Jean and Pauline Bouchayer (FR)
Iraq,
Erbil
Our local partner, Archbishop Petros Moshe, is part of one of the 24 Churches of the East related to Rome: the Syriac Catholic church.
The Saint Irénée Primary School, where we work, has 12 grades and is located right outside the city. It is part of Archbishop Moshe’s compound, right beside a brand new church: Sultanat Salam, Our Lady of Peace. This estate was initially intended to be a seminary but with the bishop’s flight from the Nineveh Plain, he decided to settle here.
We both teach French to 7 classes, 3 days a week. Jean’s pupils are 9 to 11 years old and Pauline’s pupils are 6 to 8 years old. Our “light” teaching schedule gives us time for other nearby missions yet to be built. School started on September 18th. We have chosen to be seekers of Hope. Our goal is to have a new and amazed perspective on what surrounds us in order to share it with our Iraqi brothers who can no longer see what is beautiful but also those who are in France and elsewhere who are sensitive to this cause. The night is never completely dark!