By the grace of God and with the blessings of the reverend Primate of our Secondary Patriarchate and our spiritual father, His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros, the works are progressing. The crisis has certainly affected us here, because the income has been reduced by 50%, so we are humanly concerned. We believe, however, that God oversees and provides for His works, because everything that is done is His work and is done for a charitable purpose. Faith and hope in His Providence will never die out in our hearts. After all, we have so many examples from our many years of experience that little faith and panic have no place in our lives. We are moving in all directions, missionary and charitable, but with many difficulties; we have cut back on several major activities because of the financial crisis, but we are trying to continue what we can according to our means.
In search of drinking water
There is no end to the problems in the missions. Every day new problems arise unexpectedly, without expectation. One serious problem we are facing with the southern part of the country, around the Tulear area, is water scarcity. A large area of many thousands of acres lacks sufficient water and people carry it every day from several kilometres away, perhaps as far as 8 km, in their carts or with makeshift carts or even on their heads with canisters. We see this every day on the main roads when we go to Tulear. I remember one time when it was raining – rain is a rare phenomenon in this region – and the children were filling their buckets from the gutters on the right and left of the road. They were delighted to have the opportunity to play with the rainwater.
Seeing the needs of this region, we thought of building 25-30,000 litres of water tanks each and using the water truck we brought from Greece to fill them once a month, so that people can not only have clean drinking water, but also water their animals that are suffering so much. I appeal to our dear friends of the Foreign Mission, not forgetting the financial problem that our country is facing at this time, if they can help us to meet this immediate need for fresh water. In total we need 3 tanks for three remote villages. The cost of each tank will amount to 10.000 €. I apologise for asking for this money in the middle of a crisis, but anything you can do to help us.
The new orphanage in Antananarivo
I cannot fail to mention the continuous financial assistance of your Brotherhood and especially the regular supply of food that we distribute every week to so many poor families. We are also grateful for the donation of €50,000 from your donor, who has taken over a wing of the orphanage. Work on the building continues, but the number of workers has been reduced because we are unable to pay the contractor who has undertaken the construction of the orphanage frequently and in large instalments. We do not grumble about anything, but we praise God for everything and thank all of you who, through your generosity, help us to continue the work of our church.
Mysteries in mud huts
In the midst of our many difficulties, we deserve to see the great attendance that we have, by the grace of God, in our Orthodoxy.
Last week, more than 100 people were added to the body of the Church through the sacrament of baptism. Several months ago, Fr. Paul had prepared and indoctrinated these people to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. Their village is located quite far from the main road, where the car has no access. We followed the road at the risk of getting stuck on the road.
This village lacks a church and the services and all the sacraments are held in a makeshift mud hut, which to me is very solemn, but people ask for a nice church, as in other villages. This is the second time we have held group baptisms and weddings in this village, but the meagre financial resources do not allow us to afford a newly built church. Let us hope that God will present a pious donor who will take up the expense of this church.
Night trip
The life of the Orthodox missionary is, for the most part, an uphill calvary. In some distant village, where there is still no church, the people, through the priest, would beg me to go to their village for a visit. Despite my workload, the village priest and I arranged to visit them on a Sunday. The distance to the village was long, the road difficult and very bad, with large ditches in the middle. We set out on Saturday at noon, taking with us all the necessities for the Divine Liturgy. The mission jeep loaded with things and people was struggling to get through the rough spots.
Darkness found us long before we reached the village and the driving became more difficult. We were all anxious and afraid that something unexpected might happen on the road.
A few hundred meters before the village, people were waiting for us to lead us safely to the village. When we finally reached the village, it was very late, but our praise to God and our emotion was great when we saw all the Christians, young and old, waiting for us outside the school with candles lit to welcome us. The joy of all of us was great and reminded us of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, when he and his entourage met the Christians during his visits.
After we were welcomed and all of them received a blessing by kissing our hands, we all went into a large room of the school – as there is still no temple – and began the catechism. The room was filled to overflowing with young and old, who listened to the word of God in exemplary silence. The few candles illuminated the speaker’s place, while the very young children began to doze. The discerning speaker closed the subject, for it was now too late, but many of the older ones did not want to leave. For supper we were taken to the catechist’s house, where they had lovingly prepared the best they had. It is touching to see poor people depriving themselves of the best food to give to others.
In the villages the houses are mud huts and the accommodation space is limited. Nevertheless, we all made ourselves comfortable somewhere and the Bishop in the back seat of the car. The demands for comfort on missionary excursions have no place. In the morning, the area of the school where the Mass was to be celebrated was ready. A large room was cleared of desks and prepared for Mass. Soon it was filled to capacity. Their attention was exemplary. At the end the sermon was preached and a free discussion followed. Their request was always the same: we need a Holy Church, because the school, although the director gives it to us with all his heart, does not help us spiritually. We promised them that, as soon as the money was found, we would start immediately. The land is ready from the donation of a believer. The people know how to wait and are patient. Let us pray that God will give the solution to the problem.
With much love in Christ
Ignatius of Madagascar
