Tiffany-Come to the Water

The rainy season has officially started here in Madagascar. It rained for two days straight….whew! I think a boat would be sufficient in getting around Manakara now! Just kidding….its not really that bad! It gives you a lot of time to process things.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the spiritual condition of the students we have met. Sharing the Gospel with them last week was definitely a high point of being here. They listened so intently and answered so honestly. The honesty was something that took us all by surprise. It was such a transparency that doesn’t really exist in American culture.

They knew the condition of their hearts. They were honest, didn’t deny it. They know they are desperately in need of a Savior. They are in need of healing that only Jesus can give.

In our few short dealings, the students flock to us. Like a moth to a flame, white on rice, bugs to a bug zapper…I think you get the picture. I can’t help but think about what it is about us that’s attractive. I know…we are American and native English speakers, but I can’t help but wonder if its Jesus radiating from our being.

There is a song sung by Kristian Stanfill called “Come to the Water” and here is one of my favorite parts:

See people returning

The love of the Father drawing us in

See salvation coming

Jesus our Savior, light of the world

Light of the world

Jesus is calling these students to himself. He wants them so desperately. He is using us to reach out to them. We are the candle, He is the flame, they are the moth. It is so cool to physically see God calling out to the lost and seemingly forgotten. To reach into the darkness….so incredibly humbling.

Tomorrow is my English class. At the end of class, I try to (if there is time) write a verse on the board and have them read it and tell me what it means. Last week, I told the people in the class to bring someone new next week. Someone I have never met before. My hope and prayer is that the two students that came last week will bring a lot of their friends. The Gospel is going to be presented and I wait with eager expectation of the Lord moving in their hearts.

Revival is coming to the island nation of Madagascar. I see it. Will you please pray for it?  Salvation is coming. The love of the Father is drawing the Malagasy, the Americans, the old, the young, the sick, the well, the helpless, the hopeless, and the  saved to Himself.

Make A Joyful Noise

Yesterday Paige, Tiffany, Matt, and I went to hang out with the kids at the church. Every Sunday at 3, they practice songs and play games. They were so excited to see us and they got really excited to see me pull out my camera. They all wanted to have their picture taken. Oops. During their Christmas pageant rehearsal, they had a difficult time concentrating. I love watching these kids sing. They get so into the music. They truly sing with joyfulness. They really get into the song and it's almost like they are having a contest to see who can sing the loudest. They really follow Psalm 95:1-2: 

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"

It's such a precious sight to see children worshipping the Lord. Here's one of the songs we sang with them:

Ho an'i Jesosy Kristy

Ho an'i Jesosy Kristy

Izay tia antsika

Ka namaha antsika

Ho afaka tamin'ny fahotantsika

tamin'ny Rany

Ho izay anie

Ny voninahitra sy ny fanjakana

Mandrakizay amena!

Mandrakizay amena!

Please pray for the youth at our church. Pray that the children will desire to truly know the Lord. May they love Him, know Him intimately, and rely on the character they represent in all their needs. Pray that they will know how precious they are to God and that they will base their identity and security on Christ.

It's been a while...

Things are heating up here in Madagascar. And I'm not referring to the weather; though, it's getting rather warm here as well...

We are developing relationships with the youth, who have just arrived only a few weeks ago. We are spreading the Gospel, as Paige mentioned in our last post. And the relationships we started before the youth's arrival are only growing stronger. Things here in Madagascar are really picking up. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. We feel them. And more importantly, we see them!

I haven't blogged in what seems like ages, and so I sincerely apologize. Yesterday Kai and I went to Kianjanomby, a village we had journeyed to about a month or so ago. It's bit of an adventure. A couple who are members of the church we attend, go to this village twice a month. I think the trail is more daunting when you know what's coming. It had just rained the night before, and Kai and I both knew the trail would be more difficult than normal. And our group this time was only seven: Me, Kai and then five members from the church, including two of their youth. Because there were less people, we moved much quicker and stopped a lot less...It was rough. But, the climb was just as beautiful as I remembered it.

We reached the village right at 0900. There was no baptism this time. We went to simply have church with them. They were happy to welcome us, and we were so grateful to be there. The services run here by the Malagasy people, are a little bit different than what you would expect. The service itself is usually about two and a half to three hours long. There is a lot of singing, broken up by passages read from scripture and prayer. This is what they call "free time." Between songs, anyone can stand up and read some scripture, or share something God has been showing them that week.  Now in a church of roughly 15 people, everyone could share and we'd be done before well before lunch.  Imagine doing this at First Baptist Orlando...I thought about that yesterday, and it made me laugh. We'd be there until Jesus returned. After "free time," the pastor then speaks for about an hour or so, and then there's more singing. And the Lord's Supper is taken every week. It's a blessing every time we get to fellowship with other believers and to worship Him together.

