Last week, we were at Ampopoka Golf Biblical Baptist Church in Fianarantsoa, a city 270 miles from the capital city, where I had the opportunity to teach on the topic of “Christians and sin”. I was really moved by the interaction and how we were all challenged by God’s Word to strive for holiness.
However, one of the highlights of our visit was the opportunity we had to visit Sahambavy, a smaller town 25 miles from Fianarantsoa. Sahambavy is the tea “capital” of Madagascar and is as such characterized by beautiful lush green tea fields surrounded by humble habitations.
My parents started to pray 25 years ago for the gospel to be able to penetrate Sahambavy, a bastion of Roman Catholicism. In 2014, an evangelization campaign was conducted using both door-to-door evangelism and a Christian movie played in the townhall. 200 people attended then and a handful of people were saved. A home cell was started at one of their homes. Since, the church in Fianarantsoa led by Pst Francois regularly sends teams to continue the evangelization efforts and build up the believers.
Subsequently, more people got saved, around 15 have been baptized and 2 men are currently being groomed to lead this budding congregation. We had the privilege to visit them and they welcomed us in one of their very modest homes. I encouraged them from God’s Word to have an unadulterated devotion and a vibrant love for Jesus Christ. They reminded me of the Macedonian believers, poor and fervent.
They are very simple people. They are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are looking to build a basic church building where they can gather. If the Lord places on your heart to contribute to this need or if you would like to know more, please free to contact me.
Madagascar 3M 