Lay Missionary Profile: Dennis Kiyimba

I have often referred to Ugandan lay missionary Dennis Kiyimba in postings on this blog, and thought it would be nice to formally introduce him to you by sharing with you the following profile we put together recently. Dennis has been an incredible blessing and an invaluable source of help and support to me.

Dennis Kiyimba is 29 years old and a native of Uganda. He was born in Jinja and raised in capital city of Kampala, along with his younger sister Diana, by his mother, Margaret. He did odd jobs growing up to help support the family. After primary and secondary school, he received a diploma in electronics, and worked in that field for 18 months.

After moving out to live on his own, Dennis’ life took a turn for the worse. He became involved with gangs and wasted his earnings carousing. His mother tried to dissuade him from this empty lifestyle and prayed constantly for Dennis. He was finally dismissed from his job due to poor performance related to the dissipated life he was living. He got another job at an import business, but felt dissatisfied. At this point he began to think seriously about his life. He spoke with his mother about the need he felt for “something” that would give him purpose and direction.

In April 2004 Margaret sent her son to the Emmaus Center for Catholic Discipleship and Evangelization for a seven-day Life in the Spirit seminar/retreat . It was on that occasion that Dennis encountered the Lord Jesus and experienced the powerful presence and action of the Holy Spirit. His spiritual director, Br. Francis Dewez, a Missionary of Africa from Ireland, supported Dennis in his desire to serve God and encouraged him to surrender everything to the Lord and wholeheartedly seek His will. In 2005 Dennis entered the lay community at Emmaus for discipleship training. In 2006 he was commissioned as a lay missionary and served in St. Matthias Mulumba (one of the Ugandan martyrs) Parish in old Kampala for six months. At that point, through Emmaus, he made contact with Katie Gesto, a consecrated American laywoman serving in South Sudan. On August 1, 2007, Dennis joined Stephen Nsubuga as a lay missionary in Torit.

Dennis desires to help other Catholics, especially youth, experience the love of God and renewed hope in the wake of the devastation of the civil war, to help them know that there is life and a future even after terrible suffering. He wants to help the Sudanese become missionaries to their own people. He does this by sharing his life and personal experience, and using the Word of God and the teachings of the Church. He encourages others to live a sacramental life, to pray and participate in Mass and other spiritual activities. He has helped form small Christian communities in outlying villages who pray together and reach out to Catholics who have not received the Sacraments and are not participating in the life of the Church.

When Fr. Herald Brock, CFR – a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal based out of New York, came to Torit in September 2008 on a special missionary assignment, he found Dennis already at work in the diocese. They began to collaborate on efforts of evangelization, especially ones geared for youth. Together they formed a core group of youth who assist with Bread of Life (YOUTH 2OOO type) Eucharistic Youth Retreats and other kinds of missionary outreach, and gather regularly for prayer and formation. They have coordinated trips for visiting mission teams and arranged for youth from Sudan to participate in spiritual activities outside the country. They are working together to establish the House of Mercy in Torit Town as a center for evangelization, formation and outreach to the materially poor.