February 24, 2022- by: Annette Spence
MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- Now that the Rev. Botrous Tutu has returned safely from a trip to Sudan, he’s got a new mission to tackle and a burning question to answer:
What does it take to become a member of The United Methodist Church when you live in Sudan?
Tutu’s mission is to find out and help pastors of about 40 churches in his homeland achieve the membership he says they desperately want.
“I’m very sad for them because they say they are United Methodist but ‘nobody cares for us,’” says Tutu, who has lived in East Tennessee for the last 20 years.
On Christmas Day 2021, Tutu traveled to Khartoum and the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan to deliver 200 copies of a United Methodist worship book translated into the Arabic language. He then led training sessions for about 225 African pastors and other church leaders.
