"It is in the staying that we show our true devotion..."

Sorry it has been so long since our last update!  This is a long update, by necessity, but we want to share with you what God has been teaching us and how He has been working in us these past months.  As always, we thank you for your prayers as we continue on the journey God has called us to!

What if what seems good or easy to everyone else is actually quite the opposite for you? Why is it so easy to complain but so challenging to rejoice always? Life is hard and a life lived set apart for Jesus is even harder. It is much easier to go with the flow and blend in with the masses than it is to look different, live different and love differently than the world.

Over 3 years ago,  we moved our family to Madagascar to be missionaries. We were so admired & praised for that decision because it somehow showed our "true devotion" to Christ. I agree that it showed courage & devotion, but I have come to realize that it is not enough to go; but it is in the staying that we show our true devotion. For us it is twofold, please allow me to explain.

For us to go to Madagascar it was not easy, per se, but it was what God had been preparing us to do for years (14 years for me & 16 years for Andy). It was with excitement (and a little bit of apprehension) that we went to fulfill our call to the unreached peoples of Madagascar. But our success was not to be measured by going but by our staying. I don't mean in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense. We had to battle the enemy daily to stay in God's word & keep our eyes trained on Him; to surrender our agendas, our offenses, our discomforts and our grievances so that He would receive the glory. Sometimes we did well, but other times we did not. It was the times that we remained in Him that we had success--even more important--when He received the most glory.

Perhaps, to some it must have seemed easy & good for us to come "home." But in fact, it has been harder than initially going to Madagascar. Certainly, we have been very blessed by our time with family & friends but we also feel like wanderers, much like Abraham did when he was a sojourner in the land God promised his descendants.  The Israelites also were exiled to a strange land in Babylon; but for us this land is supposed to be our home, it's supposed to be familiar.  

We have often thought: How should I act? How should I feel? What do people expect of me? How do I find God in the midst of this busy, chaotic culture?  Despite what people may think we didn't (and truly, don't) want to be here. But we are slowly learning to be content in Him.

Shame on me for thinking that life was easy here in the U.S.! Of course, the vast majority of people are not fighting for survival each & every day; we have access to clean water, food to eat (often, too much), a "very nice" shelter, & clothes to wear (often, too many). No.  We are not physically fighting for survival, as many do in other parts of the world (including Madagascar), but we are fighting mentally & emotionally. Can I tell you that I have never felt so tempted, confused, overwhelmed & oppressed by the enemy than I do right here in my home culture?

The enemy has a huge foothold in our culture, dare I say in our church (materialism, anyone?) that has us completely worn out. This makes us too exhausted to even be able to hear God or know His will in order to obey Him.

Shortly after we returned to the states, I (Ruth) nearly had a panic attack in Target because I could not find the shampoo!  I was lost in the endless supply of body wash for men. Yes, there is a whole aisle full of just men's body wash!  It left me dazed & confused, wondering 'when did men stop using soap?!' And after a desperate call to Andy for help, I found myself lost again in the right aisle, only now with 100 choices of shampoo. I thought to myself "Just give me two or three choices, please."

We (as Americans) are constantly being overloaded with too many choices & with too much information that leaves us never satisfied with what we have.  This makes us arrogant that we know everything or fearful of the future. And if that isn't enough, our culture tells us that we must have our children in at least 2 extracurricular activities if we don't want to deprive them of a 'proper' upbringing. None of this is verbalized exactly, but it is pushed constantly by our schools & media. We Americans are constantly bombarded with so many distractions it is hard to focus on what is most important. For us, it was living a simpler life in Madagascar that helped us to see & think more clearly about the things that are eternal. (See Colossians 3:1-2) However, upon our return we have found ourselves worn out daily from fighting these temptations and redirecting ourselves (and our kids!) from the endless distractions, all while relearning how to live in this culture.

