An Update...Finally!

Oh man, are we ever late on this update. I don't know if it's the southern hemisphere or living so close to the equator, but the time sure does seem to pass by quicker here.


The Work


Having lived in Diego for six months now, we are now fully settled into a good routine. Adam is still going to the village (Mahamasina) on Tuesdays, while April, Emma, and Corinne are still hard at work with homeschool. Along with that, April has a few women she meets with for Bible study on a weekly basis and Adam will begin studying with a young man this week.

April and a couple of the ladies in her Bible study

We have kicked up our evangelistic efforts in the city. We both go out at least once a week now to share the gospel with the people of Diego. Adam usually goes to a park in the center of town; there are always guys hanging out who are almost always willing to share a bench and talk. April takes to the streets closer to our home or our teammates' home. Our hope in all of this, of course, is to make disciples which in turn results in the starting of new churches.

Adam teaching in Mahamasina

To be honest, sharing the gospel here is actually not that difficult since most people we talk to are willing to listen to what we believe; as we may have mentioned before, most Malagasy people are surprised that a white person speaks their language, so for the most part that gains us instant credibility with them. As it relates to gospel conversations, the most striking thing of all is most of them already have some mental framework for Christianity or at least religion in general; only one person so far has stated that he has no religion. While this is tiring work, especially doing it in another language, we find fulfillment in it as we seek to be faithful to the Lord's call.

The Girls
Emma and Corinne are doing well. They now have Malagasy friends who come over to play several times a week. They are both progressing well through school, although as all of you teachers out there know, some days are better than others. A few things they've studied recently are how God made everything, which involved learning some really amazing facts about sea animals. Did you know that in order to eat, a starfish will pry open a mollusk, and push its stomach out of its body into the mollusk? It's like it turns itself inside out for a good meal. We recently took a field trip to the beach to see in person some of the things we studied. When we see the awesome details of His creation, it causes us to praise Him even more.

Emma is really taking some solid steps on her spiritual journey (even as she proves from time to time that her flesh is not going down without a fight). Adam writes a short devotional for her everyday with verses to read and questions to answer; she spent most of her time recently learning what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. Her "Bible Time" is one of the first things she does everyday. Emma and April have been reading through the Little House on the Prairie book series, and we've started watching some of the episodes from the television show (it's surprising how much that era reminds us of Madagascar today).

Corinne is beginning to enjoy school more and more. She's learning to read and seems to have a natural gift for math. One of Corinne's favorite activities is figuring out ways to get as dirty as possible; she could give any American boy a run for his money. We continue to teach Corinne about God's love, and just this morning (Oct 23) after talking with us she expressed her desire to put her trust in Jesus for salvation. We praise the Lord that both of our young daughters have now received God's free gift of salvation.


The Learning
While the above gives a snapshsot of what we've been doing, we'd also like to share briefly what we've been learning. The Lord has really been shaping and molding us in our time here. In a lot of ways, we feel like different people now; guess that's just part of learning to live in another culture/country. Our trust in God has deepened as He has led us through the frustration that arises from language and culture acquisition (those two things are no easy tasks, nor are they complete).

Additionally, we are learning what it means to abide in the Lord. This has been impressed upon our hearts through life in general and through our work here. While it doesn't take moving to another country and preaching/teaching in another language to shed light on the utter necessity of abiding in Christ, at the very least it shines a light on that necessity in a different way. We do not doubt at all that apart from Christ we truly could do nothing. Furthermore, the more we abide in Christ and seek to follow the leadership of the Spirit, the less fear we have in proclaiming the gospel.


Prayer Requests
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us; we need your prayers more than you know. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to work faithfully here.

Requests:

1. For our family--that we love each other well and provide a godly example to the Malagasy people.
2. For our team here in northern Madagascar--our supervisors Michael and Michelle are heading to the States soon for their stateside assignment. Pray for rest and good visits with family and friends. Our other teammates the Berrys, like us, are still learning language and seeking to develop relationships with Malagasy people. Pray we would be effective in our work.
3. For Emma--that she would continue to grow in her faith and that she would keep working hard in school.
4. For Corinne--that she would grow strong in her new faith and that she would continue to do well in school.
5. For our work--for April's Bible study with the ladies. Adam is beginning to study with a young man on Sundays. Also, please pray for our evangelistic efforts and for new works to begin.
6. For the Malagasy people--that many would see their need for Christ and put their trust in him.