After church we had lunch. Beans, rice, and tripe were prepared. Tripe is cow stomach,/ intestine. Despite your disbelief, it's actually quite tasty. Our last visit, I wasn't brave enough to try it, and with a servant's heart, I generously gave Kai my helping. But this time, I swallowed my fear (haha, no pun intended), and tried it. We left the village around 1400 and took a different way home. It was about another three hour walk back to our ride home. It was a long, exhausting day. But it was a good one.

Each day here in Madagascar is trying in different ways, whether it be physically like it was yesterday, or mentally, physically, or emotionally. But each day is also a blessing. We are here for only four months, and we have roughly one month left. It's crazy that the time has flown. God's work is seen evident here, but I know He's not done yet. I'm looking forward to the work He has yet to do here, the work I get to witness, and even after I'm gone. Please continue to pray for our team. That we do not lose momentum, and maximize every day we have here. Pray that our endurance only grows as we run this last leg of the race. And of course, pray for the Malagasy people. Pray for their hearts, that they would be softened and receptive. And pray that whatever seed my team and I plant here would grow and be harvested here in God's timing.

Thank you again for your love, encouragement and prayers!
Dannielle

Paige- Children are our Future

Oh my gosh, we’re back again! Well we’ve been back for about a week now.  Tiffany and I spent two weeks in Antsirabe with our supervisor and some of the new IMB missionaries.  It was nice to see new parts of the country but returning to Manakara was a very sweet homecoming.  As Tiffany described in her post earlier this week, the population of Manakara doubled if not tripled with students while we were away. The reason we are in Madagascar is to, of course, share the Gospel, but our specific job description is to build relationships.  The relationships we build with the youth are key because, in the words of the late, great Whitney Houston, “children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.”  With school back in session and more children in town we are beginning to focus more on the youth. On Tuesday we got to meet some of the Secondary School students and on Wednesday we were able to spend time with them. 

We met the students at the beach just before lunch on Wednesday.  We weren’t exactly sure what to do or how to pass the time with them so we taught them an ice-breaker game and then we played a game that they taught us.  Our ice-breaker was sort of a concentration game where we stood around in a circle and kept a rhythm with our hands and had to count in order.  It involved minimal physical activity and I was very good at it.  Their game was exactly the opposite.   It was like touch football in the sand without a football…the team version of Tag if you will.  Now, I’m fairly athletic and I enjoy a good workout, but there is about a 10 year age difference between me and most of the students we met and…well…I was not very good at their game.  I wanted to call a time-out or take a break but my pride wouldn’t let me.  I was determined to keep up with them.  Luckily the kids got tired and suggested that we stop playing and walk down the beach to jetty (praise the Lord).  As we walked I was able to catch my breath again and my heart rate slowed to a normal pace.  When we got to the jetty we took lots of pictures (there's one below for your viewing pleasure) and ran away from the crashing waves; it was an all around good time. Just before we parted ways, Tiffany suggested that we tell them a story.  I wasn’t against the idea, but I wasn’t overly enthused either.  Nonetheless, I agreed and we proceeded to share the Gospel. Tiffany started with the illustration of the two paths in Matthew 7:13-14.  Laura drew in the sand while Tiffany narrated the story.  Tiffany told them that there is a narrow path that gives eternal life and leads to Heaven and a wide path that results in death and leads to Hell.   She said the narrow path is difficult but the wide path is easy.  Dannielle then told the story of the Bible starting with God’s Creation of a perfect world.  She explained the fall of man and how we are all sinners and ended with the beautiful picture of Christ- A savior who knew no sin, but came into this sinful world and humbled himself to death on a cross so that we may have a right relationship with God again. Somewhere between my lack of enthusiasm and our Gospel presentation, the Holy Spirit moved within me.  I had been quiet for a while, but suddenly God began to speak through me.  I was encouraging them with scriptures that I forgot I knew. We were even able to give them analogies and illustrations that they could relate to. When we asked the students what they thought of the story and which path they thought they were on, they were shockingly honest.  Many of them told us that they thought they were on the wide path, but that they wanted to be on the narrow path.  They even admitted their struggles with temptations. They were very attentive and receptive the entire time and when we finished, they thanked us for sharing. The entire day was completely ordained by God.  They games on the beach, the walk to the jetty and most definitely the sharing of the Gospel.  All of it was a definite answer to prayer.

