Wilson Visits Rwanda, 
Announces Church Expansion

S

FOUNDATION STONE:  Prime Minister Pierre Habumuremyi of Rwanda (second from left) joins General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson and East-Central Africa Division president Blasious Ruguri to lay foundation stones for a satellite campus of the Adventist University of Central Africa. Wilson visited Rwanda in March 2012 as part of a regional itinerary.eventh-day Adventists in Rwanda are committed to bolstering society and bringing unity and reconciliation to the East African nation, General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson said at a March 3, 2012, Sabbath worship service at Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali.

Wilson commended the spirit of camaraderie he observed. The nation continues to heal after genocide claimed the lives of as many as 800,000 people in 1994. The region has experienced intermittent war for decades between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups.

Several government officials, including Prime Minister Pierre Habumuremyi and Kigali mayor Fidele Ndayisaba, were present for worship services, which drew a congregation of more than 30,000 people.

Wilson reminded government representatives that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is committed to supporting Rwandan society through education, health, and spiritual programs. The General Conference president also took the opportunity to thank national officials for protecting religious liberty in the country.

“May it always be said that the country of Rwanda provides religious freedom for all its people,” Wilson said, citing the government’s policy to allow Seventh-day Adventists to complete their national community service on Sunday rather than Saturday, the Bible Sabbath.

Earlier in the week Habumuremyi joined Wilson in laying the foundation stone for an expansion of the Adventist University of Central Africa. The new School of Science and Technology in Kigali will “help advance God’s work,” Wilson said, adding that the extension campus will serve many Rwandans in the community, not just Adventists.
—with information from Adventist News Network