Oh, The Time is Flying By

On July 25, 2011, we started our work as missionaries with the IMB, meaning we just passed the one year mark. In some ways, we are at a loss to describe exactly what the experiences of this past year have meant to us. Even in what is usually a fairly benign exercise, that is, writing a blog update, the emotional weight of this past year's events rush back in like it all happened yesterday. So while this post is specifically our update for July 2012, we hope you won't mind us throwing in a short reflection on this past year as well.

Undoubtedly, what stands out most is God's faithfulness to us. What we've experienced since this time last year has served to deepen our trust in Christ and give us a perspective we wouldn't and couldn't have otherwise. In all of the emotional up and downs -- stemming from an unexpected pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, uncertainty about our deployment to Madagascar, leaving family and friends to move to foreign soil, culture shock, occasional homesickness, the joy of making new friends, learning a new language, etc. -- God has been the constant. One day we will understand the fullness of God working all things into good ends for us, but in the meantime we can testify of God working this past year, all of it, for our good. There is not a second of our lives that has slipped past His supervision. We are witnesses of God keeping His promises. We are recipients of His grace. To God be the glory.

Now here we are, nearing the end of another month; we have been busy since our last update with language study, preaching/teaching, homeschooling, traveling, and just living day-to-day life in Diego, and below you'll find a little taste of that.

Emma and Corinne are continuing school this summer to build up some time off when the grandparents make their visits later this year. While she sometimes gets frustrated with some of the work required of her, Emma is (almost ridiculously) smart and if she's not playing with Corinne or some of the neighborhood girls, more than likely she is reading a book. Corinne is settling into her school schedule now and beginning to enjoy kindergarten more, but she's as curious as ever. Emma is a thinker and highly organized while Corinne is more free-spirited and as affectionate as she can be. Watching the personalities of our girls develop is such a blessing. These two girls of ours are different in so many ways, similar in others, yet we marvel at God's handiwork in making them who they are.

April has been staying busy with homeschooling, which can be quite a task with a 3rd-grader and kindergartner. While presenting its own set of challenges, homeschooling has been a good experience and we are thankful for the opportunities it brings to lead our children in their education and spiritual growth. On top of that, April has helped with a Kid's Club at the Baptist church on several Saturdays. Along with some other teammates here, Michelle and Christina, they have taught the kids that they are made in the image of God, led them in singing and playing games, and even taught them how to wash their hands and brush their teeth properly. April has also had the opportunity to share with several women that she's met near our home, and she just recently started studying the Bible with two of them. We praise the Lord for the relationships He is giving us.

The first three believers to be baptised in Mahamasina

Adam has continued to help with the work in a village called Mahamasina. If you've read our updates before, you know Mahamasina is where we have a new church beginning (our supervisor began working there about 18 months ago); just a couple of weeks ago three new believers were baptized in a creek there. We praise the Lord for His work in this village. The next Tuesday after the baptisms, Adam had the opportunity to lead the Bible study in Mahamasina for the first time. Then, just a few days after that, Adam preached in the Baptist church for the Sunday morning service. These teaching/preaching experiences are still a little nerve-wracking and can have their awkward moments because of language, but God has been faithful to accomplish His work in spite of our shortcomings.

Once again, we celebrate the Lord's goodness and faithfulness through this update, and we thank you for your work in prayer on our behalf. We would love to hear about how you are doing as well as some things we can pray about for you. Here are some things we'd love for you to pray about until our next update:

1. Our continued learning of the dialect here. We praise God for how far He has brought us, but ask for further ability to speak and understand.

2. The people of Madagascar to be prepared to hear God's Word and surrender their lives to him.

3. Opportunities to meet more people and share God's Word with the goal of forming new groups to study His Word.

4. Emma and Corinne's continued adjustment and for them to have a desire to play with and even try to speak with Malagasy kids. The Lord has brought them a long way, but it has been more of a struggle for them here in Diego than it was in Antsirabe.

