganda Kids Project and Uganda Children. You know, maybe some of the listeners that they think of those videos, you know of these poor little African kids and crying. And I'm not, I'm trying to be respectful, I'm trying to get to a point here. These are, these kids are serving the Lord. I mean, these aren't some little kids in the video. These are our children that are maturing, they're growing, they're learning, they're being missionaries to our country. Can you speak to that a little, a little bit?
Billy:It's one of the things that I've discovered both ways. People in America think of Africa as people living in the bush, running around with no clothes on, wearing like a grass skirt or a skin, which is not that way anymore. It's Western world has come in a lot, but the kids in Uganda, the people in Uganda, see America on TV or hear about America. They think America is like heaven and they're trying to teach them the truth that Jesus is where they are and serving Jesus is where you are. I always tell people, even everybody who's listening, that where Jesus has you is where your mission field is. Where you are is your mission field, and so we're trying to teach the kids. You don't have to go to America to serve Jesus. Jesus is here, where he has you, and he wants to use you where you are. He wants to know you, he loves you and desires to have a relationship with you here and use you here. When you're faithful where you are, he'll lead you to the next thing.
Joey:Amen, amen. I want to camp on that topic a little bit because I just have a sense that there's somebody listening that's going yeah, yeah, you know that's what all missionaries say, but you mean that? Can you elaborate? Somebody's listening?
Billy:I always use Ephesians 3.20 because it says God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly, above what you can ask, think or even imagine through His Spirit that lives in you. The Holy Spirit lives in you in America, if you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Lives in Uganda, believers, and it doesn't matter where you are. God wants to do great things in and through you, wherever you are, and it doesn't matter. God used me in America in an RV and we saw much fruit. And then I went to Uganda. God used me, is using us in Uganda. God wants to use you wherever you are, whether it be Miami or at your school, even in your home, your first ministry, as your children and your family. And every day you should wake up, put Jesus first before your feet even hit the ground. Give that day to Jesus. Ask Jesus to use you today and he will.
Billy:I always pray for divine appointments, and divine appointments are always there. All we have to do is be looking for them and make ourselves available, because that's all I ever did when I gave my life to Christ. I just made myself available. I said, jesus, I want to serve you. I'd lived for myself for 38 years. Now I want to live for you, jesus.
Joey:Amen. And I think you really touched upon something, billy, that it's the way, the way you go about your Christian walk, right, if you, if you're thinking, oh God doesn't want to, you know, I guess I'll just go. Yeah, that's kind of a hard place to serve the Lord, that. But if you wake up to go to your nine to five and before your feet I've been hit the ground, you're praying for God to use you, then God will use you, like he said. So it's a matter of kind of our outlook on it. A lot of it, not all of it, you know, the God factor, god sovereignty, but a lot of it, I think, is our perspective, our approach putting Jesus is Lord of your heart every day which is hard because the flesh wants to be In control, wants to feel good and wants to be.
Billy:You know, the world is always calling to us materialism and the things of the world, which aren't necessarily bad. I like my iPhone. My iPhone's a great tool, yeah, but if my iPhone is my God, it's a very poor master. Yes but if you let Jesus be Lord and and seek him with all of your heart, then your iPhone is just a tool to use for Jesus. Amen, amen, and it's just about a heart issue, right.
Billy:It's our issue who's Lord of your life? And we all struggle with it. I still struggle with it. You're gone, I can wake up and be. Bill will be in charge, and I can have a terrible day till I realize, oh wait, I need to surrender to Christ and let Jesus be Lord. And it's in a battle, but Jesus wins.
Joey:Jesus wins amen. And it's good to know that it's not only us Americans that struggle with our iPhone. So put the phone down, let Jesus use you. You mentioned appointment and that got me thinking about another part of the ministry the medical center. Can you share a little bit about what God's been doing there?
Billy:Yeah, when we first started with all the children we have we said hundreds of children and we provide medical care for them as part of the program and and sending them out to get medical care into other medical facilities was the costs were Astronomical. So we prayed and God brought a nurse and we built. God provided and we built our own medical center and we have now have our own medical center with our own you gone in staff and two American nurses, missionary nurses, and it's been a great ministry, not only to the helping their children and saving money and being able to care for our, our kids through our own medical center, but being able to give free medical care, sharing the gospel by helping the local people, by giving them medical care and Teaching them the love of Jesus through through medicine amen.