Please continue to pray for these students and the new students we will meet.  Pray that our voices will be still and only God’s voice will be heard whenever we witness to them.  The children are the future of Manakara and we want them to experience the greatest Love of all and equip them with Truth to lead the way.

For the Kingdom,

plc

Tiffany-Influence

October 6^th, the population of Manakara was normal….well what we have become used to. October 7^th, however, the population doubled, if not tripled.  School has officially started.

Today started with a nice leisurely walk with Laura to the beach. I was hoping that we would find some late arriving students, but we didn’t. So, we walked back to our house, stopping by the market for some lunch items. It was only 8:15am, but the market was teeming with people. We weren’t really in a hurry, but we kind of were. We said hello to our usual vendors, using what little Malagasy we have retained after not using it the past few weeks, and went home. We were expecting a guest!

One of our favorite restaurants here in Manakara, is a little place called Kameleon. Yes, that is not how you spell chameleon, but they serve THE BEST pizza this side of the island. We have befriended its owner, Leticia! She is from Benin, married to a French man, and has 3 children under the age of 11. She came to our house today to “hang out.” We didn’t really know what to do with her, since there isn’t much in Manakara we haven’t already done, so we decided to teach her how to make banana chocolate chip cookies! She was definitely excited and loved helping us make the tasty treats! While the cookies were baking, she asked us questions about America, what our parents think about us being in Madagascar, and if we had boyfriends back home (which has become a favorite question of our new Malagasy friends). We talked about things we miss most about America, one being peanut butter. We asked her if she had heard of it, she said yes, but had never tried it! So, we had some off brand Madagascar peanut butter (which is fairly good, but can't be bought in Manakara) and let her try some! She LOVED it!

After she went home, we decided to hit up the beach. A while ago, I asked you to pray for our ministry at the beach. Today, our ministry there officially started.  Jeremy, our supervisor, had told us that he had met some students yesterday afternoon in Manakara Be. This area is just the beach area where there are a lot of government offices and nice bungalows. On this particular strip of beach road, there is a school. It is a yellow building with blue windows. All the students wear “smocks” over their clothes, which signify which school they attend. We met, probably 15-20 students today! They were no older than 17 and no younger than 14. They were who we have been looking for.

I was so excited to meet these students. We all have such great ideas about how to reach the students here and are itching to get the ball rolling. Tomorrow, the girls and I head back to Manakara Be to meet up with the students we met today! I cannot wait to talk with them and learn more about their lives here!

Please pray for us as we continue our ministry here and build relationships with the students. These students are the future of Madagascar, and how cool that we were placed here “for such a time as this” to minister to them in their most influential years!

Human Faces

One of the things that constantly strikes me is how easy it is to talk about spreading the Gospel to "the ends of the Earth" and to "all people from all nations," but sometimes we forget that the people are people. During our time here, we've been constantly telling you back in the US to "pray for Madagascar." But I want to change a little, because I sometimes have to remind myself, we aren't praying for the country, we're praying for the people.

The people we're working with aren't just nameless, faceless generic people sitting around waiting to hear the Gospel, each one is a human life just like you or me. Maybe not as wealthy, or as educated, but each one has likes and dislikes, a father and mother, and funny quirks about their personalities. But at the same time, each of them is selfish. They will claim to be a friend, then demand payment for ridiculous things, or they'll make an appointment to spend time together, and want only to be fed or learn get things from me. Not that I can complain, because I'm selfish. But sometimes I catch myself thinking about just how selfish they are, when they blatantly tell me that I owe them money/food or that I deserve to pay hugely inflated prices, ten times what a local would pay.

But then I stop, and I remember that I'm human too. Sure, in the US, I struggle sometimes with rent, or auto repairs, but I have never known the pain of being too poor to eat for a 3rd day in a row. On top of that, any compassion that I have comes directly from Christ. It's important to humble ourselves and remember that we are here as fellow humans, trying to share Christ by overcoming differences in wealth, education, understanding of God, or living situations.

Instead of writing a long post, I would like to share several of the portraits I've taken along the way. Often when I pray for the people of Madagascar, I look at the photos I've taken, and it helps to pray for the people, instead the country. Please take a moment to pray for each of these people.

