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His Work Go ... and make disciples of all
nations Matthew 28:19 |
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Volume
21, Number 11 |
November 2007 |
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The
Barry Rosie family have worked on the mission field in Africa for more
than 21 years under the oversight of the: |
Fraley’s Chapel |
Elders Phillip Young - 662-286-2995 Mike Whitehurst -
662-287-7631 |
How does one make him understand?
It happened
this morning both before and after Sunday morning worship. I listened intently,
but as with all communications involving Africans and African thinking, Tiana
spoke enigmatically. For the next six hours, my mind dwelt on his words before
I was able to read between the lines and understand exactly what it was that
Tiana wanted. Africans do not relate a story or ask a question directly.
Instead, they expect the listener to read between the lines and understand an
indirect communication.
This particular communication
between Tiana and me caused the physical versus spiritual issue to surface once
again. The physical versus spiritual issue arises often in the life of every
Christian. In third world Africa, the physical versus spiritual issue takes on
very different dimensions and is a particularly strong issue to navigate and
overcome. My mind wrestled with Tiana’s communication for a whole afternoon and
when the light finally dawned concerning my understanding, I was immediately
thrown into a quandary I was unsure how to solve. If Barry were here, there
would be no quandary. He would do what needed to be done both physically and
spiritually and I could put my mind to rest concentrating on the most important
thing Christians do: pray.
Some years ago on a particular
Christmas morning in which I had six extra houseguests and a husband sick in
bed, a group of Malagasy brothers and sisters in Christ arrived on my doorstep
with a very ill woman in tow. I left my children in charge of my sick husband
and my houseguests to their own Christmas morning devices and spent nearly all
of the next two weeks day and night in the intensive care unit of the local
hospital tending to the sick woman. There was not much I could actually do. She
lay so ill in a place you wouldn’t even recognize as a hospital while nothing
more than a glucose drip entered her veins through a none too new needle. I
stood beside her bed for those many days just praying. I asked God to spare her
life so that she could become His. He answered those prayers favorably. She
lived and she did become a much cherished and faithful sister in Christ. In my
mind, there was not a single thing I did to help this woman physically. In this
hospital, I could not even find anything with which to bathe her and make her
feel fresh. All I did was stand beside her bed, pray, and try not to succumb to
the horrible conditions of the hospital. I am still convinced that prayer is
what worked for this sister in Christ. The Malagasy believed differently. What
they very aptly observed and deducted was that because a foreigner stood beside
the bed of the sickest woman in the ward, the doctors visited more frequently
and continued to order the glucose solution. It was my physical act that saved
her life. They acknowledged and thanked me for the prayers. They still bring up
the incident often, but in their minds, it was the physical more than the
spiritual act of prayer that solved the problem. I am more than convinced that
no physical act could have saved her life, and argue as I do, they still stand
on the physical more than the spiritual.
This morning, Tiana related
that his father has been sick in the hospital for the last two weeks. He told
me that his father is in the same hospital and in the very same ward as
Rivovavy was all those years ago. Tiana seemed very sad and he repeated more
than once that there was nothing else to do. I understood his sadness and
inside I bemoaned the horrible hospital conditions in which the sick father
lay. I told Tiana that when there is nothing else to do, there is always
prayer. I promised him I would pray for both his father and for him. He thanked
me for the prayers, but he continued to repeat that his father lay in the same
ward of the same hospital with the same glucose drip as Rivovavy.
Six hours later, I finally
understand. Tiana wants me to go sit in the hospital ward with his father. He
appreciates the prayers, I am sure, but he really believes (and to some extent
rightfully so, an army of Malagasy standing beside that man’s bed would have no
effect on the doctors) that if this white foreigner will stand beside his
father’s bed, the doctors would be more likely to watch his father more closely
and to order more glucose solution. I am in a quandary. I cannot miss work to
sit beside the bedside of Tiana’s father, nor can I ignore Havilah’s need to be
at school each day. If Barry was here, he would see to both needs with ease. He
would attend to the physical while he depended on the spiritual. I am unable to
do both. How do I possible help Tiana to understand?
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Did You Know. . . |
. . that this former resident of the upper peninsula of Michigan is no
longer accustomed to the cold weather that is in the United States. It has now
just started to get cold and it is not even officially winter yet, but I am
feeling the cold. It used to be that I could go out snowmobiling in Upper
Michigan for several hours at minus 30 Fahrenheit degrees and not have any
problems. Now that I have spent over 20 years in Africa and become use to the
climate in the tropics I am finding it hard to stay warm this furlough. Not
only am I getting older, but my blood is also getting thinner because of the
change in living situations. :-)
Bbbbrrrrr, it is cold!
Miniature Missionaries
Kit is looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving break. I will arrive in Montgomery, Alabama on November 19th in the evening, or on November 20th in the morning. It looks like it will be about a 692 mile, 12 hour drive, so I may not drive the entire distance in one day. Kit will be off from classes starting the 21st of November, so that will give us 5 days to be together. Kit already has a list of things that he wants to accomplish during the Thanksgiving break. First, Kit says that the Internet connection at Faulkner is far from adequate, so he is looking forward to getting off campus and hooking onto a good connection so that he can download some of the files that have eluded him for some time now. Second, Kit is wanting to try and get an Alabama driving license. Kit completed a drivers training course while in high school at Rift Valley Academy. Now he wants to take the required tests (both written and driving) so that he can get a license and be able to drive.
