Hey everyone,
We are about to eat our last Malagash meal before heading to the airport to fly home. It's been an incredible trip thus far! (Beyond my expectation, and I've been accused of being an optimist!)
We were able to complete 4 full days of extensive discipleship training (6-8 hours per day) with everyone on the team taking part in the teaching. We trained 1 bishop, 2 presbyters (reverends), 10 evangelists, 5 evangelists in training (residents), 10 male lay leaders, and about 20 female lay leaders. The looks on their faces were priceless on so many occasions! They seemed to TOTALLY understand the mandate given in the Great Commission, and I honestly believe they were refreshed, encouraged, and equipped to go back to their villages and towns all over the island and MAKE DISCIPLES! It's going to be extremely exciting to see this unfold!!
We also gave them all 2 Bibles, one for them and one for the person they will identify as their primary Timothy over the next few days/weeks/months! We also purchased commentaries (the only one available in their language) for all of them and they were so excited to have a resource to aid them in their personal study, as most of them are basically in the bush with nothing more than an old Bible, if that. We will also be continuing to send Bishop Todd materials that he will translate into Malagash and he will distribute to them. There is much excitement about them coming next year to the conference with those they have been discipling, and we can continue to be an equipper for them long term.
I have met some men here who are simply unbelievable. These evangelists literally walk all over the countryside as pioneer evangelists and once people convert to Christ they build churches and act as itinerant preachers until a presbyter is raised up...unbelievable their commitment to our King! I have been extremely encouraged by their faithfulness.
One specifically is named Dacise. He had polio at birth and with no medication he is now crippled. he only has the use of one leg and he walks with a long cane to brace the other. He is an evangelist in training. He walks all over his province (about the size of
Germantown) with his cane to share the good news of the Gospel. he has a GIANT heart and is very intelligent. He doesn't have much on this Earth, but I can't wait to see his reward in heaven! Let's keep him in our prayers as he labors for Christ...
If you get this before Sunday night, please pray for our 4 flights, 2 of which are over 11 hours long. Very difficult journey. Pray for smooth and on-time flights. We love you guys and can't wait to return home and share more stories of the incredible work God has done in our lives as well as the people here! We'll have to have a video night soon!!
Praise God!
KV
PS - we have some pretty hilarious out-takes from the teaching time (here's a few to wet your appetite):
Lara - "Greetings from God"
Paul - "In the name of the Lord, i mean, the Father, the Son, and Jesus Christ"
Brad - "I was born...to a mother and a father..."
...more to come!!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Madagascar Team Update
KV here. We have a small window here of time (and internet service, which is sporadic) so I will try and do a brief update for you to pass on to the prayers and class.
First i must just say that God is so good! It never fails to amaze me when i have the privilege of going on short term missions the way Gos has gone before us...this is clearly the case here, and this has already been a powerful experience for all of us on the team (and God-willing, for the people here).
The Malagasy are the most genuine and friendly people i have ever met. it is their custom to honor their guest (they know the passage in Hebrews and treat us as if they are entertaining angels). it is an incredible kind of hospitality. they have nothing to give (from an earthly standpoint) but their hearts are full of love.
Todd and Patsy are true soldiers in the faith. They have been laboring in Africa (10 years in Madagascar and 6 in Kenya) for 16 years. Unbelievable. Todd has such a spirit of joy. They live in a tiny place in the slums of Tulear (southern city in Mada) and have such a joy about their work. Todd has a blast as he ministers to these people. he is full of love and wisdom, humility and purpose. It is a rare privilege to work alongside of him.
We arrived on Friday afternoon after 2 VERY long days of travel (incl 2 overnight flights)!! We were exhausted but immediately amazed by the beauty of the island and the unique culture (i have been all over mainland africa, middle East, europe, and central and south america and have never seen anything quite like it). it's like watching the Discovery Channel half the time. The peopl get around in pus-pus's (like these push carts where a guy literally is running on foot and dragging the cart of people like a chariot.) there are Zebu's (like oxen), goats, chickens, and sheep all over the roads. The people are extremely "chill". Sparks is right at home with his people here!!! They must have been able to sense his Madagascarean demeanor for when we did team introduction at the conference, he got an ovation (we still have no idea why!).