Some of them I've met many times, and some of them, taking their photo in passing was as much as I ever got to know them.

Thank you,
Kai Honeck


P.S. Don't stop praying for the Country of Madagascar. It's in dire need of prayer as well. Just remember where the priority is.

In the Blink of an Eye - Matt

     In the blink of an eye...many things can happen in that fragment of a second. In the blink of an eye a branch could break, a goal could be made, a person could die, or nothing could happen at all. Too often do we continue nonchalantly in our lives as each individual blink keeps count of the seconds that have disappeared . We function as though it's just another day and another time where another opportunity will come by for us to move...or remain still.

     This train of thought has recently crossed my mind and I think I can speak for the team by saying theirs as well. This last Sunday marked the halfway point for our mission here in Madagascar. The initial realization was nonexistent. However the next few days leading up to this very moment weighed heavily on all of us and still is. I can't seem to fully grasp the thought of living here for over 2 months already with only 2 months left to go. Its unbelievable how fast time has gone by and soon I'll be sitting in the comforts of my home next to my favorite dog watching another Redbox movie. The thought of it just blows my mind!! Now I don't want to take up too much of your time with this fleeting thought process, but there is application and thoughts to consider pertaining to this.

     The team and I went through Romans 9 today (as we have taken on a chapter in Romans each week to pick apart and discuss for bible study) and I can't help but be blown back by God's truth of the matter. Now it is a controversial chapter that could lead people into debate about free will and predetermined election, but that is not where I want to head so I won't. What blew me back more was the anguish and sorrow that Paul had for his fellow Jews in Rome who did not have Christ. Paul says,

"I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit--that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh." (Romans 9:1-3)

He wanted to help them understand the perfect truth so much so that he uses this hyperbole to express his anguish. Obviously he isn't literally wanting to separate from God in order for others to be saved, but he is saddened that they are not saved and wants to change that in any way he can. Later in chapter 10 he again speaks on his desire to help the Romans know the real truth as he sees their zeal in their pursuit for it. His urgency was greater than I think mine has been since I've been living amongst an unknowing people group in Manakara. I feel ashamed by that fact and even more ashamed by knowing how often my urgency to spread the news to others in America has been less than exemplary. I guess in my mind I often feel that tomorrow will be another opportunity to give them the truth. (I'm not expressing this to say no ministry has happened...just to clarify) But what I am saying is....What is your urgency for telling others about Christ?!?! What is your desire to tell your family, friends, neighbors, local government, and whoever else you happen to run into on a day to day basis? How many chances will it take for you to just sit down with them and give them the down low on this guy we call Christ? 

     In the blink of an eye...this whole world could vanish and what looked as though was a promising second opportunity could end up being the weight of a person's life leaning towards death or life. Obviously Christ saves and will always be the reason for our salvation and sanctification, but we sure should have that urgency to give the other person a chance to know the real truth and let them digest. I have definitely felt the weight of this truth recently and it has caused a greater desire (one that was already there) to burn even more for the Malagasy people and their need for Christ. Pray for the many Malagasy people that we have met here to see something different in us that causes them to seek out the truth. And also pray that we continue boldly and urgently in presenting Christ to them as best we can knowing that God will provide the rest. 

Live with passion and pursue with urgency in order that the many will see Christ for themselves and trust in his grace. 

In him,

Matt

Tiffany-Commonalities

The team is officially split up for the next two weeks. I know...its really sad! We are all going to miss each other so much! Laura, Dannielle, Kai and Matt have headed off to see the wild parts of Madagascar while Paige and I head to the capital city, Antananarivo, to help the Newtons with orientation for new missionaries!

The 4 youngins (as I like to call them...since I'm the oldest...) left early this morning and headed for the famous steam engine train that goes from the coastal town of Manakara (where we are) to Fianaratsoa. The ride is a lovely 14 hours. I will let the others divulge all their newfound information when they return. Paige and I head out tomorrow morning! We are very excited to spend time with the Newtons and the new missionaries!

Since Paige and I leave tomorrow, we were able to go to church this morning! Church on Sundays is my favorite thing to do. Generally I NEVER know what is going on, but watching everyone interact always means I'll have great stories. Lately, our language teacher Mika, has been sitting next to us. What you need to know about him is that he is quickly becoming one of the funniest people I've ever met. He will usually crack a joke or two during the most inopportune times, and if you know me, send me into a silent giggle fit, that is VERY hard to contain.

