The CityLife International Church – Burayu Campus construction has been progressing well. So far the church hall, the stage, the balcony, the green room, and other storage rooms have been completed. The office building at the back is still in progress – the first floor which has rooms for offices, LifeTracks training, and children ministry have been almost completed except some finishing works such as tiles, painting and electrical installations. The second floor slab and columns had been filled. 20 big windows around the auditorium and a stairs to the balcony still needs to be installed. The auditorium roof has been completed.

The construction has been temporarily halted due to illegal price increases on building materials. Some business owners in Addis Ababa are trying to take advantage of the current inflation and hard currency crises in the country. The government has promised to rectify this act of profiteering by importers of construction materials. As such our leadership team in Ethiopia have decided to wait for the heated market to cool off before they recommence construction. In the meantime, the Burayu congregation is still meeting in the partially completed auditorium.

With the winter season now approaching, heavy rains are becoming more frequent resulting in regular disruptions to church meetings due to water leaking into the partially completed auditorium. If the price regulation act is not put in place before mid-May, we might have to go ahead with the construction.

In another news, our fundraising dinner held at CityLife Knox in March this year went really well. We were pleased by the attendance and the vibrancy of the event. Overall, $10,000 was raised towards the construction of the Burayu building. We are very grateful to everyone that helped out in various ways and particularly we want to thank those who donated auction items.