Hello brothers and sisters in Christ. Warm greetings from Rwanda. My name is Andre and I serve with CBM as the Africa Team Leader (based in Rwanda). I am back with updates on the journey of life but also on the journey of joint mission that we are on together. These updates are an expression of my sincere gratitude to you as individuals but also as a church community for your continuous prayers and financial support that enabled us to accomplish our planned activities and so much more. 

As a family, we receive much grace and mercy from the Lord our God. Keeping pictures in the album and revisiting them after a few years, is one of the simple ways of tracking God’s faithfulness over time. This has been my practice, and for sure, as a family we witness God’s enduring faithfulness. From early childhood to university education, we thank God for how far he has taken our children and ourselves as parents. Regarding the larger faith family, we learned about some of you who have lost loved ones, and those whose lives have been very difficult because of illness. We keep praying for you, for God’s comfort and mercies as you navigate these difficult times.  

I am very grateful to God for the Africa Team. God has been very merciful to each couple and our respective families. In July, we had a Team Retreat and CBM enabled us to invite our spouses. What a wonderful time of fellowship and relationship building as families beyond being just work colleagues.

In that team spirit, we were able to coordinate the Integral Mission in the Workplace training with members of our Africa partner churches from Kenya, South Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda, and of course the CBM staff. One of the things I learned that I want to share is that each one of us, you included, are all ministers. The professional job we have as either teacher, driver, cook, farmer, nurse, doctor, cleaner, lawyer, etc. – your work is a good work. By making a product or giving a service you are contributing to the socio-economic well-being of God’s people; you are participating in the redemptive plan of God upon his people; you are contributing to the flourishing of people; most importantly, you are on God’s mission. God is using your gifts and talents to heal his people. May you find joy and value in what you are doing. As Eugene Peterson said, the workplace is the arena for our spiritual growth.

As we celebrated the birth of Jesus, I like the way the Prophet Isaiah describes him in Isaiah 9:6-7: “For to us a child was born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The theme of peace is very meaningful in our time and in our different contexts. Most of our partner churches have been in the context of war and violence. As I write this, wars and violence are still raging in Eastern DR Congo with hundreds of thousands still living in the internally displaced camps in DR Congo but also in South Sudan. This concern of peace interested youth leaders from Rwanda, Kenya, DR Congo, and South Sudan and they came together to form the Africa Youth Peace Forum. CBM was invited to facilitate training on Peace & Reconciliation with the goal of creating awareness, learning the biblical perspective on peace-making, and celebrating our differences, particularly in cases of ethnic based xenophobia. We celebrated the peace that we receive in Jesus, and we confessed that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We are hoping that this training will continue in Rwanda, Kenya, and DR Congo in 2024.

The final highlight of the year is about partnerships. Partnership is weaved in the very nature of God. God partnered with our forebearers like Abraham to make a new nation, he partnered with Moses and other faithful people to bring healing. In the New Testament, God is partnering with the Church (you and me) to expand his Kingdom. CBM believes in partnership – the very reason why partnerships with the local churches in Canada and overseas are developed. CBM believes that the Church is an agent of socio-economic and spiritual transformation.

Part of my role this year was also facilitating partnership visits by Canadian churches as well as from the CBM office. The SENT Teams from Grande Prairie and Westview in Calgary worked alongside communities in Rwanda to build churches, especially for the new communities who did not have a place of worship.

CBM staff also came to visit the church leaders in Kenya, Rwanda, and DR Congo to discuss areas of ministries over the next few years. God uses these opportunities for mutual learning and encouragement while affirming our commitment to one another as well.

The year 2023 has been a great year and we thank you for your support in every step we’ve been able to make. The year 2024 is ahead of us. And God is still inviting you and me to join our hands towards his mission for his people. I still feel committed to serve the local churches on behalf of CBM in Africa. Would you please keep supporting the work that CBM is doing among Africa church partners?

Thank you. I pray that God will keep providing. I pray that God keeps you and your loved ones well. I pray that God blesses the work of your hands because you are serving his Kingdom. 

For us Christmas is not a season, instead it is a reason to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, Emmanuel, God who came to be with us. 

As we look ahead in 2024, please pray for: 

• God’s wisdom and strength 
• Good health and provision for the family 
• Peace, safety, and security in the region 
• My trip to Canada in the spring. 
• Provision for the overwhelming needs among partners 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

I would like to thank the Africa team, colleagues in Canada, and all over the world for your encouragement, advice, friendship, and fellowship. I would also like to thank all our partners in Africa for their cooperation, trust and willingness to work with me. Finally, I would like to thank the churches in Canada who pray for me and support me and the work of CBM in Africa. Your prayers and support keep me going. God bless you.