Dear friends of the Mission,
Christ is risen!
With God’s help, we are well. I would like to report some events from our Orthodox Mission here in far away Indonesia.
From February 25 to March 1, I was invited to visit some communities that are eager to learn about the Orthodox faith. I stayed for a few days to see and live with them and chat about a few things. They decided to accept our faith and they are very much asking us to visit them regularly as much as possible. This area consists of a few villages and to get there is not difficult because it has highways. The capital of the villages is called Pakkat. Pakkat is a small town and has Muslim, Catholic and Protestant inhabitants.
The people there make most of their living from agriculture, growing frankincense, coffee, rice, corn and trading timber. So their life is quiet and clean. All around are forests, the oxygen is very clean and near the village there is a big river that creates a beautiful chanting that lifts our thoughts close to our Almighty God. Near this river, a family, called Mangatur Sibagariang, offered us a plot of land to build a Holy Temple, so that we can worship the God of our Orthodox faith there.
My brothers and sisters, we accepted this offer and began to choose the members of the Council that will begin this God-given work. I see, because it is near the river, it has a lot of stones and sand which are the basic materials for building. For the doors and windows it has nearby forests where we can get timber. So, my brothers, we have a big dream that in 2019 we will implement this project. We estimate that we will need about 30,000 euros. If you have the possibility, my brothers, please help us.
In another town in Sumatra called Pekanbaru we have started to open a new community. I opened it a year ago. We have devotees there, but in order to gather properly, it would be very nice if we had a permanent residence. Changing place from one house to another, I see that it makes it difficult for our community members. So, in my opinion we should rent a house for the community and for the office and the place for me to stay there for a few days when I visit them. I asked the people there. The rent of a house for 2 years is 1500 euros. If it is possible, my brothers, I ask for your love for this matter, to reach our Orthodox faith to even more people.
With many best wishes,
π. Chrysostomos Manalu
