Frontline visit to Uganda & DR Congo - September 2008

A team from Frontline Church, Liverpool, has just returned from a trip to Uganda and DR Congo. The team, led by Nic and Jenny Harding, spent a few days in both Kasese, Western Uganda, and Butembo, Eastern Congo, teaching groups of local church leaders on the principles of cell church.

Nic Harding reports:

'We had a wonderful time with leaders in both Butembo (DRC) and Kasese ( Uganda ). The task of discipling every church member and training each member to be part of the mission force of the church is a big challenge to the church in Africa , where so much is expected of the pastor. We pray that the cautious but  committed application of the principles will lead to growth in maturity and size of the churches, enabling them to increasingly resource the work of reaching and transforming their communities and nations with the gospel.'

Laban Mbabazi, one of our International Team members, says of the visit:

“We had two wonderful days of conference on discipleship training ...We were able to see that Jesus has called all His followers to be soul winners and then disciple those they win ... this was a huge challenge for all of us who attended the training ... The training in Butembo was well attended and the message was received with similar enthusiasm as it was in Kasese ... We thank the Lord for the rich experience we had with the saints from Liverpool.”

Visit to Schools in Kenya , Rwanda and Uganda by USA Director

In June/July, Bill Carver, one of our USA directors from North Carolina , visited a number of Watchmen International nursery schools in Kenya , Rwanda and Uganda. Bill, a former headmaster, who oversees the Watchmen schools’ ministry in Africa, was accompanied by Stephen and Dinah Nsibambi throughout his itinerary. Dinah is our African International Schools Co-ordinator. As well as visiting some of our established nursery schools in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, Bill, Stephen and Dinah also visited schools in Kitale (Kenya) and Matimba (Rwanda), which Watchmen will be adopting and sponsoring from September this year.

In his report following his return to the USA, whilst noting areas for improvement, Bill comments:

“I’m sure it’s no surprise that the schools offer a loving and caring environment for children.  The teachers maintain a nurturing and welcoming atmosphere in the classrooms.  The children are happy and glad to be students at the schools.  They hungrily consume the daily porridge and seem to be thriving in the environment.  The teachers are positive about the visits and ready to show what their students are learning.  Most teachers demonstrate some of the lessons we have taught in the (teacher-training) seminars.”

First Outreach to Ethiopia

In early May, three of our African team members, Laban Mbabazi (from our International team) and William Nyelela and Mark Malunda (from our Kenyan team), flew to Addis Ababa for the first Watchmen International leaders conference in Ethiopia . For both William and Mark it was their first experience of flying.

Addis Ababa is a city of five million people and the headquarters of the African Union. Our team’s first impressions were of its beauty and cleanliness and its lack of traffic congestion, found in so many African cities. They also found the climate surprisingly cold.

Around 30 key leaders from different denominations attended the three-day seminar, hosted by Bishop Hiruy of the Harvest Church of God. These leaders represented several hundred churches from all across Ethiopia . Laban comments on the response to the Watchmen message:

“The last day we asked the people to respond to the message they had received. All of them said they had been touched and challenged by the message but wanted to know what plans we had for Ethiopia . We told them that there would be a follow up trip early next year, but we emphasized the fact that our goal was to disciple leaders who would then assume the burden of training others and taking the message to the rest of the church in Ethiopia. One leader (who represented 400 churches nationwide) said that he was going to assemble all the pastors of his churches and spend two weeks with them sharing the truths he had just received. Throughout the seminar this elderly church leader, was taking notes of what he was hearing. He is also a man of spiritual insight. As the people were reacting to the message they had received, he cautioned them saying that what they had received was wonderful truth which they should first embrace whole-heartedly before rushing with it to other people.”

Non-conformist Christianity (Pentecostals, Evangelicals, Baptists, etc.) represents around 15% of the 70 million population. Many of these believers are found in fairly new churches that have sprung up following the repressive days of communism. Today, these believers are still not free to worship as they choose with many restrictions placed on church life and evangelism. Laban again comments:

“There is no freedom of worship in Ethiopia. You cannot hold open-air meetings any where in the land. You can only preach in designated places like church buildings. You cannot hand out Christian literature to people openly. To be found doing so, Orthodox and Moslem people, let alone state agents, who claim the land is theirs and they do not want their people to be converted to other religions, would attack you.”

(There is presently a bill being debated in the Ethiopian parliament which, if it passes into law, will restrict evangelical churches even more. Please pray for God’s intervention here.

For more information on the Africa Youth Award please click here to contact our UK.

Pour out Your Spirit again!

In May, Roger London, accompanied by Stephen and Dinah Nsibambi (two of our International team members), held a number of leaders seminars in Burundi , DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda . In each location there was a tremendous response to the message of changed hearts in preparation for the soon return of Jesus. The highlight of the trip was a conference held in Uvira, a small town sitting on the north-west shores of Lake Tanganyika in DR Congo. This town, early in the last century, had been the birthplace of Pentecostalism in that whole region of Africa , spreading rapidly across DR Congo, Tanzania , Burundi and Rwanda . Pastors and leaders travelled up to 150 kilometres to attend the Watchmen seminar in Uvira, held in the former missionary compound of those first European missionaries, hungry to hear the Word of God and to take the message back to their own towns and villages. Roger comments:

“There was a prophetic significance in holding a Watchmen conference in Uvira, as today our heart-cry is: ‘Pour out Your Spirit again on all these nations and prepare Your Church for Jesus’ return!’ ”

