This very long post took me ages to compose and is about our (That is Ps Rodolphe and Jandre) first ’semi-official’ visit to some of our previous students, graduates, pastors.
Who did we visit?:
- Ps. Wisca in Beforona.
- Ps. Jery and Ps. Hanitra in Belavabary.
- We could not get to Ps Eliza in Ankazondany. There appears to be transport only once a week!
(Incedentally, I know all four of from Mandritsara. In 2006 I stayed with Hanintra’s family to study Malagasy. Although Jery and Hanitra are both pastors they do not serve the same congregation. hanitra is in Belavabary, where they live. And Jery is in Antatatra, about 8km from there.)
The “Trip”
We arrived at the taxi-rank at 8:00 on the dot as we were warned the previous day not to be late.
And promptly at 10:30 we left. We adopted “Hurry up and wait” as our slogan and philosophical attitude to the travelling part of this trip. AndI am sure it will come in handy in the future.
The Tuesday when I went to book our places, I sent up a quick prayer asking the Lord to guide me to a good and trustworthy taxi. As we have seen, all taxis are equal, but some are more unequal than the rest. When Rodolphe saw that we were travelling with KOMPIMA, he remarked that they were known for being safe and trustworthy. The taxi was in a good condition. And our driver was very cautios.
Our driver’s father was murdered on the 26th of June by a friend. Rodolphe and he had a long discussion and I believe that he was strengthened.
After a late lunch (rice and (beef) tongue) we arrived in Beforona just before 16:00. Beforona = Be (big/many) + miforona (to create). The name refers to the many excuses (lies) parents created to prevent their children being taken as slaves.
The town is small, but we still managed to find Wisca’s house after getting lost.
Wisca recounts some of his expierences as the FJKM Beforona pastor.
The next morning we had breakfast (rice) at a small hotely. (A ‘hotely’ is not a hotel. It is a small restaurant that serves Malagasy food.)
We were back in Moramanga by 9:30. We were unsure as to the transport between Moramanga and Belavabary. At the Taxi-rank we found out that there are two busses everyday. The first was already full. And the second was broken down. That meant we had to employ Plan B.
Plan B involved taking another taxi to as close as possible to Belavabary and then walk the rest. The rest turned out to be 10 km.
We met this man and his daughter about two kilometers out of Belavabary. They dismounted from there bicycle and walked the rest with us, making sure that we didn’t get lost. They still had 40km to go. I am sure that that little girl would have outwalked me by a mile.
Hanita and Jery were also really surprised to see us. And just like Wisca they went out of there way to be hospitable.
Hanitra and Jery’s little girl praying. She was the sweetest little thing.
Random observations
Once again I must praise God for providing Ps Rodolphe as a partner. He has the wonderful ability to be able to strike up a conversation with anybody. I believe that we will become very good friends.
The commitment exhibited by Jery and Hanitra, as well as Wisca and his wife were examplary and challenged me and Rodolphe. Jery repeatedly that they are servants in the Lord’s vineyard and not hirelings out to make a quick buck. Wisca told us about the times when they had no food (food: rice) in the house, but,Thankfully he said, there were bananas on our trees. (With thankfully implying that God put them there.)
This theme of God’s providence was continued throughout. Wisca’s eyes are open to see God’s hands. But then they are having a difficult time. Apart from the fact that the Beforona congregation is pretty poor, there are also various undercurrents within the congregation. For example when Wisca and his family arrived in Beforona, the chrch-elders never came to welcome them.
Rodolphe testified that he experienced God’s provision in the fact that all our hosts were there. We could not get a hold of any of them to warn them before hand.
