Lilian Nyirenda joined the team at the Women Training Center in Mzuzu in February. In her new role, she coordinates income-generating measures for women, among other things. This week, she organized a first meeting with five participants to launch a new horticultural project. The focus is on growing and processing tomatoes. The aim of the project is to create a long-term source of income for the women involved. Other interested women have already signaled their participation. Infrastructural challenges are also being addressed: As the current water supply is not sufficient, the existing borehole is currently being deepened by three meters. This should provide sufficient water for agricultural operations in the future. The project is a further step in the expansion of practical training and income opportunities for women in the region.

With great care and attention to detail, the trainees at the AWTC training center in Malawi produce stylish book covers for notebooks - each piece is unique. The hand-sewn covers are not only a beautiful accessory, but also part of an income-generating measure that contributes to the financial independence of the young women. A book cover - together with a matching notebook and a lovingly designed postcard - can be purchased for a donation of around 8 euros (including postage). The covers will also be available at the Herrnhuter Miisonshilfe stand at the Kirchentag. By purchasing them, you are not only supporting creative education, but also promoting education, independence and sustainable development on the ground. If you are interested, please send a message to: markus.kuhn@ebu.de

On April 13, 2025, the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church in North America (BWM) signed a partnership agreement with the Unity Province of Zambia, officially making it one of its global partners. In her opening remarks, BWM Director of Mission Engagement, Dr. Amy Gohdes-Luhman, explained that covenant relationships are entered into to show how people from very different backgrounds can be held together in unity by God. For his part, Pastor John Sichilima, Chairman of the Moravian Church in Zambia, emphasized the significance of the agreement: “Today is a day of rejoicing for the entire Moravian Church in Zambia. Our covenant will inspire the people of Zambia and the individual Moravian Churches to greater works of faith, proclamation of the Good News and development.” The signing of the partnership agreement took place via Zoom. Four pictures here.

Pastor Ulrich Epperlein from Baden, who worked for Herrnhuter Missionshilfe in Central America for several years and also spent most of his professional life working for various NGOs in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua, sends his greetings for Easter 2025 together with his wife Olga Susanna, a Miskita. He does so from the village of Potrerillos, high above the small town of Siguatepeque in the central Honduran department of Comayagua. The couple have found a second home here for both family and political reasons, after spending the first eight years of Ulrich's retirement mostly in Musawas on the Rio Waspuk in Nicaragua, supporting the Moravian Church in the country in many ways. The rustic house (55 square meters of living space), which was previously owned by Olga Susanna's brother, is dilapidated and lacks comfort, so it needs to be repaired and modernized. The one-hectare property is idyllically situated in the mountains in the middle of the forest and offers good conditions for a garden economy for self-sufficiency.

In the days before and after Palm Sunday 2025, the school community at the Christian David School near Barkava in Latvia received a visit from eight young people from Sweden who belong to the organization YWAM (Youth with a Mission). In a photo report on April 16, 2025, it said: “The committed young people witnessed, played with us and just hung out with us. During a bibliodrama day, we acted out several Bible stories: e.g. the Good Samaritan's walk with the donkey and the sacrifice; Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus and David's battle against Goliath. A match of floorball in the small school gym ended in a 6:6 draw. As we grouped up for the farewell photo, we were moved to realize that we had become very close in a short space of time.” Click here. for the group photo with the eight guests. Please click left and right to view more photos.

On April 17, 2025, the Moravian Church in Cuba sent the following current prayer requests to its partners in North America. On April 17, 2025, the Moravian Church in Cuba sent the following current prayer requests to its partners in North America: “Please pray a) for the legal transfer of the property of the Moravian Church of Guantánamo to the national land registry; b) for the construction of a church of the congregation of Arroyo Hondo on an already existing piece of land; c) for the purchase of tanks to put drinking water filtration systems into operation; d) for the church leaders in Guantánamo, who will soon begin their studies; e) for the members of the Moravian Church in Cuba and also abroad - for their families, their jobs, their training and their projects; f) for all our sick; g) to ensure that there is a pastor and a leader in every parish district; h) for the construction of a church in Arroyo Hondo. for peace; i) for the purchase of a property in Old Havana, as the congregation there currently has no meeting room; j) for the unity of our church; k) for a ministry car.” Some more prayer requests in English here.

Moravian University in Bethlehem/PA recently announced the founding of the Institute for Moravian World Heritage and History. The aim is to emphasize the global significance of Moravian heritage. The institute aims to promote knowledge about the history and culture of the Moravian Church through in-depth scientific research, educational work and public relations. It will collaborate with other organizations that preserve, protect and interpret Moravian Church buildings, documents, artwork, musical instruments and other artifacts. The Institute will focus on scholarly work on the Moravian Church's World Heritage, including support for the local Bethlehem World Heritage Site. The establishment of the Institute follows the inscription of the Moravian Church settlements in Bethlehem (USA), Herrnhut (D) and Gracehill (Northern Ireland/GB) on the World Heritage List in July 2024. More here.

On Friday, April 4, 2025, an orientation workshop for 9th grade students and their parents was held at the Moravian Institute in Rajpur near Dehradun in northern India. The aim of the half-day workshop was to familiarize young and old with the regulations of the Moravian Institute with regard to the new CISCE-guidelines (Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations). As the Moravian Institute now also offers Robotics and Artificial Intelligence as subjects (possible for the first time under the CISCE guidelines ), the workshop also focused on helping students and parents make the best choice of examination subjects so that young people can have the best possible career after school. Some pictures from the workshop here. The Moravian Institute also produced a short video in April 2025 which provides a stunning bird's eye view of the facility. See here.

From the Bishop's Desk, April 2025 Edition, is the title of a reflection by Bishop Brinmore Phaul from Queenstown in the Unity Province of Guyana. The bishop begins by emphasizing that we humans are constantly faced with the choice between good and evil. He then continues: “If we want to live as the people of God, then it is essential that we seek and do what is good, so that love, joy, peace and fulfillment may enter our lives. In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul notes a certain similarity with regard to this choice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ when he says: 'Just as through one man (Adam) came death, so also through one man (Christ) came the resurrection of the dead. As through Adam all die, so through Christ all will be made alive' (1 Cor. 15:22). We should be constantly grateful to God for his gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The entire bishop's statement here.

Pietism, Mission and Power - Halle WITH and AGAINST Herrnhut and Pietism, Travel and World Perception - Local, Regional, Transcontinental, are the titles of two articles with relevance for the Herrnhut Mission, which can be found in a 296-page anthology (in German, English and Latvian), which will be presented on April 14, 2025 in the Latvian National Library (LNB) in Riga. Press release on this date in German here. At the presentation, there will be lectures and a discussion on the significance of Pietism and the Moravian Church in the cultural history and book art of Estonia and Latvia. The anthology, which costs 21 euros and was published as the 13th volume of the “Scientific Works of the LNB”, has been oversubscribed: Pietism in Baltic History-New Questions and Case Studies (17th to 20th Century). The editor of the anthology is Beata Paškevica, a specialist in Herrnhut literature in the LNB.