5. The strikes at the schools and hospitals are resolving some. We praise God for that, but there are still a number of teachers, doctors, and nurses on strike.

6. Wisdom as we seek to use our time wisely. There are so many things to do, and not near enough time to do them all.

7. Our other team members here in northern Madagascar: Michael and Michelle Allen; Andy and Christina Berry, and their kids Walker and Delaney.


P.S. Guess we can't let this update pass by without introducing the newest members of our family: Chloe and Little Jerry Seinfeld.

Chloe (left) and Little Jerry Seinfeld (right)

June Update

Corinne and Emma learning how to scrape out the insides of a coconut with their new friend, Le Pa.

Adeline teaching me how to pound "ravitoto"...hard work

Adeline had to take over after a while. =)

Wow! It has been a busy, exciting, and challenging last month and a half here in Madagascar. We had our "cultural training experience" during the middle of May. The first few days were in a village called Mahamasina; we stayed in a hut and while we saw a few foreigners, most of our time was spent with Malagasy people. The last few days of our training were at a Malagasy pastor's house here in Diego, which is basically an extension of their church building. God used this time of training to teach us more about Malagasy culture and give us more of a burden for the people here. April and the girls also had several opportunities to help with cooking Malagasy food, which included pounding leaves into mush and shredding coconut. None of this was easy, and every meal took several hours to prepare.

We got to ask many questions about culture here and how they do things. Many people here still practice the "fomban' drazana", which essentially equates to ancestor worship. Each year, they go in to the tombs of their deceased family members and  rewrap the bones in a clean cloth. They do this as an act of worship and a time of prayer to their ancestors. There are also ceremonies that are held to evoke the spirit of the ancestor and have them come into a person to speak to them about how to handle a certain problem. Many people have heard of Jesus, but still believe their salvation depends on good works and praying all the time. We also had a very long discussion with a Muslim man who simply could not wrap his mind around the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and at the same time He is God. That is just a small picture of the work we have before us in our time here.

The girls really enjoyed getting water from the well and Emma loved washing dishes in a bucket and helping wash clothes by hand.

We also were very burdened for Diego as we got to visit a hospital here. There was one large room with all kinds of patients, even ones who probably needed to be in isolation. The patients' families usually come and bring their food. While we were there, we didn't see one doctor or nurse (side note: all the doctors and nurses of  the government-funded hospitals are now on strike because the government can't afford to pay them). We had the opportunity to share the gospel and pray with the people there.

Since our training, we have started language here, which has been a challenge. Much of the northern dialect is different from the official Malagasy, not to mention the fact that the Malagasy people here in the north use a lot of French. We have a pretty grasp on the Malagasy grammar, so we spend nearly all of our language time studying vocabulary.

Our team here in the north has teamed up with the Baptist church here in Diego for the month of June to share the good news of Jesus and information about the church. This month is the 80th celebration of the Baptist church being in Madagascar. Each Saturday, they set up a booth and share with as many people as possible. Also, this week, the Jesus film will be shown for the second time. Through these things, several people have given their lives to the Lord. April had the opportunity to go out with the Baptist pastor's wife and visit several contacts we made through hospital visitation and the showing of the Jesus film. During that visit two young ladies put their trust in Jesus for salvation. We are very excited about the work of the Holy Spirit here.

We have started kindergarten curriculum with Corinne and third grade with Emma. We are enjoying most of our school time together, although it does provide its own set of challenges. I am enjoying teaching them basic Bible truths through every day illustrations like the idea that Jesus is the sun (the light of the world) and we the moon (also a light to the world), but only because of the "light" we receive from the sun. They are learning and growing a lot these days.

Corinne and Emma in our school room

In the midst of all the busy-ness we have had our share of challenges. Adam was sick with a bad throat infection that kept him down for several weeks. We were without running water for over a week because of issues at the water company. This proved to be a good cultural learning experience as we had to make numerous trips to fill up water jugs. Also, we typically have multiple power outages each day. All this to say, it has been time of stretching for us. At the same time, even as we "struggle" in these small ways, it doesn't compare to the hardship of most of the people here. So we are thankful for what we have, but above all, we desire to grow closer to our Lord in the trials of life, knowing He is able to sustain us and give us the strength we need. 