Joey:I don't know if it would be appropriate, if you're willing to share that story that you shared at lunch, or if there's a different story a 19 year old girl. She came in incredible story.
Billy:Yeah, we were.
Billy:I've been praying and God kept pressing on my heart about adoption and I didn't know what God was speaking to me because I didn't just didn't know.
Billy:I mean, I have always had a heart for children and unborn and and my one of my pastors from my home church in Portland, oregon, came to visit us. I did a mission trip and while he was there he asked me, he said can you adopt babies in Uganda? And I said I know you can. I said let's pray if God brings us a baby. He wanted to adopt a baby because his wife can't have children. So I'm like well, if God brings a baby, let's pray and maybe God will bring a child and we'll try to, we'll do the adoption. So we prayed and he went back to America and two weeks later a 19 year old girl comes into our medical center. She was pregnant and was thinking about having an abortion and we Counseled her and prayed with her and led her to Christ and kept counseling her and and ultimately she gave the baby up for adoption. And now we have a baby, baby angel, living at my mission center and we're doing the adoption process with the pastor in Oregon.
Billy:Wow so it's an awesome opportunity.
Joey:You pray and God provides Be careful what you pray for none God will answer prayers according to his will.
Joey:Yeah and, yeah, I love that story when you shared it. You know because, again, just if you're listening right now, you're listening to God's way radio in Miami. We're on 104.7 FM. We have free apps on your iPhone, your Android fold. We're at godswayradiocom. I'm here with Bill James of you've gotten the kids project, also 10th hour project, also agents for Christ. We've talked about that. But maybe you're here and you're praying. You know, in the United States bill I don't know if you knew the the whole roe versus Wade overturn and and all of this it's been going on in the political arena. And if you've been praying, you know, lord, save these children.
Joey:He hears your prayers in Africa you know your prayers are being heard across the world. God is saving these unborn children and giving them a chance at life. So I meant for so many reasons I love that story very personal to me as well, things close to my heart. But thank you, thank you for sharing now. Now here's the one. I really wanted to give you plenty of time for the tree.
Billy:Yeah, the tree. The tree is card. Near to Lou. Near to Lou is the name of the tree. It was an idol when people had been offering sacrifices. It's this giant banyan tree that had been there for at least 150 years. Families had been offering sacrifices to this tree, this idol, for many, many years now just to interject.
Billy:It was interesting because you just described Uganda as a Christian nation, but you said when, when some people not all you got this, but some people when they don't get what they want, then they revert back to to these practices at witchcraft has been huge and Uganda for a long time, and many people they'll go come and ask me to pray for them and that God doesn't answer quick enough or do what they think God should do, then they'll go offer sacrifices at the witch doctor, even at this tree. So I had been the part where I live in Uganda. In Southwest Uganda, the tribe is the and Coley tribe. They're involved in witchcraft but they're very secret about it. They hide it.
Billy:So I was in this Valley of a shunga for many years before I heard about this tree. I started hearing about New Artulu and they were offering sacrifices at this tree and I'm like wheat. This tree's got to go reminded me of the Bible with Jehoza, fat and Josiah and even giddy and I was. You cut down the high places and I began to investigate where this tree was and I started finding out all these lies about this tree. They believed it was protected by snakes. They believed if you cut the tree it would bleed. They believed if you touched any of the branches you'd be cursed, and all these different things and I just felt like we brought Jesus in this village. We're teaching the kids and the families to follow Christ and we need to cut this tree down and God made a way on the owner of the property. When I went to talk to him about where the property is, he Asked him about the tree. He said I hate that tree. Cut it down.
Billy:Wow and he was raised with his family, had been involved in offering sacrifices at the tree, but he'd given his life to Christ and he hated that tree. So we began to pursue Getting someone to come cut the tree down. And the local people wouldn't do it, they were too afraid. And I mean it was very crazy when, when I first went to the tree, I picked up these branch because they told me you touch any of the branches you'll be cursed. So I grabbed one of the branches, carried it out, took it to my house, cut it up into chunks, started a fire and cooking bananas over this tree. And after that everybody knew what I was doing.
