One of our strengths as a small organization is the close contact we have with those we serve. Following the resuming of our workshops in April and May, we have maintained connections with local leaders. Two of them reflected on the importance of the Faith Restoration workshops for them.
“With the war that happened in January 2025, we stayed in an unrest situation fearing for our lives,” said William, a pastor who joined the April workshop in Lac Vert. “Defeated armed groups that went to hide in the National Park were coming each night to disturb us and loot our belongings. After taking my belongings, the same day they killed my nephews because they didn’t give what they wanted.” The widespread suffering shook the faith of many Christians in the region. “Many church servants dropped off from their ministries because they assumed that God didn’t help them,” he lamented. He shared their doubts. But the Faith Restoration Workshop came at the right time: “We feel comforted by the teaching received in our area through EFM Tuungane.”
Patricia, a participant in the Mugunga workshop, reflected on the hardship her family faced after the January attack. “[The militias] took everything I had and I came back home with empty hands,” she said. “Bandits broke the doors of many shops, including my husband’s. Today, we do not have any work, and money we had in the banks is not accessible.” Her family’s faith was tested. “In this situation, we had lots of questions. We were among people who were faithful to pay the tithe. But surprisingly, God didn’t protect our belongings. Here is the feeling where EFM met us. Very discouraged, we started to never again attend church.” It was the faith restoration workshop that made a difference, she explained. “It took us from discouragement and gave us back our faith and confidence in God. We praise God for EFM because now we are in the church and we have faith that the God who helped Job, Jeremiah and Daniel will help us at the right time.”
In such fear and grief, we were able to remind the local churches of the hope of the gospel. “For a Christian, hope is a state of seeing everything that appears in a new way,” Marcel Serubungo, EFM Country Director explained. “Hope encourages us to move forward without getting discouraged.”
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