On a much more disturbing note, we had heard that there are people here who sell or "rent" their children to visitors for their pleasure, which, of course, bothers us greatly. The present administration--in place because of a coup back in 2009--has done very little to police the problem (you can read the latest US Embassy report concerning this issue here: Report on Human Trafficking in Mada). We aren't sure exactly what we can do about the problem at this point, but we are praying about how we might be involved and follow the biblical mandate to "do justice."

We can't thank you enough for your prayers!! God is surely honoring them. It was awesome to hear from a friend that at the end of a particularly challenging week, their VBS had prayed for us that day. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to be faithful in the work to which God has called us here in Madagascar.

Praise the Lord for:
-2 new believers in the Lord...Jenny and Epiphane
-new friends
-restored physical health
-running water again!

Please pray for:
-The Malagasy peoples'  hearts to be ready to hear the gospel and to surrender their lives to Christ.
-Our team here in the north as we share the gospel and seek to start new churches.
-Us to have strength, boldness, and opportunities to share Jesus' love.
-Us to learn the new dialect quickly.
-The girls to adjust well and make more friends.
-The government teachers, doctors, and nurses are almost all on strike now, as they aren't receiving all the money they should. Please pray for the many people this affects. The teachers have been on strike for at least a couple of months now and the doctors and nurses just went on strike.
-Jenny and Epiphane to grow in their relationship with the Lord.
-The human trafficking problem to which the current government is paying little attention at this point. Something must be done.

April/May Update

To say that time is moving quickly here in Madagascar would be an understatement. Our last update, which I'm ashamed to say was well over a month ago, had us finishing up language school, preparing for a trip to South Africa, and gearing up for our move to Diego. Well, all of those things have happened, which means I'm happy to say this update is coming from our new home in Diego.

We finished our study of what is referred to as "official Malagasy" on March 22nd. This proved to be a bittersweet time for us; no doubt we were excited to be done with our first five months of language school, but it also marked the end of our time in Antsirabe. There are aspects of Antsirabe that we will miss, especially the great friends we made and the opportunity we had to study language and hang out with the Hailes (precious missionary friends we had seen nearly everyday since the end of last July).

Our language teachers Andry and Madame Lalao

April and I giving our "goodbye speeches" at a local school

After the completion of language school, we spent nearly three weeks in South Africa for a conference held by the organization we work for. We anticipated great things for our time in South Africa, such as a short return to civilization, malls, McDonald's, interstate highways, and most importantly, the opportunity to worship in our heart language. We were not disappointed. However, we were thrown off our plan a bit as we were forced to stay in Johannesburg a week longer than expected because I had to have a follow-up doctor's appointment concerning my back. This pushed our move to Diego back one week, but we did receive good news about my back; the doctor saw no serious issues based on x-rays and mri, but apparently, driving in Africa can cause back pain. Who knew?

Sheer delight

In what was a blur, we returned to Madagascar (April 14; Emma's birthday), packed our belongings over the next few days, and left Antsirabe for Diego on April 23. We drove to the capital city, Antananarivo, stayed overnight there, then for the next two days took in views of Madagascar we had yet to see as we wound our way to Diego. Overall, the drive from Antsirabe took about 21 hours over the course of three days, and we traveled on some of the worst roads I've ever seen. Needless to say, my back was more than a little sore when we arrived in Diego. But we made it, the moving truck made it, and we are pretty settled into our new home.

Scariest bridge I've ever driven on

April and the girls taking a break from the truck.

A Madagascar sunset

To be honest, it's a little hard to believe that we're actually here in Diego, although the heat and wind are good reminders. The beach is a pretty nice indicator, too. We are excited that we have finally joined the other families on our team, the Allens and Berrys, here in northern Madagascar. We look forward to working with them.
 

Didn't take us long to make our way to the beach

The Northern Madagascar Team

We are doing our best to jump right into the work here. I went last week with the Allens to Mahamasina, a village about 2.5 hours south of Diego. There is a small group of believers there that is really close to becoming a church. Michael is teaching core Christian doctrines right now and there are two Malagasy men who have the potential to step up and lead this small group. Hoping and praying they do.

