Despite the hardships of 30 years of war in Angola, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is very much alive, according to Paul Ratsara, executive secretary for the church in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region.

“There is going to be an intensified focus on leadership training and building schools to normalize things in Angola,” Ratsara says.

Returning from Angola recently, Ratsara said that much attention will need to be given to almost any area one could think of throughout the country. “The destruction caused by the war spared nothing. Buildings—and I mean every building—are full of bullet holes. Signs of destruction are visible everywhere. I have to give credit to our leaders and our people for the fact that, despite all the difficulties they have gone through, the church is still vibrant,” he reports.

Ratsara says that the church and its humanitarian organization, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, has embarked on several reconstruction projects in agriculture and education. “ADRA is trying to bring back life in many places through farming projects and building programs in the education sector,” he says.

The Adventist Church in Angola has more than 215,000 members worshipping in 775 churches.