Africa Youth Award

May also saw the launch of the Africa Youth Award, a discipleship and development programme for young people, after almost two years of preparation. Representatives from the youth departments of our six African national teams gathered in Kasese, Western Uganda , for three days of training, preparing them to launch and to lead the Award in their own nations. The Africa Youth Award is divided into two main sections – Silver and Gold – each of which will take up to one year to complete. In order to receive a Silver or Gold certificate, each young person will need to have successfully completed a programme of Christian discipleship, skills development, physical recreation, church and community service. The overall aim of the Award is threefold – to raise the self-esteem and to empower African young people, to disciple them in the basics of the Christian life, and to prepare them for Christian leadership amongst their peers. Joe Bonga, a Pastor from Nairobi and our youth co-ordinator in Kenya, will be overseeing the development of the Award in the African countries in which Watchmen International is working

For more information on the Africa Youth Award please click here to contact our UK.

Mission accomplished in Yei, Sudan - 30th April 2008

Three members of our Kenyan national team, William Nyelela, the national chairman, Anthony Masika, the national co-ordinator and Joe Bonga, the national youth co-ordinator, recently returned from an outreach to Yei, in Southern Sudan. The purpose of the trip was to hold our second Watchmen International pastors and leaders conference there. Between 60-80 leaders gathered to hear the message of personal transformation in preparation for the return of Jesus. William said, “They received the teaching openly with several leaders openly repenting of iniquity in their lives and testifying of change.” An embryonic Watchmen team now exists in Southern Sudan, led by Pastor Nicholas Lolik and Pastor Michael Weriza.

UK Directors visit East Africa - 28th February 2008

Roger London & David Serle, two of our UK directors, have recently returned from a trip to East Africa, where they were involved in visiting our teams in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. Leadership conferences were held in both Bujumbura and Kigali: In Bujumbura pastors & leaders from 37 churches, including leaders from Uvira, Eastern Congo, gathered to hear the Watchmen message; In Kigali, 70 key pastors from ADEPR, the largest Pentecostal denomination in Rwanda, attended a two day conference where, again, they were taught on the need to prepare the Church for the soon return of Jesus Christ. ADEPR’s national leadership have subsequently opened the door wide to the Watchmen ministry, stating that Rwanda needs its key message of personal heart transformation as it continues to recover from the Genocide of 1994. In Uganda, we saw key representatives from the six indigenous Watchmen teams come together in Kasese for teaching, fellowship and prayer. A highlight of this time together was witnessing these leaders praying over a large map of Africa, asking God for openings to take the Watchmen ministry and message to many other African nations and even beyond.

Kenya Update - 23rd February 2008

Our team members have reported that the situation in Kenya has calmed down in the last few weeks. However, there are still sporadic outbreaks of violence and looting, especially in towns situated in Kenya’s rift valley. The political situation remains tense as talks proceed to try and break the present stalemate. If these talks break down then there could easily be a re-emergence of the killing, burning and looting seen immediately after the election results were announced. Many of the outlying areas of Eldoret, where William our Kenyan team leader had his home burned down, are totally flattened. Our team report that Kisumu, a once large and bustling town on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria , has the appearance of a ghost town. One of the outcomes from the recent troubles has been the appearance of IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) camps dotted around the country. Many families fearing for their lives have literally left everything they owned in order to flee to safe areas. Joe, our youth co-ordinator in Nairobi , found that most of his church members, many of whom lived in Kibera slum, had fled in various directions looking for a safe haven from the tribal violence. Much of his time recently has been spent trying to locate his members and assessing their needs for clothing, food and other basic items.

Kenya Update

A number of our Kenyan team and associates have been caught up in the current troubles affecting Kenya following the national elections. William Nyelela, our Kenyan team leader from Eldoret, had his home burnt down and, along with his wife and family, had to flee for their lives, sheltering in the local Bible school. Nicholas Oloo, an associate minister with Lifestyle International, also from Eldoret, had his home and church building burnt down. Our local Watchmen representative, in Nairobi, who lives and works in the Kibera slum district of the city, has been evicted from his home. He and his wife, who has recently given birth to a new baby, are currently homeless. Please be praying for these and countless others in Kenya who have been adversely affected by the troubles.

New Openings in Zanzibar

In early November, Roger London visited Tanzania for the first time. He was accompanied by Stephen Nsibambi, our African International Co-ordinator, and 2 representatives from our Kenyan National Team. As well as spending time with our Tanzanian team, they held a leaders conference in Dar es Salaam attended by 60 pastors and leaders from various denominations within the city. The visiting team, accompanied by Raymond Mbidu, the Tanzanian team leader, made a first trip to Zanzibar to introduce the ministry there, holding another leaders conference a few kilometres from Stone Town. The key leaders of all the Island’s Pentecostal churches were represented at the conference and are now keen to extend the Watchmen message and ministry throughout the Island.

Watchmen UK Ladies Team Return from Uganda

A team of 5 UK ladies visited Western Uganda in mid November. The trip was a first for Katherine, Lynda and Maureen who had the opportunity to visit two of the Watchmen Nursery schools in Kilembe and Hamukungu. The ladies team, led by Glenys London and Juliet Shelbourne, participated in the first International Women’s Forum, held at our HQ in Kasese, where two representatives from each of the 6 National Teams came together for teaching, fellowship and prayer. The UK ladies, along with Lillian Mbabazi and Dinah Nsibambi, also held a Women’s Conference in Fort Portal and participated in the Sunday worship service at Rwempeche.