“He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy.”             Psalm 72:4

            We didn’t have any snow.  There are no reindeer in Madagascar.  It’s summer here, too hot for roasting chestnuts over the fire.  We have no Walmarts crowed with frantic shoppers.  How, one may ask, do Malagasy get in the Christmas spirit?  Well, these lambs got in the spirit by learning to bake and ice Christmas cookies.

            We started with a Bible study about the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. 
            “She sure did a lot of work with her hands, didn’t she, girls?”
            They were quick to reply in the affirmative.  That question was too easy.
            “Do you think if a visitor walked into her house, they could easily see that she was not lazy?”  I asked.
            “Of course!”
            “How would they know?”
            “Her house was probably very neat and clean.”
            “You are just children, but what about your house?  If a visitor walks in, will they see if you are lazy or if you are like the virtuous woman?”
            The girls’ foreheads were creased in thought.  The answer didn’t come as fast this time.  There were a few nervous giggles and a hesitation to answer.
            “What’s the problem, girls?  Why can’t you answer that question so quickly?”  I pressed.
            “Our house isn’t always so clean.  Visitors might think we are lazy,” the answer came out with some difficulty.
            “Oooohhhhh.  Isn’t Zoky (Big Sister) Nivo keeping your house clean?  Or, is it that she’s trying to teach you to keep the house clean and maybe you aren’t trying to be like the virtuous woman?”
            They nodded with embarrassment.
            “Could it be that Zoky Nivo is trying to teach you now to be like the virtuous woman when you grow up, so that visitors won’t think you lazy?”  More nods and lots of embarrassed smiles.  “Who in this room wants to be like the virtuous woman?”  I asked.  All hands immediately shot up into the air. 
            We each took a piece of paper and traced our hand on the paper.  Inside each of our five fingers we wrote down one of our daily chores, and then we prayed together, each girl taking a turn in asking God to help her do her daily chores and learn to be like the virtuous woman.
            “The virtuous woman did fun things too like baking cookies, don’t you think?”  The girls and I think she must have baked a few cookies in her day even if they weren’t Christmas cookies.  “It says her husband praised her and I can tell you that Uncle Barry never praises me more than when I bake him cookies.  Learning to bake and cook is also learning how to be a virtuous woman, and the boys at Betikara will be very happy with you for making them a treat.  It’s like taking care of your family just the Bible says.  Who wants to give baking cookies a try?”  All hands immediately shot up again.

            We went right to work, rolling, cutting, putting cookies on and off trays, and icing them too.  My house was floured from end to end but I had wonderful helpers who are trying to learn to be virtuous women, and when it was all done, we sat down and had a tea party.  It was a lovely day together and when the girls carried the cookies back to Betikara for the boys to enjoy, they were doubly rewarded.  The boys look at those “little virtuous women” with new respect these days. 

Was it fun?

I think Elimine has the answer to that question.

Good news first!  Seven of the children did extremely well in this first semester of the school year.  Three of them we expected to do well, but the other four were wonderful surprises.  (The first number beside each child’s name represents their class rank.  The second number represents the number of children they competed against.) 
 
 

Elisoa deserves a big round of applause.  She came in first in her class!  Arnaud, Eliane, and Jean Louis deserve big hugs.  These three are the newcomers to Betikara and have had to make huge adjustments.  They did a terrific job!  We are so proud of them.

An honest reporter reports the bad news too.  The other 12 lambs did not do as well as we had hoped or expected.  Some of them ranked well, but all of them had comments of disappointment from their teachers attached to their report cards.  We are especially concerned about the seven children who have asteriks beside their names.  They are the children who are taking the qualifying test to enter the Junior High level.  All the children need your prayers, but these seven need your special prayers that they will understand the need to concentrate in school, listen to the teacher, not talk too much, review their lessons at home, and try really hard to pass the test they will take in June.
 
 

  Indiana Church of Christ 
  225 East Pike Rd. 
  Indiana, PA  15701 

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.” 
                           Proverbs 19:17