A BMS Action Team has been in Uganda since October 2008 working with a small church in the town of Busembetia in the south of the country.
On Sunday 15 February, a baptismal service for some Ugandan young people from the church was held at a nearby pond.
The Action Team was involved in this and took turns to help Pastor Ronald with the baptisms.
After the service, while waiting to board the truck to take them back to Busembetia, it was realised that four young Ugandan men were missing. Tragically, the bodies of Geofrey, Fred, Kenneth and Moses were discovered in the water and, despite efforts on the part of the Action Team and others, it was not possible to resuscitate any of them. It is unclear exactly when the young men went into the water or how they drowned.
Pastor Ronald is being held by the police, partly for his own safety as tensions are high, and as the police are likely to charge him. The Action Team has been taken to Kampala for an opportunity to rest and receive help and support. Andrew North, the Regional Secretary for Africa, is travelling out to Uganda to be with the team.
"We are all in shock about this and our hearts go out to the families of all four of those young men," says Ruth Robinson, BMS Manager for Mission Programmes. "We are, and will continue to be, praying for them."
27 February Update
BMS Regional Secretary for Africa, Andrew North has just heard from Alex Wanyama, General Secretary of the BU of Uganda, that the charges against Pastor Ronald have this afternoon been dropped and he is free to return home — a real answer to prayer. Andrew spoke to Pastor Ronald who is, as you can imagine, overjoyed. It is planned that Pastor Ronald will return to the community to re-establish the church, and the church itself is committed to work in particular with the bereaved families.
The Uganda Action Team has returned to the UK, and after a week with their families will be getting back together at IMC, the BMS training facility in Birmingham. The Action Team will now prepare for the scheduled UK tour.