Betikara officially received approval to operate from the Malagasy government on July 29, 1998. We took in our first children in September of 1998, and Yosly came to Betikara on November 29, 1998, just four months after Betikara was officially registered. Yosly was only 8 years old when he became Betikara's eighth child. He was brought to Betikara from Diego Suarez, a hot coastal city at the northern tip of Madagascar, by his grandfather who stated that Yoslys mother and father were a bad influence on Yosly and that it was hard for him to take care of Yosly.

           Yosly's arrival at Betikara was almost 12 years ago. You can see by the above left picture that in the beginning Yosly was happy. Yosly found a friend in Kit, and due to his young age he started to adapt well at Betikara. There was a time in the beginning that Yosly was not happy. We could not figure out what was wrong. We thought that maybe Yosly was missing his family. Then we asked Kit what was troubling Yosly. Kit replied by saying that he wanted to give Yosly his jacket. We could not understand how this could make Yosly happy. Upon questioning Kit, Kit stated that Yosly was COLD! Coming from a coastal hot area to the high plateau area of Madagascar where Antananarivo is located was just too much of a climate change for Yosly to handle. Of course, there was no need for Kit to give up his jacket. We were just too out of sync to realize what a big change the move was for Yosly. Once Kit enlightened us we provided Yosly with a jacket and we also gave Yosly an extra blanket for his bed.

            Yosly's life at Betikara has had its ups and downs. We were once asked by Yosly's grandfather if Yosly could travel north from Betikara to Diego Suarez where his family lives. We were told by Yosly's grandfather that if Yosly could travel a round trip plane ticket would be provided for Yosly. All we had to do was get Yosly to and from the airport which is very close to Betikara.

Prisca, Fetra, Princy, Clara, Yosly

            We thought that this would be a very good experience for Yosly, so we agreed. Yosly left Antananarivo and arrived in Diego Suarez safely. However, Yosly's visit was far from being a new adventure and a pleasant visit with his family. Yosly arrived in Diego Suarez to find that his mother was very sick. The next day she died and was soon buried. We were so saddened for Yosly upon hearing this news. One of the things that saddened us most was to find out that Yosly's mother died an early death that could have been prevented if she did not kill herself by drinking.

            We continue to notice changes in Yosly's life and his every day attitude. One of the things we have noticed has troubled Yosly for several years. Even when the Betikara Lambs were still housed in the center of Antananarivo at Ankadivato before moving to their new home at Ambohimarina in August of 2004 Yosly was complaining of what we thought was a stomach problem or ulcers. Yosly would eat food and then quickly vomit up his food. This condition continues even today.

We have taken Yosly to several doctors, clinics and hospitals. We have paid for extensive tests that include having a tube put down Yosly's throat to check his esophagus for cysts and abrasions as well as having his stomach checked for ulcers. None of the test have revealed any medical problems. However, if you look again at the top right picture on the front page of this newsletter you will see a big difference from the picture on the left. Yosly no longer has a happy smile, and he is always very skinny even though we know that Yosly is not infested with worms.

            Yosly has stated that when he is at school and eats lunch with the other students in his class he does not have a problem of throwing up when he eats. He also states that often when he is at Betikara and eats then he throws up his food. We suggested to Yosly that his problem might not be a medical or a physical problem. We suggested that Yosly's problem might be stress or physiologically related. We told Yosly that he should try to keep his mind busy and not think about things that might upset him in various ways.

            We suggested that Yosly should spend more time reading his bible and praying in order to calm his thoughts. All of these suggestions do not seem to help. This is somewhat understandable considering the things that are happening in Yosly's life right now. Yosly is in his final year of high school. He has the big leaving exam for high school coming up at the end of this school year. This test is often linked to emotional problems in students that are preparing to take the test. It seems that Yosly is no exception to the norm.

            Yosly is struggling at Betikara to find a place to fit in with the crowd. Yosly usually sits in the teenage class on Sunday mornings at the Ambohimarina congregation. However, recently Yosly started to rebel about sitting in with the teenage class, and Yosly expressed a desire to move out of that class. At first Yosly stated that he did not want to be involved in Sunday School classes or worship time at all. Upon questioning Yosly about this we found out that Yosly feels awkward sitting in with the younger teenagers that are in that class. Yosly, after all, is a 20 year old young adult even though he is still not finished with high school.

            On top of the pressure to do well on the end of year big exam for high school, and feeling like his is not fitting in anywhere at Betikara, we received word recently that Yosly's father died on May 3, 2010. His death was also an early death that the family says was caused by excessive drinking. Since Yosly is studying hard to get ready for the big year end exam Yoslys grandfather asked that Yosly not come to Diego Suarez for his fathers funeral and burial.

            In the almost 12 years that Yosly has resided at Betikara Yosly has not put his trust in Jesus and been immersed in baptism to give his life to the Lord. We continue to pray for Yoslys salvation and ask that you join us in prayer. We feel that once Yosly decides to let go of the worldly elements that are confusing and troubling his life, and accept a life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that Yosly will begin to feel more confident and at ease with himself. This will go a long way towards helping Yosly. Please pray for Yosly as he continues to struggle inwardly.