Partner Spotlight: Paul Thomeer on Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Gift of Going Back

6 hours ago
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Eighteen months ago, Paul Thomeer traveled to Tanzania for the first time. Before he left, he told the people there something he meant: "I left a piece of my heart with you."

So when the opportunity came to return — this time spanning both Tanzania and Rwanda — he didn't hesitate.

What he found wasn't just ministry work. It was something harder to put in a newsletter: the weight of what the church can carry, and the joy of what it can build.

Rwanda: Sitting with Pastors Who Are Still Standing

The first stop was Rwanda's Bugesera District, near Kigali, where Paul joined a two-day leadership seminar with more than 50 pastors.

The Rwandan government has closed over 8,000 churches, leaving most congregations shuttered with no clear path to reopening. Some pastors have done everything required by law and still their doors remain closed. Nearly all of them are waiting — and wondering.

Paul didn't sugarcoat what he walked into:

"There was a sense of hopelessness and despair among the pastors. They voiced that they feel all alone in their call to minister to their flock."

The seminar addressed it head-on with a message that came in layers: your ministry is not over. The Church is not a building — it's a Body.

Keep reaching your flock even in small numbers. And here are practical ways to do it right now: home Bible studies, community events, children's outreach. Each pastor also received a new study Bible — a tangible reminder of the call to proclaim the Word

"in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2).

The week also included a football tournament that drew nearly 1,000 people, a couples conference, children's ministry, and community distribution of water filters, solar lights, food, and Bibles.

But the moment Paul carried home happened in a quiet living room. While teaching from Mark 7 — the story of a deaf man brought to Jesus — Pastor Gideon made a simple invitation. A young woman stepped forward and met Jesus for the first time. Paul pointed to Isaiah 55:11 afterward:

"[God's word] will not return empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Tanzania: A Ribbon, a Leap, and Going Deeper

In the Moshi area, the centerpiece of the trip was a ribbon cutting celebration for Christian Life Church — a building Mosaic and local partners had helped rebuild. By the time the ribbon was cut, the whole day had been building toward it. Villagers, church members, and neighboring pastors had gathered.

A local Muslim village leader was there, too, welcoming what was being opened in his community.

"Once the ribbon was cut, I grabbed a local pastor and we began to celebrate," Paul said.

"The next thing I knew, I was jumping in celebration with several other local pastors in unison. We were one body of believers, celebrating what God was doing in this village."

That image — men from different churches, different backgrounds, leaping together — might be the truest picture of what the trip was about.

Paul was also clear about what made this visit different from his first: relationships. "Last time I met my brothers and sisters in Tanzania. This trip, I was able to know them in a deeper and more intimate way — to share my heart with them, and they with me."

That depth is evident in his partnership with Mosaic's Tanzania team — Francis, Vickie, Favor, and Felix. They've supported each other's ministries across borders, co-taught pastors online and in person, and collaborated on community outreach in both countries.