Billy:People are all standing around watching and they're all afraid. One of my workers Walks up to me and whispers in my ear. They call me daddy billy. You can't say Billy or bill, so they say billy. Said daddy billy whispers you better be careful, the snakes gonna get you. He was dead serious that that snake was gonna come get me in the night. But of course God's greater. The Bible is very clear in 1st John 4 4 he who lives in you is greater than he who lives in the world and the devil can't touch me because Jesus lives in me and we had to go far away to get some chain guys with chainsaws to come, for chainsaws took like five hours to make this tree fall, and when the tree fell, everyone rejoiced and of course, they learned that God is greater. Nothing, nothing happened. There was no snake, no curses, no blood, nothing, just Jesus Christ Empowered us to get rid of the side. It'll cut down the high places in the shunga, uganda.
Joey:And you said families responded. Even the same day there were families that came up to you.
Billy:Yeah, we had Two of the families that were heavily involved in this tree. One of the fathers was named was Richard he was. They were preparing to bury him. They didn't know what was wrong with him, they just knew he was going to die. They were preparing to bury him, they expecting him to die any day. We cut the tree down the very next day. Richard was completely healed. Whatever cursed this tree held a devil held on him, connected to this tree. He was delivered. I went and began teach, sharing Jesus with them, and he gave his life to Jesus Christ. Now he served Jesus. You pray for Richard, though he still struggles, but he's in the prep process of being discipled and God's got a plan for Richard.
Joey:Amen awesome.
Billy:And then the other family that lived next to the tree had four grown boys. These four boys came and saw me. They said, daddy billu, thank you. They were like almost with tears and for you gone in man to cry. They don't believe in crying, they're very macho or whatever, and they would like almost like tears. I said, thank you. We've been believing a lie about that tree for all these years and now we know Jesus is the truth and they gave life to Christ, christ awesome and man that's sort of it says awesome, it just sounds cool, cut it down, you know.
Joey:But it's interesting as that tree as an example sometimes what we need to do in our own lives. It's hard work to cut idols down. Yeah, I don't know if you, you know.
Billy:I use that example all the time because we need to all. The Bible is very clear about examining our own hearts. Even God revealed to me through this tree that my phone would become an idol. I was looking at my phone continually and I had to do it in my own life. I had to examine my own heart Was there anything in my life that was in the way of Jesus? And to cut it down? And I challenge everybody to really examine your heart. Is there any trees in your heart, any idols in your life that you need to chop down and let Jesus have the place in your heart that he deserves as the Lord of Lord and King of Kings.
Joey:Amen, amen. You know the hard work of cutting the tree down, but the fruit people will see, people will see. Turn to the Lord. You know again, you know there's. There's a theology, you know a biblical truth right about Demonic oppression, demonic possession, I mean things that you might be involved with that like this man, richard. You got to cut those things out of your life if you want freedom and deliverance. I don't know if anything comes to your mind in that regard same with me.
Billy:I went, my idol was alcohol for a long time and it was killing me. Alcohol was killing me and it was an idol and I drank it every day and I had to chop down. I'll get chopped the bottle out of my heart and lay down the bottle. I pick up my Bible and serve Jesus Daily, choose to serve Jesus Christ, to wake up to pray, to read his word and to serve God. Not because I had to, because I wanted to, because I wanted to drink and the drinking was an idol and I had to get cast it out of my life. And when I cast out the idol and let Jesus be Lord, my whole life changed the better.
Billy:Alcohol was killing me. Jesus is life gives us life every day.
Joey:I want to make sure to, to talk about the things that God is doing. Give people plenty, plenty of opportunity to reach out, to connect, to support. Let's start to talk about some of that bill, if you don't mind. You mentioned the building project. You mentioned a really cool initiative to it. Was it called? Ten a day?
Billy:ten by Power of ten we started this thing called power of ten, where people spend ten dollars on streaming service of Netflix or Amazon Prime or whatever, and ten dollars we can spend every month without even Realizing and we spent it.
Billy:Yeah so we're challenging people to give ten dollars a month to you. Gone to kids project the power of ten, because ten dollars In Uganda feeds one of our children for a whole month and ten dollars goes a long way in Uganda and we're asking or asking people to pray or to join us of this power of ten. Giving ten dollars a month. Do you got a kids project to support the children in Africa?