Being in all this chaos, we had to relearn that it is not about us; it never was & never will be. So, even though our dear friends meant well in praising us & putting us up on a pedestal--it is a much easier transition to go up than to come down. We have been humbled in coming back here, & now we are learning to be thankful again, even in this American culture.  

I remember saying to God, "But, you need us in Madagascar!"  He very clearly told me,  "I don't need you...you need me!!" Oh, how we have been learning every single day how much we need God!!

We are relearning the basics, how to listen to God & know His will specifically in this culture.  It has not been easy for us but we are struggling & striving everyday. We are fighting the enemy daily to find contentment in God alone, because we know that He has us here for a reason & He wants us to stay firm in Him and not be overcome by this world.

So, I have come to find that true devotion is shown through our willingness to surrender to God's lordship daily. It is not, predominantly, in the big decisions or extravagant displays of devotion but in the every day surrender to Him.  Choosing to rejoice and to not complain about life's many disappointments.  Choosing to laugh when you want to scream, cry, or throw a tantrum (not kidding, I have thought about it!) because life is not what you had hoped for.  But I am so glad it is not about what we hope for but the One who gives us hope!  The harder life gets here on earth, the more I long for heaven and I suppose that is what He wants: for us to long for Him & our forever home!

Here is a prayer that I began praying when God first called me to be a missionary when I was seventeen. I first learned of it after I played a role in a play about Betty Stam, a missionary who gave her life in China. I have thought of it often over the years but not prayed it a lot with sincerity until being reminded of it again in the last few weeks. This was Betty Stam's prayer for her life and I want this so much for my life & my family's life too:

"Lord, I give up my own purposes and plans,
all my own desires, hopes and ambitions (whether they be fleshly or soulish), and accept Thy will for my life, I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all of my friendships, my love. All the people whom I love are to take second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. 'To me to live is Christ and to die is gain.' "(Phil. 1:21)

Honestly, it scares me a little to pray this prayer because I am afraid that God will not send us back overseas and we will be 'stuck' in this culture to raise our kids. You see, I have longed for my kids to grow up overseas in order to have a worldview that is bigger than America can provide, and to truly understand what is most important in life.  But I am even more afraid to live outside of His will and thereby waste our lives that are meant to live wherever He would plant us. 

That said, we have recently become homeowners again in the states and have resigned from the IMB. Andy has been getting allergy shots for his allergies since late September of last year and he has not responded well to them. The allergist is uncertain how much of an impact these shots will have.  So we pray often that God would heal him. Truthfully, we have been waiting for God to write His will on the wall regarding our future in missions... but for now He has chosen to answer us in more subtle ways. After some wrestling with Him, we realized that he has been showing us that He wants us to stay here in the states for a more extended time than we would like.  God has given us peace in many ways, most especially when God led Andy to these verses in Jeremiah 29:4-5; 7.

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 'Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce....But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.' "

Of course, we still hope that God chooses to send us overseas again but for now we are striving to be content to be used as His vessels here in Spartanburg. After all, we are just clay.

2 Corinthians 4:7-8, 10-12

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair... always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you."

So the more we die to our flesh, the more He is able to live in us & be glorified, ultimately that others may know Him and have true life. My (our) discomfort in exchange for His eternal glory revealed- yeah it is worth it (2 Cor. 4:17)!!!


Ruth Mahoney

What's up now?

