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.

The Latest from Mada

Life on the Red Island keeps us plenty busy during the day and leaves us plenty tired by the end of the day. Thanks to all of you who pray for us as we seek to shed the light of the gospel here in Madagascar. We apologize that we haven't stayed in better contact with updates over the past couple of months, so here we are attempting to make things right with you by giving a brief review of 2011's end and 2012's beginning.

About Our Neighbors

Many of you have prayed for and asked about the family with whom we spent a lot of time in our first couple of months here. As you know, we had just started discipling Lantu in December when, without notice, she and her family left Antsirabe. We did find out that her two oldest sons, Zaka and Yasina, stayed behind to watch over their home until the family was able to return. We were happy to hear that they would return at some point, but that was around the week before Christmas, and now with one full month of 2012 behind us, they still have yet to return. We don't know exactly what the situation is, but we are taking this to mean their residence in Tana is permanent.

Christmas in Mada

As you can imagine, Christmas-time is a good bit different here than in America. We enjoyed our little Christmas tree and the few decorations that were available to us (thanks Michael and Michelle). This much can be said without reservation, listening to Christmas music is a lot more enjoyable when it's not forced on you 24 hours a day like every radio station in America. While we did our best to maintain some of our home culture's holiday practices, we could not simulate typical American Christmas-time weather. (By far this was the warmest Christmas we have experienced; Adam even got his first ever December sunburn.) We had a Christmas party with our workers (i.e. night guards and nanny) and their families. That was great fun as we had about 30 guests in our house. And guess what? Even Malagasy people like to play Twister. On Christmas day we opened gifts, went to church, then joined the other missionary families here in Antsirabe for lunch, games, and presents. Quite a day!

Language School Fun

We have been in language school for a little over 3 months now, and the difference between when we began and now is amazing. We are learning a lot, but even as we do that, we realize there is so much more to learn. We are still doing 16 hours of school a week with additional study and practice time outside of that. One of the challenges/joys of school is that we have reached the point where we are now taking weekly "field trips" for language practice. Of course, this is challenging because in a lot of cases we are put on the spot by having to talk about ourselves, what we are doing, and then answer all sorts of other questions. But there is great joy in this as well; we have visited a school for the blind two times, an orphanage, and a couple of weeks ago we visited a school for the deaf and mute. Witnessing a blind child read braille or a deaf child accurately read lips is truly a wonder to behold and a beautiful testimony to God's grace. This past week we went to a school and taught from the Bible for the first time in Malagasy (we have separate blog posts describing that experience, go check them out). All that to say, it is a privilege to learn a new language for the purpose of sharing the gospel in another's heart language. It's not easy, but worth it.

Friday Bible Club

In a place like this it doesn't take long for the

neighborhood kids to find the foreigners. About a month ago, some children started hanging out near our house, at first just to see if we would talk to them or not. Not long after that, April invited a few of these children into our front yard to play. Word travels fast when access is gained to the front yard, and soon more and more kids were showing up almost daily, yelling for Emma to come out and play. Those of you who know April are well acquainted with her gracious hospitality, so what was becoming a little overwhelming, that is, having persistent boys and girls stand outside our gate while letting us know clearly that they want in, has become a "Friday Bible Club." Now the kids know that every Friday at 3pm our gate is open for about two hours. We have snacks, crafts, sports (sort of), and a Bible story; this past Friday we had 16 Malagasy children in our front yard. It is amazing to see how content and happy they are with a piece of paper and crayons, especially since most of them don't attend school.

The kids range from 3-12 years old and most of them are extremely dirty, so we make sure they get washed up in our backyard sink while they are here. We have given some of them clothes, but they usually wear the same dirty ones every day and save their new clothes for a "special occasion" even though they would be basic play clothes to us. Of the adults present in their lives, we have only met one grandmother so far. It is very different since they have no adults in sight taking care of them. We sent them home with Malagasy tracts and we pray that they will understand Jesus' sacrifice for them.

Emma and Corinne

Emma is doing much better in homeschooling, although we still have some really challenging days of her missing "a real class" with other students her age. We have greatly enjoyed reading and discussing books together; we read Little House on the Prairie just recently. Emma usually does really well playing with the Malagasy children. Sometimes, though, she gets tired and would rather her play-time be with Corinne only. We are excited because she has learned quite a bit of Malagasy vocabulary. Also, God is really working in Emma's heart (we've had several long conversations about repentance, faith, and following Jesus), but she's not quite ready to give her life to Him. Please pray for Emma to understand God's love more fully, and not to lean on her own understanding.

Corinne is adapting much better now. She's had some hard days of being angry about living in Madagascar, but last night she told us she was getting used to it and that "tomorrow, I think I'll like it." She plays with the Malagasy children some, but at other times she doesn't really want to. Her imagination is growing like crazy. She does great playing with dolls on her own when April is teaching Emma. She and Emma love playing together most of the time and we believe our time here has brought them closer.

Well, that about does it. Two months of life wrapped up in a few short paragraphs. Again, we thank you so much for you prayers. Hopefully we will do a better job in the future of keeping you updated.

--Adam and April

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