In late 1991, we planted our first church in Bujumbura, Burundi. We had prayed for months over where we would plant our church. At first, we thought we might go to Kigali, Rwanda, or Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC). Something kept drawing us to Burundi. When the time came to move, we could barely contain our excitement over planting a church in the capital city of Bujumbura.
Due to the many official hoops we had to jump through to get permission to plant a church, it took us nearly a year to get started. We weren’t fully prepared when our first Sunday finally arrived, although we thought we were.
We had spent a week visiting people in their homes in the area where we had rented a building to meet in. The following Sunday we officially launched the church.
The school of hard knocks had a lesson for us that Sunday morning, November 1, 1992. Without a children’s leader, worship leader, or ushers, we had to shoulder the burden of everything alone. From setup to cleanup, we were the crew. Jamie led worship, and I (Lea) not only watched our children but also helped with teaching children’s church. It was an interesting morning, to say the least.
In the crowd was a young man who followed the service intently. We had only recently met him, his name was Wilondja King’ombe and he was a believer and a musician. He went to greet Jamie after the service and said, “Pastor, let me help you.” Jamie gladly obliged.
This is how we began our 27- year-long relationship with Wilondja who later became Pastor Wilondja. For many years, he led an anointed and talented worship team for us at the church in Bujumbura. He was also our youth pastor, leading hundreds of young people to the Lord and mentoring them in his own right.
We had the honor of overseeing Pastor Wilondja’s wedding to Christine and blessing his two children, first Victory and then Sarah. He was what we considered to be a “Timothy” to us, a true spiritual son.
In 1999, Pastor Wilondja and his family moved to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania to plant a church. Our family joined them about a year later. The year of working to plant a church on his own brought remarkable maturity to Pastor Wilondja and Christine.
Tanzania proved to be a difficult place to get the church officially recognized. After another year together, instead of bemoaning the fact that we were unable to work in Tanzania, we found other places to branch out. Our family (Jamie and Lea) went to Lusaka, Zambia, and were able to register and plant a church. Pastor Wilondja and his family branched out to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo where they planted a church.
Looking back, those days in Tanzania together were special. We made many great memories that we cherish.
The years began to pass and Pastor Wilondja, being one of our spiritual sons, would often come with his wife Christine to wherever we were serving. His input to the churches was valuable, everyone loved him.
One very ordinary afternoon, October 1, 2020, we received the unexpected and horrible news that Pastor Wilondja had passed away suddenly at home. The news shook our churches across Africa. Nearly everyone in our churches knew Pastor Wilondja. We were all shocked and deeply grieved.
Jamie had to make the long trip to Lubumbashi, DRC, from Bujumbura, Burundi where we were at the time of his passing to attend the funeral. He was met by many mourners and by Pastor Wilondja’s widow Christine and their children, Victory and Sarah who had grown to adulthood. There weren’t enough tears to shed for the sorrow everyone felt.
In the days that followed the funeral, Victory, Pastor Wilondja’s son, agreed to temporarily stand in and serve as interim pastor while everyone prayed over what the future held for the church. It was too early to make any hasty decisions. But, there was no one else who could stand before the congregation at a time like that besides Victory.
What became evident in the months that followed was that Pastor Wilondja had trained the youth of his churches well (for by this time there were two churches in Lubumbashi that he had planted). Victory stood tall and worked his way through his grief while at the same time providing comfort for the congregation.
We did not want to force any long-term leadership position on Victory. It’s never been our desire to force ministry on anyone. Ministry is hard enough with a call, we can’t imagine what serving apart from a call would be like. At the nearly two-year mark after his father’s passing, we spoke with Victory about his future and the church’s future. We wanted to know what he felt God had called him to do.
Victory is an engineer who loves Jesus. His parents made sure to provide an education for him and his sister, knowing that in Africa, education is the key to survival. He is also a student of the Word. He’s currently attending Bible school and working towards his degree in Biblical studies.
When we spoke with Victory about what he felt his call was, his answer didn’t surprise us. “This church, this is my call.” He wanted to pick up his father’s legacy and run with what God has for the DRC.
So, in November 2023, Jamie had the great honor of laying hands on Pastor Wilondja’s son Victory, and installing him as lead pastor over the work in the DRC.
These are the kinds of stories that only God can write. When we suddenly felt a huge vacuum of leadership, God was already preparing another son for us. The legacy of Pastor Wilondja lives strong in his son, Pastor Victory who is now living the story that God is writing.