Michael teaching the small group of believers in Mahamasina

April, the girls, and I went to the market last week looking for mosquito nets among other things, and while we were there we met a lady named Isabelle. As usual, she was pretty shocked that a white foreigner knew Malagasy and wanted to converse with her. She stated that she would like to meet with us to study English. This gave us the opportunity to let her know why we are here and to share the gospel with her and the others who were around. She admitted she didn't know the story of Jesus well, so we said we would meet with her to study the Bible and help her with English. April and I met with her last night for the first time, and it was a good time of explaining more about salvation from the Bible and from April sharing her testimony.

The next two weeks we will go through Malagasy cultural immersion. This week we are staying in a tiny hut in Mahamasina, while next week we will stay with a Malagasy family here in Diego. During this time we will get a lot of practice speaking and listening to the northern dialect, plus we have assignments to complete that will clue us in on Malagasy lifestyle, religion, healthcare, politics, etc. We are looking forward to this time of learning.
 

Our home for the next few days

That about does it for now, but we do have some things you can be praying for.

1. The Allens and Berrys, our teammates here in Diego.
2. The small group of believers in Mahamasina.
3. Isabelle, the Malagasy lady we met with last night. Pray that the Spirit would open her heart to receive the Gospel.
4. More missionaries to come to northern Madagascar. Right now, I believe there are 3 "job requests" with our organization here in the north that need to be filled.
5. April and the girls as they continue to homeschool. Corinne now joins the fray as a kindergartner.
6. Our time out this week in Mahamasina and next week with the family here in Diego.
7. Our study of the northern dialect.
8. Wisdom for April and I as we seek God's direction for what is in store for our family after this first term, which ends July, 2013.
9. Pray for us to be filled fresh with the Spirit each day, full of joy, and ready to share the truth about Jesus boldly .

March Update

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your much needed prayers. Here's a little update about what's going on with us.

What we've realized over five months is that daily life here is rewarding but also very draining at times. There are needs all around us...spiritual and physical. However, I can tell you that God's strength and peace have been so evident in our lives. Before our arrival in Madagascar, I definitely had moments of wondering how I would do being surrounded by so many needy people. I really struggle sometimes with the hard things of this world like poverty and disease, but I am truly thankful to the Lord that He has given me everything I've needed to handle these situations well.

This past month has been good as we've focused on language a lot and have been practicing more and more since we finished up grammar a couple of weeks ago. Yea!! We got to go share our testimony at the same school we taught at last month. Adam and I both shared with two classes of 60-80 kids each. They seemed to understand us and we answered some questions, at least we think we did. We are so thankful for these opportunities to share even though they seem so overwhelming when we are preparing. A lot of the time we feel like we aren't ready, but we know He can speak clearly even when we mess up and we know His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Adam and Adam Hailes (our missionary friend going to Tulear when done with language school) have been doing a bible study with Andry, one of our language teachers. This has been a great time for all of them, both for language practice and for discipleship. Suzie Hailes (Adam Hailes' wife) and I have begun having a bible study with Andry's wife and her friend. At first, we felt a little apprehensive about this because the biblical language is even more challenging with so many words we still need to learn and we are really busy with all we do. Andry and his wife truly desire to learn and grow while we are here, so we are trying. We are excited about their dedication and desire to learn the Bible.

We had two "Friday Clubs" during February. We discussed salvation one week and this week I shared my testimony and talked more about salvation. They listened really well and I pray God is speaking to them through the time we have. They love playing here with Emma and Corinne, and we enjoy them as well.

We have visited a Catholic school and orphanage with our language teacher a couple of times now. It is heartbreaking in some respects because all the kids there are really poor. The kids who live there have no family or family too poor to care for them. We would've taken one little boy home if we could have. He was so precious. He is 1 1/2 years old, but he's still the size of a 6 month old; we are sure he has some sort of physical problem, although we don't know what. Usually, the kids live there until they are around 5-6 and then go live with extended family or in a government orphanage. They were at least clean, well fed, and appeared to be well cared for. While there, we talked to the older kids as they played games. Other trips include visits to a soap maker (nothing like U.S. soap and it doesn't smell like it would make you clean), a pousse-pousse maker, and a scale maker, which is all a part of our language school and practice.