Anyways, today Paige and I got there "late". I use that term lightly. Things here in Madagascar never tend to start on time, and being on time usually means you are an hour early. We got there promptly at 9:30...and you guessed it....were late.

The church is a brown house/building with dried palm leaves for  the roof and dried reeds for the walls. The pews are made for Malagasy rear ends (not American ones) and are really comfortable if you manage to get one of the 4 pews with a backrest. As we walked up, we heard someone speaking, so we tried to walk in quietly. We slid into the second row, quickly turned to the people around us, shook hands, sat down and tried to pay attention. One of the youth, Bondella, was leading the worship time, so we smiled at him and tried to not make him laugh. Behind him is the pulpit, which is brown with a small red curtain on either side. To the right of the pulpit, is the "audio booth"...which is just a large red podium with an old laptop behind it. Our resident "audio technician" is Nida. He is very sweet and smiled a big toothless smile and waved at us. We smiled back and waved and laughed....because it was just funny.

Here comes the fun part! There is a portion of the service called "free time." Free time can be described as an open mic session. So, after a few people got up and shared prayer requests and what the Lord had been teaching them, the pastor's son in law (who we lovingly call smiley man...because he is ALWAYS smiling) got up and said he had a song prepared. So he, along with his wife, Bondella, and another youth got up. They moved the microphone to the side wall, and the music began to play. Dera (smiley man) prefaced the song with "because of the Lord, we have joy!" Yes, he said it in English. As the song started, all 4 of them started singing and swaying back and forth. It was a Malagasy song, but was very catchy! Paige and I started clapping our hands to the beat, and as the song grew....so did their dancing. During the "instrumental break" all 4 of them broke into...wait for it....THE ELECTRIC SLIDE! In church! Paige and I were so elated that we immediately broke into laughter!

I know this is probably the silliest blog post I've ever written, but I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what church is like here. We all feel so incredibly loved by the people here. We came to serve the people here and in turn, are being more taken care of than we ever imagined. I can't quite describe what it is like to be in a foreign country and feel so at home. There aren't enough words to do it justice. All that comes to mind is Acts 2:42-44

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common."

So, as the next few weeks might be barren on the blog, remember the believers here in Manakara in your prayers. They are fighting a fight. We are here to help for the next few months, but they will continue the battle here after we leave. Please pray for strength in their church, boldness in proclaiming the Good News, and willing spirits to do whatever the Lord is calling them to.

Paige-Treasures in Heaven

This week was unique in that our team is preparing to separate for a little while.  Tiffany and I will be traveling to the capital with our supervisor to help some new missionaries and their families get acclimated while the rest of the team goes on to explore new parts of Madagascar.  Whenever I have to pack to go someplace I usually wait until the last minute to throw some things in a bag.  If I forget anything, I count on convenient stores like CVS or Wal-Mart where I can find everything I would ever (or never) need.  Traveling in Madagascar isn’t quite like that.  There are stores where you can generally find what you need, but if you want a specific brand of something, you are better off bringing your own.  I spent yesterday and today making a checklist of things I didn’t want to forget to bring and packing them.  As I have been getting ready to leave, I’ve thought about our language teacher, Mika.  Mika doesn’t make checklists or have issues with packing; I thought of him because we helped him move earlier this week and moving his entire family into a new home seemed like a much simpler process than me packing for a short vacation. 

We went to Mika’s house this past Monday morning at about 9am.  We knew we were helping him move but we weren’t really sure what to expect.   In the states, helping a friend move means helping them find boxes, maybe some packing and loading up a car or truck.  We did none of that.  Mika had mostly everything packed; we were there to help him move it all.  Literally. We helped carry everything from his old home to his new home and we walked the entire way.  It was more like a hike through the woods over uneven and rocky terrain with suitcases and pots and pans; I’m pretty sure we walked for a mile.  But just as I started to get tired and worn out…we were finished.  Mika has a wife and 2 daughters and a brother–in-law who currently lives with them and it only took us 2 trips to move his entire family.  We were done before lunch.  Thinking about this while I was packing for my short vacation made me realize, I have more “stuff” than an entire Malagasy family.  I know I’m only here in Madagascar with a few of my belongings, but I know that back in the states I could never pack up and move with ease the way that Mika did.  He and his family have everything they need, nothing more and nothing less. I have a lot of stuff, this is a fact of life, but my experience with Mika and his family humbled me and put things into perspective (by the way, this humbling thing has become a daily occurrence).   And so I must remember, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.

For the Kingdom,

plc