Wow, it has been a whirlwind!!!  We have been back in the states for a month now and we are starting to get our feet under us and settle into a mission house in Boiling Springs, South Carolina (Spartanburg/Greenville area).  We were very blessed to spend a few weeks with family in Ohio.  It was so fun to reunite the cousins and meet our three new nephew/nieces that my sister, Rebekah, and her husband, James adopted this past December and of course our kids had much needed time with grandparents.  The time went quickly, but we were so thankful to finally see everyone and give lots of hugs!
We had a great group of friends who made us feel very welcome when we got back to Spartanburg.  They had stocked our pantry, fridge & freezer with all the necessities (and then some), left gifts on everyone's beds, put up a welcome back banner, registered the girls in school and bought the kid's school supplies.  What a HUGE blessing!!!!!!  We could not have been ready for school or transitioned very well without all their help-- thank you again to all who were a part of that!
We definitely have experienced a good bit of reverse culture shock as we adjust back to life here in the states.  Many things have changed in 2 & a half years and sometimes I (Ruth) miss the simpler life of Madagascar.  We are also adjusting to the faster pace of life here and trying to figure out how we can slow things down a bit so that we can have time to process our time in Madagascar and what God has for us right now.
God has blessed us with two nice used vehicles to accommodate our family's needs.  Andy is in the process of looking for a job at a local physician's office.  We have had a lot of decisions to make and quite a few more important ones in the near future.  Andy's allergies are only marginally better here, but he will be seeing an allergist a week from now.  Hopefully, we will have a better idea of his treatment and how long it will last after this appointment.  We have health concerns with our parents as well that weigh heavy on our hearts at this time.
All the kids have started school and are doing well.  Eli started 2nd grade at Anderson Mill Road Elementary School which is a great public school here in this area.  After his first day of school, he told his daddy that his favorite part of school was everything!  Zoey started Kindergarten at our church which has a great program and she has a wonderful teacher as well.  She loves school and being with her buddy, Bailey (a friend that she has caught up with very quickly) and she already has some boys who like her (how can this happen?-- she is only 5 years old!).  Alleluia started 2K three days a week at our church's preschool.  Though she had a bit of a rough start getting used to being dropped off, she now loves it and especially loves her teacher Ms. Ra Ra (Paula).
Our favorite part of moving back here is of course seeing our family (in Ohio) & catching up with church family and all our friends here in Spartanburg.  Please if you see us at church or around town say hello, we love seeing familiar faces everywhere.  You may not know what to say, but we aren't always sure where to start either, but we are always glad to see faces we know!!
Thanks again for your faithfulness to pray for our family!

Lasting Things

It is a strange feeling to be selling all of our things once again to move across the ocean for an uncertain amount of time.  There is a feeling of relief along with sadness in seeing them go because we become accustomed or sometimes attached to our things.  But I know that the sadness is short-lived when we move back to the land of over abundance and we will have opportunity to slowly buy back many similar things that we had before.  But then I ask myself:  To what end will we buy these things?  Will we buy them simply to satisfy a craving, to keep up with the Jones or to merely have them to collect dust because we know one day soon we will need said thing? 

Over the past several years, I have noticed that things collect similarly to dust.  You don’t realize how much is there until you try to organize the things or clean away the dust.  But I don’t want to be a collector of things (or dust for that matter which is attracted to all my things).  The more things I have the more time it takes for me to take care of the things or to be concerned that something might happen to that [important] thing. 

It is SO easy (for me) to become consumed with having nice things, maintaining those things and saving for the next best thing that I forget that Jesus wasn’t concerned with things at all.  His only concern was to do the will of His Father and His Father’s will was for Him to invest his time in people.  In fact, Jesus asked His disciples to go with very little on them; perhaps, it was because He knew there is a certain burden in having too many things. 

So the next logical question is: how do I have a more simplistic life with fewer things?  I am not really sure but maybe first, I need to redefine what an actual need is versus what a want is.   This does not mean that I can never satisfy my wants, but when I define them as wants I must realize that they are a luxury (a plus) and therefore they are not required for sustaining my life (our lives).  Naturally, I think that would lead me to more prayerfully consider my want purchases.

Don’t get me wrong I know that we all need certain things to live…but after living in one of the poorest countries of the world for 2+ years, it is obvious that many things are a luxury and/or comfort item to satisfy our own desires.  I just don’t want to waste my life/time on having all the nice things and maintaining them so that they last…instead of investing in the only thing that lasts forever His word and human souls. 

P.S.  To be honest, I think this is all surfacing now because I am nervous about coming back to the land of excess.  I am afraid I will not have self-control to resist buying WAY too many things at Target (for example) or wanting to buy every toy that my kids ask for at the store.  I have by no means mastered living the simple life, but I want it more than ever because of what God has been teaching me and what I have seen living overseas. 

