Five more added to His Church

            On November 26, 2006 the Ambohimarina congregation was blessed with the addition of five new sisters in Christ.  All five of these women have attended the Ambohimarina congregation for several months.  Three of the women (at the right side of the picture) are mothers of Lambs that we are currently taking care of at the Betikara Orphanage.  The three women wait for us on the side of the road as we pass by every Sunday morning.  They not only get to see their children on a regular basis, but they also get a chance to worship the Savior.  Rivo started having a special class for the women several weeks ago at their request.  They were eager to learn more about His church and what they needed to do to become His children.  Now they are finally members of His family.
            We are continuing to hold weekly classes for the women on Sunday mornings.  We will be teaching them about His church and their responsibility to serve Him in their daily walks.  They are already showing their commitment to Him.  This last Sunday I looked for one of the women on the side of the road as usual.  However, she was not at the designated meeting place, so we drove on to worship without her.  About 15 minutes into the Sunday morning bible class she walked into the building.  She saw that she had missed us and came on to worship on her own.  Part of her journey was a 2.5 mile walk because there are no busses that pass by the Ambohimarina congregation.  We praise God for her dedication.  Please pray for the spiritual growth of these five women as they strive to follow His will for their lives.
 

RAVAOARIMANANA Pierette	RAZAFIARISOA Manana Berthine
RAZAFINDRANIADANA Rosali	ROZELINE

this and that

Miora and her mother, Germaine

                 It was November 23, 2006, Thanksgiving Day. We had a lot to be thankful for as a family. We were all healthy and together for the first time in over three months. Kit had just returned the day before Thanksgiving from Rift Valley Academy in Kenya. Because we were finally together again, we wanted to spend some uninterrupted time together, so I shut off my mobile telephone for the day. Little did I know that while our family was getting reacquainted on Thursday, undisturbed by the outside cares or concerns of this physical life, there was a Christian family at the Ambohimarina congregation that was in deep sorrow and spiritual pain.
                Upon arriving at Betikara on Friday morning I was quickly informed that there was a death the previous day. A death that I had known might occur at any time, but refused to accept. The death was not an old member of the congregation,  rather a child only three years old. Miora was her name. She was special to me in many ways.
                Miora was a Downs Syndrome child. For her entire three years of life, she was weak and frail. She could not walk or talk. It was only the last few months of Miora's life that she started to fill out and put on some weight. I noticed that her cheeks were starting to look full. I often tried to encourage Miora's parents. I told them that I believed one day Miora would walk and talk.
                Without fail every Sunday morning, I made a point of passing by to talk with Miora and her mother. Miora would always reach out to shake my hand, but she would not agree for me to hold her for even one minute. Often, I would ask Miora if she would like to stand. Miora would nod her head yes, but she continued to spend her entire life in the arms or on the lap of her mother.
                Then one Sunday morning I passed by to talk with Miora. I asked Miora several times if she not only wanted to stand, but I added to my normal routine by asking Miora if she wanted me to help her stand. Each time she would nod yes, but when I would reach out my hands to take Miora's hands the result was unchanging. Each time Miora would pull away from me, drawing her hands and arms up tight against her chest. Miora's mother was quite amused by my persistence and by Miora's unchanging response, even though each time Miora would agree for me to help her stand.
                Upon seeing that I was getting nowhere fast, I changed my tactic. I started encouraging Miora to stand, and walk by her own volition. Many times I repeated, "stand and walk", without any noticeable result. It was the following Saturday that I stopped to pick up Miora's father as we headed to the Ambohimarina center for the weekly men's meeting. He had a big grin on his face as he told me that Miora stood up on her own and took the first steps of her life the previous Sunday afternoon.
                I spent more than a year encouraging Miora to stand and walk, and now just as it appeared that Miora was starting to thrive, she was taken from me. I was feeling anger, sorrow and happiness all in the same moment. Anger, at God, because my best Malagasy friend died, sorrow for the parents and family of Miora, myself and others that started to hope in Miora's health, and happiness for Miora because she was no longer encased in her physical body of suffering. Miora is now free of her physical limitations and in the caring arms of our heavenly Father.
                Being filled with happiness for Miora should have sufficed to give me strength and carry me through the day. However, the hardest moment in my life was still in the future and quickly approaching. Arrangements were hastily made for a visit to comfort the suffering family, a funeral service in the yard of Miora's home and a short trip by foot to the family tomb ensued. Being the missionary, I was asked to speak to the family and friends that gathered at the families home.
                I knew I had a difficult task ahead of me, and agreed hesitantly to speak. As I stood to speak, I knew that I was not able to hold back the emotions that were overflowing within me and I was overcome with a torrential outpouring of tears due to my anger, sorrow, and happiness. For the first time in their lives the Malagasy people saw me break down and cry in front of them.
                Being a missionary in Africa for over 21 years I have attended many funerals for young and old individuals. I have carried the bodies of numerous Christians from hospital morgues (sometimes hundreds of miles) back "home" to their final resting places. However, I have never experienced the three feelings of anger, sorrow and happiness so intensely before at the same time in my life.
                Two Sundays have passed since the funeral for Miora.  On Sunday when I see Miora’s mother I feel deep pain inside because of her loss.  I know how I feel, and I know how much more she must be aching due to the passing on of her precious child.  Please pray for Miora’s family and for us as we try to minister to them and bring comfort to their lives.

• Pray for Miora’s family and the church at Ambohimarina during this time of sorrow.  Pray that we can all be drawn closer to the Savior through this time of grief.
• Pray for the five women who recently were baptized at the Ambohimarina congregation.  Pray that they can grow in the Lord and that the congregation can be good spiritual examples for them as they seek Him.
• Pray for the miniature missionaries.  Pray especially for Kit as he finishes up his senior year at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya and gets ready to enter a university in the United States.  Pray that Kit will be able to make the cultural adjustment necessary from a third world culture to a first world culture.