We will be going to South Africa at the end of this month for a meeting with all the Sub-Saharan African missionaries. We will be there for about 1 1/2 weeks, return to Antsirabe, pack up our belongings, and move to Diego on April 16th. Our schedule is as full as we want it to be right now, but we are excited to begin the work in the area we came to serve.

Please pray for :

-us to finish strong in our language studies so that we can communicate God's love well.

-the girls' continued adjustment here and adjusting to a new place soon.

-our supervisors, Michael and Michelle Allen as they train us and share God's love in Diego.

-the Berry family (Andy, Christina, Walker, and Delaney) with whom we will also be working in Diego.

-Andry, Zoe and their children as they seek to grow in their knowledge of and love for Jesus and His Word.

-the neighborhood kids we see often and share with about Jesus.

-the government of Madagascar as it is corrupt and there are so many very poor, jobless people.

Praise God for:

-His provision of grace, strength and peace for us.

-how far we've come in the Malagasy language.

-how we've all adjusted to live in Mada so far.

-new friends we've made so.
-the opportunity to share God's love this month.

--April

Amazing things about Madagascar

There are many things about Madagascar I've wanted to share....many of the things you just don't see in America.

--The Malagasy people are friendly and mostly very hard working. They are amazingly resourceful and use every part of a thing without wasting. Every part of the cow is used, including the horns, out of which they make beautiful things. We have visited a place that makes jewelry, salt and pepper shakers, spoons, games, etc. out of the horns. Their process is very interesting: they boil them and use wax and molds. Then, when they polish it, they use an old washing machine motor and put cut up jeans on it as a polisher. Also, there are people who use cut up cans to make toy bicycles and pousse pousses. They use out of date IV tubing for the tires.


--Many of the men pull pousse-pousses (rickshaw type things that may be used to carry people, furniture, motorcycles, or even dead pigs) all day with bare feet running on hot concrete, rocks, and through mud holes. They must have built in leather on their feet from years of doing this.

--It is more common to see multiple people on bikes than singles, I think. Many times one person steers and sits on the middle bar behind the handle bars and the other one pedals. Adam and I tried riding together (once) and gained even more respect for them as it is super difficult...and painful...and hilariously funny. We have seen three people on a bike before and Emma spotted 5 people on a motorcycle the other day (3 kids and 2 adults). How do they do it? It's not very safe, but in most cases, they are doing what they have to to get by and get where they need to go. It is amazing that we have only seen one accident with a motorcycle.

--Many people live in the mountains and come down to the city to work, which is miles away.

The ladies carry large loads of clothes, sticks, baskets of food on their heads...while climbing up or down a mountain! Amazing! We have even seen kids carrying pretty large loads balanced on their heads.

--Sometimes we even see kids run through the neighborhood playing without supervision many times, even little 3-year-olds with their brothers and sisters. I hate to see this, but they usually seem to manage quite well.

--Did you know that it is perfectly normal to have a whole herd of omby (the cows here that usually have humps on their backs) going down a main street in the middle of traffic?

--The bathrooms here at some places are outhouses with a hole in the ground...usually with no toilet paper. We carry tissues and try to go before we leave the house. This is quite an adjustment. Yes, we do have a regular toilet and so many other places do as well.

--Most Malagasy people eat rice 3 meals a day (if they are able to afford 3 meals)

--We do see chameleons pretty frequently here. We have had 3 different ones in our yard. The first was a small, colorful guy. The girls and I put him in a box, then I read that they can eat 18-20 bugs a day and knew he would be better off in the yard; he disappeared that day, never to be seen again. We had another one that hung around awhile and we watched him a lot. The girls named him Paschal. He was a slow mover, always easy to find. He died. We are sure he died peacefully. We currently have another one, but haven't seen him in about a week. They blend in so well. They are so cute and their eyes can go two different ways at the same time. One will look up and one will look down. Their little feet have only two little parts like pinchers. We love to watch them climb and walk.. Sometimes they have meat and vegetables in sauce to go with it called loaka.

