Village Evangelism

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible… I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9: 19, 22-23

 

Could you live in a hut like this one for 2 ½ years?  In distant villages on remote islands, in spaces where most people would never choose to live, groups of people are committing their lives to living simply in order to build relationships that will form the foundation for deep-seated and locally relevant faith. 

Through the heavily scented ylang-ylang fields and not far from the main town, truthfully named Hell-ville, a team of new missionaries makes their homes.  They live tucked away deep in a forest and nestled on a hill and others overlooking the sea, living with local Sakalava people – learning the dialect by living amongst the people and hoping to one day share the gospel message in Sakalava ways.

After surveying the island of Nosy Be, helping the team leader develop a strategy, and seeing ground cleared and rough huts built, it’s incredible to now see people living in those huts and interacting regularly with the villagers around them.  What was just an idea, a vision for lasting change in the hearts of people, has now become a reality and it’s a treasure to see. 

Sharing the gospel by living among the people and learning and using their dialect is a relatively new approach to church planting ministry in Madagascar.  Typically, church planters learn French or the highland dialect before engaging in evangelism in rural areas.  The churches they plant are most often peopled by those from highland tribes and the gospel is generally considered part of the ‘Merina” highland culture, not meant for the coastal people groups.  Our vision and hope is that the Sakalava people would see the gospel as truly “Sakalava,” meant for them, and carried by people who live among them and speak like them.    

Pray for this TIMO (Training In Ministry Outreach) team as they struggle to adjust to rural life – thatch huts and long hikes to fetch water – and build relationships that will bring deep and lasting change to the lives of people who have not fully heard Christ’s message of hope. 

 

Transformation

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2


On a recent trip to the town of Mandritsara, I had the opportunity to travel with a local evangelist to a rural Tsimihety village. When we arrived, I noticed the water pump right away. Its mechanism and steel stood out in contrast to the mud and thatch huts of the village. The pump had been installed by a foreign NGO several years before and it was no longer working. At the time of its genesis, it seemed like a great idea… and free! But now its steel frame lay rusting away in the center of the village, an example of a foreign idea that never quite took hold.

The foreign NGO offered to put the pump in at no cost and when the project was completed they left the country, having done their good work. But when the pump broke no one was trained to fix it and there were no funds for replacement parts. A rusting pump in the middle of a rural village is a sight not all that uncommon in Madagascar.

As the church service began, I was amazed at the makeup of the congregation. Normally, a rural Madagascar church service is mainly filled with women and children. But this service had about 15 people on the old wooden benches, mostly men and no children.

The evangelist began his sermon by reading a passage of Scripture, which was in the highland (official) dialect. When the reading was finished, he turned his head, looked out the window and began to tell stories related to the reading and in the local Tsimihety dialect. The stories made sense to these people, rural rice farmers who spend long days in the fields. Stories in the dialect stick. People enjoy hearing them. They don’t rust or fade away.

Foreign models of development and ministry look good for a time but often fail to take root in deep and lasting ways. We are hoping to continue partnering with ministries that focus on developing people and offer sustainable development that transforms and renews the whole person. This would involve training that takes root at the heart level and makes sense to the local people.

Please pray that we will have many such opportunities to be involved with churches and church leaders who have a desire to see holistic transformation and heart change in this nation and not just quick fix solutions.

*AIM Madgascar has a project for Transformational Development.  To give to this project through AIM, use fund SR-MAD-122-U Transformational Development

The Bara

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Philippians 2:9-11

Deep in the rain forest, in desert towns, under mango trees, and in small huts in distant villages, churches can be found in some of the most far-off, “unreached” places in Madagascar. But, often few, if any, from the local people group are represented in those gatherings.

Recently I visited the southern town of Betroka, a cultural center for the unreached Bara people, to encourage our new team of missionaries there. I met with the Assemblies of God pastor in the town. He explained that, like AIM, he wanted to reach out to the Bara but he couldn’t understand why they just wouldn’t respond to the gospel.

I was delighted to attend his church on Sunday morning – a small, rented room in the local school. The pastor preached the gospel to about 30 people, but all from other people groups. Where were the Bara? As I examined the service – a non-Bara pastor, songs in a different dialect, a foreign sermon from the highland culture, and the Bible in the highland language – it was really no wonder the Bara felt undrawn to the worship.

The road to Betroka is long and tiring, a dirt track that seems to go on forever. But the greens and blues paint the landscape on a backdrop of savannah grass, plains, and herds of Bara cattle. As I traveled through those vast expanses of green, a cool breeze steadily swept through the valley. And as the team members, all learning the Bara dialect, worked on memorizing Scripture from the new Bara translation of Luke, the strong wind blew in from the mountains. It was a wind of change sweeping through this valley, a breath of fresh air. To hear Christ’s words in a familiar way is to bring truth and hope to people who have not yet heard.

Please pray with us that these new missionaries would have opportunities to build relationships through their study of the Bara language and that through those relationships, a uniquely Bara expression of faith would follow.

*AIM Madagascar has a project for developing written materials in the local dialects. To give to this project through AIM, use fund SR-MAD-110-U Literature Development.

