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.