Pass the tissues, please.

I really wish that we could sit down with everyone who has been our prayer warriors, encouragers, package/letter senders, mission team members and have a heart-to-heart conversation with you about what God is doing in our lives. 

First, we would tell each of you how incredibly blessed and deeply touched we are by your love shown to our family.  We cannot say this enough!  We are completely overwhelmed by your faithfulness, by His faithfulness!

Then I would pull out a package of tissues, or a big roll of toilet paper (because we always have it handy for noses or bottoms—but in this case for my nose), and tell you that I am not sure how to begin and I don’t know where this story will end. 

A little over 2 years ago God brought our family of 4 (with one in the oven) to an island that no one had heard of except those that were sure we were coming to see Alex, Marty, and the lemurs and to make the next Madagascar movie.  From the time we got here until now, God was, and is, hard at work refining us into what He wants us to be.  We have had joys, but we have had even more challenges. 

As most of you know Andy has struggled constantly with his allergies, leading our family to move multiple times here in Madagascar.  As we reflect back on when it all began, we realized that it began earlier than we originally thought—before we moved to Tana.  Though it quickly & progressively got worse when we moved to Tana as Andy needed to add more to his normal allergy medicine.  Soon he was taking 3 and 4 medicines with very little relief.  At the beginning of this year, he added another new medicine that we hoped would give him relief.  But in the end, he was becoming more and more miserable with fewer and fewer days of relief.

After dealing with persistent red, puffy eyes, itchiness all over the body, headaches, dizziness and constant coughing and such, Andy contacted our medical department for our company.  Since we have great medical care with our company, Andy was very quickly on a plane to Johannesburg to see an allergist.  The allergist was able to determine all of the various allergens that bother Andy and recommended that he avoid all of them as much as possible and that he also receive allergy shots.  Unfortunately, allergy shots are not available anywhere on the island. 

We quickly scrambled for another option, since we did not want to leave Mada.  From what we remembered it had seemed that Andy was doing better in Antsirabe (where we had lived for language school) and perhaps the big thing that was different was that it is a much smaller town with a lot less pollution.  Andy had discovered fairly quickly after moving to Tana that the diesel fumes were very irritating to him (and the allergist had said that it could be lowering his threshold for fighting his allergies).  We were certain that we had to do something soon and moving to Antsirabe was our only hope for staying in Mada (apart from God healing him, which we have prayed for often over the last several months). 

Well…we have been here in Antsirabe for almost 3 months now and much to our dismay, Andy has not experienced relief.  We have come to realize that the burning of trash and the fumes it produces (that occurs all over the island) is also an irritating factor for him.  It is made worse by the fact that homes here are not sealed well even when all the windows and doors are closed, a lot of air can get in (mice too!).

After Andy returned from his most recent bush trip, he hit a really low point again where he was coughing incessantly and contacted our medical department again.  We were both really sad at this point because we knew that this meant a big change was coming.  Our company has tried hard to find a place to transfer us to, a place where Andy could get the necessary care and also take a new job that would fit his gifting.  A few days ago, we heard back from our supervisor that they could not find any place in Africa that would fit our needs.  Instead they offered us a medical leave of absence in the states.  We were both relieved and very sad because we had never wanted to leave Mada before our term ended.

Throughout all of this we have seen God’s hand and faithfulness.  We feel like God has been trying to show us that this is His plan for a while, but we resisted because we could not understand why He would want us to leave.  We have been grieving leaving Madagascar even before we officially knew, and now I see that as God’s grace.  At times it has been very overwhelming, but on the other hand we have felt relief to know that there is a plan for Andy to be well again.  There have been many times that Andy has told me that he is ready to be well and after reflecting on that, I came to a sad realization that over the past 2+ years here, he has been sick more than he has been well.  Especially since our move back here to Antsirabe, we have cried out so many times for Andy’s healing and this is God’s answer to us. 

