In March, Rev Titus Bukuru proudly showed the site behind the old church building in Mugaruru, where the congregation was in the process of building a new church. He now sent a video in which he talks about difficulty and setbacks.
New church
It all seemed so nice. The congregation had worked hard in a rice field near Mugaruru, and with the proceeds of the harvest they had been able to buy a piece of land behind the church. Other church members had also contributed handsomely, and so by March this year, a good chunk of a new, larger church had already been built. When all four walls were up, they began the roof construction. But then one of the walls collapsed again.
Text continues below video
Starting over
In Burundi, although a lot of houses and also other buildings are made with fired bricks, the bricks are glued together with mud, instead of cement. Cement is expensive because it has to be imported, and transport costs add to its cost.
Often things go well, but in this case, the municipality has to start all over again: cleaning stones, making a plan to maybe wait a while after all, cultivating another paddy field to raise money to buy cement ... That takes courage, and stamina. And perhaps a little support from abroad.
Help
A few years ago, mission had a very big action as a plus project. Action Cement, it was called. It is not meant to be that big again, but how nice it would be if Rev Bukuru's church members would find that there is not only prayer, as requested, but also a little actual help. Your contributions are welcome to bank account number NL52 INGB 0000 5353 00 in the name of Landelijk Kerkelijk Bureau Chr. Geref. Kerken stating 'Cement for Mugaruru'.
