The Church Under the Mango Tree
Carl Dawson
December 2005

As Ernest and I returned to Mbale the pastors insisted that one of the places that we must go back to was Bukhulo, a tiny and remote village outside of Mbale.  During the festival one of our teams had gone there to share the Gospel message at a small orphan center with about 15 adults and children.  This tiny group of Christians meet our team underneath a mango tree as that was the only shelter from the hot sun.  All around them  and a bit of a distance were groups of Muslims who had come to see these white visitors.  They kept their distance not wanting to be polluted by the Christians.  In this photograph you can see what Ernest and I found as we returned to Bukhulo.  There were nearly 200 people gathered under that same mango tree expectantly wanting to worship with us!  All but a handful of those present were Muslims who had given their lives to the Lord as a result of our team's ministry to them in August.  As Ernest preached a message, I stood nearby and was struck by how much this scene must be like many of those in the Gospels.  Jesus ministered to people gathered underneath olive trees and here we were ministering to people underneath a mango tree.

Pictured here is Pastor David Nushanga, pastor to many of these rural churches near Mbale.  The woman standing with him owned the land around the mango tree and was also a Muslim who gave her life to Christ.  She was moved to donate a plot of land on which to build a shelter for God's people.  She said, "God's people must have a better shelter from the sun and rain than just a mango tree so I have given this plot of land."  She went on to say they had taken the sticks and poles to make the frame of the new church from the forest but now they had no way to put a roof on the building.  Right there Ernest and I decided that all of you who are supporting EMM would want this brand new church to have a roof so on your behalf we committed to send the few corrugated steel sheets they needed to put a roof on their new church building.  The following day the sheets were delivered and God's people in Bukhulo now have a shelter from the sun and rain!