On Saturday we began the conference training. there are about 30 pastors, evangelists, and lay leaders who we are training to reproduce their faith into other leaders to multiply all over the island and around the globe. they are ALREADY starting to get it though we've only trained for one half day (3 sessions). KV, Shad, and Paul Ellis taught the first morning. KV did an intro to disciple-making according to the model set forth by Christ. Shad did "Ambassadors" out of II Cor.5 and Paul did the Great Commission. Some of the students are VERY sharp and are catching on quick. We did a Q and A at the end of the day and we were asked some of the toughest questions of the faith (Where's Josh Mcdowell when you need him?) ex: How do you reconcile John 3:5 with Romans 10:9 in order to understand salvation? How do you reconcile Acts 16 with "you and your family will be saved" when you say every man must receive Christ for himself? Needless to say, we must be on our toes here (pray for wisdom and discernment).
Saturday afternoon we went out to the land in the country that Todd and Patsy and the Anglican church are purchasing here to begin a new church and training center. beautiful place. we walked the entire 5 acres with 50 of the church members and sang all the way. at each corner we prayed and blessed the land and prayed for the old spirits to be removed. we prayed that place would be one that would flow with the living water of Christ as we sprinkled water over it.
last night we ate a malagasy meal (chicken, Zebu, duck with different spices) with Todd and Patsy and went around and shared how Christ had ministered to us that day. It felt like the "last night" of most trips as we had already seen and learned and been blessed so deeply, and yet it was only the end of day 1. how i wish all the guys in class could be here and experience the tangioble presence of God in this place and these people. what a privilege it is to be a blessing with the knowledge we've been giving. i have the secure feeling that these men and women will be stewards of what we are giving them in the truths of disciple-making.
This morning (Sunday) we split and went to 2 churches. Paul preached at one and KV at the other. We taught on Matt.22:37-39 about BEING disciples and what that means before we are ready to BUILD DISCIPLES according to the Great Commission. The services were 2 1/2 hours of singing, praising, praying, preaching, and more singing. they LOVE to sing!! Rosanne, Brad, Wad, and Uno Zondo taught the people in our church "Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelujah...Praise ye the Lord!" they went NUTS!! at the other church, lara veto shared her testimony (brad did at our church) and Meredith, Zach, Paul, and Shad went to worship there. Church was a true celebration of the presence of Christ in our lives. He is truly their HOPE in this world. last night, Richard and Brad both shared how blown away they were that these people have almost nothing (9th poorest country in the world, and poorest place in this country) and yet are so full of joy and sing all the day long!
couple tidbits:
-Brad is the great Madagascarean spider-cricket killer. KV challenged him to "conquer his fears" last night as they were forced to face down this deadly critter. Sparks responded "why don't you conquer your fears man?" but eventually came through like a man - Bryson would have been proud.
-Shad reports that Uno snores so loudly he wakes himself up every hour on the hour. Shad also says Uno claims the covers for Spain every night and utters random trains of thought in Spanish throughout the night.
-Zach is continually heard saying, "I can't believe what I'm seeing. This is awesome!"
-Wade is an incredible servant to the team.
-We pack 60 Maladasy and our team in a bus that holds 20 and sing at the top of our lungs though we don't know the words. They are no respecter of personal space here.
-We feel extremely blessed. this is AWESOME!!!
Pray for the training (which will be predominantly M-W) that is about to really kick-off. Pray for their understanding and our clarity. Pray we are continually a blessing in love, word, and deed to these people, and esp Todd and Patsy. Pray God would continue to teach our team and mold us into His image for a lifetime of serving Him
First i must just say that God is so good! It never fails to amaze me when i have the privilege of going on short term missions the way Gos has gone before us...this is clearly the case here, and this has already been a powerful experience for all of us on the team (and God-willing, for the people here).
The Malagasy are the most genuine and friendly people i have ever met. it is their custom to honor their guest (they know the passage in Hebrews and treat us as if they are entertaining angels). it is an incredible kind of hospitality. they have nothing to give (from an earthly standpoint) but their hearts are full of love.
Todd and Patsy are true soldiers in the faith. They have been laboring in Africa (10 years in Madagascar and 6 in Kenya) for 16 years. Unbelievable. Todd has such a spirit of joy. They live in a tiny place in the slums of Tulear (southern city in Mada) and have such a joy about their work. Todd has a blast as he ministers to these people. he is full of love and wisdom, humility and purpose. It is a rare privilege to work alongside of him.