Two of our greatest burdens in leaving this beautiful island have already been lifted by our loving and faithful Heavenly Father.  Our first burden was for our many people groups to continue to have hope of hearing the gospel.  Some of our missionary friends on the island will be stepping into our role when we leave and they already know Malagasy and are so excited to work with our people groups.  Our second burden was for our Malagasy family (Rinah, Zo, and their son Nambina) to have work and their needs provided for.  This same missionary family will be providing Rinah with some work and they already love them as family, like we do. 

Yesterday we told Rinah and Zo our news and it was difficult and very sad.  They were more surprised than we thought they would be and we all cried together (ok, truthfully most of the tears were mine but all the eyes were sorrowful).  Zo didn’t say a lot because she was especially sad thinking of Alleluia and how she had taken care of her from when she was so young (about 7-8 months old).  Rinah was also sad but encouraging as well saying that God’s ways are higher than our ways, but that we would be missed.  As sad as it was to talk to them, we have felt a lot of relief to finally tell them—I guess, what God had been trying to show us for a few months.  We have started the dreaded lists for packing and selling, and started going through everything again.  But, oddly enough, there is relief again.  It is so strange and yet so refreshing because I know now that it is His amazing grace to us.

We will be returning to the States in August for Andy to begin receiving allergy shots.  We don’t know how long we will be in the States, but we know that we can trust the One who knows.  We are still certain of our original call as missionaries, but we don’t know what the future holds for us in missions right now and we are ok with that.  We are just planning on following Him…wherever He will lead us.

           

How far is too far to carry the gospel?

Vondrozo

Farafangana is a small city on the SE coast of Madagascar.  Traditionally it is the home of the Antefasy people; although other peoples live among the Antefasy here.  My trip to Farafangana this past week with my friend, Pastor Kris, was for the purpose of discovering some of the smaller people groups that live in the region around Farafangana.  In the past I have gone out with a small list of peoples to look for and most of the time I find at most one, or even none on my list.  For this trip I had 3 peoples I was looking for...and God lead us to find 3 people groups!  We were able to locate the Antevato-Be, Sahafatra & Sahavoay in our short 3 days in the region! 

 Overall we drove 1330km (~850 miles) on mostly poor roads, with ~155miles being truly off-road in our 4x4.  We were able to see parts of Madagascar that I have never seen before-and even my Malagasy friend, Pastor Kris, had never seen before. 

The "national" road to Vondrozo

On our first day in Farafangana we teamed up with some short-term Journey-women missionaries who work with the Antefasy to visit some villages along the road to Vondrozo.  We were able to find more Antefasy, as well as one our people groups called the Sahavoay in a large market village called Lohatranambo.  On the second day we were on the road before the sun was up and were able to make it all the way to Vondrozo, home of the Sahafatra.  Vondrozo is home to about 20,000 and is a large market town that sits on what used to be the major road before it fell into disrepair over the last 20+ years.  Now, the road beyond Vondrozo is impassable to all but a motocross style motorcycle. 

Vondrozo

We had the privilege of meeting with the Mayor of the town/region of Vondrozo as well as the President of the fokontany (tribal leadership), and other leaders of the area.  We sat & talked with these men for quite awhile and then they offered to walk us around their town, showing us the major things to see & do.  This is the method they use to show the community that we have been accepted, and are therefore given the Mayor's & fokontany president's protection while we are there.  We discovered that there is zero evangelical Christian presence in Vondrozo—but they seem to be open to the message of the Gospel. 

I have been to many villages here in Madagascar, and we always look for a “person of peace,” that person who becomes a figurative door-opener for ministry to be done.  Never before has the person of peace been the Mayor of the town/region!  

The last few months on the Mahoney front

I loved doing my 1st 5K with the bigs!

Helping Zoey finish strong in the 5K

So... here's what we have been doing from the end of March through May. I will save June for another time... 

