Happy Chicken Day and Faly Faly Christmas!

 I am sure you have heard of ‘Happy Turkey Day’, but this year we had a huge feast with a ton of chicken to enjoy!  It was such a blessing to host a large number of our mission family on the island at our house this year.  We had quite a feast & we were all able to reflect on God’s many blessings in our lives.  We definitely missed our family & friends in America, but we cannot help but see how God is so faithful to fulfill the promises from His Word.  In Mark 10:29-30a it says, "Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands.' "

 

 

I can’t believe that Christmas is right around the corner!  And yet, we are wearing shorts, enjoying some hot weather & seeing no Santa Clauses.  I am so thankful that we were able to buy a small fake Christmas tree at our grocery store.  Most places we go even play English Christmas music.  The kids really enjoyed getting to help put up the tree & decorate it this year (even if it does look lopsided).  We hope to make this Christmas a special one since it will be our first in Mada.  We are also looking forward to celebrating it with 2 other mission families that live here in Antsirabe.  We  hope to do some special things together as a family to spread Christmas cheer to the Malagasy.

When I reflect on the first Christmas, I often think of the 3 gifts that the wise men brought to baby Jesus and I ask myself what 3 gifts can I give to Jesus?  Well, the first most important gift I can give Him is myself completely.  Yes, I gave my heart to Him many years ago… but I know that many times my heart is not fully surrendered to Him daily like He desires.  Secondly, the gift that I was given in Jesus Christ I should not keep to myself because frankly, it is not just for me.  It is a gift for all people-- I must proclaim it on the mountaintops!  Lastly, we all, as Christians, eagerly await Christ’s return.  The Bible clearly states that He will not return until all peoples have had the chance to hear about Him.  Won’t you pray about giving to Lottie Moon (http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5725&LanguageID=1709) so that people who have never heard may have the chance to hear about the One that we sing about at Christmas time?  Please pray fervently about what God would have you give to further His Kingdom.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

November Update

 We know that you have been praying for us and we want to say we are so thankful for all of you who partner with us!  This last month has had many joyous times as well as times of struggle.  But we know that God has been with us every step of the way.  Here are the highlights!  

 

Zoey’s 4^th Birthday Party

1. Her favorite Tinker Bell costume, Water balloons, and swimming—what’s not to love? 
2. Fellowship with Malagasy people from Zoey’s school & many basic conversations were understood despite our broken Malagasy!

Fun with balloons @ Zoey's party

Swimming @ Zoey's party!

Trip to Tana

Eli sitting next to a dwarf Baobab

1. There was no room for the kids at the two English schools we looked at; this has led us to home school for the remainder of this school year.
2. We searched for a place to live, but didn’t find one yet.
3. Had a fun time at the Lemur park with the kids!

 

 

Dinner with new friends

1. Shared a meal with a friend of Eli’s from school & his family.
2. They are a family of Indian Mu**ims that have lived her for 5 generations.
3. God has placed them in our lives for a reason.  Please pray for an opportunity to share with the mother Lydia* (*name changed).

Sickness

1. Andy experienced chest pain & shortness of breath and was seen by a local Doctor here in Antsirabe.  He was given some medicine for a sinus/throat infection. 
2. An EKG was also done and after consulting with some doctors back in South Carolina it appears that Andy has pericarditis (an inflammation of the sac around the heart). 
3. Andy is feeling better now, and we are thankful for your prayers!

Allie trying out her new outfit (4 months old)

We can’t thank you enough for your continued love, prayers, & support!  If you are a part of an SBC church, please pray as we get closer to Lottie Moon that you & your family would give what God would have you give to help missionaries all around the world share Jesus with those that have never heard! 

A glimpse of Malagasy life...