Joey:You know. I just want to emphasize on that because again we're talking over a meal and Chris and I go. What ten dollars Can feed a child for a month? That's incredible. I mean you think about the things. Maybe it's just me. I mean I'm thinking about the things and, like you said, streaming services, Sometimes you know how many let me put it this way listening family. How many meals can you get in Miami for less than ten dollars? Most of our meals are ten dollars, let alone a month's worth of meals.
Joey:So, again, it's just to pray. You know us like God's way radio and and I know Bill's hard as well, we're not gonna spend on 20 hours doing a telethon, beg a thong now. We're just sharing what God has put upon his heart and listen and and this is from me, don't don't put this to Bill's account and and here's what I'm trying to say, if you don't like hearing, or if you're somehow resistant to hearing about an opportunity To give ten dollars a month to the work of the Lord, I think you need to check your heart. I do because you know, could you could pray? You could at least pray, lord. Do you have this for me? I'll leave it there. I'll leave it there. I know that God is is really challenging my heart personally, so I'll leave that there and I pray that it's received with love. I'll be, bill. Tell us more about the different projects and the different ways people could be involved or just learn, just get information.
Billy:Well, you go to agents for Christorg. Agents for Christorg is where all of our ministries are in one website.
Joey:Is it the number four or the word?
Billy:agents for FOR Christ, for that org, and the big thing we're trying to do in Uganda is build this gymnasium. It's main hall. We built the first classrooms at the high school. We built the dormitory. We're almost done with the administrative building for the high school. We built the bathrooms. So the high school is going along, but we have this building. It's about fifty thousand dollars to build a hundred by fifty gym, main hall for the students, and and God's raised some of the money, but we still need people to partner with us to Raise the walls on this main hall.
Billy:One of the things we're doing so we're doing our part is we just made 40,000 bricks we made our own bricks, so we just burned 40,000 bricks, doing our part with the dirt in Uganda to to have the bricks. That's how we just need people to partner with us to buy the cement and the sand and yeah. And we even have a guy from upstate New York who's gonna come and do the, the trusses, the roof. Wow, he's paying for the roof. So we just need Fifty thousand dollars is probably way high now because a lot of it's already God's already doing.
Billy:Yeah but even in, you know, uganda kids project has been built From people just giving ten dollars here, twenty dollars there, fifty dollars. Never has it been anything big. It's just been God's faithful people giving to God's work in Uganda.
Joey:That's amazing. I mean making 40,000. You said 40,000 bricks.
Billy:They just got there ready. Now we're just right, right, trying to start build the foundation, start raising the walls. That's amazing.
Joey:We just need to stack them up, you know obviously over simplified, but yeah, wow, that is cool, that's amazing and I love that. All right, you're leading by example. Are you looking for God's provision in your life? We know, I know listeners here that they call their prayer requests. They're looking for work, they're looking for a job, and and again. There's so many practical tips there, but the main point is do your part. Right, I use that phrase. Do your part, get out there, do what you can. You know, offer to wash people's cars Again, you might think that's antiquated. You know people don't do that anymore, but do your part and I love that. Leading by example, even as a ministry building making their own bricks. That's incredible.
Joey:If you just tuned in, we are with Bill James, billy James from agents for Christ and I. Calvary Chapel of shunga. You got in the kids project. I mean, god is doing so many things, but really it's the work of the Lord, it's the work that God has been doing through his life and now he's a I guess you would say your. Your main base is there in, in a shunga, and you travel from there sometimes. You mentioned the building. There was something else here. Oh, boy, losing my train of thoughts Kids project. I don't know what else comes to your mind now, bill?
Billy:That's our main thing, that we're trying to do that the money for the food, because food is doubled in price.
Joey:That's what I was gonna ask about, and that's what the 10, the power of 10 is really that money is going to buy food.
Billy:It costs $1,000 a week to feed. We have 500 kids, 60 employees and all the missionaries. It's about $1,000 a week to feed everybody in Uganda. So there's no budget for that. Their money is difficult. During COVID we lost 75 sponsors. Of course we didn't chase the kids away. We kept providing. God kept providing for them and God's raised up many sponsors. But we're still looking for more child sponsors and God's faithful. But this food thing is the big, big budget need right now. We're praying people will join us through the power of 10, giving $10 a month Simple thing, it has a big results in Uganda.
