So here we are, the First Orlando Madagascar mission group is settled into our rental homes here in Manakara, Madagascar. We had a long journey getting here though.
Our first day of travel, two weeks ago today brought us through Miami and over to London, where we were fortunate enough to have a 9 our layover, so we had a chance to go see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. From London, we flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, where we caught a short flight to Gaborone, Botswana. In Gaborone, we spent 8 days in Hands-On orientation with the International Mission Board. We were especially blessed to see First Orlando's own Emily Harris for a week! We spent the time with all the other Sub-Sahara Hands-On volunteers for this semester, 17 including our 6. We spent a few days split up in teams of 2, living in the homes of the nationals in a very small village called Gakuto. It was an eye-opening experience to live with no electricity or running water, cooking outdoors on a fire, and the guys even got to catch and kill a chicken to cook for dinner with our host family. We learned a lot of the techniques used to share the Gospel in a way that will resonate with the African world view, as well as practical advice that will help us stay out of danger in such an unfamiliar culture.
We were sad to say goodbye to Emily and the other IMB personnel, but on Wednesday August 14th, we left Botswana and flew into Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. Almost done flying, we met up with a local Christian Pilot named Patrick, and loaded into his small 10 seater prop plane, and took off on a beautiful flight over Madagascar. We flew over the mountainous rain forests, as Patrick explained what we were seeing. We flew over illegal brush fires used to clear land, giant waterfalls, and as we neared the coast, we saw whales jumping off the coast. (It's whale season in Mada, when they all come to the bays and harbors to give birth, so there are tons of whales around.)
We met up with Jeremy and Angela Newton, the local IMB missionaries, who have been showing us around town, pointing out where to get things for good prices, and teaching us to make familiar dishes with unfamiliar ingredients. The guys stayed with them for the first few days until out rental house was ready, and the girls were able to move in on the first day. I've had a couple messages asking if we were "living in tents?" but let me assure you, we are far from it. We have some very safe and secure homes with electricity and running water. Lack of A/C isn't a problem yet, because it's the middle of winter here, but things will be heating up soon, and we'll have to adjust quite a bit. It's currently around 85-90F during the day, but like I said, its going to get a lot warmer from here.
All of next week, we will be in full-time language training. As a group. we're going to focus on keeping this blog up and running with updates on our activities. On behalf of the group, I want to thank you for your prayers and support, and let you know things are all going according to God's plan!
In Him.
Kai Honeck
P.S. Photos to follow, we're still figuring out our bandwidth limitations.
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