Author: falyravoahangy

Humbled. This is the word most frequently mentioned by the team when sharing impressions about the day. We were all humbled to hear that some people walked 22 miles to join the training, leaving their village early morning and arriving by lunch time. The attendance has increased and we now have a total of 90 people at the conference.

 

We were also humbled by the eagerness to learn of the pastors. After 5 teaching sessions covering Titus 1:10 to 2:10, they still asked many questions showcasing that they were carefully listening and that they wanted to properly understand and apply what they have heard. They were also true “Bereans” and did not hesitate to challenge when they had doubts.

The discussions were also lively on the women side, with CJ teaching on the role of women in marriage, and the Q&A session covering topics ranging from disciplining your child to contraception!

Today is the last day of the conference already. Please pray that we will finish strong and that all teachers will be given clarity of thoughts, boldness of speech and wisdom from above.

Today was the first day of the pastoral training in Ampitambe. We had approximately 30 pastors representing around 20 churches who attended this first day. Each of us had the opportunity to preach, with Scott giving 3 messages, while Dave and I contributed one each. We covered in 5 messages the first 9 verses of Titus 1 and were all challenged to evaluate ourselves against the high standard of Scripture commanding church leaders to be “above reproach” (Titus 1:6). What a blessing it is to see their eagerness to study God’s Word and to be challenged by it. After an entire day of teaching, the attendees still asked many questions during the Q&A session which took us past nightfall.

Our wives had a wonderful time of fellowship with the pastors’ wives and other women who came to attend. CJ and Ashley shared their testimony and answered questions about life as a Christian woman in America. Then, Lily addressed the topic of the role of women in the church calling each woman to make Scripture their sole authority. A lot of questions were fielded by the audience demonstrating their interest and eagerness to learn.

Please pray for the next 2 days of training with some of our team members having some stomach issues. Please pray that God would grant us the strength and wisdom to continue to faithfully proclaim His Word.

How to put in words the events of the last 2 days? It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words so get ready for a very “wordy” post.

On Sunday, our day started at 4:30am with the packing of the things we needed for our stay in Sakalava, a village in the mountains 95 miles or so East of the capital city. The process took longer than we thought and we ended leaving later than intended.

Soon after our departure we received a phone call from the pastor of the church that the road was too muddy and our bus would not make it. The team, dedicated to the task, decided to walk the 6.5 miles to the village.

Despite being strained, everyone remained in high spirits, enjoying the beautiful landscape and the fellowship on the road with some youth coming to attend the event and people from the church who came to meet us and help us carry our luggage.

After a 2h30min walk, we finally arrived to Sakalava!

Many were still there to welcome us even though we arrived almost 8 hours later than what they had initially expected.

No time to rest as the pastor decided that we should still hold the church service we planned to do in the morning. Thus, David was up first, teaching the kids from Matthew 7:24-27 about the necessity of being doers of God’s Word, not only hearers. Then, Scott preached a sermon from 1 John 1:5-10 focusing on the test of confession and repentance as an assurance of eternal life for the believers. The night was falling already so we had to finish the sermon using our cellphone lights.

The church then served us a very hearty meal, with rice (of course! And lots of it! 😊) and a Malagasy chicken soup.

Soon, it was time for our American friends to discover the countryside-style potty room before heading to sleep, taking extra precautions for the mosquitoes.

Monday morning started with another rice-filled breakfast.

We also decided to give some candies and biscuits to the kids and the adults.

Then, the training session for youth started with 2 messages from me and one from Scott, focusing on stirring the youth to counting the cost of following Christ and resolutely pursuing Christ-likeness in every aspect of their lives.

It was then time to play soccer. We initially thought it would be pick-up games with the kids from the village but it seems they took it more seriously and organized a game between the church team and another team from the village. Scott dazzled with his prowess as a goal keeper, whereas David and I tried their best not to embarrass themselves.

Our team won 2-0 and I took the opportunity at the end of the game to share the gospel with some players and spectators.

Soon it was already time to say goodbye. The team sang “Amazing Grace” Then the ladies of the church graced us with a farewell song.

Our ride home was labelled by Ashley as the “Malagasy Uber”. It was a very old and unique Kubota tractor with a trailer. This is Africa!

 

We all jumped in and had lots of laughs on the way home, and safely made it back to the main road where our bus was waiting to take us back to the hotel.

 

We have so much to be thankful for, the warmth of the people of Sakalava, their hospitality, their sacrifices to provide meals for us though they barely eat themselves, and the fellowship we had even though coming from diverse cultures and backgrounds; all of these were a visible manifestation of the unique love and bond that believers in Jesus Christ enjoy.

Our departure for the Bezanozano region was delayed to this morning because some of the team’s luggage only arrived yesterday night. We woke up at 4:30am and started packing our luggage and the gears we need for the country side.

Shortly after our departure, we received notice from the church we are going to visit that we will not be able to make it by car because it has rained a lot in the past few days.

Thus our plans are slightly altered as we are now planning on walking the 9 miles of mud road to get to the church. The adventure begins. Please pray that we will all make it safely and that God will work His purposes in this situation.

“it is so different, I felt like I was transported in a different world.”

“Difficult to put in words, I feel like a fish out of water, I didn’t expect to feel this drastically out of the environment I am used to. It felt like being transported in another world and try to navigate in it.”

“Radically different, but it’s less overwhelming each day, once you notice the kindness, friendliness and contentment of the people. The latter was for me so different than in the Western world.”

“People live very modestly. Life seems both more simple and more complicated. Simple as it mainly about survival, more complicated because of the hard work and logistics survival requires.”

“Poverty is visible all around the city, I didn’t expect it to be as vast, I thought slumbs were to be found in some pockets only, not everywhere in town.”

“Reading books, looking at youtube videos, seeing pictures doesn’t give you the same grasp of the reality on the ground.”

“I thought LA was crowded… there’s people everywhere here!”

“The American embassy is way too big.”

“Food was great, it had more flavor than similar food in the US. Zebu meat rocks!”

“The countryside was beautiful, simple and refreshing.”

“Part of me feels sorry for those who don’t have luxuries, yet part of me started to think it might be better to have less and be content.”

“It gives me an even greater appreciation for missionaries who have to adapt to a different life and culture.”

“I’m tired, I will think better in the morning.”

There you have it, the team is ready for a good night sleep. 😀

After a good breakfast, we are on our way to discover Tana, helping our friends to get a feel of what life in the capital city looks like.

No rest for the Braves. We just landed today. The rest of the team will arrive on Thursday Lord willing. Here below our schedule for the next 3 weeks:

Here below our itinerary map:

Two of the highlights of this trip are the Youth Outreach Event and the Pastor’s Conference in Ampitambe:

Pray for the Lord’s protection and blessing of our trip!

 

 

On this blog, you will be able to find updates on the ministry of Madagascar 3M. We pray that it will be an encouragement to you and will spur you to pray and support the work that God is doing on the island of Madagascar.