Weekly prayer updates are available
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The last extended prayer letter follows:
Dear Friends
"Then God said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."" (Gen 22:2 NKJV)
C. H. Spurgeon on this text says: "Do not think that as you grow in grace the path will become smoother beneath your feet, and the heavens serener above your heads. On the contrary, reckon that as God gives you greater skill as a soldier, He will send you upon more arduous enterprises. As He more fully fits your vessel to brave the tempest and the storm, so will He send you out upon more boisterous seas and longer voyages, that you may honour him more. You would have thought that Abraham in his old age, after the birth of Isaac, would have had a time of perfect rest. Let this warn that we are never to reckon upon rest from tribulation this side of the grave. No, the trumpet still sounds the note of war." Thank you for praying for us as the years tick by.
You might think that folk whose lives are saved and illnesses cured would be immensely grateful. The story of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Himself shows that this is most often not the case. Of the ten lepers He cured in Luke 17, only one returned to thank Him. We have a tract called "Better" that we give to patients who go home cured. It is based on the account of the one leper who was grateful, and encourages folk to thank God for His love and mercy to them and to turn and follow Him
Recently we received a letter in Malagasy from the mother of a 5 year-old boy called Zamani-la. He was very weak and had a large hard abdominal mass. His mother had already taken him to the hospitals in the neighbouring towns without getting any help. We made a presumptive diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma and gave him the first course of chemotherapy. He responded wonderfully well and within a week or so the mass had all but disappeared. Here is our translation of what his mother wrote:
Greetings! I, Noromamy, the mother of Zamani-la, am happy and rejoicing because of the good care that you gave us. By the power and grace of God and through the treatment here at HVM my child has recovered. So I thank all you doctors and may the Lord bless you for all the good that you have done for us. Thank you for looking after us so well - if you were not here then we would really be in difficulties. So I do not cease to give thanks because my child has really got better by the grace of God. Thank you very much!
As in previous years we are planning to have an afternoon of prayer for Mandritsara at Trinity Road Chapel, 205 Trinity Road, London SW17 7HW. It is booked for Saturday 31 May. We trust there will a buffet lunch available from 12.30pm and we will start the meeting at about 2.15pm. We expect to finish at 5.15pm with a cup of tea. We should have some up to date photos to show! We do hope to see many of you!
We are hoping that Adrien and Gisele will be able to visit the UK and Belgium / France / Switzerland in late August/September. It is 10 years since Adrien last visited and Gisele has never been. If you would like them to visit your church please let us know with possible dates so that we can begin to plan the trip. Hopefully Mat and Katy Linley, who are preparing to return to join the team here, will be with them for some of the meetings.
When one gets older, one is advised to move south. It's a question of a milder climate. We are happy to announce that as from mid February we have moved south (as far as our home in England is concerned). About a mile south actually - from Tooting Bec to Tooting Broadway. We now have a delightful little 2 bedroomed flat near Amen Corner (is that an open-air preaching site?!). We are most grateful to our family who have done so much to organise it all (we just saw the flat when we were over in December!), and to Bryan and Bernie Lumb in Worthing who have accommodated our goods and chattels in their garage for the past few months.
Jane is due to arrive in London on April 12 and will also be contactable "on her mobile". She is coming for the birth of our third grandchild - to Ruth and Neil - due later this month. For the past month she has been working flat out to prepare enough Sunday school lessons for the rest of this term. She finished today! David hopes to follow on May 24. We are booked to fly back to Madagascar on June 28. We would be grateful for your prayers that we might find a doctor available to help during David's absence. Otherwise Adrien will be doing all the surgery and he and Dr Solondraibe doing all the general medicine and outpatients as well.
We are also looking forward to Rachel coming to join us in Tooting. She has just completed her challenging two and a half years on an Indian Ocean Island seeking to make known the love of the Lord Jesus. Please pray that the Lord will prepare and guide her for her future service for Him.
Thank you for your continuing prayers and interest,
With our love,
David and Jane
Gifts for the project should be sent to Bryan Lumb, "The Potters House", 7 Hythe Road, WORTHING, West Sussex BN11 5DA. email: lumb@thepottershouse.co.uk
Please make out cheques to "Friends of Mandritsara Trust" (F.O.M.T.) Gift Aid forms are available.