Joey:Yeah, and the Lord is so good. That's exactly what I wanted to ask about that. I had lost my train of thought. If you could give some just praise reports of what God did in those tough times when the well, it's still tough times as food prices started to go up, covid restrictions any praise reports answered prayers from the last couple of years.
Billy:Well, god was always faithful. He is always faithful. We would be like lacking money and we praying, praying, praying, praying, and all of a sudden somebody would give a special donation, would come through at the exact time. God's always faithful. I learned that from my parents. Actually, my parents were faithful to tithe 10% every month even when the money wasn't there, and God always gave enough, and that's. We've seen that in Uganda as well.
Billy:But during COVID the government shut down the schools. Government shut down the churches, but we're still a children's project, an NGO caring for the needy children of Uganda. So through the children's project we saw that some of our girls were thinking about running off and getting married in Uganda. It's a patriarchal society where the father can give their daughters to marriage just for a dowry, and we lost one of our girls. So we brought all of the girls 13 and older back to the project. We did basically a two month girls conference. We had about 50 girls living at my house for two months. It was crazy times 50 teenage girls at our project living in my home. They were staying in the school dormitories. But it was fun though. It was really great. God really did an amazing work during those two months Saw tons of the girls get saved, build a foundation for Christ in all of their lives, and it's been. It was really great so we saw.
Billy:God working even in COVID.
Joey:Your wife had a. How many? What was it? 200? No, 20? How many girls? Was it 50.? Your wife had 50 daughters for two months. Yeah, 50 daughters Amazing.
Billy:And you know I always. We have eight of our own children.
Tiffany:Yes.
Billy:And one of our children. His name was Nixon. He died in his sleep. So I tell you this because serving Jesus doesn't mean you're not going to be without pain. I know many of you lost family members. Nixon was my son. I brought him in my home when he was like seven. He was with us for eight years and he had epilepsy and he had a severe form of epilepsy and one night he had a massive seizure while he was sleeping and he died in his sleep and it was a difficult time, very difficult, and we're the only white people there in Ishunga. There's other missionaries there now, but me and my wife were the only white people there for a long time and they didn't really feel like we were part of the people until Nixon died. When Nixon died, the people really surrounded us. They took care of everything during the burial time and I became realized that my family I was part of the family in Uganda.
Joey:Yeah, you know we pray. You know we pray. God use us, god do this and sometimes his ways are not our ways. And you know, like what you said, you know you had shared that with Pastor Chris and I earlier and you know it was just, it was very a special moment. You know just three brothers speaking.
Joey:I didn't know you were going to share it again here on the radio and one of the things that I was thinking is man, do people know what missionaries go through? You know we hear stories, we see you for a week or five minutes or one hour or whatever it is, or on a video, but there is a cost. There's a cost to serving the Lord and it's worth it. You know I'm going to give you an opportunity now to tell us that it's worth it. But if you're listening, you know, before we hear from Bill again on that topic, pray, pray.
Joey:If you hear us interview someone, you know this is not just for fun and views and whatever. We don't even have views. We're radio station. You know what I mean. These are real people, these are our brothers and sisters across the world that are serving the Lord, taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and again, they don't want credit. Like Pastor Bill said already, you know anything good in me, it's Jesus. But we need to pray. That is your job, that is my job. We are commissioned to pray for them. There's so many scriptures that say that. So, Bill, billy, can you tell us how worth it is? Can you tell the people?
Billy:Well, it's not always easy, but there's nothing else. What else do we have? Even in that time, with Nixon dying, and sometimes when you feel like quitting and things get very difficult, you realize. I always go to John, chapter six, verses 66 and 68, where it said many of the disciples turned and followed Jesus no more. And Jesus turned to the 12 and said do you also want to leave me? And Peter, who always spoke up, said Lord, we have come to understand that you have the words of life. We have nowhere else to go and we understand that you are the son, like in the Messiah, the savior of the world, and that's. Serving Jesus is all we have, but it's the only good thing we have. And I have nowhere else to go and I don't want to go anywhere else. I sometimes you get tired and you feel like quitting. Jesus is there to lift you up. When your son dies and things are terrible, you see, look for God's glory through it and there is nothing else. But there's nothing else. I want the world's empty.
