The “East-Central Africa Division” is the newest of the Seventh-day Adventist church’s thirteen world administrative regions. It has been operating autonomously since January 1, 2003, when it was formed out of the Eastern African and African-Indian Ocean regions. It was officially recognized June 30 by a vote of delegates at the start of the Adventist church’s quinquennial business meetings in St Louis.

On Monday evening July 4, this new region celebrated its independence with a thoughtful presentation that entertained, informed and inspired delegates and guests in the Edward Jones Dome for a period of just over half an hour.

After an initial welcome from Geoffrey Mbwana, the church’s leader in the area, the main report took the form of an expertly produced video. Some might have expected a boisterous and colorful production to come from this part of Africa but this was not the case. Instead a collection of personal and, at times, moving stories painted a balanced picture of a region of the world where, alongside prosperity, HIV is prevalent, displaced persons live in refugee camps, and the wounds of past wars are slow to heal.

Although the Adventist church is doing well in the East-Central Africa region - very well in fact - the video report instead focused on the work of service in which the church is engaged. Service is high on the church’s list of priorities, according to Mbwana. Using the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example he said, “We have chosen not to pass by the suffering. We have chosen to dress their wounds.”

Illustrating this, he told the story of a visit he made to a refugee camp. In the camp he found Adventist refugees along with all the others, but the Adventists, while suffering the same privations as the rest of the inmates, were actively involved in evangelism. Over time they held meetings, then baptisms, then even constructed churches from the scarce materials available.

Adventists in Burundi are helping victims of HIV/AIDS. Clinics are also used as education centers, and the medical advice which helps patients to prevent secondary infections is accompanied by skills training so that the can earn an income when they leave.

In Somalia, ADRA, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, is securing much needed water supplies.

The video report showed that Adventist education is strong in East-Central Africa, with schools and universities educating thousands of students every year. Evangelism is part of the ethos of these establishments and students were shown using their days off to visit surrounding districts to spread the gospel. Less formal educational programs help to promote adult literacy.

A well-organized women’s movement is also geared towards evangelism, with women taking a lead in a number of areas of the church’s outreach program.

Satellite television has been a particularly effective tool for evangelism in the region. In 2004 television evangelist Mark Finley broadcast a series of programs from Rwanda. On the tenth anniversary of the genocide in that country he attracted a crowd of 35,000 at the opening evening in the city stadium. By the end of the campaign more than 11,000 people were baptized.

The most moving story of the video also came from Rwanda. Adele’s husband was killed in the war, but after the war she decided that she would help to overcome the legacy of evil by helping her enemies who were now in prison. In the prison camps she found terrible conditions. She also found her husband’s killer, a man by the name of Louis.

Both Adele and Louis featured in the video and told the story from their own perspectives. Adele wasn’t sure how she would react to Louis, though she knew that as a Christian she should try to help him. Louis was convinced that Adele had come to the prison to try to kill him.

Eventually they met and, miraculously, Adele forgave Louis. Not only did she forgive him, when he had served his term she took him into her home and looked after him as if he were her own son.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Louis became a Christian. “I love Jesus so much,” he said, “because he has taken me out of jail and released my chains.”

“The neighbors thought I was foolish,” said Adele. “They thought I would be killed. But little by little they learned that Louis is now a part of my family.”

“I love God, and I love peace,” she continued. “I know now that I will have peace with God, and with my neighbors.”

The East-Central Africa region of the Adventist church comprises the countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Within these countries the Adventist church is growing at a spectacular rate. Currently there are over two million baptised members in the region, with a further six million considering themselves Adventist, according to government census statistics. There have been 380,000 baptisms since January 2003.