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Greetings from Cluj this most blessed and beautiful of days.
The previous email that I sent out was from Nairobi, in Kenya. We were preparing to go on to Bukoba, Tanzania. I hope that you enjoy the pictures about our work there, and the comments below each picture.
At the invitation of Metropolitan Jeronymos of Mwanza, long term OCMC missionary in Bukoba, Felice Stewart, (left), Fr. Andrew Harrison (OCA), and I were in Bukoba, Tanzania, and gave a short course to the local parish priest's on how to help people in people in the parishes who have problems with alcoholism or drug addiction. On the far right is Maria Roeber, long term OCMC missionary. She is in Bukoba helping the archdiocese to establish a medical clinic. She is doing a very nice and much needed project.
I must admit that it was a learning experience for me as well. The stories of how alcoholism affects the parishes in the villages is tragic. They already knew that HIV, spouse abuse, and much of the extreme poverty of the area was related to the high use of home made alcohol (mostly made from banana's) and local drugs like "khat", which is something like a cross between cocaine and coffee.
The were one of the nicest groups of priest's that I have worked with. And very interested, wanting to have the information and to learn how to help their people.
A 12 Step support group in a village started by the parish priest and Felice Stewart. This is one of two groups she has started, and we hope to help develop these groups in more parishes as we go along.
All in all, the training was a great success, and I was invited back to help Felice to continue the work. Felice and I are busy sorting out how we will continue. For now I will send her materials on addictions that can be translated into Swahili, which will be distributed to the priests for use in the parish. It is very much like what we are doing in Romania.
I will close for now by wishing you a most blessed and Christ filled day. May our good and loving Lord give you every good thing from His heavenly treasures, joy, peace and a sense of his divine love for all of us.
And I do thank you for your interest in our work, please do keep us in your prayers, we all need them.
In His Love,
One Day at a Time,
Floyd & Ancuta Frantz, OCMC Missionaries to Romania
As as a final note, please remember that as OCMC missionaries we are 100 % reliant upon your financial support to continue our work through OCMC. Please consider a small gift so that we can continue to do our Lord's work.
If you can make such a donation, send it to:
OCMC
220 Mason Manatee Way
St. Augustine, Fl. 32086
and please mark the donation "STDIMITRIE/ROMANIA so that we can use the funds directly for the St. Dimitrie Program.
Online and credit card donations are also possible by contacting OCMC, or visiting the web site at www.ocmc.org.
And please feel free to pass along our email to others who you believe might be interested in our work here in Romania.
If you would like to contact us through email, please use: Stdimitrie@yahoo.com for myself and the St. Dimitrie Program, or Ancutafrantz@yahoo.com for Anca and the Protection Center.
I am also shedding my dinosaur skin, and Twittering. If you too do Twit, just hit the link and it will put you over to my page.
Please also go to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center web site at www.ocmc.org to read online about our missionary activities here in Romania.
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