Hope for the future

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will not enter it." Luke 18: 16-17

As I travelled through the dusty beach town of Toliara, southern Madagascar, visiting AIM co-workers there, I was reminded of the statistic which says about 60% of the population of Madagascar is under the age of 14. Kids playing in the dust, bare feet kicking a ball of plastic bags, rolling old tires in the street, all big smiles and innocent hope in the future.

Many of the children here are physically hungry. But more than a need for food, the children are hungry for an opportunity, for hope that only good will come of them. The sad reality is that most youth will end up touched by drugs, alcohol, prostitution and a general desperation for lack of opportunity.

It should be a task of the church to reach out to the children, providing them with a future in Christ. But there are few, if any, churches with programs designed for children and youth. Beyond a youth choir or “scout” group, there is little effort being made to reach out to the majority of this country’s youth population.

Our desire is to bring lasting hope to these hungry faces. Part of AIM’s vision in Madagascar is to reach the youth of the country by creating a culturally appropriate model for youth ministry which can be packaged and used in churches throughout the island. We hope to have a team of missionaries based in Tulear for 2 years, working together to learn about the needs of the youth, then creating this model and training local people to make it available in churches throughout the nation. Please pray for wisdom in developing this team ministry, for people with a passion for children and youth ministry to join, and for the children to find an opportunity in Christ.

From the dusty streets of Toliara town, to the bright hope of a future in Christ for Madagascar’s children.

Preparing for Re-Entry

As we prepare to leave Madagascar this week for a six-month “home assignment,” I’m filled with mixed emotions. I’m really looking forward to spending time with family and friends “back home,” but I also see that this island has become a part of us. Honestly, it’s going to be hard to re-enter American society after two years away. I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to do so many technological things, but what’s worse, I’m afraid people will have forgotten us. Even though we’ve kept in touch through email and Skype, it’s not the same as regular phone conversations and visits. When you leave a place it stays imprinted in your mind in a certain way so it’s always shocking to return to find people you knew have changed or even moved on. And that’s only with the people!

Do you know I’ve never even set foot in the USA since Obama became president? This morning I was trying to remember what “American” milk tastes like. I’m used to shopping in an open-air, dirty market and paying for everything in cash. I think I’ve signed my name on official documents less than 10 times in the past two years. So if I look overwhelmed when I walk into a crowded mall or hesitate before signing a credit card receipt, you’ll know why.

But in all this transition, there is much to be thankful for. God has blessed us with “home” in two places, halfway around the world from each other. And whether we’re here or there, He remains that constant, never-changing presence in our lives.

Bevohoka aho!

This phrase, in Malagasy, means, "My womb is full!" Or more simply put: "I'm pregnant!” But I think I’ve only said it a couple of times in my five months of pregnancy. In this country, it’s not considered appropriate to announce your pregnancy to any and everyone. The traditional Malagasy worry about witches cursing their unborn children. So you just wait until it “shows” for the word to spread. For me, that’s only been in the last couple of weeks! And still no one asks if I’m pregnant. Instead, they comment on my growing stomach or congratulate us on the “vahiny” (visitor) that is coming. In a culture where children are greatly prized and complete strangers ask how many children you have and are shocked if you say you don’t have any, there is such joy in pregnancy yet it’s somehow commonplace. No doubt when walking down the street here, you’ll meet at least five pregnant women in walking just a couple of kilometers.

I’ve enjoyed hearing the Malagasy perspective on pregnancy and childbirth. For example, sour things are to be eaten to help with morning sickness. You shouldn’t wear pants when pregnant as it can hurt the baby. After giving birth, you must keep warm, wearing as many clothes as you can, even if it is nearly 100 degrees! In order for the breast milk to come in, you should boil a certain kind of tiny little fish (called patsa) and drink the water. They say it’s filled with calcium and vitamins.

I’m sure I’ll gain even more insight from the Malagasy when we return with the baby in January. While I don’t believe all of these “words of wisdom,” I must admit they are doing something right! With the number of children, babies, and pregnant women around…this is the perfect testing ground for any new theory in child development!

The Paint Truck

Yesterday while driving into the city we were caught in heavy traffic on a narrow, crowded road. Suddenly, we noticed people along the street in front of us stopping and turning to gape at something happening to a car up ahead. We thought maybe there had been an accident though this seemed unlikely considering we were already barely moving. Then the truck in front of us turned off, revealing a small white pick-up truck with some white unknown substance streaming off it's back bumper and onto the street. Daniel moved over to avoid driving through this white, sticky substance now lining the highway in even lines. Then we realized that this truck was hauling paint and one of the containers had overturned. The truck continued to draw a crowd of onlookers, all trying to figure out what was going on. For the next few kilometers, we watched as two men climbed out of the cab of the truck came around to the back, climbed on the bumper and began sorting through buckets and bags in the back, looking for the source of the paint leak. Finally, they found a big clear plastic bag filled that had "overturned." They put the bag in another container and set it off to the side. Then they ran back up to the cab. All the while the truck and our Land Rover were still moving slowly down the road! And the paint continued to stream unto the road...until we finally turned off.