The missionary work in I.M. of Central Africa, with the grace of the Holy God and despite the many difficulties and problems we face, with your prayers and support, material and moral, is progressing. The difficulties and problems we face daily in our missionary arena are many. But the Most Merciful God does not abandon us. I express my heartfelt thanks to you for the support and help you offer us. God bless you. I particularly wish to inform you of the following matters:
Scholarship for poor & orphaned students
By the grace of God, the Holy Metropolis grants scholarships to impoverished students and orphaned children to study in various university colleges in Kinshasa and other cities. Among these schools is our Orthodox Theological School. Due to the economic crisis, our Holy Metropolis is unable to pay the tuition fees of the poor and orphaned students and there is a risk that the children will discontinue their studies. We would be grateful if donors could be found through your Fraternity to support these young people through the educational adoption program.
Baptisms
Our catechetical work is progressing. Many Congolese wish to know Orthodoxy. The catechetical groups, created by faithful members of our diocese and especially by students of our theological school, are constantly working. Very soon we plan to hold baptisms. If you have names of donors who wish to receive Orthodox names, we look forward to receiving them.
Progress of the projects
As regards the progress of the projects funded by your Brotherhood, we inform you of the following:
The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Gungu was covered and construction work is almost completed. Some work remains to be done such as painting, chancel and flooring. I wish to mention that there has been a great struggle to get the project to this point because the site is about eight hundred kilometres from the capital, with many difficulties in transporting the materials.
The school in Gungu is finished and is short of equipment. Next week, our diocesan partners will go there to see and record all the details of the completion of both the sanctuary and the school, and we will update you again. The polyclinic: construction continues by gathering gravel from the Congo River with the transport of the pirogues. The basic construction materials, cement and iron were transported by riverboat from the capital Kinshasa.
Holy Church of the Archangels and Archangels in Kinshasa
The Church will be erected on our plot of land located at the airport in Kinshasa. The Patriarch of Alexandria & Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa on the occasion of his missionary and pastoral tour in the Congo laid the foundation of the Holy Church. The purchase of the land and the financing of the Holy Church was undertaken by the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Mission, which the Patriarch commemorated and thanked. We are ready to begin, after taking care of some minor technical issues. Best wishes,
The Centrist African Nikephoros
