His Work
Among the Malagasy People of Madagascar

Go ... and make disciples of all nations

                                                                                                  Matthew 28:19
Volume 15, Number 1 January 2000
The Barry Rosie family have worked on the mission field in Africa for more than 14 years under the oversight of the:
Fraley’s Chapel 
Church of Christ
c/o Jeff Young
168 C.R. 170
Corinth, MS 38834
Elders
Don Farris - 601-287-2548
Eugene Holland - 601-287-1721
Leroy Reed - 601-287-2556
New Year’s fun and a time for reaching out

          7:00pm, December 31st, eve of a new year, a new century, and a new millenium. 
Our children were already bathed, fed, and ready for bed.  They were tucked in for a quiet
evening at home.  Barry and I on the other hand were on our way to the Centre d’Etude 
Biblique, driving at a snail’s pace through the streets of Antananarivo, trying to miss the 
throng of pedestrians celebrating in the streets.  Some were dancing in the streets, some 
staggered, some were laid right down passed out in the streets.  Children darted to and fro 
unattended by adults.  Driving was dangerous.  The festive spirit was on one and all. 
          We had spent the day cooking supper for a gathering of the church. We were to 
pray in the new year together, and now we were on our way to the building.  Children’s 
festivities were behind us.  This was to be a gathering of the adults of the church to pray 
in the new year and to plan a strategy for reaching out and teaching others in this coming 
year.  That’s what we planned for anyway. 
          What we saw when we arrived surprised us.  The building was packed with 
visitors wishing to pray in the new year with us.  The work of teaching Christ goes slowly 
here in Madagascar for the Malagasy are a people chained tightly with chains of tradition 
and those chains are mighty strong.  We are not baptizing hundreds at a time.  When we 
baptize one it is after an exhausting battle with Satan who has thoroughly convinced these 
people that the ancestors maintain a powerful hold on the living.  And yet, someone is 
hungry for the Word and for the Savior, for everytime the church meets we have visitors. 
New Year’s Eve was no exception.  We had more visitors present than church members. 
          That called for a quick change in plans.  We are proud of our Malagasy brothers 
and sisters in Christ.  No one complained.  No one groaned.  Everyone pitched in to turn 
this evening into an evening of outreach and evangelization. 
          Scroll down for  just a few pictures of a wonderful evening of reaching out and 
teaching into the new year.

 
Rivo involved the Betikara children in teaching a lesson about salvation in the Savior.
The young adults performed a mime depicting how the witchdoctor is powerless to save a soul steeped in sin.
The mime progressed to show how the Word of the Savior has the power to heal.
And when the clock struck 12:00 the young adults were still busy evangelizing, using song to try to reach hearts.

 
Did You Know. . .

. . . we made it through the Y2K scare without a scratch?  At midnight and also at 12:01 our water was still running, the lights were still shining, and the computer worked without a glitch.  They are all still working too.  So to those of you who knew how ill-prepared Madagascar was, and who prayed on our behalf we say a very big 

thank you.

 
 