Billy:It doesn't matter how much money you have, it's empty without Jesus. It doesn't matter what you have without Christ, your life's empty, and I learned that, and serving Jesus is all there is. But it's also what we were created to do. We were created to have a relationship with the living God and if you don't have it, you're gonna be having something empty, missing in your heart. Jesus, only Jesus can fill, and it's definitely. Serving Jesus is what we're created to do to have a relationship with the living God.
Joey:Amen, amen. Billy, maybe this sounds cliche, but from hearing you, not just during the interview but our conversation before just fellowshiping for a little bit, it sounds to me like Jesus is just getting started in a shungo. Would you agree? What do you think God's gonna do?
Billy:Well, we're building the high school and this is just a first year, so it's a sixth year project. We have five more years to go. Uh, if the Lord should tarry, we're gonna Watch him do this year and we'll see him do next year and every year, because I heard him speak to me. I mean he said build the high school here. We were praying about where to build the high school, what to do with the high school. I was walking through our garden and going to our pigs we have pigs there and I felt like God said build it here. So if God says do something, he's gonna do it.
Billy:And that's where the freedom is. That's why I live in, for christ is so free. It's been said that true freedom is complete surrender to christ, because when you completely surrender every day to Jesus, christ he's in charge. And he's in charge means he's Responsible for what happens, he's responsible to take care of you and responsible for the outcome. And that is the true freedom is serving christ. So I know the high school is going to be completed and what is going to happen after that I don't know. But uh, we're just beginning the first year of a six year project and pray you would join us in prayer. Financially, however, god would move in your hearts to join us and you're going to kids project amen, amen, um, and so so much, so much to look at, to dream about.
Joey:I don't know, I'm just dreaming, lord. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do, lord? Um, so we mentioned the website. Uh, financial giving. Uh, you have a youtube channel.
Billy:Oh, yes, we do have. You can actually watch the video on the tree and other videos about our ministry at youtube channel. Is agents for christ spelled out ag, ents, f or chr? Is t agents for christ?
Joey:agents for christ on youtube and um, let me see here. What if there's someone listening that wants to visit, wants to serve, um, what could they do? What should they be praying about looking for?
Billy:We're always hoping to send mission, their mission teams to come there. You can reach me at bill at you. Gone to kidsorg is my email. Also, 10th hour project is a huge thing for young people. Yes, there's people are floundering, not knowing what to do with their life, living for the world, trapped in things of the world, and they want to be free, step outside, step back for a year, join 10th hour project and Serve jesus. Learn to serve jesus. We've had we're on our seventh class. We have seven, twelve students starting in a couple days and every one of the students has learned to serve jesus and learned that that's what they were created for and that's been a great, great ministry. And that's just this beginning as well. So maybe god would have you join the 10th hour project, go serve in new mexico for a few months, go around america learning to share your faith and serving jesus in america, and then coming to uganda, serve jesus in uganda.
Joey:Amen, and you said one of the students has decided to stay in uganda. Yeah, we have one that's coming there as a nurse.
Billy:We've had many come back and forth. Right now we have one of our students that's wants to be a midwife. So she went to school to be a midwife but then she wanted to do a Some ojt on the job training. So we brought her to uganda and the hospital's About five miles away and she's now serving at the hospital as an intern. But there's really no rules in uganda so she's able to Do everything. She's the only white girl there working on the hospital staff. So the, the, the main doctor in the hospital, the main doctor in the maternity ward, took her as her, is his own personal assistant and she's going and doing c-sections and all this stuff she would never, ever do in america. Never get the training in america with all the rules. She's Free to really learn to be a midwife in a ojt, doing it as she's learning.
Joey:Yeah, absolutely Incredible, incredible what god could do and the opportunities. So, 10th hour project if you are a young person, you know kind of like young adult age, if you don't fit the bill, hey, you can email bill at agents for christorg. Bill at agents for christorg. Well, we're getting close to the end of our time, believe it or not, my brother, it's been Almost an hour. We're getting close to the end of the hour and, uh, you know, I knew it, I knew time would fly. So much that god is doing. Uh, I want to just give you an opportunity to say any closing thoughts, any final words. We have several minutes, so so, whatever's on your heart to share, or if it's not, uh, you know, if you said a lot already, that's fine too.