Ps Hanitra expressed here desire to organise some form of evangelistic outreach in there area. But before I continue talking about Outreaches, I have to sketch some back ground. According to statistics 42% of all Malagasy are Christian. In actual fact it means that 42% attend church (regularly). In general the church-goers practice a form of syncretism. What is syncretism? It is when one takes part of different, often contradictory religions, and put them together to make a new religion. One of our previous students claimed that up to 80% of the attendants at a local FJKM still practice famadihana. This is a short general description and all facts are not necessarily accurate. Famadihana, from the word mamadika is a religious cermony were the bones from an ancestor is removed from the ancestral tomb and wrapped in new funerary clothes. This is to ensure a good relationship with the ancestors and to ensure there continued blessing.Watch this short video of a famadihana. Music, drinking etc. all makes for a great famadihana.
In Belavabary, according to Hanitra, it is forbidden by traditional religious precepts it is forbidden to work on a Monday and Thursday. If one were to work you have to pay a substantial fine. Even Christians are forced to pay this fine. The strong focus on social unity brought about by the culture makes it very difficult to defy the commuity. And this is something very difficult for Westerners to understand, because of our individualistic culture. One might say, There is no “I” in Madagascar.
The first, and sometimes overlooked question, is, Does God want us to get involved with Jery and Hanitra?
Secondly: How? It is easy to get hundreds of ‘apparent’ commitments to Christ. How? Use a clever trick that is disguised as a progressive missionary technique. For example get a white guy like me to preach. Or show a fil about Jesus.
Now, please allow me to explain. According to the 1993 Census there were only 015% of the people living in Madagascar were foreign residents, i.e.e foregners, French, British, Chinese etc. There is no doubt that the number has significantly increased over the last 15 years. But even if you multiply i by five, you still only have ).75%. This implies that in the rural areas you have very small chance of seeing foreigners. When I visited Frederic, a mere 50km from the countries only international airport, I was the first white visitor in close to 25 years, a quarter century that is!
Belavabary does not electricity. And virtually no-one owns a television or a generator. So, to organise an outreach were one shows somekind of movie will cause a massive reaction amongst the population. Someone told me about an outreach they held somewhere in rural Mocambique. The people got really excited somewhere in the movie, and the organisers were so excited about there apparent success. But then they realised that what caused the excitement was not salvation, but the camels! Just for the record. I am not against the Jesus movie. I am just trying to illustrate how things can have a different than intended result.
The point that I am trying to make is that people will come from far and wide to experience something new and different. And because of the cultural desire to please they will all raise there hands if asked: Raise your hand if you want to accept Jesus. There were also some missionaries who went to a very isolated village by helicopter and told the people about Jesus who from heaven….
I apologise for tha massive detour, but I feel that it is important to take these things into consideration when it comes to answering the question: How? How does one facilitate a culturally sensitive and relevant outreach? I am still struggling with this question. But I have realised that those “doing” the outreach will have to experience revival in their lives first.
What did we learn?
- Wisca’s humility
- God is faithful
- Revival
- Information
- A burden shared is a burden halve
– As the pastor of the FJKM Beforona, Wisca is entitled to certain things in return. Money, rice, books, medical cover etc. all make up a pre-determined package. Yet the congregation does not honour this arrangement. Yet, instead of insisting on these things, Wisca is willing to let it go for the sake of relationships.
– Rodolphe and me, as well as our graduates experienced God’s leading and provision, love and goodness.
– Personal as well as corporate revival is desperately needed. I know it is true in my life.
– Our hosts need information that is readily available here in Tana. How to register a piece of land. How does one rasie pigs etc. We want to examine how we can help them meet their needs.
– Our host really apppreciated the opportunity to share their cares with (objective) outsiders. Rodolphe’s relaxed manner helped them to open up.
There are still so many things that I want to share but this email is approaching “Very Long.”
Thank you for your prayers. I can not make my excitement about this program adequately clear. This program, under God’s guidance obviously has immense potential. Even to the extent that the FJKM can be changed says Rodolphe. Please here from our Father on whether you are to play a part in making kingdom history in Madagascar.
Blessings
J <
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Filed under: Bush Pastor, Report, Trip