this and that
Furlough in 2000
          The Rosie family has almost put in another 4-year term on the mission field and time for another furlough is coming up.  This will be an exciting furlough for us.  We’ve switched countries, learned a new language and a new set of customs since we last saw you.  We’ve watched a new church blossom and grow in a country where the average person can’t even find the book of John in his Bible.  We’ve taken on 11 precious little hearts for Jesus sake and we have so many things we want to share with you face to face and heart to heart.
          Furlough plans are already in progress.  We should reach the States at the end of August (2000) and we have a longer trek through Eastern United States than we’ve ever had before.  We hope to see you sometime between September and December.  Hopefully, we will return to Madagascar just after the first of the year (2001). 
          In the coming newsletters we will be sharing some special needs (personal and work needs) we have with you.  Please pray as we plan.  Technically we are obligated to visit 6 different countries, 12 States, 28 churches, and countless individuals who are involved in this work.  Obviously, we can’t accomplish all that in 4 short months.  More realistically, we are planning to visit 3 countries, 12 States, 26 churches, and as many individuals as we can possibly squeeze in. 
          Besides visits to report on the work, we hope to make new contacts and raise some additional funding for the Betikara project.  We will need your prayers.  Put yourself in our place and try imagine trekking through a foreign country (maybe not foreign to us, but certainly foreign to our children) with a 12 year old and a 6 year old in tow, and in an old beat up Honda Civic.  If you can do that, we know you will not forget to pray for this upcoming furlough. 
          Soon you will be receiving a letter and a questionnaire from us concerning our visit with you.  It will contain tentative dates and plans for our visit.  We need your input.  If you need for us to do something extra while we are with you (ex. speak to the children of the congregation, do a special ladies class or ladies day, meet with the elders, etc. etc.) we would like to know early so that we can plan accordingly.  Don’t hesitate to write and let us know what you have in mind. 
          So. . . it’s furlough for the Rosie family in September of 2000.  We look forward to seeing you.  In the meantime, take care, and pray for both us and for the church here that will have to take up the slack while we are with you.

 
 
A few of the young adult Christians enjoy showing off their Christmas presents, t-shirts
with the Centre d’Etude Biblique insignia.  These guys do so much for Christ’s church.  They deserve lots more than t-shirts.
EXPENDITURES

MONTH
Diesel
 $  98.34
Vehicle maintenance
 3.00
Rent and Utilities
 529.21
Office
 386.77
Travel
0.00
Miscellaneous
 67.27
______________________________
_________
Total expenses
$  1084.59
What can you do?
You can pray!
 
  • Pray for the continued growth of the Lord’s church on the island of Madagascar. 
  • Pray for the outreach efforts of the Ankadivato congregation, both in the immediate area and over the whole island. 
  • Pray for Phil’s family in the coming weeks and months.  Phil has indicated that he and his family would like to become a part of the Lord’s body in Madagascar.  Pray that they may be baptized soon and that we can ground them in biblical teaching.
  • Pray for John Ratovohery’s  four brothers and their families.  We are trying to encourage them to become a part of the Ankadivato church family.

 
 
Miniature Missionaries
          We were at the lunch table, excitedly discussing the possibilities of a new home 
for the Betikara children.  The Holiday season and maybe the entering into a new century and a new millennium prompted several individuals and churches to make substantial donations to the Betikara land fund.  So this was a rather festive lunch rejoicing over blessings. 
          Kit sat quietly eating and listening.  When there was a break in the discussion, he quickly said, “I wish we could find land right here by our house, then I could see the kids everyday.  After school, I could just run on over there and work with them and play with them.” He grinned and continued to eat.
          I stopped, food halfway to my mouth, heart pumping madly.  I am so proud of this 
miniature missionary, who can always think of another way to serve.  Pray for him, 
please, as he continues to grow into an adult missionary.  Thanks. 

 
 
Fruits of Children’s Bible Class 

 We have four very talented and dedicated Children’s Bible Class teachers here in 
the Ankadivato congregation.  They coached the children for a whole month and on Dec. 
22nd, the children presented a Christmas program to more than 65 neighbors and friends 
of the Centre d’Etude Biblique.  They did a marvelous job of enacting Luke 2, in keeping 
with the Holiday season, but what was even more touching was how the teachers 
managed to stress our need to worship the Son daily and to honor His death as an even 
greater gift than His life.  Those teachers took a simple holiday play and turned it into a 
very effective evangelistic effort.  We are so proud of them and their caring hearts.  They 
shine with the light of the Savior and we thank the Father for them daily.

 
 
Barry, Stacy, Kit and Havilah Rosie
B.P. 7554
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar

Tel. 011-261-30-238-7542

 brosie@dts.mg

http:\\www.madagascar-mission.org

rosies.gif (19981 bytes)

We welcome you to join us in this work for Him . . .

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