We arrived on Friday afternoon after 2 VERY long days of travel (incl 2 overnight flights)!! We were exhausted but immediately amazed by the beauty of the island and the unique culture (i have been all over mainland africa, middle East, europe, and central and south america and have never seen anything quite like it). it's like watching the Discovery Channel half the time. The peopl get around in pus-pus's (like these push carts where a guy literally is running on foot and dragging the cart of people like a chariot.) there are Zebu's (like oxen), goats, chickens, and sheep all over the roads. The people are extremely "chill". Sparks is right at home with his people here!!! They must have been able to sense his Madagascarean demeanor for when we did team introduction at the conference, he got an ovation (we still have no idea why!).
On Saturday we began the conference training. there are about 30 pastors, evangelists, and lay leaders who we are training to reproduce their faith into other leaders to multiply all over the island and around the globe. they are ALREADY starting to get it though we've only trained for one half day (3 sessions). KV, Shad, and Paul Ellis taught the first morning. KV did an intro to disciple-making according to the model set forth by Christ. Shad did "Ambassadors" out of II Cor.5 and Paul did the Great Commission. Some of the students are VERY sharp and are catching on quick. We did a Q and A at the end of the day and we were asked some of the toughest questions of the faith (Where's Josh Mcdowell when you need him?) ex: How do you reconcile John 3:5 with Romans 10:9 in order to understand salvation? How do you reconcile Acts 16 with "you and your family will be saved" when you say every man must receive Christ for himself? Needless to say, we must be on our toes here (pray for wisdom and discernment).
Saturday afternoon we went out to the land in the country that Todd and Patsy and the Anglican church are purchasing here to begin a new church and training center. beautiful place. we walked the entire 5 acres with 50 of the church members and sang all the way. at each corner we prayed and blessed the land and prayed for the old spirits to be removed. we prayed that place would be one that would flow with the living water of Christ as we sprinkled water over it.
last night we ate a malagasy meal (chicken, Zebu, duck with different spices) with Todd and Patsy and went around and shared how Christ had ministered to us that day. It felt like the "last night" of most trips as we had already seen and learned and been blessed so deeply, and yet it was only the end of day 1. how i wish all the guys in class could be here and experience the tangioble presence of God in this place and these people. what a privilege it is to be a blessing with the knowledge we've been giving. i have the secure feeling that these men and women will be stewards of what we are giving them in the truths of disciple-making.
This morning (Sunday) we split and went to 2 churches. Paul preached at one and KV at the other. We taught on Matt.22:37-39 about BEING disciples and what that means before we are ready to BUILD DISCIPLES according to the Great Commission. The services were 2 1/2 hours of singing, praising, praying, preaching, and more singing. they LOVE to sing!! Rosanne, Brad, Wad, and Uno Zondo taught the people in our church "Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelujah...Praise ye the Lord!" they went NUTS!! at the other church, lara veto shared her testimony (brad did at our church) and Meredith, Zach, Paul, and Shad went to worship there. Church was a true celebration of the presence of Christ in our lives. He is truly their HOPE in this world. last night, Richard and Brad both shared how blown away they were that these people have almost nothing (9th poorest country in the world, and poorest place in this country) and yet are so full of joy and sing all the day long!
couple tidbits:
-Brad is the great Madagascarean spider-cricket killer. KV challenged him to "conquer his fears" last night as they were forced to face down this deadly critter. Sparks responded "why don't you conquer your fears man?" but eventually came through like a man - Bryson would have been proud.
-Shad reports that Uno snores so loudly he wakes himself up every hour on the hour. Shad also says Uno claims the covers for Spain every night and utters random trains of thought in Spanish throughout the night.
-Zach is continually heard saying, "I can't believe what I'm seeing. This is awesome!"
-Wade is an incredible servant to the team.
-We pack 60 Maladasy and our team in a bus that holds 20 and sing at the top of our lungs though we don't know the words. They are no respecter of personal space here.
-We feel extremely blessed. this is AWESOME!!!
Pray for the training (which will be predominantly M-W) that is about to really kick-off. Pray for their understanding and our clarity. Pray we are continually a blessing in love, word, and deed to these people, and esp Todd and Patsy. Pray God would continue to teach our team and mold us into His image for a lifetime of serving Him
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