In the year 2004, the Bujumbura brotherhood truly shone bright as a beacon to the country of Burundi - a beacon of love, light and life. In face of the ever-present challenges of civil war and poverty that eat away at Burundian society, the disciples walked with God, worked for God and advanced the kingdom in their capital city.

Image left: Boystrous and boyant on Bujumbura beach

God blessed the Bujumbura church with several victories last year. Beginning the year with 20 members, the church had 33 baptized disciples at the end of 2004. The average Sunday attendance rose from 36 to 83. The 7 sisters, as was there number then, had 151 at their women's day. The church rejoiced at its first-ever couple going steady and celebrated its first wedding. In November, the Bujumbura disciples embraced an orphanage, where they hold church services and reach out to and spend time with the children. One of the disciples graduated from university. It was a year of serving and saving for the Bujumbura brothers and sisters.

Image: Brothers singing with children at local orphanage

And all this in a church where the leader, Benson Kyama, is a foreigner who barely speaks the local language (he is Kenyan), the leader of women's ministry, Didi Havyarimana, is not in the full-time ministry and thus has only greatly limited to be with the sisters, and shelling and gunfire still occur in the city, one of the theatres of battle in the nine-year Burundian civil war that has so far claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Benson says, "We have seen the hand of God working in answer to the prayers of the saints." On what helped the church to grow, and mature last year, Benson says, "Didi and I are buddies. We are united and it helps things to advance smoothly. The disciples are also great friends and spend a lot of time together." Protais, a brother in the church, shares, "God has used Benson to open our eyes and help us to understand that we are fishers of men."

Serge Gahungu, who has been a disciple for four years, shares, "One or the reasons, I believe, that the church grew in 2004, is that disciples grew spiritually, especially the bible talk leaders, and evangelism became not the activity we do when we are told to, but our own conviction. Another reason is that we trusted in God with regard to the theme of the year ("The Year of God's Favour"), and God proved to be faithful - as he has always been and will always be."

Rather than work hard only on designated theme Sundays, "we have decided that every Sunday is a special Sunday," Benson continues. In some cases people have brought themselves to church without actually having been invited, including a Zambian gentleman who is a UN functionary. He and his wife were looking for a vibrant church, heard the disciples' singing one Sunday morning, and joined the worship service. They have continued to come to church ever since.

Every Sunday afternoon, several of the brothers hold a service at an orphanage run by a gentleman to whom the disciples are reaching out. On Saturdays they play football with the children, and have brightened the lives of the youngsters, most of whose parents died in the civil war.

While he was fearful and reluctant when asked to return alone to Bujumbura (he had been in the original mission team there), Benson is now faithful and confident. "I've gained confidence from seeing the hand of God at work. I decided to be committed to my mission and let God do what he desires. Understanding my mission helped me forget that I was afraid."

Co-lead evangelist for the east Africa churches, George Irungu, shares, "Benson is very humble. He is a great learner and is constantly seeking advice." George's wife, Anne, shares about Didi that she has grown. "Even though it meant a more challenging financial arrangement, Didi decided to move in with other sisters in order to be closer to them. She imitates her role models in leading the Bujumbura sisters. Last year she raised up two bible talk leaders."

By boldly building on bible basics, the Bujumbura disciples have been a beacon to Burundi, and because of their bravery, a bright future beckons for this nation.