Thursday, August 16, 2012

Greetings!  The Madagascar Team would like to share the following prayer requests with you; we'd be honored to receive your support as we prepare to embark next month.  Please be in prayer for the following:
  • That God would work in and through the Southbridge team members and the IMB missionaries in amazing ways;
  • That the travel and activities would go smoothly and be effective;
  • Good health and safety for team members and their families;
  • A strong group of prayer partners and financial supporters;
  • New disciples among the Mahafaly people, and
  • Rain for southwestern Madagascar and relief from the shortage of water and food.
 Thank you again for your continued support!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Last Night in Tulear...

It is close to midnight here in Madagascar on Wednesday night. We start our journey back home tomorrow morning. The time has gone quick, yet it feels like we have been here awhile. What the Wallers are doing here is remarkable and we each have grown close to them in different ways. They have been great hosts and have done enough translating for a life time. We are leaving, but their steadfast work will go on. They love the Mahafaly and the city of Tulear. Praise God they were willing to obey God's voice and come to a place where few have traveled to share the gospel. So many people have contributed to this trip from planning and organizing to supporting and praying. We hope God is worshiped by our heart's desire to serve Him and bring Christ to this place and demonstrate his love in word and deed. We will have a few more posts so stay tuned. Pictures take extra long to upload but they are coming!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Bush

Half our team got back from the bush yesterday. We are tired but excited about how much was accomplished. We visited three villages in four days. We drove to the villages in the morning and Grant gave an introduction for us. Steffi and and Kelly gave their discussion on health related topics such as hygiene, dehydration and nutrition. These talks took place under the village meeting tree which was a special experience for us. In the afternoon, we split into men and women and Jaime talked about family values as we continued to gather thoughts about their way of life. Cara (a fellow worker with the Wallers) discussed with the women a Bible story and we continued to collect feedback from them. The ladies then went "hut to hut" (house to house) to answer personal questions and and further give them information on health and wellness. While the ladies from our team met with the women, the guys met with the men of the village to discuss farming practices and exchange ideas. Their main crops are cassava, corn and black-eyed peas. They showed us how they set snares for wild boar and we taught them how to use cow manure and termite mounds to fertilize the soil. The ladies on Thursday night had the opportunity to pray with a woman in her seventies to receive Christ. Her husband had died, she had no children and she was very poor. She was very sincere about her decision and affirmed her willingness to obey Christ. Praise God for such a beautiful demonstration of his power. We will post pictures very soon. Thanks for praying. Today and tomorrow we will be speaking at the university and sharing the gospel in small groups. Check back soon for updates and more prayer requests.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Be Encouraged

Romans 1:11-12 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

Our youth ministry team shared this verse with the Malagasy youth on our first day with them Wednesday morning. It was our goal to strengthen them with the gifts God has given us, but we also wanted to be strengthened by their faith and the gifts God had given them. It did not take long for us to be mutually encouraged. They love meeting together, singing beautiful Malagasy songs to God, and find joy in the activities we did together. One person from our team shares their testimony in the morning session and one of the youth shares their testimony in the afternoon session. It  has been encouraging to hear how God has changed their lives through a relationship with Jesus. We learned that an older man who has been sitting in on our sessions is a Wycliffe Bible translator for his tribal people in Madagascar. He is studying God's Word so that he can accurately translate it into his people's tongue. It is encouraging to see this work in progress!

We have been teaching through the gospel narrative during our sessions and in the afternoon we do a follow up to answer questions. Day one was Creation; Day two was the fall; Today was Redemption; Tomorrow is Restoration.  Today, we discussed the death and resurrection of Christ and in our follow up groups we asked the students if they had put their faith in Christ's work for us. One particular young man was not able to answer this question for himself and has asked us many good questions. Tonight, he walked with us back to the Waller's house still probing and before he left, he emphatically announced, "Jesus is my God!" We hope to follow up with him tomorrow to understand his reason in exclaiming this. We are encouraged that the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts of the youth.

We have had limited contact with our team in the bush, but they also have shared with us ways they have been making progress and seeing fruit from their preparation and labor. We will let them fully explain their experiences when they get back Saturday night. Until then keep praying for them as well as the last day of our youth outreach. Also pray for our physical health as many of us are struggling from different kinds of ailments.

Acts 11:23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 

May this be our focus as we continue to support the Wallers. Thanks for checking back!






Tuesday, September 20, 2011

What are We Thinking?

Not one of us has questioned coming to Madagascar to assist the Wallers in reaching the Mahafaly for Christ. Actually, God has confirmed to many of us the reasons that he has us here. We have experienced a range of emotions and at times when we share with one another, we do not have the words to say. We are overwhelmed, humbled, learning, admiring, loving and praying.

Continue to pray for the next week as the Brileys, Richerts, and Jaime go to the bush with Grant and some other workers to assess medical and agricultural needs. It is a five hour drive from where we are at to very primitive tribes. Pray for Bill, Jackie, Riley and JD as we assist Tessa and Jody with a youth discipleship program for believers and possible visitors from the Tulear community.  We start Wednesday morning.

We will leave you with a few thoughts from us.

"The children have nothing to play with, yet their smiles tell me they never stopped playing."    - Steffi

"Despite the living standards compared to the USA, I am somewhat envious of the contentment and simple happiness of their lives."    -  Bill

"I have visited many third-world countries, but the poverty here is overwhelming. I fear despair and hopelessness could soon set in."  - Jaime

"I am realizing how much responsibility God has entrusted to us not only with material blessings but with the responsibility of sharing his Word."    - Michael

"A lady in the market made us feel welcome by telling us a story about a white-man who was eaten by a shark at the beach."   - Andrew

"Even though I am in a foreign culture half the world away, I recognize the God-given commonality we share - image bearers of God. We are not very different after all."  -  Kelly

"The Malagasy people are very resourceful and creative as nothing goes to waste. The young boys make their own soccer ball out of plastic bags and string."  - Jackie

"Despite the inability to speak Malagasy, we have communicated with the people through laughter and smiles."   - JD

"All the kids started chasing me down the street laughing and yelling "vazaha, vazaha" after I switched spots with my rikshaw driver and started running down the street. It means foreigner, foreigner!  - Riley

Fe Luma (Good Bye)








Sunday, September 18, 2011

We Made It!

3 Legs done and one to go. We are in the capital city, Antananarivo, for one night and we leave for Tulear early in the morning.  We are all in good health and we received all our luggage. It is 72 degrees out with a 10 mph wind. No complaints from us. Thanks so much for your prayers. Enjoy the pictures!