In his vision of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi began “in a dark and desolate wilderness” (1 Nephi 8:7). Lehi prayed for God’s mercy and came across a tree “whose fruit was desirable for happiness” (verse 10). After tasting the fruit, Lehi went to find his family and desired that they too “partake of it” (verse 12).
Lehi’s vision of the tree of life is one of many testimonies of Christ found in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This vision also applies to the life of Amos Makulu, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Makulu fled his homeland in 2006 and found safety in a refugee camp in Lugufu, Tanzania. There he met a man named Mchumbe, who had also fled to safety from Nairobi, Kenya. Makulu befriended Mchumbe and asked him if he had anything Makulu could read while they were in the refugee camp. Mchumbe gave Makulu a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Mchumbe had received the Book of Mormon from missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nairobi, Kenya, and took it with him when he fled home. However, Mchumbe had lost interest in the Book of Mormon and was looking for someone else to give it to.
According to Elder David Olson, a missionary who worked with Makulu, Makulu knew the Book of Mormon was true when he first read it. Before fleeing his homeland, he had been a minister for Jehovah’s Witnesses, but when he read the Book of Mormon with Denis Akulu, another friend from the refugee camp, “they both started learning, and we were very happy,” Makulu said.
Like Lehi before him, Makulu began sharing what he enjoyed with others in the refugee camp, creating a “family” of interested learners. While the Book of Mormon was an excellent teaching tool, he and “his family of 11” had many questions. “We had to find out the answers to those questions with the missionaries and Church leaders,” Makulu said.
Through letters, Makulu and his family contacted the Kenya Nairobi Mission and spoke with missionaries. Over the next six years, Makulu said, they learned “much about the gospel” and wanted to be baptized and join the Church. However, the closest church to their home was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, about 1,171 km, or about 728 miles, away.
Makulu was not deterred by the distance. Unable to get plane tickets, Makulu and two of his family members decided to cross the country on foot from Lugufu to Dar es Salaam. Makulu and his friends were baptized in 2014. Shortly after, Makulu immigrated to the United States and settled in Buffalo, New York. He was one of the first members of the church in the area to speak Swahili, although he also speaks French and Kibembe, a language widely spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Elder Olson and Elder Abocha Ebakyelo, two Swahili-speaking missionaries serving in the New York Buffalo Mission, have worked extensively with Makulu as he shares his testimony with those around him.
“From what I see in Amos, he is just so passionate,” Elder Olson said. “We have worked with him to start a branch with our Swahili group.”
Elder Ebakyelo agreed: “He is a good man and he handles the gospel very well. We missionaries have worked with him a few times when he attended our classes.”
Currently, 46 Swahili-speaking members of the Church are meeting, and 43 more are interested in attending. Makulu knows almost all of them and regularly attends missionary classes with the people. Sometimes he surprises the missionaries himself when he shows up.
“He knows the gospel really well,” said Elder Ebakyelo.
“He knows that through the Lord all things are possible and that the group can grow into a strong branch,” Elder Olson added.
Makulu has kept in touch with his friends in Africa who live in Tanzania, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “It has become a big group,” he said. He also said that “more than 30 families” living in Africa have been baptized and joined the church.
“After learning the truth of the restored gospel, I have changed and my testimony has changed,” Makulu said. He said he plans to study “until I fully know this gospel,” and he encourages everyone to learn and “know the truth about our faith.”
“Our faith is good and we love you and everyone else,” Makulu said.