In September, I was able to visit a famadihana, or turning of the bones here in Antsirabe.  Every 7 years, usually, the Malagasy people will gather with their extended families and friends and celebrate their ancestors.  The family tombs are opened up and the ancestors’ bodies are removed and then paraded around-either through the streets or just around the area where the tomb is located.  Many times people will take a part of their ancestor to help with a physical problem they are suffering.  For instance, teeth are taken and placed in a person’s mouth if they are missing teeth; a tea is made of remains of the corpse and drunk to help cure various ailments; sometimes bones are carried home for ‘good luck’ or viewed as the ancestor’s blessing.  Loud music and a lot of alcohol are enjoyed by the families during these celebrations.  

As more people are moving to the cities looking for work and younger generations are becoming ‘westernized,’ this tradition is slowly going out of style in Madagascar.  The famadihana that I was able to go to exhibited many of the above characteristics, although thankfully none of the corpse eating/mutilating.  There was a lot of dancing to live music played by a small band.  Then, a witch doctor came to preside over the opening of the tomb and then one of the elder males in the family spoke a prayer to the ancestors they were honoring that day (a total of 6, I believe).  A sad realization swept over me standing there watching, as I realized many of these people would soon be sitting in their local Lutheran, Catholic, or other church the following Sunday morning-and yet here they were praying to dead bodies to help them with their problems!  I am so thankful that Jesus has conquered the grave and that we no longer need to fear death!  

“through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” ^[1]

A song kept coming to mind as the Malagasy were singing and dancing in worship to their ancestors: click here to watch it. 

This is what God has called us to Madagascar to proclaim; 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

          to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

          to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

     ²     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

     ³     to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

          the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit”^[2]

---

^[1]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Heb 2:14-15.

^[2]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Is 61:1-3.

Beginning...again...

Malagasy man that Andy was able to meet

The Lord is developing in us a love for the people here. We appreciate, more & more, who God as made them to be. The Malagasy are usually always smiling, very friendly, polite, ingenuitive, and willing to help.

A story to illustrate:

Saturday night, our upstairs faucet in our tub broke. When Ruth was filling up a bucket with water in order to fill the washing machine, of course) the rusty pipe snapped in two and water was shooting out of the wall! Fortunately, Andy was able to shut the water off pretty quickly. Andy & our night guard (Tolotra) tried to figure out how to shut off the water to just the upstairs, but they  were unable to. Thankfully, we live next door to a plumber! Around 10 pm, Tolotra was standing on the outdoor sink trying to get our neighbor’s attention. Though we had woken up our neighbor, he was very pleasant & helpful. Not only did he help us with our immediate problem that night, but he came back Sunday morning to finish fixing the faucet.

The kids outside their classrooms @ College Francais Jules Verne

This month has been busy with reacclimating to life here in Mada; we started back to language class with a 2 month-old and the ‘big kids’ started French school.  It has also been a challenging month for us as we miss our family & friends back in America.  Each of us (except for Alleluia) has been going through some culture shock at one time or another, adjusting to our new normal here & the stresses involved. But one thing remains the same: our God is always with us, is faithful & gracious to us every step of the way!

1st day of school!

Thank you for your faithful prayers, love & support. Thanks to our SBC partners for giving to Lottie Moon! We could not do what we are doing without your prayers!

We always appreciate hearing from you as well .

Zeke

This is Zeke, our new Great Dane puppy!  We bought him from a local breeder here in Antsirabe.  He is a very sweet & gentle dog, and the kids get along really well with him as well.

We will be putting up some more posts about some of the other things about we have been able to see & experience this past month.

Back Home!

We really enjoyed our time in South Africa getting to visit several different malls, watching two movies in 3D, seeing friends from our training in Zambia (& meeting new friends), even visiting McDonald's on a number of occasions!  We also went to a really cool bird show with a zoo.  We also enjoyed getting to know our supervisors and other wonderful people with our company!  God has really blessed us so much through the IMB & the people we get to work with!  

Zoey with Tim in the bird aviary

However, we were all very excited (& ready) to get back to Mada!  The kids were very happy to get to play with their toys that they left behind and to see Rina (our guard).  We were welcomed home by 4 packages sent from family & friends—what a wonderful blessing that made us feel so loved!  

