Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
The constant miracle we experience at our every step in Africa is the strong presence of God, of the Virgin Mary and of the Saints. When things seem difficult and irrevocable, God’s providence paves the way for solutions that did not exist before. God alone shows “paths” for the development of the missionary work, and we, humble laborers and ministers, follow admiring the great actions of the Lord.
Such a path was opened by the providence of God in our Diocese; a path that led to a forgotten village, here on the outskirts of Tanzania, on the edge of the Iringa region. Mkobe is a poor village planted in the heart of the dense African forest, at the foot of a mountain, whose granite cliffs rise steeply after the last houses, inviting people to gaze at the sky. All of its inhabitants have embraced Orthodoxy and have received Holy Baptism at our Mission Center.
Responding to their kind invitation, we went to their village, on September 19, 2021, on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in order to perform the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The road leading to it was impassable, passing through rivers and cliffs. Despite all the difficulties, a humble Levite, Father Jerome, regularly goes to this village, who together with his wife presbytera Upendo, which means Love, “plow’ the area, sowing the seed of the Gospel in the people’s hearts.
Approaching the first houses we were looking for the place where the inhabitants were expecting us, until suddenly in a corner of the road our eyes fell upon their humble church made of wood and straw .It is In this straw “palace” that the Holy Spirit descended, consecrated the Holy Gifts and nestled in the humble souls of the newly-illumined. The young children along with all the faithful sang the hymns with deep emotion, creating a reverent atmosphere, while some watched the Divine Liturgy through the small openings of the thatch-roofed hut. That was a unique life experience, very special moments indeed, which can only be lived in Africa.
The inhabitants of this village, before they became acquainted with Orthodoxy, were pagans. They followed the ancient African religions, which have strong elements of traditional magic. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, taking occasion from the feast of the Holy Cross but also from the life of Saint Joachim (Pany) Patriarch of Alexandria, whose feast day we had celebrated a few days before, we spoke to them about the power and grace of the Holy Cross, through which Saint Joachim performed great miracles. How he moved an entire mountain and how he remained unharmed when an Alexandrian magician gave him a glass full of poison to drink.
After the dismissal and the sermon, a meal was served to all the faithful. We attended the outdoor meal under the shade of the aged trees, and along with the material food, we tasted the joy of socializing with the humble inhabitants of Mkobe. After the meal, we were shown around their village, which was bone dry at that time due to the long, severe and extensive drought. The lack of water in the village was also obvious, as small children and women were forced to carry it in plastic containers on their heads from the stream that lingers behind the big rocks. An emotional moment was when they pointed out to us the plot on which they would like their church to be built.
Late at night after our return to the Mission Center in Kindamali, we spoke by phone with our brother in Christ Mr. Nostis Psarras, sharing in our great spiritual joy that we operated in a straw “early Christian” hut, and he immediately, as he watches the details of our life with his vigilant love and concern, took care of it and within three days, he informed us that a donor was found for the Church in Mkobe, which will be dedicated to Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Lampsacus, healer of cancer.
Dear brothers and sisters, this joy and emotion experienced in Africa cannot be given to you by the greatest joys of the so-called “comfortable” life of the modern world. It is a non-negotiable truth that without your help, we would not be able to carry out all this missionary work which by the grace of God has taken place in our poor Diocese. The whole large family of the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, from the honorable President Mr. Charalambos Metallides, Archon Orphan Supporter of our Patriarchate, our vigilant guardian and poet of the Mission Mr. Nostis Psarras, the iconographer and dear ex-president of the Fraternity Mr. Demetrios Sotirchos who paints all the wonderful icons for our churches, but also all of you, anonymous subscribers and donors, has become a great imaginary bridge that carries the love of the Gospel from our homeland to the heart of Africa.
In closing, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your true love and your prayers as well as for your material and spiritual support, things that in Greece may sound like ordinary conversations, but which here turn into charity, become clothes for the naked, food for the hungry, shoes for the barefoot, consolation and medicine for the needy. May the grace of God be always with you!
† Agathonikos of Arusha
