Apostolic Faith Church congregants flood Bulawayo

THOUSANDS of congregants from two Apostolic Faith Churches are gathered at two venues in Bulawayo for their annual conferences.

The churches were once one congregation before splitting into two entities. The original Apostolic Faith Church of Portland Oregon congregants have converged at the church's campground in Pelandaba suburb in Bulawayo for the annual Sadc regional camp meeting, which kicked off on Sunday, while the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) church is gathered at Nkulumane Primary School.

The original Apostolic Faith Church which is headquartered in Pelandaba suburb was founded by the late Reverend Morgan Sengwayo in 1955.

Residents from Mpopoma,Magwegwe, Pelandaba, and Lobengula are making a killing by turning their houses into semi-hotels to accommodate the congregants.

Residents are renting out their houses starting from US$60 per head for the duration of the festive holiday. Mrs Sihle Ncube from Mpopoma said she is worried about the water challenge the city is facing this year as she might not be able to provide the congregants with water.

"I haven't taken anyone in yet, although I am considering it to make money. The only challenge I have at the moment is that water goes for weeks now and if I take their money, I have to provide them with water and I'm scared I might end up failing to do it," said Mrs Ncube.

Another resident Ms Ruth Zondo said she has sent her children to spend the festive season at her rural home so that she can accomodate the congregants. She said the money she will get will be channelled towards her children's school fees next year.

"I am renting out the whole house. So far almost all my rooms have been taken. I am hoping when the South African crew arrives tomorrow as I am told they will, all the rooms will be taken.

"I have been preparing for this the whole year so l gathered a lot of water containers which l have filled with water and given to the people renting at my house," said Ms Zondo.

Another resident Mr Emmanuel Sibanda from Magwegwe said he was reluctant to take some of the congregants because of the cholera cases reported in some parts of the country.

"The idea of getting money is very appealing because I have eight free rooms in my house and if I charge them US$50 per head and put four people in one room I would make a lot of money but my worry is the toilet because of the cholera cases that have been doing their rounds.

"The biggest worry is that we don't know where most of these people are coming from and maybe they are from the infected areas," he said.

Reverend Kwaziso Bosha from the Apostolic Faith Church of Portland Oregon said some of the congregants had travelled from as far as Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi, Western Europe, Pakistan, and Portland to attend the camp which ends on December 17.

The annual convention which was officially opened by the church's superintendent general Reverend Darrel Lee is running under the theme "Unity of the church".

Rev Bosha one of the leaders of the church said they were expecting over 2 000 people and had made mitigation plans to overcome the water challenge that the city is facing.

He said the conference is meant to tighten the congregants' bond with Christ and to make them remember the birth of Christ.

"We have hired water containers which are going to be delivered daily because we do not want a situation whereby people get sick because there is no water. The water we have should be enough to cover all the basics like the toilet, bathing, and cooking," said Rev Bosha.

He said they are hoping to host more people next year if they find a bigger space to hold the camp.