“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 
                                                                                                            (Matthew 3:13-17 KJVR)

          Many times in the “African” setting it is not uncommon to find people who travel around from denomination to denomination, giving their “allegiance” to one denomination for a short time and then moving on to another denomination.  Most of the time this happens because people are looking for the “physical” manifestations of life in the church. When they do not find what they are looking for they move on to another denomination.  So, it is not unusual to come across people that have an affiliation with several denominational backgrounds before they come to us.  The following story tells about a married couple who have experienced this type of “denominational shifting” in their past lives.  As you can see by their picture, they are an older married couple.
          It was January 10, 2004 when Helen sat in the Sunday morning bible class at Ambohimarina and decided that she wanted to put on her Lord in baptism.  I was shocked!  In Madagascar I never knew (after almost 10 years) of a person that asked to immediately be baptized because they were convicted by the word in their heart.  There is normally a decision to be baptized, then an announcement of the date for when the person would like to be immersed.  Many times the given date is several days or a couple of weeks after the initial decision to be baptized is made.  Very rarely do we find people, in the African setting, like the Eunuch (Acts 8), Cornelius (Acts 10) or the Jailer at Philippi (Acts 16) who are immersed immediately upon realizing that there lives are not in accordance with God’s will.  Helen, however, was different.  When I asked her when she would like to be baptized, she replied, “Immediately!”  Of course all things were put on hold, and the entire congregation walked down to the lake in order to watch the spiritual birth of their new sister in Christ.  That day was almost three years ago now, and Helen is still a faithful member of the Ambohimarina congregation.
          Helen's husband was not a Christian at the time, but he was present for his wife’s baptism.  Shortly after Helen was baptized Rasolofo (Rasooloofoo, the letter “a” has the same sound as “aw” in the word “awful”), Helen’s husband started to attend worship at the Ambohimarina congregation with Helen.  We were pleased to see them coming together each Sunday and encouraged Rasolofo to become a part of the family of God in the same way that his wife committed her life to serving the Savior.  Rasolofo felt comfortable enough with the men of the congregation to make it a point to be present every Saturday morning for our weekly men’s meeting and time of bible study.  However, for some reason Rasolofo was content to just come and worship, not making the same commitment to the Savior through baptism that his wife made.
          We did not understand Rasolofo’s hesitation about joining his wife in her faith.  For several months we talk with Rasolofo and encouraged him through teaching about his need to put the Savior on in baptism without any noticeable change in Rasolofo’s life.  Then one day (more than a year after Helen’s baptism) several of the men of the congregation went to visit Rasolofo at his home.  We had a good visit and were told by Rasolofo during our visit that he had not yet been “moved” by the Spirit, and that he did not see any need to be baptized.  The men spent more that half an hour talking with Rasolofo, and near the end of our time together I told Rasolofo that I would be praying for God to show him what he needed to do towards committing himself to God.
          Two days later Rasolofo came to the weekly Saturday men’s meeting and told us that he was reading God’s word when he came across the passage in Mathew 3:13-17.  Rasolofo said he was reading about Christ submitting to His Father’s will in order to “fulfill all righteousness” through His baptism, when Rasolofo realized that if Christ the perfect Son of God need to be baptized, how much more he (Rasolofo) a person full of sin needed to be baptized and submit to the will of the Father.  The following day (March 20, 2005) Rasolofo was baptized, joining his wife in her faith as he entered into His Kingdom.
          Rasolofo continues to serve Him in the Ambohimarina congregation.  He takes an active part in the weekly Saturday men’s meetings as well as leading worship, preaching and teaching for the Ambohimarina congregation on a rotating basis with some of the men of the congregation.  Rasolofo also has an interest in writing songs and likes to work with the youth of the congregation teaching them how to praise Him through hymns and spiritual songs.
          Please pray for both Rasolofo and Helen, who are now united in Him as they continue to serve Christ in their daily lives.  They are such a good example of what can happen in our lives if the word of God is allowed to convict us and grow in each one of us.  May God bless them both richly as they continue to search out His will for each of their lives.
 

End of year program
The children and bible class teachers at the Ambohimarina congregation are gearing up for the Christmas season.  All of the children’s classes will be involved in a program that will be presented on December 24, 2006 after morning worship and the following fellowship meal that the congregation will partake of together.  Preparation for the program will take place during the normal Sunday morning class times for each class.  The children are always happy to have a program and be able to show their parents what they have learned in Bible class.

Women’s Classes to Resume
During this year the women’s bible class did not meet together on Sunday mornings.  Because the topic was the book of Acts, we felt it would be better if everyone was together for the teaching.  Once we start marriage and home and family life in the new year, we will begin having women’s classes.  There are many aspects of marriage and family life that will be better discussed separately by the men and the women.  One of the greatest things we hope to accomplish with a separate ladies class is getting some of the Christian women involved in leading the class on a rotation basis.  In the past, all the women waited on Stacy to teach them instead of taking a turn in leading the classes. 

Upcoming Presidential Election in Madagascar
          Sunday, November 12, 2006 marked the start of campaigning in Madagascar for the presidential election that is to be held on December 3, 2006.  There are fourteen candidates registered officially for the voting that will take place throughout the country.  All indications are that the election will be peaceful, which will be a nice change from the last election in December of 2001, when the country was literally split in two with two capitals and two presidents for several months.
          Even though we expect a smooth election this time around, we are preparing in advance just in case things do turn sour.  We have laid in a supply of rice and needed supplies for the Betikara Orphanage.  We are also going to purchase a couple of 55 gallon drums that will be filled with diesel fuel so that we will be able to get around in case there is a disruption in the supply of goods to the capital city.
 

• Pray for spiritual growth for not only Rasolofo and Helen, but also for the other Christians that take an active part in the Ambohimarina congregation.  Pray that they can grow strong and teach others about His will for their lives.
• Pray for Kit and us during this time of transition for Kit from a life on the mission field to a life at a United States university.  Pray that the transition can be smooth and that Kit will find what he needs in order to get an eventual job stateside.
• Pray for the Ambohimarina congregation as we continue to make plans for the teaching schedule that we will begin to use on the first Sunday of the new year.