Dear friends of the Mission, I salute your kindness, which always accompanies us in our missionary work here in Kolkata. I apologize for being late in writing to you. At this time, we are awaiting the coming of the monsoons, which are often destructive, but at the same time are beneficial, for it is thanks to them that rice, which is the staple food in India, comes to fruition. The crisis in Greece has also affected us a lot, dramatically – I would say, without exaggerating. As much as you trust in God’s love and providence, humanly, when you have the responsibility of so many souls, it is impossible not to be anxious. I’m always with a pencil in my hand making additions. I have reduced the staff to a minimum. The workload is too heavy. 24 hours is not enough and I am truly sorry that I am unable to respond to my correspondence and thus disappoint people, good friends and brothers, benefactors and donors. We have, of course, pleasant ones. In this life joys and sorrows go hand in hand. Nine of our girls who finished their studies are now working in our English school. My dream is to leave the school in Orthodox hands. Otherwise, without Orthodox witness and perspective we are straying from our purpose.
Some of our girls got married, two to Orthodox young men, and we had weddings and festivals at the orphanage. Thank God for everything! Our dream of our farm took a step forward with the completion of the masonry wall, thanks to a donation from Trikala. So we now have our own fish from our pond, without the neighbors stealing them from us. We also put in vegetables, trying as much as possible to reduce our feeding costs. Missions need to become financially self-sufficient. Unfortunately, we had not foreseen this before, when we had several donations… I come now to the donations of the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Missionaries, for which I am deeply grateful. Above all, I thank you for your understanding, because despite my silence you are still helping the Mission in India without looking at a human face, and this honours you greatly and is something for which your Brotherhood is distinguished. God bless you and may God always bless your labours and work. Pray for us.
With honour, thanks and love in Christ
Nectaria nun
