November 8, 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters of our family in Jesus Christ,

We send our greetings to you once again from Equatorial Guinea, a small Spanish-speaking country in west Africa. We wish deeply in our hearts that our everlasting God be with you and take care of you and those beloved ones who surround you every day.

It is Monday morning and I (Andres) have begun to prepare my sermon for next Sunday’s worship, which celebrates the anniversary of the Protestant reformation. My heart aches with pride and sadness when I relate the history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Equatorial Guinea. One-hundred and forty-years ago our pioneer missionaries founded a church in Bolondo, a coastal area of Equatorial Guinea. They endured the risks of yellow fever and malaria, the hardship of this tropical jungle, and the opposition and persecution of the Roman Catholic Church. Years later, that station became the most important mission spot on the west coast of Africa. Such wonderful memories! It’s an honor and a privilege to walk on the same sands where those brave Christians left their footprints almost one and a half centuries ago. Today, what was once a hive of mission activity is quiet. What once must have been a community full of life today is reduced to a few rusty beams almost totally swallowed up by the jungle. Nearby are the gravestones of those who gave their lives for Christ.

We are here on your behalf as ambassadors of God. Side by side with our brothers and sisters in Christ of this part of the world we have the unpostponable task of keeping alive the good work entrusted to the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. From the tombs of those beloved missionaries buried at Bolondo mission station comes a cry asking us to do our best to bring back Bolondo as a living symbol of Christ’s presence there.

Please join us in prayer to rebuild and encourage this small part of the Body of Christ. Through our ministry at Resurrection Presbyterian High School and two elementary schools, we reach out to 1,890 boys. They need your support in order to finish the school facility that the Presbyterian Church of Equatorial Guinea has started to build. This school building will help teachers, students, pastors and members of the church to achieve the dream of getting a high quality education for children of the church. These schools play a strategic role for the Protestant churches in this country. Since Equatorial Guinea is a Roman Catholic state (like most of Latin America, it was once a colony of Spain), it is difficult for Protestant children to get a place at the Catholic schools. But the most difficult thing for Protestants is the very conservative Catholicism, which still endorses the idea that Protestants are reluctant believers excluded from the Holy Catholic Church and, therefore, they most be baptized again in order to be included in the church as children of God. Thus, Protestants look at the Presbyterians schools as the only choice they have for the education—secular and religious—of their children.

Pray for us and our partners in mission in Equatorial Guinea. The Presbyterian Synod will hold its annual meeting from January 12 to 16, 2005. Crucial church business will be discussed and important decisions have to be taken. Join us in prayer for the unity of the pastoral leadership and for endurance throughout this decisive year of shrinking church budgets.

Truly yours in Christ,

Andres and Gloria