Billy:Well, like I said, I just god wants to use all of us. The only thing that changed in my life Is but I made realize how important jesus was and I allowed him to be lord and daily put him first. And the only thing I really did was each day make myself available. And the process didn't go from Surrendering my life and getting saved to uganda a day later, it was, uh, basically for eight years. Eight years of Walking with jesus every day, putting jesus first, failing and getting back up and trying again.
Billy:You know, the devil always says give up. Jesus says get up and go forward. He loves us, he picks us up For, gives us and gives us another chance. And I've had many failures but through them all, jesus was faithful and I just did what was in front of me, started out at my home church as well, at two years in discipleship program, but then internship at my home church and whatever they wanted me to do, from cleaning the bathrooms to doing the sound board, to Teaching Sunday school I just, whatever job there was, I just did it. And then started doing evangelism. Through the church and through evangelism led to ages for christ and we wish you're faithful to do whatever god put in front of us and it's true that when you're faithful with little, god will give you more, and you're faithful with more, he'll give you more and to continue to use you and bless you as you serve jesus, because that's what we were created to do to know jesus and to serve jesus.
Joey:So, so good, so refreshing. And you know, I don't know, I don't hear it that much anymore, but there used to be that joke or that fear or that talk in christian circles where I don't want to pray, to be a missionary, because god's gonna send me to africa, like it was, like the punishment or something which is terrible. But you just explained that god's not gonna do, that. God's gonna call you to what he has for you.
Billy:Go ahead. Well, I have another story too, because when, when we were traveling with agents for christ, I felt like I would plan a church one day, wow, and I would always pray lord, please let me plan a church somewhere where it's warm, not in minnesota or north dakota or somewhere where it's freezing I don't like cold weather and I just prayed. I mean it was kind of like. You know, it wasn't like a serious prayer, but I would. I did pray, lord. You know, we were in myrtle beach and north myrtle beach. I'm like maybe this would be a good place to plan a church.
Billy:And then god said uganda. And when I first was going to uganda, people were telling me it's a terrible place. The Temperatures terrible, the bugs are terrible, the snakes are terrible, the food's terrible, everything's terrible. But I just okay. I said okay, lord. He said go to uganda. And I knew wherever god told me to go is the best place to be, because his will is perfect, and wherever he says to go, go because he has a plan, his plan is perfect. So we said uganda, we go with the uganda. But when I got to uganda the first night, we came in at like 11 o'clock at night and we drove to the hotel. It was dark and smoky and it was really surreal. We stayed the night at a hotel the very first night in every in africa.
Billy:We wake up the next morning, I walk outside and I realized that god had answered my selfish prayer by sending me to uganda. Uganda is a beautiful place, the weather is perfect and not all of uganda is perfect. I mean, this can be hot and there's different things. There's desert in the north, there's different, challenging climates, but southern uganda is like hawaii, without the ocean. I couldn't believe that god answered my selfish prayer of wanting to plan a church In some place tropical and nice and warm and he sent it. Sent me to uganda, though I thought I was not. He was sending me to a terrible place. I realized when I got there that he was actually answering my prayer. That's how great god is, how much he loves us.
Joey:Amen, and I think it illustrates what I was trying to say perfectly. So, uh, guys, gals, ladies, gentlemen, my friends, brothers and sisters, I pray that this conversation has been an encouragement to you, a source of strength, the a faith booster, if you will. That's, that was our heart. You know pastor Billy billy james here from uganda kids project agents for christ 10th hour project. He's only in town for a short time. We said, man, we got to get you in the studio, we got to hear what god is doing. People need to be blessed and encouraged and and the lord's gonna use you. So I pray that's been the case again. Uganda kids project org. Uh, agents for christorg 10th hour project org. All those websites work. If you can't remember any of them, contacts here, contact us here at godsway radio and we will get you whatever information you need. Um bill billy, thank you again, so much.
Billy:Thank you for having me, god bless.
Tiffany:We hope you enjoyed friends and family, unique conversations recorded and produced in our studios, where you get a chance to hear what god is doing in people's lives. Jesus tells us in john 15, verse 15 I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my father I have made known to you. So that's why we love to share these exclusive interviews with you. Our hope is that through their stories god will be made known to you. You can only find them here on godsway radio. Just check godsway radiocom at godswayradiocom for our full program schedule.