Pastor Mark Tendo and Margaret Kiyaga
Guest Writers @New Vision
_________________The Kiyagas have been through challenges such
as depending on family and friends to fend for them. Despite all this, their faith and love for God has taken them through 27 years of a blissful marriage.I do not think I can ever get the right way to pay back my beautiful wife for the sacrifices she has made for this family for 27 years. This was the first statement Pastor Mark Kiyaga Tendo of Redeemed Life Church at Bunnamwaya-Ngobe in Rubaga Municipality, Kampala, made when he talked about his wife, Margaret Kiyaga, who is working at the health ministry. “When I recall the time we got married, I fail to get the proper way to thank my Margaret for the resilience, commitment, endless and unconditional love that she has given me. She has been an angel in my life,” he says. Margaret says she is thankful to God for having given her the man of her dreams who, for the 27 years the couple has been married, has not disappointed or betrayed their love.Kiyaga says God joins people His way. He appropriately attracts your hearts to each other. By the time one says ‘I love you’, God has already joined the two His way. “I first met Margaret while in high school at Kabuusu Progressive SSS. I was in Senior Six and she was in Senior Five. We both loved and were involved in godly matters at school. I was the leader and founder of the Scripture Union at the school, and was fully involved in other union activities,” he says. Mark says after high school, the two met again at Makerere University. “God gave me time to see Margaret. Her beauty was irresistible. Deep down, I felt I had met my soul mate, and I could not let anyone snatch her from me,” he adds. Margaret says: “I had never been in a romantic relationship and I did not imagine Mark had such intentions. So, I was surprised when he told me he loved me, and that he would never let any man snatch me away from him.” Mark says it was after about 10 months that she started reacting positively towards his advances. He adds: “We have been together for 27 years and still. We have been blessed with four children; Jeremiah Afaayo Morrison, Christiana Mwawule, Jessy Mulonde, and Mercy Tendo Kiyaga.”Both virginsKiyaga says because he got responsibilities at an early age, he realised that it would be better to get married officially to save himself from temptations since he was working with several people who needed a trustee.Just as the Bible says in Proverbs 18:22: ‘He who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord’, Kiyaga says he was very confident and convinced that he had found the right woman for a wife. The couple says this was their first romantic relationship. They both agreed to stay sexually pure until they were married. Their wedding was on October 29, 1997. “This is our first and last,” they say. “Although youths think it is so hard to remain a virgin until marriage, it is doable. If we did it, I believe someone else can do it too,” Kiyaga says. Margaret says getting married when both of them were virgins has kept their trust as there are no fears of cheating or going back to past relationships. “We started the Glory of Virginity movement (GLOVIMO) where we encourage young boys and girls to keep their virginity until marriage, starting with our children,” she says. “At the time we got married, we were both fresh graduates staying in Rubaga. We had nothing. Our condition was hard because we did not have a stable source of income yet I had responsibilities that made life very hard,” Mark explains. To worsen the situation, Mark dropped the job he had got at Entebbe Airport because it was demanding, yet he had a calling to preach the gospel of salvation. At the time, Margaret had got a job and she took up the role of managing the family.“The salary was little yet we had bills to pay. We would discuss how to spend it with my husband. I trusted that he would never let me down,” she says. Mark recalls his in-laws asking their daughter if the Bible he is concentrating on will put food on their plates. After the wedding, they depended on family and friends for handouts for survival. They shifted from Rubaga to Najjanankumbi because of financial constraints. “As we were struggling, there was a follower who paid our rent for two years, and other followers would provide food for us. That is how we survived,” he says. For Margaret, her family has been a priority in her life. “I was given a UN job that required me to move to the US. I could not be calm without my husband and children for any reason. They need their mother in their lives. I had to drop the job,” she says. Work and finance management Mark explains that his main job has since been the church because the people of God need his help with the spiritual, emotional, and social challenges of life. Margaret is a civil servant working at the Ministry of Health, but always helps him in ministry. “We used to bring together all the money and decide on how to spend it. Finances are one of the challenging things in marriage, especially if the couple fails to discuss and agree on how to handle and manage their incomes,” she says. Keeping the love burning The couple says the main reason for their success has been God whom they held onto from the beginning. God has been amidst whatever they do through prayer which is their strong weapon, working through people around us, especially the biological and spiritual parents. “Because we were both virgins, our minds are settled with no mistrust of one cheating on the other,” Margaret says, adding that this trust, love, and care has helped them through challenges.We are lucky Jeremiah Afaayo Morrison who is the firstborn, says their parents are a gift from God because they are the kind any child would love to have.“Our parents are busy. Our mother leaves the house early to go to work and our dad is always needed at church. We see them tired every time they come back from work, but they will still spare time for us,” he says.What others sayApostle Dr John Bunjo Bombo who was the Kiyagas main celebrant at their silver jubilee says marriage is a journey full of happy and frustrating moments.“Even if frustrating moments come your way, find a reason to hang on to each other because everyone is going through something,” he says. Bishop Harry Morris Bukenya of Edea Revival Church who wedded Mark and Margaret, says the Kiyagas renewed their vows to continue loving, caring, protecting, and forgiving for the next many years. “In sports, winners are awarded golden medals which can only be obtained after 50 years. As we join to celebrate the silver medal, you should shift the gears because the next 25 years will present different challenges,” he says.
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