March 31st-April 10th :

My green ninja (VBS performance)

We were in S. Africa for a company meeting.  It was a very busy time, but we loved getting to see and talk to many of our friends on this island and meeting new people from other nearby countries.  The kids had a blast participating in VBS while we were in class.  Also the bigs and I did our first 5K together.  We were so proud of them for finishing.

My blue avenger (VBS performance)

Zoey & Mommy pampering time in Jo-burg

April 17th-May 17th:
We moved back to the language city, Antsirabe.  We had very rocky beginnings, but God has brought us through.  About a week after we moved, Eli started back to school at his old French school.  Several children were very happy to have him back at the school (including his good friend) and Eli was very happy too!  Huge blessing and praise!  Added bonus...he gets to sleep in a little longer and has less homework at his new school. This makes his mommy happy too. :)

Eli and Madame Sandrine (his new teacher)

First day of school

May 18-25th:
The kids & I enjoyed some time with Jason and Adam on the beginning and end of their time here.  The kids had fun playing games with the guys and singing for them-- and the guys especially loved watching the Wiggles with the kids! ;)  Allie still tries to imitate a game that Jason taught the kids while he was here.

The girls enjoyed Adam

Adam was sad to say goodbye ;)

Adam paid the bigs to take a pic with him :)

Dragon game

Jason's response to Eli's stink

Fun times

Also while the team was gone, God blessed me with courage and boldness to get out and about through the town taking a pousse-pousse wherever I went and meeting many new people and becoming comfortable again with my surroundings.  This was the result of what God had been trying to teach me through a difficult time recently-- that I needed to not close myself in, but to get out and be with the Malagasy even when it was the opposite of what I wanted. 

May 31st:
Zoey and I enjoyed going to Rina's (our friend & guard) youngest sister's wedding.  It was our first Malagasy wedding and we even got to take the bride and groom to the church which was way out in the countryside (which meant that I did some off-roading!).  Zo (Rina's wife) informed me that it was Malagasy custom to honk the horn to announce the bride and groom, so of course I very gladly obliged (perhaps I enjoyed it a little too much). ;)  I was very happy to see Zoey enjoying some play time in a big pile of hay at the church and she even made a new friend.

Rina, Zo & Nambina with the bride & groom

Rina and Zoey

Zoey and her new friend

Zoey is really getting the hang of school and she is even teaching her mommy new things.  She enjoys learning French via Rosetta Stone, she is beginning to learn to read and she is getting better at her numbers and math.  And as always she can make a new friend anywhere.



Recent Alleluia stories:  One day last month when I put her down for a nap,

She is a "mess"!

she was not very happy to be in her bed.  So she proceeded to make a lot of noise.  First, she called , "DA-DDY" (in the loudest voice she could muster) multiple times for a few minutes.  But daddy didn't come.  So next, she called,

Sassy...

"MO-MMY" (also as loud as she could) for a few minutes.  But mommy didn't come.  Finally, in hopes of getting a better response, she called out, "JE-SUS! JE-SUS!"
On another occasion, I asked her, "What is your name?"  She responds very matter-of-factly, "Jesus." 

But always fun!

Ok, last story I promise...a few weeks ago, we met up with some missionary

Love her smile!

friends from another part of the island.  It was so great to catch up with them
and to have their kids play with our kids.  But for me, the highlight of our time was when Alleluia ordered our friend, Tim, to pray with her.  First they bowed their heads to pray, but that was not enough for Miss Allie, next we see her showing, no more like coercing, Tim how to prostrate himself flat on the ground to the "accurate" prayer position.  I wish I had been quick enough with the camera to catch that in a picture (oh, and just for the record she does not practice the same form that she was showing Tim that day--LOL).
Praise
Shortly after we moved, God answered a prayer that I didn't think I had even voiced, but probably some of you were praying it.  A few days after we got here, we heard a ring at our doorbell and there were several neighbor kids who wanted to play with Eli and Zoey.  This was/is a big deal for Zoey since I am homeschooling her and she loves being with other kids, but also our new yard is very small so the kids have nowhere to play, but now they can play in the neighbor's yard.  Praise God for His goodness and kindness!

