A Votive School: The Vision of the Late Nikiforos

Dear brothers in Christ and co-workers in the work of the Lord,

Christ is risen!

With deep emotion and great joy, we communicate with you from Kinshasa, as the continuer of a vision sealed with sacrifice and love.

We all remember the late Metropolitan Nikiforos. He desired to see the children of Africa with a notebook and pencil inside a well-built school.

Education in Africa is a window open to the sun; and for the goals of our Mission, we would say: Education in Africa is a window open to the Sun of Righteousness!

The school is therefore dedicated to the late Metropolitan of Kinshasa, Nikiforos!

Thanks to your kind and generous sponsorship, which springs from your love for Christ and your neighbor, the foundation stone laying ceremony of the school complex took place in Kenge, where the Orthodox Church of Saint Gerasimos the Hymnographer already stands.

We express our warm thanks for the unwavering support of the Fraternity, as well as for the offerings of its members. Your contribution constitutes a greatest benefit for our Mission and will remain indelible in the hearts of our faithful.

SCHOOL: METROPOLITAN NIKIFOROS OF KINSHASA!

This project is not merely a building, but a living continuation of the contribution and sacrificial love of the ever-memorable Metropolitan.

His soul rejoices. Not because his name was given—he was a humble bishop. His soul rejoices because the little children who surrounded him during his tours will have their own school! He prays and blesses from above!

This event is a joy for everyone.

We are not just building walls; we are building the future that he dreamed of and entrusted to us. We have laid strong foundations. With God’s help and your support, we will proceed from the foundation to the living school.

By building a school here in Kinshasa, we are building a refuge, giving flesh and bones to the hope of the parishioners and especially the children. We are building a spiritual lighthouse for the region, where children will learn to write the Name of Christ and their own. God, the Knower of hearts, will write the names of the benefactors in the “Book of Life”! Any offering is an investment in eternity!

The Mission begins every work with faith and enthusiasm and proceeds with constant sacrifice. With the meager means of our friends and partners, and with the abundance in some cases, love builds churches and schools, and gives joy to souls that wait.

In the Mission, my brothers, we build with two kinds of materials: On one hand are the materials of the earth (cement, bricks, iron, stones), necessary to keep the building standing when the African rain-storm descends and the rivers come to fall upon it. On the other hand are the materials of heaven: Your love, your offering, your prayer. It is these latter that give value to the former!

We build with materials, but we edify with love. Every offering becomes a step upon which the African child will tread to reach their future.

We wait with Faith for the miracle to be completed. The miracle that began in the heart of the late Nikiforos passes through your heart to end up in the innocent little hearts of the children of Africa.

Theodosios of Kinshasa