Those who attended the Alumni Seminar:
1. Kambale Munduwabo from Congo: Thako congregation. This congregation is at the border of Uganda and Congo. He said, when we went back home, the man who had sold us a piece of land took it back. The members are now crossing into Uganda every Sunday to worship together with Kitoma church of Christ on the Uganda side. This year we have baptized one man who is still faithful to the Lord. We advised him to continue worshiping in Thako which he agreed, but the biggest problem is funds which can pay for a place of worship. We are only six Christians who have no income. If there is a way they can be helped with some funds to pay rent, we would be thankful.
2. Sande Joseph (Uganda): from Bugiri District in Western region of Uganda of Nabyunyu church of Christ. We are doing well. We are meeting 20 Christians. The storm blew the roof of the house we were renting for worship. Brother Sande gave a plot to the church where we are planning to start build a temporary house for the church to meet in. Our future plans include making 10,000 bricks to help them build a permanent house of worship. We have requested for a seminar in their village in December. We will be planning to go there when the school will be off.
3. Ruffino Muruka(Kenya): He is now the preacher of the Sigomere church of Christ which has 13 members in Western Region of Kenya as well as an instructor in the Bible School at that church. He planted a church in Namayika, his home village, with 12 members which he left under the care of a young preacher he trained. At Namayika, there is meeting at the Home of one member. They are looking for funds to purchase a church plot and build a church building. In January 2013 they organized a seminar in the Mumias church of Christ. In March we had door to door evangelism at the Sigomere church of Christ. In May we conducted a seminar for four days and one woman was baptized. In the same month I taught about the “one true church” at the Bar Ber Church of Christ during their seminar. In August I taught in the Mulwanda Church of Christ “The Role of Parents in a Christian Home.” In the same month of August, we had a gospel meeting at Namaika and two people were baptized.
4. Okochi Josephat(Uganda): He is the preacher of the Junge church of Christ. This congregation has a plot and a temporary building on it. We have a plan for making bricks for a permanent church building. At present we have a grass thatched church building. Our weekly attendance ranges from 12 to 14, on good days. We are also planning to start digging our latrine. The goat I got from the school helps the church to pay trees which was on the plot we bought.
5. Onyango Moses (Uganda): I am now the preacher at the Bwoya Church of Christ. We now have 26 members attending on a weekly basis. We lost one Christian; one Christian is a backslider. We have plans to build a permanent church building, we have dug our latrine and it is almost done. We go house to house teaching God’s word every Sunday from 2 to 5 in Bwoya Village. Our future plan is to start preaching in our market with public addresses. Every month we contribute 30,000/= to support our sister congregations.
6. Daniel Oloo (Kenya): Bar Ober Church of Christ, January and February I was in Bar Ober and the attendance was 12 Christians meeting, five men and seven women plus thirteen children. In march I attended a seminar in Muramba church of Christ and there was no baptism. In April I was in Bar Ober. In May we conducted a seminar at the Bar Ober and Murumba church of Christ. In the same month of May, I went for a gospel meeting in Nyeri Central, Kenya. Five people were baptized. In June 2013 we held a seminar in Mumias 3 people were baptized. During the month of July 2013 I was in Bar Ober. In the month of August, I went to the Nyahururu Rift Valley of Kenya for the East Africa Gospel meeting. We went door knocking for five days and many people heard the gospel; one person was baptized.
Agriculture Report:
Vegetable:
I have used the skill I obtained from Uganda School of Evangelism in how to grow vegetables and I am no longer buying vegetables for my family.
Maize, Cassava, sweet Potatoes and Bananas
Through the skill I got from the school, I am now able to grow crops in a better way.
Challenges Facing the Church:
*Lack of proper place for the church to meet for worship, we are still renting.
*The Bar Ober Congregation is still very small in number and cannot support us with anything, instead they look for support from us.
*I would do better if I could get some support.
7. Remegio Omollo (Kenya): At the Bar Ober Church of Christ, we have 12 members. From 7th to 9th of March 2013, I was at the Muramba church of Christ for a seminar and door to door evangelism. From the 9th to 11th of May, we had a seminar and went from house to house. Two people obeyed the gospel. From the 23rd to 25th of May 2013 we held another seminar at Murumba town and now we are looking forward to planting a church in that town. The unmarked months, I have been ministering at Bar Ober while brother Daniel Oloo is out for evangelism work.
Agriculture Report: From the skill I obtained from the Uganda School of Evangelism has enabled me to be stable in feeding my family adequately. I have enough throughout the year. Now I am planning to have more for commercial sales. I plant vegetables using organic manure in raised beds, using the drip irrigation kit we got from the school. I have also planted bananas and pumpkins in large holes as we were taught at school.
Challenges Facing The Church:
*We don’t have a permanent place of worship.
*Lack of sustainable financial flow.
*Poor means of transport.
*Inadequate agriculture equipment and inputs.
Way Forward:
*We are straining to get a permanent place of worship.
*We are pleading with sympathizers who can stand with us in this ministry.
*We are looking forward one day to getting a modern easy way of transport.
*We are slowly equipping ourselves with agriculture equipment such as wheel barrows, spades, but looking for small machinery like walk behind tractors to enlarge our farms.
8. Juma Solomon (Kenya): The people we baptized last year are all going on well. This year at the Lugega church of Christ we baptized five people and they are all going on well. Lugega church has bought land and we are raising money to build our church building. Right now in our treasury we have KGX 25,000/= ($294 dollars). We need about $700 dollars so that we may complete our bulding. The bee hive I was given on graduation day has boosted my income very much and it is through this income that I give to the church treasury whenever I harvest my honey. We have two studies going and very soon these people are going to obey the gospel. We need your prayers.
9. Richard Olwenyi (Uganda): I am now worshiping at the Genguluho church of Christ. The church at Hagulu is no longer meeting. When I left my family at I went to Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Tanzania. The church stopped meeting. I am still solving the problems that was at Hagulu, very soon the church will be meeting.
10. Odido Costant (Uganda): When I left school I could not continue going to the Sirere church of Church as did not have transport. I went to Budala and continued with the congregation which was meeting in my home. The members decided to change a place of worship. At Budala 6 people were baptized. Through our evangelism, two congregations have been planted. In Busiro, a village on shores of Lake Victoria, 9 people have been baptized and the church is now meeting in that village. Brother Girigori had some contact with some people at Lolwe Island in Lake Victoria. We went there and taught a large group of people and 14 people were baptized. Through my ministry, we have 14 meeting in Budala, 9 meeting in Busiro and 14 meeting in Lolwe. All these congregations have no place of worship of their own. They are just meeting in the homes of members. It is our prayer that God bless us with a place of worship called ours.
11. Wandera Julius (Uganda): After 2009 I started going at the Bulukuyi church of Christ for one year. I later went to Kampala to look for employment. I was there for six months. In 2002 I started going to Nangera village where four people were baptized. Early this year I went to the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, but because of some problems, I did not continue with the school. After that, I found brother Silvano and we started meeting in Lumino and two people have been baptized.
The biggest challenge facing them is learning that the school cannot continue supporting them. It has become very heard for them to start working for a living. Some still believe that because they are preaching every Sunday and attend some seminars, someone somewhere must pay them. It is our prayer that these students, while at school, take it seriously to learn what we are teaching them in Agriculture and start doing this in their homes, as some are reporting.
We had more than 12 alumni, but some did not come with their report.
Francis Wechesa