Keeping the light burning

Source: Orthodox Missionary Fraternity

November 16, 2016

Photo: http://orthodoxmission.org.gr/ Photo: http://orthodoxmission.org.gr/
    

Dear friends of the Mission,

Once again I greet you in the name of the Triune God. Lovingly I ask you to accept my humble thanks for your support to the missionary work that I was entrusted with by our beloved spiritual father, the Pope and Patriarch Theodore II.

Our mission and vision is to spread the light of Orthodoxy in Burundi and Rwanda, where it seems to have a bright future. The love, hospitality and education I received from you, Greek people, while I studied there, these are the things I strive to give. Our main activity is the dissemination of the Orthodox faith that is the only true faith. There are many challenges, since we are obliged, required and requested to respond to the thirsty souls in the various sectors of society.

Education is the key to deal with and tackle problems, such as poverty and ignorance. In one place, we have the only primary school in the region with over 600 children, who walk more than 5 kilometers daily, while most of them totally lack basic equipment, such as pencils, pens and copybooks, although the education we offer to them is free, because their parents are unable to provide for them and because most children are orphans. Occasionally we try to give them some lunch, because most of them come very early in the morning without having eaten breakfast, or even without having had food the night before. In every class we have 100 pupils. At times we have to cut a pencil in three pieces, so that every students has something to write with.

The government asked us to build a secondary school in this region, because for these students, when they get out of the primary, it means the end of their studies; there is no middle school in that place. We laid the foundation stone for the new school, which will be dedicated to Saint Paisios the newly canonized saint. Our prayer is to be able to complete the school, because the education of the young people is the future for our Church and the whole country.

Although we have baptized many people, we continue to worship and have our services under the trees, in tents, in rented houses and in the countryside. Please, keep us in your incessant prayers, so that we’ll be able to keep the candle of Orthodoxy burning.

See also
From Gabon to the Congolese jungle From Gabon to the Congolese jungle
Bishop Panteleimon of Brazzaville and Gabon
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Bishop Panteleimon of Brazzaville and Gabon
This weekly tour constituted a great blessing not only for our Orthodox faithful, who came closer to our Church, but also for us. We praise God that nowadays, despite the adverse conditions, He draws so many souls to faith and transforms people’s lives.
Missionary journey to Vanua Levu Missionary journey to Vanua Levu
Bishop Amphilochios of New Zealand
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Bishop Amphilochios of New Zealand
This is the so called missionary “madness”. Faith on the one hand and need on the other make them defy all the difficulties and dangers involved in the mission . “We are fools for Christ’s sake”.
Love will never cease to exist Love will never cease to exist
Fr. Ermolaos
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Fr. Ermolaos
Indeed, true is the word of our Gospel, which assures us that love will never cease to exist! What greater proof can our soul ask for in order to verify the truth, when in the midst of such a great economic crisis, people from Greece, simple, anonymous, and poor join hands together and achieve the incredible? When they manage to load a container of 25 tons, with a bunch of goods and send it to our poor and much-afflicted brothers in Malawi to share them?
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Bishop Narkissos of Accra
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By the grace of God and with the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, on January 13 I arrived at the capital of Ghana, the seat of my new diocese, after a long journey starting from Athens to reach the Western African shores of the Atlantic. Leaving a frozen Athens and getting off the airplane, you are received by a 33°C heat and 90% humidity and forthwith you understand that you are somewhere else.
2015: a missionary year in review 2015: a missionary year in review
A look back at all the wonderful missionary work being done throughout the world to the glory of God in 2015
Flowers of altruism out of the field of Cameroon Flowers of altruism out of the field of Cameroon
Met. Gregory of Cameroon
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Met. Gregory of Cameroon
"However, despite all the hardships, we can say that we continue walking by the grace of God, our living Lord, who walks by our side daily through our difficulties and “by many proofs” blesses and transforms our little efforts and our mumble into a fruitful and plentiful seed."
Comments
HIEROMONK MARKOS7/25/2017 10:26 pm
GLORY TO GOOD GOD THAT BURUNDI NOW ADOPTED ORTHODOX TRUE FAITH. MAY GOD REWARD YOU, YOU ARE GRACE INNOCENTIOS MANY YEARS.BY HIEROMONK MARKOS FROM DODOMA TANZANIA.
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