Reality and Contentment

(written earlier today, rewritten later today)

Here I am on a set of train tracks whose only use it seems is to provide a rather uncomfortable seat for me as I think and pray and write. A small grouping of pine trees that reminds me of Alabama sits off to my left about 100 yards away. At my back I feel a wind that, if I choose to close my eyes and think hard enough, would make me believe I was back in Fort Worth. But with open eyes there is no doubt about where I am, for I can see in the distance the mountain I climbed yesterday with April and the girls. In the foreground lies terraced land full of rice fields accompanied by the Malagasy men women who tend them. I am in Madagascar.

I begin to ask questions as I discreetly watch the Malagasy people work in their fields. What if that was me? What if I was born here and what if growing rice was my only source of provision? What if I wasn't able to take leisurely bike rides and sit on deserted train tracks and write down my thoughts? Or perhaps, what if I was being observed by some white guy sitting on train tracks and writing in a little book? You would probably ask some of these questions too if you were in my place (see what I did there?).

The truth is, we ask the same types of questions in the States, they're usually just pointed in the opposite direction: What would life be like if I had that person's good fortune? Or what if I had been born into a wealthy family? What if I had that person's house, job, ministry, etc.? What if? What if? What if? See how endless this can be? Oh, what wasteful and deadly fantasies we have!

As I sit here asking these questions, I quickly realize that I shouldn't dwell on them. I couldn't possibly know, or even learn, the answers to such questions. C.S. Lewis communicates this well in his book Prince Caspian as he tells of Lucy's second meeting with Aslan. In Aslan's first encounter with the Pevensie children, Lucy is the only one able to see him, but instead of following him as he wishes, Lucy folds to the pressure of her siblings and follows them. In her second meeting with Aslan, Lucy feels the shame of having not followed Aslan, and she speculates at what might have been if she had.

"You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out alright--somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?"

"To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."

Hypotheticals of the sort mentioned above are devilish, and if entertained, can lead either to coveting and lust (a sinful desire for more than what God in His goodness has provided) or arrogance (partly manifested by a subtle, yet sinful "thankfulness" for one person's superiority over another). Furthermore, it reveals a lack of trust in God's grace and His sovereignty. Why am I American and not Malagasy? Why is the Malagasy man not American? Because God, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place" (Acts 17:26). That is why I am American, but it's also why this American now lives in Madagascar.

Each of us must say with the apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phillipians 4:13). (Notice the reality of Paul's statement: He "can do" all things through Christ.) Paul's reason for making such a bold statement can be traced back to verse 11, where he says, "for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Paul stationed himself in realities, not in hypotheticals, and from these realities God taught him contentment, even in the confines of a prison cell. See how it happens? We learn contentment by engaging in the world of reality, not by wondering what would be if we were someone else or somewhere else or doing something else.

Well, it's time to get going; the Antsirabe winds are now pushing in the summer rains on the plateau here in Madagascar. This is where I live, and it's where I'm learning to be content.

--Adam

if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask...

In her last post (December in Madagascar), April wrote about Lantu and her family. As you can imagine, we were both very excited that Lantu and her oldest son had prayed to receive Christ. Furthermore, just last Thursday we had our first opportunity to study the Bible with Lantu and her second son Yasina (13 years). For the most part, this type of thing is still very difficult since we know so little of the language, but our night guard, Kris (also a pastor), speaks English well, so he serves as our translator when we exhaust our kindergarten-level knowledge of Malagasy. We had a wonderful night talking with Lantu and her son as we shared our testimonies, listened to hers, and then read some scriptures together in Malagasy. As we concluded this first meeting, April and I were encouraged and Lantu was excited as we made plans to meet on a weekly basis.

This week has brought with it some unexpected changes to our plans, though. As April mentioned, Lantu's husband, Henusi, has been staying three hours away in Tana looking for work. (Quick side note as a point of clarity: when we mention a place being three hours away in Madagascar, that is roughly the equivalent of 6-8 hours away in America; such is life on the Red Island) Surprisingly, at least to April and me anyway, he and Lantu had not talked for a relatively long period of time, but he returned to Antsirabe early this week. We thought this was a little odd seeing as it was unannounced; at the same time we were glad Lantu was reunited with her husband and the children had their father back.

Then the strangest thing of all happened: we returned home yesterday afternoon from a day of walking through rice fields and climbing big rocks to find that Lantu and her family--all except the 13-year-old boy Yasina--had left Antsirabe and were on their way to Tana. We noticed that they weren't around yesterday afternoon, which wasn't difficult because the twin boys (Mikael and Erik; around 3 years) are never shy about letting us know that they know when we're home. We just assumed the entire family was gone until Yasina popped his head above the outer wall outside their home this morning as we were leaving. He and April talked for a couple of minutes, long enough for him to communicate that everyone else was gone and that he had no electricity or running water in their house until December 31.

