A team from our Southern and Eastern Africa (SEAR) headquarters visited Rwanda and Uganda in February, led by SEAR District Superintendent Onias Gumbo. During the visit, land was identified in Rwanda as a possible campground site. In addition, the first Uganda Board of Trustees and a new district superintendent were appointed and ordained.

Arriving in Kigali, Rwanda, on February 21, the team was met by Reverend Josephine Okpareke, who would be their guide. She has oversight of the Rwanda work and would shortly be stepping into the role of Uganda district superintendent.

The team traveled to the location of the future Rwanda headquarters church, about twenty miles outside of Kigali. There, a parcel of land measuring just over 5,000 square feet has been purchased. They hope to also purchase three adjacent lots for a campground location, and another lot about a half-mile away for a primary school site. 

In the evening, a business meeting was held to discuss registering the Apostolic Faith work in Rwanda. It is imperative that this undertaking be completed quickly because of a law passed in 2018 that prohibits nonregistered faith-based groups from gathering. Since 2018, the government has closed nearly 8,000 churches across the country, including our congregation that was meeting in the home of Christianah Yusuf. In all, there are more than one hundred Apostolic Faith worshipers in Rwanda, and we pray they will be able to gather freely for church services again soon. 

On February 23, the SEAR team traveled to Uganda. Our work in that country began in 2016, when Reverend Okpareke was sent there as a missionary by the Western and Central Africa (WECA) headquarters. Reverened John Jones and his wife also arrived in Uganda in 2016, and he became the pastor of Tororo, our first church in the country and now the headquarters location. He was later appointed as Uganda district superintendent (though his retirement took place during this visit). In 2017, when the Tororo congregation numbered just over one hundred, Reverend Okpareke went to Kampala and started a group there. The Uganda work was registered with the government in 2019 and has been growing ever since. Today, there are also Bible study centers at Nyangole and Kidera.

Upon arrival at Tororo, the SEAR team was given a tour of the headquarters church property. The land was purchased by the WECA headquarters and measures about 5,000 square feet, hosting a church building, two houses, and a baptistry. In addition, different areas have been set aside for raising chickens and pigs to provide income to run the church. Recently, though, these endeavors have been hindered by thieves and a lack of funds. Reverend Gumbo pointed out that there was enough land to build a primary school, which would help the community and generate much-needed income for Gospel work.

Reverend Gumbo thanked Reverend Jones and his wife for their faithful service of seven years and the great efforts they have made in growing the work. He said future generations will build from the foundation they have laid, should the Lord tarry. 

On Sunday, the team attended services at the Tororo church, with about seventy-five in attendance. Afterward, an ordination was held for Reverend Okpareke, the new Uganda district superintendent, as well as for the Uganda Board of Trustees. The SEAR team returned home reporting that the work in both Rwanda and Uganda is strong but needs prayer and infrastructure support to grow.

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