Playing at 'Jimmy Jungles!'

Ruth, Eli & Zoey spent 2 months in South Africa, so they have only been in Mada for about a month overall—how crazy!  Our time in South Africa was fun & such a blessing; but it also spoiled us since life there is very similar to life in the states with malls, restaurants, movie theaters and huge grocery stores.  Now, our family is adjusting to life with a newborn and living in Madagascar, all over again.  Living life here just takes a lot longer (all the more so with a newborn). 

• Please pray that we will adjust to life here again and be thankful always and for everything (Eph. 5:20)!

Andy started language school again August 14 and Ruth will hopefully be returning next week.  We are excited to be studying Malagasy again, but please keep us in your prayers. 

• Please pray that we will remember what we have learned and be able to start where we left off. 
• Also, please pray that Ruth will be able to get more sleep so that she can have the energy she needs to study the language.  Alleluia will be with Ruth when she starts back: please pray that this will not be too much of a distraction.

Alleluia is such a wonderful gift & blessing to our family!  Eli & Zoey simply adore their baby sister and Andy & I are pretty fond of her too.  We think she looks a lot like her brother, but still has some features just her own.  We are so thankful that she is eating, sleeping, & growing really well!

Eli & Zoey are enjoying the warmer weather, since it is springtime here!  They can’t wait to be able to go swimming or run through a sprinkler (a homemade one that is).  However, they have been really missing our families in the US & their old friends. 
Please pray for God’s comfort for them and for us to know how to be there for them during these times!

 As many of y’all prepare for school to start again, we are preparing for Eli & Zoey to start French school on September 4^th!  We are excited for this opportunity for them to learn French and for them to make some new friends, but Ruth is also a little anxious for this new transition.  Eli (& Zoey to a lesser extent) have been learning some basic French from a kid’s book & Rosetta Stone®, so we hope this helps their transition to be a little smoother! 

• Please pray that God would bless them with understanding teachers, that the language would come easily, and that they would make some great friends! 
• Also please pray that we would not be anxious but that we would trust the Lord & His plan for their lives. 

Be on the look out for a prayer calendar with our different people groups.  Please pray about committing to praying ~20 days each month for our people groups. 

Care Package & Prayers...

Today, we received our first care package from the US!  And we are very thankful to the Klostermans who put it together and shipped it all the way to Antsirabe, Madagascar!!

We have been blessed, as well, by the amazing gifts from one of our fellow missionary families here in Madagascar who have given us TONS of baby stuff!!!  We are so thankful to all of our friends and family for your prayers as we continue to get settled in to life here in Madagascar!  Certainly, comfort items from home help the transition (and-in the case of the shower curtains-help to keep water off the floor!).  As awesome as care packages are, the prayers you lift up are most important.  A passage from Ephesians 6:18-20 struck me today, I share it with you here: 

"With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel...Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should."

1. Please continue to lift us up as Andy will leave Antsirabe Saturday for his flight to South Africa, which departs Antananarivo on Sunday.  
2. Pray for Ruth, who is nearly 39 weeks pregnant, and has been doing an awesome job caring for the kids in South Africa.  
3. Praise God that some awesome friends have helped Ruth to get adjusted in South Africa and have helped her when needed!  
4. Pray for the time of adjustment that will come, especially for Zoey & Eli, once Allie is born.
5. Pray, also, for a mission team from The Mill currently serving in North Africa.  
6. Pray for our partnering churches to be strong in the Word and to continue to grow.  Our church partners are: Anderson Mill Rd Baptist; FBC Simpsonville, FBC Simpsonville-Westside, Roebuck Baptist, and New Prospect Baptist.  

Pictures from our house in Antsirabe!

We have loved getting settled in to our new house here and the kids have loved meeting Rina, our guard who works during the day.  Below are some pictures that just wouldn't fit into our monthly update, but we still wanted to share them with you.  

Eli & Zoey enjoying a "tea party" with homemade tea cups!

