Dear friends of Mission,
Christ is Risen!
With God’s help we are in good health. I would like to update you on the work of our Orthodox Mission here in distant Indonesia.
From February 25, 2018 to March 1, 2019, I was invited by some communities to visit them as they want to learn about the Orthodox Faith. I stayed there for a few days and had the chance to talk with them. Finally, they decided to embrace our faith, and asked us to visit them regularly to the extent possible. This region consists of some villages and is not difficult to reach due to its access to the national road network. Their capital is called Pakkat. Pakkat is a small town, largely inhabited by Muslims, Roman-Catholics and Protestants.
People there live mainly by agriculture- they cultivate various types of incense, coffee, rice and corn- and by logging. Life there is quiet and clean. There are forests around, so the air is very clean and oxygen-rich. Also, the big river that flows nearby creates beautiful sounds, which raise our hearts and minds to our Almighty God. Near this river, a family called Mangatur Sibagariang offered us a plot of land to build a church and worship the God of our Orthodox Faith in there.
My brethren, we accepted this offering and we began to choose the Council members to start this God-pleasing project. It is near the river, so the basic building materials such as sand and stones can be obtained from there. From the nearby forests we could get the wood supply we need for doors and window frames. Naturally, my brethren, we have a big dream: to realize this great project of building a church in this region within the year 2019. The estimated construction cost comes to 30,000 euro. It would be a great relief for us if you could help us.
With God’s help, in our Mission Center in the city of Medan we have Fr. Theodosius Niwen, who I was preparing for the priesthood for years, and who has now become a priest. This enables me to start spreading our missionary activity. Now in a city in Sumatra called Pekanbaru we have begun to establish a new parish community. This happened a year ago. We have a few faithful there, but we have no proper gathering place, so it would be very good if we could have a permanent home. The members of our community find it difficult to change place constantly from one house to another. So, in my opinion, the best thing to do is to rent a house which will be used for our gatherings, as the Mission office and for my own accommodation when I visit them and I need to stay somewhere for a few days. I asked the people there and I was told that renting a house for 2 years will cost 1,500 euro. I am making an appeal to your kind heart for support on this matter as well.
Fr. Chrysostomos Manalu
