Many volunteers came to help

We had to cancel church on Sunday as you can imagine from this shot
late Saturday afternoon. We plan to have everything cleared up and safe
to meet again for next week. It has been great to see the whole
congregation volunteering their time to help build their church.

No more bamboo!

We are so blessed with the progress at the church. Phase one is
complete and we now have a solid structure in place. We still have a
way to go but we are amazed with what has been achieved already. We are
so grateful for all the support from partners and friends to make it
all possible.

The future of the Rwandan Vineyard

The work at the church has not yet prevented us from meeting on
Sundays. After worship we pray for the children before they go to their
Sunday school.

Every block will have its place

Folks coming to church yesterday had to weave their way through
hundreds of concrete blocks that are being made on site to complete
Phase 1 of our Church building. The building is really taking shape and
it feels like we are working towards a great milestone in the short
history of the Rwandan Vineyard Church.

Candidates for 2012 Secondary School Sponsorship Program

We are very excited to announce the start of a new program through the
Rwandan Vineyard church. Early in 2011 we had a team from Halifax and
St. Stephens' Vineyard who felt moved to sponsor one of our youth to go
to Secondary School. While school fees for elementary school are quite
affordable, Secondary School fees are sometimes just out of reach for
many despite the excellent subsidies offered by the government.
Therefore we have decided to begin a Secondary School Sponsorship
Program for some of the youth in our church whose families struggle
financially and this year we have sponsors in Canada and the US for 7
students. This is a great investment in the lives of these young men
and women and we are very blessed to offer them this opportunity for a
good education. Many thanks to all who are supporting this cause.

Leveling inside the building

Sand truck reversing onto church grounds

Four of the six ladies volunteering today

The work on the Church Building in Muyange is moving along well. The
pillars and all the foundations are in place. The foundations on one
wall are 4 meters deep! We are encouraged by the number of volunteers
coming to help. Today six ladies walked about 5 kilometers from Gashubi
to help with moving earth. It is so important that the people have a
real sense of ownership in their church.