Eli playing with his Kite in the backyard

Zoey is trying to get her kite fly like Eli's :)

Homemade Pizza for dinner!

The results of our pizza making!

Even a "dessert pizza!"

Eli helping make cookies

Is this how you wash the car Rina?

fun with the hose!

Eli & Zoey are ready to ride in the Pousse-Pousse

Ruth at 35-1/2 weeks before flying to Johannesburg, SA

Traffic in Antsirabe, on a very light day.  Cars are the minority on the road!

A view of our kitchen here.  

We have been having problems with our mailchimp program we normally use to send out newsletters.  Instead of waiting any longer for resolution, we decided to put this update on the blog!  

We arrived in Mada on April 10th after a long two day journey! The kids slept

on the plane & did really great! Andy was surprised when he was handed the car keys at  the airport & asked to drive to our hotel in Tana!  He did so well (especially for not driving stick shift for the last ten years)! Ruth was very grateful that she didn’t have to driveJ.

Our first view of Madagascar from the plane!

We spent 3-4 days in a nice hotel to get acquainted with our hometown

after language study.  We were also able to get to know our supervisor & logistics coordinators & their families during our time in Tana. We are so blessed to be working with such awesome people!

Then we drove to Antsirabe (3 ½ hours from Tana) where we got to see our new

home for the next 8 months or so. The kids immediately befriended our Malagasy guard

since they are often outside playing while he works. We were all excited to have a place to call home & to be able to get settled in alittle bit before we left for Zambia.

Our first 12 days in Zambia, we stayed at the Baptist Seminary in Lusaka (the capital city), where our family shared a dorm room. Five days a week, we went on Daily Field Assignments (DFAs) where two people were paired with a Zambian helper (translator/guide). These assignments were to help us to learn African culture better &

be systematic in our approach to ministry.

Zambian village near Petauke

Our next 12 days was spent 6 hours away in a camp outside of Petauke (a small town) where we slept in tents. Each day we had to pump our own bath water & heat it on the fire & then we could take an outdoor bucket showerJ.  Andy & I were paired together for DFAs this time and God blessed us with many opportunities to share our testimonies, Bible stories, pray with people & ultimately share the gospel.  We saw 8 adults come to faith in Christ Jesus!

The Phiri family

            Then our family spent a weekend (3 days & 3 nights) in the home of a Zambian family.  Our family was wealthier than most families with a 3 bedroom home, western toilet (minus the top seat), TV & computer.  We all stayed in one bedroom with a full bed & bunk bed.  Over the weekend, we must have had 25-30 visitors come to the house since the cousin of the family (who lives in the same house) was getting married Saturday morning.  We were able to attend the cousin’s reception which was quite a cultural experience!  For lunch & dinner, we ate n’shema (which is a dense white food made from corn), rep (a type of greens with onion & tomato), usually a little bit of meat (either goat or chicken), & sauce.  For breakfast, we were given bread with our choice of butter or jam.

            Our final 3 days in Zambia were spent at a resort with real showers, full western toilets, a nice pool, & wonderful food!!!  Here we were given the chance to tie everything together that we learned the previous 3-4 weeks.  During our time in Zambia we learned so much about what our ministry should look like & how to avoid certain pitfalls once we start our work in Madagascar! 

Thank you so much for praying for us as we learn the Malagasy language!  We will send out another update soon about our time since we arrived back in Madagascar in late May.  

Please be in Prayer over the next couple weeks for:

• Praises:
• for the people in Zambia who now follow Jesus Christ
• getting settled into our new home in Antsirabe, Madagasacar.
• Requests:
• Growth for the new believers in Zambia, and that they would find a strong church home where they can be discipled, and that they would have access to a Bible in their heart language.  
• Ruth, Eli & Zoey will fly to Johannesburg, South Africa for the beginning of Ruth's maternity leave on June 17th.  Andy will join them on July 8th when his paternity leave starts.
• for Eli & Zoey as they adjust to having a nanny while we study Malagasy, going to South Africa, & having a baby sister arrive.