“ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Now that we live in the capital city our boys hear a lot more about America and American customs. Just the other day, Ben (our 11 year old) asked me (Doug) if there would ever be a “take your son to work” day here in Madagascar. The question surprised me a little, because I don’t have an office or any ONE place that I work. Nonetheless, Ben and Jeremiah have gone to work with me quite often. In July and August 2007 for example, Monica went to the USA for 5 weeks and the boys went just about EVERYWHERE with me for most of that time. We were also blessed by two of their cousins (Jim and Irene Jordan) who spent a month with us. For 2 of the 5 weeks Monica was gone they helped the boys cope with my work schedule and together we experienced “Shalom.” Here are a few highlights:
The morning after waving goodbye to Monica we woke early and set off for the 2 day drive to Diego. Everyone was tired but in good spirits. The boys were absolutely delighted to play with two older cousins whom they adore. Jim and Irene, I think, were eager to see the countryside of Madagascar and get a glimpse at the work of Shalom. For me it is always a great adventure, and the trip held much promise for outreach. After an overnight stop on the way we arrived in the town of SIRANANA for our first event. Somehow, the communication had been jumbled (this always seems to happen) and they didn’t know we were coming (they expected us a week before!). Nonetheless, word quickly spread and over 200 people gathered to hear testimonies from Jim and Irene and to watch the “Jesus” video in their dialect. Following the presentation, a local friend opened his home (next to the rice mill) to us for the night. 
Among gunny sacs of rice and under our mosquito nets we settled down to sleep on their floor. As the morning sun woke us I only had a couple of meetings before we set off for the last 2 ½ hours to Diego. Many administrative details awaited our arrival, but so did a very nice hotel. While I went to meetings, Ben and Miah showed their cousins Diego, complete with finding the pool of their dreams (see photo left).
Not too many days later we found ourselves in a remote fishing village where a family of animists had come to Christ less than a year before (for the story of their conversion see our Dec. 2006 newsletter about Ironona on our website: http://www.projectshalom.org/CSK/Newsletters/482.aspx ). 
Again we shared the “Jesus” video, testimonies plus a video testimony about someone of another faith who came to Christ. All this took place in the new Lutheran church there in Ironona (a simple structure, with plastic walls, see photo right), which is the first church of any kind ever in that village. Our coming was part of a major revival gathering that weekend, and in the still of the night, youth groups gathered around a bon fire on the beach. Jim didn’t hesitate to amaze both the locals and our boys by jumping over the fire with the other youth! No one was hurt and after much fun and witness we five settled down to sleep as invited guests inside the best house in the village. The rats running around our heads were NOT invited, but are always there. Thus, we all got a glimpse into a different way of life…for one night. The next morning I preached and then Jim and Irene experienced their first Malagasy exorcism service. 
During this service, mpiandry (“shepherds” who have studied to serve in this lay movement of the church”) pray for anyone who desires it. For the first time, our boys went forward for prayer too, following the example of their cousins. Another reason for praise came when a handful of villagers who speak Arabic eagerly requested copies of one tract in Arabic presenting a variety of Scripture verses outlining God’s plan for salvation in Christ. I only had about 8 with me, so I must bring more copies on my next visit. Our prayer continues that the Word sown will not return void.
The adventure continued as we went 4-wheeling across rice fields (getting miserably stuck twice and needing to use the wench to pull the car free, see photo above) to visit other villages and Shalom workers. 
Our journeys brought us to Mananara, where my mom’s congregation (St. Paul’s Lutheran in Durham, NC) sponsored a well last year. We arrived to examine the well, only to discover that it had gone dry as the water table lowered over the dry season. Unfortunately, the bedrock 3 meters down is so solid that they couldn’t get through it. Thus it will only be wet 4 or 5 months out of the year. That was a big disappointment, but the well digging company has since refunded most of the money and I am arranging to use those funds to purchase a 1000 liter water tank for Mananara. During the wet season they can fill the tank and have clean water for many months after the well runs dry. In another town (Ampanasina) we met with a handful of village elders of another faith and reviewed an excerpt from a new translation of the Gospel of Luke in their dialect. They offered valuable insight on the language, while this provided another exposure to the gospel.
On the way back to the capital we had planned to pass through yet another fishing village where Shalom is beginning a new health center and mobile (motorboat) health team. However, the time grew too short, and since there were some other colleagues headed there anyway, we continued south. This left just enough time to spend a few hours on Ben and Miah’s favorite beach! We waded to a sandbar, collected sand dollars, saw local fisherman hauling in their nets (with a huge puffer fish among other things) and waded back as the tide rose above our waists.
We barely reached the capital the next day when we already had to say goodbye to Jim and Irene! It went much too fast, but we will treasure the memories together for many years to come. But the boys “day” at work with Dad still wasn’t over.
Just a few days later we met up with Jack (not his real name) who came to Christ from another faith about 15 years ago and is now among the most promising candidates for local leadership in Shalom. Before he discovered a relationship with Christ he was a leader in this other faith. He is not Malagasy and converted in his home country and was jailed there for one month for the crime of becoming a Christian. After his release, a newspaper in that country carried an announcement calling for anyone who saw him to kill him. He has since found refuge in Madagascar. Among the inspiring things about his story was to hear him say that his month in prison, although extremely harsh, was the BEST month of his life. Why? Because it was there that, by suffering for Christ, his faith grew enormously and he became firmly rooted in trusting Jesus for everything - since Jack himself was completely helpless and vulnerable.
We’d already been working with Jack for a few months in the capital. Now, he was to come with us to a coastal city to be a guest speaker at a Shalom conference for about 50 pastors. It was a chance to test his skills a bit further, by hearing him teach more extensively. It turned out very well and he continues to be an invaluable resource and potential leader within Shalom! Ben and Jeremiah were also fantastic! They played together all morning for three days while I attended the conference. Then each afternoon I bowed out of the conference and we went to the beach.
That might not have been what Benjamin was thinking about when he asked about “take your son to work day” since he was probably hoping for a day away from school to hang out with Dad. But it certainly reminded me that we have had lots of days together doing the ministry here. I am thankful for the opportunity for them to be a part of sharing the good news about Jesus Christ with others in this concrete way and to learn about the importance that has in our lives as believers.
We appreciate your prayers for the ministry here in Madagascar. Especially in the coming weeks, we’d welcome prayers for:
- guidance for Manna leadership in resolving challenges with the former president of Manna,
- thanksgiving that Manna producers are continuing to work and receive orders for handcrafts,
- more local leaders to be raised up for Shalom work across the island,
- faith, courage and wisdom for those people of another faith hesitating to call Christ Lord and savior,
- successful witness through a Christmas play Doug is directing involving many people of other faith (Ben and Jeremiah are acting in it too!) to be performed on Dec. 15th.