Rwanda Church Construction - February 2017 Update
Rwanda
“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 117:1-2
Dear friends and family,
January 22, 2017 was a glorious day of celebration in a small village in the rolling hills of Rwanda – we dedicated Karwihura Church in the EPR Zinga Presbytery.
The Karwihura congregation began in 1981 with only six families in a small mud church. Since then, the parish has grown to five congregations. In 2014 the Karwihura congregation started building this new church. The people in the village are very poor and have suffered through one drought after another. They are subsistence farmers, and you wonder how they can survive in this situation. They contributed labor, sand, stones, and stone fill to the construction project, and they also gave some money, really sacrificially. The women gathered sand and stones by hand daily. This was truly a labor of love and dedication especially considering that it is difficult for them to even find food for their families. When I visited them last July, they were really struggling. At that time, they needed funds for the floor, roof, windows and doors of their sanctuary. The floor was a big job since it required a lot of cement and labor. The Outreach Foundation’s Booth Leadership Initiative was able provide money for these needs, which really gave them a lot of encouragement, and the church was finished. There are now 250 families in their church including many children, which is encouraging for the future of the Karwihura congregation.
The dedication was a real celebration, as you can see from the pictures. The church was packed with about 600 people. There was much dancing and many choirs for the youth, children, mothers, etc. After the service, which lasted four hours, the people continued dancing and singing joyfully with thanksgiving to the Lord. EPR President Rev. Dr. Bataringaya Pascal cut the ribbon on the front door and opened the church. He also preached the sermon based on Psalm 117. His message was that all people praise God, all songs praise God and even this church building praises God. “We all must honor and praise God. Let this house and every part of it be used to glorify You God; let it be devoted to Your service.”
The service ended around 2:00. We were all pretty exhausted with all the dancing and singing. But everyone was happy!
This good work could not have been accomplished without the tireless effort of Rev. Therese Mukamakuza, president of the Zinga Presbytery. She was full of energy and very well organized. And of course I have to mention the tireless effort of the folks on the ground, the members of Karwihura parish.
Be blessed as you bless the church in Rwanda, equipping its leaders and members to minister the gospel of love in that nation. The church requested that The Outreach Foundation help provide more sanctuaries and train more leaders for this growing church. We are in need of funds for floors, roofs, doors and windows to come alongside the church in Rwanda.
We are grateful for your partnership with us in equipping and empowering the church in Rwanda.
Stu Ross
East Africa Coordinator
Read more about Rwanda Church Construction by clicking HERE.
THE NEED
Outreach is seeking $30,000 for new church buildings and an additional $20,000 for roofing, doors and windows on unfinished sanctuaries.