"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"
                                                                                                                     Ecclesiastes 3:1

This last Saturday (September 8, 2001) was one of those times. Hery and Anja were united in marriage. If you remember, there has been two other weddings of members from the church since its beginning in Madagascar back in 1996. Rija and Saholy; and Daniel and Hanitra. The marriage of Hery and Anja, however, is different from the marriages of the other two couples. Hery and Anja are both members of the congregation of the Lords’ body that meets at Ambohijatovo. Rija and Daniel were members of the Ankadivato congregation, but their spouses were not members. 

At the request of the couple to be married, Hery and Anja were married in a special service, led by John Ratovohery and myself. John conducted the service and I preached. The wedding was held at one of the local hotels in Antananarivo. Because of the large size of Malagasy families (over 120 people in attendance), the Ambohijatovo and Ankadivato congregations were not able to attend the wedding Saturday afternoon. So, the Ambohijatovo congregation had a special fellowship meal after Sunday morning worship that allowed all of the Christians to be able to share in the joy of Hery and Anja.

When I was first approached by Anja and asked if I would take part in the forthcoming wedding, I did not know what to say, or what to expect. I had never been involved in a wedding before, except my own, and that wedding was just five minutes in front of the congregation and everything was finished. I did not know what to expect, because in Madagascar there are three different kinds of weddings. First, the traditional wedding. Second, the civil marriage. And third, the church wedding. 

When Rija and Saholy were married we attended the church wedding that was held in one of the Catholic churches. But when Daniel and Hanitra were married, it was a full day, three wedding day. What I mean by this is, Daniel and Hanitra went through all three types of Malagasy weddings in one day. It all started about 9:00 in the morning with the traditional marriage held in the home of Hanitra’s parents. Then we proceeded to the government offices for the civil marriage. And, last but not least we all wound up at the Protestant church where Daniel’s parents worshipped for the church wedding. Even the Malagasy people were saying that it was a strange day, because, many times the Malagasy people are married the three different ways, but not all in the same day. They like to stretch out the process allot. For instance, one is usually married the traditional way. Ten eventually there is the civil marriage. Could be even after several years. Then last but not least, to make things official in the eyes of God, there is the church wedding with all of the frills. The church wedding might even be after 10 or 15 years that the couple are married. 

Why the big span of time between weddings? The Malagasy people like to party, and partying at weddings is expensive. The couples, or their families will save up for the "big day" when the couple are finally married. Daniel and Hanitra, however, put all three weddings in one day for a very practical reason. They did not have the funds to drag out the many different marriages. So, they had all three marriages in one day, and only one combined wedding feast after the Protestant church wedding to celebrate their union with family and friends. 

In the beginning I thought that Hery and Anja’s wedding was going to be rather strange. For instance, in the beginning I was told that I would be preaching, but that there was also going to be a Catholic priest present for part of the wedding. In the end this was changed and John presided over the marriage ceremony and I preached. Also, Hery and Anja wanted to have a biblical wedding but were not quite sure what a biblical wedding was all about. So, John and I spent some time telling them that in the bible there is really no set rule for weddings like we see in the churches today. Nothing says a wedding has to be fancy with all of the frills that are usually associated with marriages now days. 

Our many discussions helped to easy Hery and Anja’s apprehensions as to what a church wedding is all about. And, in the end, the wedding turned out to be enjoyable and comfortable for all concerned. Lord willing there will be many more "church weddings" as the body of Christ grows here in Madagascar.

English Course 
August 11, 2001 marked the final day for the Ankadivato English course for the year 2001. Thirty three students were eligible to receive certificates this year. That number is down quite a bit from last years number, but this year we did not advertise as extensively before the start of the course to try to keep the size of the classes down to a manageable number of students in each class. Several students have already asked when the next course is going to take place. 

Visa Paperwork 
All work of the government offices here in Madagascar has come to a standstill. Our visa applications have now resided in the same government office for over three months. The applications await the signature of one minister of the Government. What is the reason for this standstill? It is an election year for the president of Madagascar, and no one is willing to do anything as far as government work is concerned until the new president has been chosen. After all, in a country like Madagascar, when a new president is elected to office major changes take place in the laws and policies of the country. So we wait, and return to one government office monthly, to request yet another extension that will allow us to stay legally in Madagascar. 

Trip to Mahajanga 
When all was said and done the trip to Mahajanga turned out to be good in many different ways. First, it gave us all allot of time to be together and fellowship with one another. Second, Having each young person that went to Mahajanga take responsibility for one of the Betikara Lambs opened their eyes as to the amount of work and patience that is necessary to run an orphanage. Third, staying at a "Christian" radio station gave us many opportunities to teach and encourage others to follow the word of God. Fourth, we were able to have some time on the radio to explain what the Centre d’Etude Biblique (Bible Study Center) and the Church of Christ are all about in Madagascar. 

We all came back from Mahajanga refreshed and excited to be able to serve God here in Madagascar. Lord willing our love for each other will continue to grow and be shown to others that can also follow and serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

• Pray for health concerning the Rosie family. Stacy has found a lump in her breast and is trying to find a way to get it take care of here in Madagascar.
• Pray for continued numeric and spiritual growth in the congregations at Ambohijatovo and Ankadivato.
• Pray for the visas for the Rosie family. All business in the government offices here in Madagascar seems to have come to a standstill. We have been waiting 3 months for our visa paperwork to be signed in just one government office.
• Pray for the Lord to Bless the marriage of Hery and Anja. Pray that they may be a strong Christian family in the    Madagascar church.