We were based in Luanda the capital of Angola.  It is just at the start of the dry season so it is getting hot and dusty.  The capital is chaotic, clogged with traffic, rubbish, people selling everything you can imagine on street corners and masses of building work.
 
Angola is a country of contrasts.

It is very poor, most live in

squalid conditions, but at the

same time there is vast wealth.

Average life expectancy is only

42 but the capital is the most

expensive place to live in the

world!!!  It is true.

Land prices are higher than

England!  It'll cost you £150 a night for a 2* hotel room in Luanda!
 
Most people have nothing but many (even those who live in poverty) somehow manage to run 4x4's!
 
I never quite understood why these contrasts but it is a combination of vast oil wealth (they produce more oil than Nigeria!) and vast diamond wealth.  But the wealth until recently got absorbed by a terrible civil war.  Now the country have done a deal with the Chinese, who take most of the oil and in return are providing new roads, services and buildings at a frightening pace.  80% of the people that got on our flight from Luanda to Dubai were Chinese workers.  They are resented by the locals who reluctantly agree what a good job the Chinese are doing.  Even whilst we were there we saw a long road go from a hole in the ground to being finished in a week.
 
The country is on the move.

It is the fastest growing

economy in Africa and if they

get the planning right will

become a key economic base

in the continent within 5 years.
 
There are far less men in the

country than women, and it is a

young country, young people dominate everything.  Even the Church is often run by teenagers, and believe me they take responsibility very seriously.
 
The Church is growing fast.  Our base was the Church of St Jose.  There are 2500 anglican christians in Luanda and thousands more around the country.  The Bishop is a good man, humble and patient but determined to make a difference.  Whilst with us he spent hours on the phone looking for funding for farms projects and Malaria projects and homelessness projects.  But the needs are vast.
 
Literacy levels in the capital are pretty good, schools are getting better all the time and the Christians have a good grasp of scripture.  And boy do they worship!!
 
They love to sing and dance and they do so with wonderful natural African harmonies and rhythms.  It was a joy to worship with them.  The Church of St Estevon where I went on Sunday has 18 choirs!!! in a Church of 1500 spread through 8 congregations.  The Men's choir were as good as any Cathedral Choir I have ever heard (they made Chester Cathedral choir look very ordinary).  You could have put them in the Royal Albert Hall and they would not have looked out of place.  Someone told me, "Musically Africa now leads the world it is just that the world hasn't yet noticed!"  I now believe them.
 
All that and St Estevon can't

yet afford to put a roof on the

Church! (see attached photo's)

150 people went through the

training course "Rooted in

Jesus" (a 40 week discipleship

project course), and this will

now lead to groups starting up

all over the country.  The Bishop's plan is that by the end of the year 15000 people will be doing Rooted in Jesus.
 
They love to learn.
 
The best bits of the trip were
praying with dozens for healing, I hope God is gracious to them. 
worshipping with such vibrancy
seeing people getting excited about rooted in Jesus.
 
The worst bits were
Sharing my bed (which was just a mattress on the floor for the first few days) with a cockroach and a mouse!
Fish heads for tea - tasty but just became a bit much!
The heat and dust
 
I have a feeling God is doing something special all over Africa through Rooted in Jesus and I was privileged to play a small part in getting it started in Angola.
 
The needs are huge, but the Christians there are making a difference.
 
Thank you so much for funding me to go and do this it wasn't always an enjoyable experience but it was an unforgetable one!
 
Your money was spent in the following ways. 
 
Approx £1500 was spent on my travel, accommodation and food.
Approx £1000 was spent on books, printing costs and delegate travel costs from other parts of Angola
Approx £500 went towards paying for food for the delegates during the conference.
 
There will be a follow up conference in May next year that will be led by the Bishop of Mozambique and local leaders.
 
Eventually it is hoped to base the HQ for Rooted in Jesus in Africa so that they can run the whole thing.
 
Rooted in Jesus will be published for England in the new year and I have re-written three of the modules for the English market, so look out for that.
 
Ian

Rev Ian Bishop
Rector of Middlewich and Byley

 

click here to view photo gallery