I'm sharing this because we need your prayers for this situation. Obviously, we are saddened at the departure of Lantu and her family (Antsa, the nine-year-old girl, is Emma's best Malagasy friend). We didn't get to say goodbye to them, and we only hope that they return sometime soon. Also, we are confused about the fact that they left a 13-year-old boy here to fend for himself. This certainly isn't an American cultural trait, but we also don't want those things that we consider cultural norms to interfere too much with our life here (or anyone else's for that matter); at this point we just don't understand why they would do that. Moreover, we were in agreement with Lantu that we would meet every week to study the Bible in order to help her grow in her walk with the Lord, and it goes without saying that those plans are presently on hold.

How you can pray specifically:

--That we would have the wisdom we need to handle this in a way that honors God and is beneficial to their family.

--That Lantu would continue to grow in her relationship with God even though we can't meet regularly for discipleship.

--(Somewhat selfishly), that they would return to Antsirabe so we could continue our relationship with them.

--That God would save Henusi, Lantu's husband. To be completely honest while using American terms, all we know of him is that he's a shady character.

Thank you all for your prayers as we seek to follow God in these distant lands so that people from all tribes and tongues might join with us in worship of the only One who is worthy.

--Adam

December in Madagascar

It's hard for me to believe it's really Christmas time when it's 80 degrees outside and becoming summer here in Mada. We are putting our minds and hearts attention toward the celebration of our savior's birth. The thought of Jesus coming here and being born in a stable, humbling himself and suffering for us is put into a whole new light here. It makes me so thankful we have a God who didn't sweep in like a king in royalty, but chose to come in a very humble manner. I am so glad that is the Jesus I know and get to share with the people here who are so very poor physically and spiritually. I think it makes him someone they can relate to much more. God is working in us and we pray He is working through us.

We have felt a multitude of feelings this past month. We had a guard who broke into our house and stole numerous things while we were at church. That was hard. We felt betrayed and taken advantage of, as well as sympathy and sadness for him spiritual state. He confessed and returned our things because he knew he was caught and he was scared of going to jail. What was amazing was that he hadn't sold them yet. We thank the Lord we were able to get our things back. He said he was sorry and came to church the next day. We haven't seen him since. He has a young son and his dishonest life is very heartbreaking. Please pray for him (Enza) that God would convict him and there would be true repentance.

On a better note, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving visit to the capitol, Antananarivo, with the Hailes family to see the Emeish and Spann families. We truly enjoyed the fellowship and food. It is nice to be in the family of God when missing our family and friends back home. We are so thankful for so many blessings and graces God has given us each day. We really enjoyed a visit to the Croc Farm there to see some of the animals we looked forward to seeing here...chameleons, lemurs, crocodiles, and fosa. The girls were glad to know there actually are lemurs here. We've talked about them a lot, but the only animals we see where we live that are different are omby (cows with humps on their backs) and lizards.

We are learning more and more Malagasy and we enjoy our time in language. We get to practice with our guards in the evening, our nanny, our neighbors, and people we meet on the streets and in the market. We've recently learned more spiritually relevant words and phrases in Malagasy, which is great.

We praise the Lord that our neighbor Lantu and her oldest son Zaka prayed to receive Christ on a visit from our guard, who is also a pastor. We introduced them and he has helped us talk some when we're stumped. Last week, we were supposed to start studying the Bible some with her and her kids, but she and one child were sick. Instead, the girls and I visited Lantu and her younger three kids; we read the Bible, talked some about God in Malagasy, sang a Malagasy praise song, and prayed (which I think I butchered, but we both agreed God could understand). Please pray for Lantu, Henusi (her husband, who we don't know if he's a believer), her kids (Zaka, Yasina, Antsa, Mikael, and Erik). We want to help them learn more and grow spiritually. We praise the Lord her husband found work, but it's about three hours away, so she's with the kids alone in a very tiny place most of the time. Please pray all of their needs will be met. They went to church with us for the second time today.

We also got to have lunch with our Nanny, Nina, and her family. Her husband Tina isn't a believer and doesn't speak English. Please pray for our relationship with them. Please pray for Tina, who is a gentle man, as well as good husband and father. He doesn't realize his need for Jesus. Nina is heartbroken that her husband doesn't know Jesus.

We are enjoying more time together as a family, which is nice. The power goes out 1-3 times a week (almost always in the evenings), so we play games together by candlelight. Our supervisors brought a bike down to Antsirabe for us to borrow, so Adam enjoys riding around town whenever possible. Homeschooling is going better with Emma, thank the Lord. She had not wanted to write or draw as much as she used to, but the last few days she has gotten back into her groove. Corinne likes to play alone some while Emma does school. That helps us a lot too.

We appreciate and need your prayers. They are very important to us. I have made myself a prayer schedule dividing the days up so I'm not too overwhelmed with too much to pray for in one day, which has helped me. Please know that you are being prayed for by us. Please keep us informed about prayer requests as well as how you are doing. We love you all and are especially missing family and friends with the holidays near. We pray God is bringing his peace to you during this holiday season.

--April