Before “I Do” Helps Couples in Uganda Prepare for the Full Marriage Experience

This is Simon Peter and Hadasah Joy Onaba.

I almost deleted his email to me because I figured it was one of those spam messages to send bank information in exchange for temporarily babysitting $4.6 million dollars. I saw words like Uganda (I didn’t know anyone there), and an introduction to someone I never met. But as my cursor was moving toward the delete button, I took a second look.
Boy, am I glad I didn’t delete it. This email is one of the biggest highlights since publishing Before “I Do”. Read on.
Blessing Jason,
You have no idea what a blessing BEFORE “I DO” has had and continues to have on the lives of many couples here in Kampala, Uganda.
My sincere thanks go to you for yur commitment to help couples experience nothing short of the FULL MARRIAGE EXPERIENCE!

My name is Simon Peter Onaba, 25years old.My wife,Hadasah Joy onaba and I have been married for two years now.We celebrated our 2nd wedding annivertsary on 17th Dec 2007.
We met during our days in university at an abstinence program called Prime time which gathers over 3500 students every saturday night to celebrate sexual purity and marital fidelity as God ’s plan for sex and as the safest way to prevent AIDS.

After we finished university we knew God was calling us into the ministry.We are both committed full time with Makerere Community Church where we serve under Pr.Martin Ssempa.
I now oversee Prime time and the discipleship ministry while my wife is the Worship leader and works with the Ladies ministry.We are a church of young people.

The other thing that we also do is over see the couples ministry (3hearts, is the name of our couples ministry) and this is where your book has been a huge blessing. Right now we have 5 married couples and atleast 15 courting couples. BEFORE “I DO” is been a book we have used to enrich our own marriage experience and also in preparing couples for marriage through Premarital counselling.

One of the things my wife and I like about the book is its ability to deal with key issues in a simple and interactive way that really leaves one impacted.Together with my wife we are committed to building strong marriages in a time when everyone seems to have given up on marraige.

Right now we are preparing Isaac and Angella who are getting married in February and again this book is being a blessing. Also this week we talked with a married couple who were refered to us for counselling because they have had major issues for the last several years but we are praying that God will breath afresh on them and let them experience the true marriage experience again. Most of their issues stem from the lack of preparation for marriage.We are going to dig into BEFORE I DO as we beleive God with them for afresh start.

Jason, i just wanted to share with you what God is doing here in Africa.

Many blessings,
Simon Peter and Hadasah Joy Onaba