Havilah went on a week long trip during a break from school. Those that went were involved in helping the Missionary Aviation Fellowship group in Madagascar. During the week all concerned were involved in repairing a much needed airstrip so that the Missionary Aviation Fellowship group can deliver supplies to the surrounding areas. It was reported that Havilah was instrumental in getting the Malagasy workers organized (by using her Malagasy language skills) so that the project could move forward.
this and that
Internet
Problems in Madagascar
Madagascar continues to cause problems for Stacy and Havilah as far as Internet access is concerned. It seems that the workers for our Internet service provider keep messing up the configurations of the servers computers. I say this because Stacy knows first hand that the owner of the company had to reconfigure all of the servers computers in order to get our Internet access back on line.
This is causing communication problems for Stacy and I. It is also causing problems for Stacy at the American School of Antananarivo, and as she tries to get set up for her doctorial studies with the University of Phoenix. If our Internet continues to be unreliable at home, then the only time that Stacy and I will be able to communicate is when Stacy is at the American School. But, that connection is also often problematic. Needless to say, Madagascar has the technology, but is lacking in the ability to keep it up and running. This is what often happens in a third world or developing country.
Plane
bookings for Barry
Everything is coming together for my return to Madagascar in the new year. I called both British Airways and Air Madagascar this morning. British Airways has changed my ticket date from December 3, 2007 at the Washington, Dulles airport to January 7, 2008. I will have to call British Airways after 72 hours in order to find out about the cost for changing dates. This cost could be fifty British Pounds, but is negligible compared to the total cost of the ticket. Air Madagascar has already booked my flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Antananarivo, Madagascar on January 9, 2008. I will still need to buy tickets from the Tampa - St. Petersburg airport to the Washington, Dulles airport once I find out what day I will be leaving Florida.
Lord willing I will be seeing Stacy and Havilah at 1:40 p.m. (or later that Afternoon) Madagascar time on that Wednesday. The only thing remaining is to get to the ticket counters at the respective airports (Dulles - British Airways; and Nairobi - Air Madagascar) to have the tickets changed. I have already been entered into the respective computer systems for the above bookings. So, Lord willing everything will go smoothly once I start to travel back home.
John
and Esther Ratovohery
I just received an e-mail message from John and Esther. They are in the United States trying to get permanent visas for the United States. John states that as soon as the paperwork is done they will be returning to Madagascar. Lord willing this will not take too long. We know that there is a lot of red tape involved with visa applications and that things do not always go as planned.
While John and Esther are in the United States the church and the Betikara Orphanage will be on their own. I do not know what kind of arrangements John made for taking care of the orphanage needs. John is supposed to be taking care of these things while I am in the states reporting to the churches and individuals that support the work and the orphanage. Dinand is now the only person that is overseeing everything. Please pray for this time of transition and for the quick and safe return of John and Esther.
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EXPENDITURES OCTOBER |
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Diesel |
$ 240.77 |
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Vehicle maintenance |
19.49 |
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Rent and Utilities |
585.12 |
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Office |
345.65 |
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Travel |
55.71 |
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Misc. |
0.00 |
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Total expenses |
$ 1,246.74 |
Each month as I come to this section of the newsletter I am encouraged. I see that the number of churches that I still need to visit continues to decrease. It will be just under two months now before I arrive back in Madagascar and start to get back into the church and orphanage work that I left in the month of July. As you can see by the schedule that is below, there are only a few more appointments for speaking about the work in Madagascar that I need to attend. I heard that the university congregation in Montgomery, Alabama where Kit is taking classes would like me to present the Madagascar work to their congregation. I have not been able to confirm whether this is a reality or not to this date. I will need to call and talk with one of the members of their congregation soon, since I will be in Montgomery in just about one week.
I am also considering calling the Bay Area Church of Christ and seeing if they would like me to come on a Sunday instead of on a Wednesday night. Sunday’s seem to work better and allow me to share more of the Madagascar work with congregations. There is just not enough time to get all that is going on into one Wednesday evening bible study. Since I will be spending all of December in Florida it would be possible for the Bay Area congregation to choose from a couple of Sunday’s.
November 4th Mission report to
Indiana Church of Christ in Indiana, PA
November 7th Whitehall Church of Christ
November 11th Mission report to
Langeloth Church of Christ in Langeloth, PA
November18th Three Chopt Church of Christ
November 20th Travel to Montgomery, Alabama for Thanksgiving with Kit
November 28th Mission report to
North Brevard Church of Christ in Titusville, FL
December 2nd Mission report to River Road Church of Christ in New Port Richey, FL
December 5th Mission report to Bay Area Church of Christ in Mango, FL
What
can you do?
You
can pray!
¨ Pray
for the continued growth of the congregations in Madagascar.
¨ Pray
for the oversight of the Betikara Orphanage, since John and Esther Ratovohery
are in the United States taking care of visa paperwork.
¨ Pray
for the Rosie family as we continue to be separated. Pray for Barry’s safety as
he continues to travel around the United States.
¨ Pray
for Kit as he continues to get accustomed to university and life in the United
States in general. Pray that he can concentrate on his studies and do well in
his new setting.
¨ Pray for the Malagasy people that are trying to understand the need for a spiritual life in Christ.
We welcome you to join us in this work for Him . . .
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Barry,
Stacy, Kit and Havilah Rosie Tel. 011-261-32-02-081-14 |