Mututu Fundraiser

 Mututu parish is a rural parish on the Burundi border. I visited them before and was impressed by the young pastor’s energy and imagination as he brought solar power to the church and manse and then enabled some of the members to open a shop to cut hair and charge batteries, using the solar power. From the proceeds from the shop, they have been able to assist members with pig farming and goat raising and bee keeping. So when he invited me to come and preach for the end of a evangelistic rally and a fundraising, I accepted. An extra bonus was that one of my students is a member of that parish and he was doing his first year internship there. I would get the opportunity to see him, as well.

The old church that must be replaced

Since we have been having rains, I arranged for the PIASS vehicle, a sturdy 4-wheel drive that can easily go on the narrow, muddy roads to Mututu. Bosco, the driver, was more than willing. (He is a good sport.) So off we went at 6 a.m., to pick up the pastor at the turnoff from the tarmac road, so we would have a guide. He was with several members of a choir from a nearby town that was singing for the service, so we had a full car. The drive on the dirt road was about an hour. We had to stop once to repair a wooden bridge before proceeding, but otherwise, it was an uneventful trip, with lots of conversations. During the ride, the pastor explained that the district officials had decided that the church building was not good and therefore needed to be replaced. The parish determined that if that were the case, then they would rebuild nearer to the market area and the population center, rather than on the border, in the midst of farm land. So that was the reason for the fundraiser.

Joyful worship

The service was the end of the evangelistic rally of the day before, held at the market area, and a fundraiser, so it was a full service. There were two visiting choirs and five parish choirs. (One of the visiting choirs had walked 8 kilometers from a neighboring parish to join the service.) That alone makes for a full service. Add to that my preaching which needed to be translated, testimonies, and the fundraising, and it was a 4 ½ hour service. I was impressed by the energy of the worship and the singing of the choirs. Because of the solar power, the choirs were able to use a keyboard and that added a contemporary flavor to the worship. But I was more impressed by the giving of the congregation. This could be described as a poor, rural church, but they don’t see themselves that way. They see themselves as capable. From pledges for iron sheets for the roof, bags of cement, and selling items that some individuals brought from their resources, the church raised almost half a million Rwandan francs or $750, about a third of what they need for the building. They will begin and then do more fundraising when the next crops come in. The pastor is confident that they will easily complete the project.  He is pleased with the good beginning. I was greatly impressed once again by their giving and their determination.

Me with my student and his mother

After the service and a meal, where the ladies of the church fed the visitors and all the choirs, we took pictures, especially with my student. Everyone loves to have a picture taken with the muzungu (white person). We loaded the car with choir members and headed back the dirt road to the tarmac and finally to Butare. The rains held off the entire day. We arrived home at 5 p.m. It was a full and satisfying day. I so enjoy being in village services.