--There are places everywhere that sell meat. Chickens, cows (again, every part of it), pigs (also, every part) either hanging on hooks or laid out on the counter in the open air all day long. We go buy it in the morning usually and haven't gotten sick, praise the Lord.

--Adam just got to ride in his first taxi-be here...a small station wagon. There was a middle seat built for three and they insisted that it was a five person seat. There were 4 adults already crammed together, but those running the show asked them to make room for one more. Adam and the other men said there was no room, but they made them get out and showed them how to stagger by a few sitting toward the back of the seat and a couple on the front edge of the seat. So, yes, five adults in a middle seat is possible, but terribly painful.

swimming in a language

"So, how did we do?" That was one of a number of questions we asked our language teachers after this morning's visit to a local school. The answer, "Milomano ianareo (You guys are swimming)." This answer provided great encouragement following the plunge we had just taken into the deeper waters of the Malagasy language.

I had almost forgotten the feelings that arrive in waves shortly before teaching or preaching the Bible. Nervous energy, excitement, a heightened sense of unworthiness, a moment of utter helplessness, the queasiness of an upset stomach that is magnified by the terrible fear that there might not be a good toilet (and even if there is a good one, there is no guarantee of toilet paper), followed by a renewed resolve and strength to fulfill God's call for the moment. Only this time it took place in a different country with a different culture in a different language. The variables may change, but the one constant is a faithful God who sends out His sowers and produces the results of their sowing.

This morning we went to a school to teach the Bible to Malagasy students. We have been in language school for only a little over three months now, so it felt like we who are still doggie-paddling in the language were being thrown into the ocean. My class consisted of about forty 12-14 year-olds (we call them Jr. Highers in America). What an interesting time it turned out to be! I prepared a lesson based on Romans 5:1, in which Paul states, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." With notes and a Malagasy Bible in hand, I taught on this verse and other supplementary verses for about 20 minutes. After this, I prayed and then asked the question I dreaded most of all: "Misy fanontiana? (Are there any questions?)" You see, after three months of language school, I feel pretty confident in my ability to say what I need/want to say, but my understanding when others speak remains a point of frustration. My ears still can't hear as fast as they can talk.

Thankfully, one of our language teachers was with me during this time, because, surprise of all surprises, there was a Muslim student in the class who had A LOT of questions. I knew I was going there to teach the Bible; I didn't know I was going there to argue for the deity of Jesus with a 13 year-old Muslim. His biggest question concerned how Jesus could be both the Son of God and God at the same time. My goodness, I'm still in language floaties and I'm having to do apologetics in Malagasy. But the Holy Spirit is faithful and good. After praying silently yet fervently, I asked the young man who he thought made the universe. As expected, his answer was God. So I read Colossians 1:15-17 and John 1:1-4 to show him that the Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus Himself was actively involved in the act of creation, which, as he stated, was a work of God alone. As is the case with most Malagasy Muslims, he left the conversation unconvinced, but I was thankful for the opportunity to share the truth of Scripture nonetheless.

However, there was encouragement even in what was overall a frustrating conversation. I found out later that this young man is from Diego (the city we will relocate to in April) and he was speaking in the northern dialect, which partly explains why I could understand so little of what he said. This morning the Lord was giving me but a small taste of what we will be dealing with when we move in a couple of months. My heart breaks for the people of northern Madagascar, many of whom claim Islam as their faith, even though it gets diluted in the traditional religions of Madagascar. Muslim or not, there remains a stubbornness and hard-heartedness in the people of northern Madagascar through which only the Lord can break.

Lord, take their hearts of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Write Your laws on their hearts, and cause them to walk in Your ways. You be their God, and make them Your people.

I'm not sure the magnitude of this morning has hit me yet, probably because my brain was melting in the aftermath, but upon a quick reflection, I see that the Lord gave me the opportunity to teach His Word halfway around the world in a language not yet my own; that is pretty awesome, and overwhelming. We're in the deep, and whether it be by doggie-paddle or breaststroke, we're swimming.