Flying kites with our neighbors

How do we get there from here...?

The last couple months have been an extra busy time for us here in Madagascar! We appreciate all of your prayers as we seek to reach the micro people groups living in difficult to reach places. Sometimes we need to use creative means in order to merely have access to some of our peoples.

The region around Andilamena is very difficult to travel through...

For instance; in March I (Andy) had to use a helicopter to be able to visit Andilamena, home to the Tanosimbohangy people. I got together with some friends from the Tana area to use a Helimission helicopter (what a great organization!). When I tried to drive to Andilamena in January it took me the better part of 2 days, and I still never made it! With the assistance of Helimission I was there in 90 minutes! Our landing caused quite a stir in such a small town, on market day nonetheless! Market day is the time when people living in all of the smaller outlying villages come to town in order to buy certain foods & sundries that they cannot make or grow on their own. We knew no one in Andilamena before we left Tana, so we prayed that God would introduce us to the people we needed to meet once we landed there. Enter Jermaine; from the moment we landed he became our helper and guide as we went around Andilamena! He even steered us through an hour long meeting with the Town leadership (10-12 people) consisting of mayor, town president, elders, police & military. While walking around town, I was able to talk of spiritual things with Jermaine and discovered that he is a believer, and he volunteered to help take part in any church work we would do there in Andilamena! What an answer to prayer! We do have a church lined up to partner with the Tanosimbohangy, and hope to have our first team going there later this year!

The Pangalana Canal in Mananjary

Last week, I had the privilege of taking a small team from Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church (The Mill) out to Mananjary, along the eastern coast of Madagascar. Mananjary is home for the Antambahoaka people; although many other peoples call it home as well. Our fist time to Mananjary with the Mill we used a Mission Aviation Fellowship flight to travel there, taking about 1.5 hours. This trip we drove 1.5 days often on pot-hole filled, narrow 2-lane roads to get to Mananjary. During this trip we were able to meet with Pastor Gaetan, a Malagasy Pastor who is a pioneer evangelist and leads 19 churches in the area! He works mainly in the rural setting around Mananjary, extending northward along the coast to Nosy Varika. He is someone that we look forward to partnering with in the future. Since his work focuses on the village setting, we are hoping to work in the larger market towns to start churches and then train people who can work with Pastor Gaetan in starting more churches out in the smaller bush villages. 

Pastor Gaetan & his family

During this trip we got to meet with Pastor Gaetan who shared with us how he was healed from a sickness that he had suffered from for more than 10 years! We worked alongside Pastor Gaetan each of the 3 full days we were in Mananjary. We visited the sick, prayed for people who had lost loved ones, taught some kids how to play tic-tac-toe in the sand, and then shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. Additionally, we played basketball with some of the local young men at a public court and shared with them as well. They had many questions about the Christian life, and we pray that some will take the message to heart and choose to follow Jesus. We visited the village of Amboanato, our main location on our November, 2013 trip. The village king was very happy to see us-he even smiled & made jokes! We gave him a gift of a Bible, in Malagasy, for him and his family to share, as well as some soccer balls for the kids to enjoy. 

We also made some good preparations for a medical team to come and serve the people in Mananjary, and Amboanato in September of this year. Please pray for the planning and preparations for this upcoming trip. We will be doing some medical education at the regional hospital, as well as seeing some patients. Then we will go up to Amboanato for some time to see patients there as well! 

 

God has certainly gone before us, and has opened some great opportunities for us that we did not see our first couple times to the region. We are so thankful for your prayer support and your giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program. Because of your giving, we are able to go to these difficult to reach places and share the life-giving Message of Jesus Christ! Thanks to The Mill for sending Adam & Jason, and thanks to Adam's & Jason's families for sacrificing so that they could come and work along side of us!!

Adam & Jason, from The Mill.