Agricultural school
Dear members of the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood, I am pleased to inform you that the agricultural school in Adranovory, Tulear, which your Brotherhood sponsored, was finished last month. Please also inform the donor, Mr. Agathaggelos Miliadis, and thank him on my behalf. We are now trying to secure the money needed for the interior equipment, such as desks, desks, wardrobes, etc. The agricultural school is centrally located and will serve, in terms of student attendance, the whole surrounding area. Everyone was happy about this project, because it is indeed original and is intended for young people who do not know any work, and now they are given the opportunity to learn how to cultivate the land.
I have also informed His Beatitude, Our Patriarch Theodore, and we will soon celebrate the inauguration, so that it can be put into operation. By the grace of God, all the works are progressing.
Baptisms
Our work is progressing in all directions, despite all the difficulties we face. We have a large attendance in Orthodoxy and last November, Fr. Theodosius from Ouranoupolis, who visits us every year with the blessing of Mons. Metropolitan Nicodemus of Ierissos, along with the local clergy, celebrated 1,500 baptisms. The people rejoiced because their long-standing wish was fulfilled.
Charity
The children’s breakfast soup, which we provide to 800-900 children a day, has been stopped for a while due to the economic crisis, which is affecting us a lot. But it is now continuing as normal with the sending of 15,000 € from your Brotherhood. So the poor children have a simple breakfast, which they never have at home. For this we are grateful to you. The situation unfortunately remains the same. Everywhere poverty, pain, sickness. One is saddened to see all this misery of the people, who beg you for even a little help, so that everyone can be relieved of the problem that is troubling them. Our position is delicate. We need to combine love with discernment and experience from our work in the mission fields.
Holy Temples
But the needs do not stop here, because the reconstruction of the Holy Churches is urgent. The makeshift temples made of earth are being destroyed by hurricanes and people do not have a place of their own to hold their holy services. We ask for your help in this area as well. But we are not forgetting the difficult period our country is going through. We pray that God will soon provide a solution. The work on the orphanage is progressing well, as is the wing which your Brotherhood has taken over.
We praise God for everything that is done for His glory. We thank all the dear friends of the Foreign Mission, who, despite the crisis that exists, do not forget us and support us in every way you can. God be with you
Ignatius of Madagascar
