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The last extended prayer letter follows:

Prayer letter 15th April 2009

Dear Friends,

Paul writes ?The Lord said to me, ?My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.? Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in weakness, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ?s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.? (2Cor 12:9-10)

When we take a serious look at ourselves, and at the work in Mandritsara, we are very conscious of weakness and need. Recently there have been a number of distresses. How encouraging Paul?s words are for us. Please pray that the power of Christ ? forgiving power, saving power, keeping power, renewing power ? may be known in Mandritsara and beyond, drawing many to trust in Him, to live for Him, to die for Him, that He may be praised and honoured.

MADAGASCAR IN THE NEWS

Madagascar has been in political crisis since January. Riots, looting and insecurity were everyday life in Antananarivo for several weeks. Then the former president left the country and the leader of the opposition, supported by a section of the army, became ?interim? president. He actually has very little international support, and many countries have cut off the aid which forms a large part of the country?s budget. Now there are large daily demonstrations by supporters of the former president, though thankfully they have mostly been peaceful. Workers at the Central Bank and at the Ministry of Finance have been on strike in opposition to the new regime. The country?s finances are extremely limited. It is very difficult to see how things are going to go forward from here. So far the hospital has not been greatly affected by the political situation. However, if supplies become difficult to obtain, particularly diesel to run our generators, it will be another story. Now we hear that the former president ? who is still recognised by many countries including the African Union ? has announced that he will return to Madagascar this week. Please pray for peace and justice to prevail, and that in the midst of deep emotions about how things are, the Lord?s people may continue to show the love of Christ for the needy and the lost.

ANOTHER STRIKE

It has not only been politics that has caused problems recently ? but also the weather. Last week a powerful cyclone hit many towns including Mandritsara, causing rain and wind damage to homes and crops. During a recent thunderstorm there was a very loud bang as lightning struck our hospital internal phone network which links the houses and hospital departments, and provides a bleep system for those on call from home in the town. Though several component circuit boards had been burnt in the telephone exchange, our resident electrician (Robert Blondeel) was able to have the service up and running again within a few days.

BACK ON THE AIR

Last month our Voice of the Good News radio station suddenly went off the air. The problem was in the transmitter ? a complex piece of electronic apparatus about the size of a large television set and packed with a multitude of components. Robert is an electrician, and fixing telephone exchanges and radio transmitters is quite a challenge for him ? but in Mandritsara he is our expert in all these matters! He spent several days painstakingly going through each component on the transmitter till he found the source of the problem. Thankfully he was able to find spares in Madagascar and now the radio is up and running again. Please pray for Robert in all these vital responsibilities.

UK PROGRAMME

We are grateful that things settled down enough in Madagascar to allow us to come over as planned. With 3 extra doctors at present it seemed a good time to come. The evening before we left Mandritsara there was a big downpour flooding the middle of the airstrip. Our maintenance team spent the early morning bucketing water from the airstrip ? 20 barrels-full ? to ?dry? it out and allow the MAF plane to land and take off again! David had his cataract operation last Thursday and can now see clearly again with his left eye. Thank you for those who prayed for him. Jane?s visit to the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus specialist is on May 8th, and this week she is booked for an operation on her front teeth which are chronically infected and making her rather unwell at present. Here are the meetings we have arranged so far. We will be happy to see you at any of them.

Saturday 25 April Mandritsara Prayer Day at Trinity Road Chapel, 205 Trinity Road, London SW17. This will start with a snack lunch at 1pm and the meeting will be from 2.15pm to 5.15pm. We hope to show up to date pictures of the work, share news and needs, and spend most of the time in prayer.

Wednesday 29 April 7.45pm Oadby Evangelical Church, Leicester ? see www.oefc.org.uk

Sunday 3 May 10.15am The Grange Free Church, Shrewsbury ? see www.grangefreechurch.org.uk

Wednesday 6 May 7.45pm Mirfield Evangelical Church ? see www.mirfield.free-online.co.uk

Sunday 10 May 10.45am Thatcham Free Church (Anniversary) ? see www.thatchamfreechurch.org.uk

From 12-22 May we are hoping to visit our daughter Ruth and family in Grand Rapids, USA ? our first ever trip across the Atlantic! We are due to fly back to Madagascar on 29 May, and on to Mandritsara with MAF on 2 June.

UPDATES

• While David is away, Dr Jeannine is covering as anaesthetist. This week Dr Adrien is also away ? at the Baptist Association Pastors Retreat in Antananarivo ? and Ted Watts is the only surgeon at the hospital. He has done very well in the time that he and Rachel have been there and we will miss them when they return to the UK in July to continue their specialist training.
• Rachel just wrote ?I have just seen Rabezara, the 10 year old boy who came to the hospital 4 months ago not having been able to walk for a month, very wasted and breathless due to spinal TB. As I went out to call his name, he stood up and walked confidently into my room with a big grin on his face. His father told us about how they had taken him to the witchdoctors in the village and they thought he would die, and brought him to HVM as a last resort. I gave him an 'efa salama tsara' (?Now you are Better?) gospel tract and we'll be praying that they'd come totrust not in ?vazaha? (white man?s) medicine but in God himself.?
• Anna Helena Otthamar is a new nurse who has just arrived for 6 months from the Faeroe Islands. (Do you know where they are? Half way between Iceland and the Shetland Isles ? and recently voted by National Geographic as the most appealing destination of 111 islands they studied!). Please pray for her as she adapts and seeks the Lord?s will for her long-term future.
• Mat and Katy Linley are safely settled in Tana with Phoebe and Jonah ? and busy learning Malagasy.
• The Oasis house for visitors and short-termers is open ? several visitors have stayed there and currently Elke, our Belgian midwife, and John Whitaker, a short-term English doctor, are staying there.
• Our renewed ?Accord de Si觥? came through just in time, so we all have valid visas for the next year.
• Our dear friend Brenda Chudley of Unimatco went to be with the Lord last month. Her sister Janet is sorting things out and Unimatco is closing as John Chudley is also not well and in a nursing home. There is one Land Rover still there that we hope to send by container in early May and David is busy purchasing Land Rover parts and other items to go in the container with it. Getting a container into Madagascar is always a challenge, and with a new shipping company doing it, and the effects of all the troubles in Madagascar on the port and customs procedures, we will appreciate your prayers.
• For the container - if anyone has old baby clothes or likes to knit, we need woolly hats and cardigans, tops/vests rather than babygro?s due to the lack of nappies, non-disposable nappies or cot sheets, knitted blankets. Small sizes are handy as it's mostly the premature babies we use them for.
• The first 11 nursing school students will complete their training in July ? please pray for wisdom as we plan the next intake and seek students.
• Jane worked very hard and was able to leave Sunday School lessons already prepared up to the end of the school year in July.
• We hope shortly to appoint a Malagasy accountant to help Olivier in the vast administrative work of the project that he has shouldered for so long.
• The annual meeting of the trustees of Friends of Mandritsara Trust will be on the morning of 25 April. We will appreciate your prayers as we look toward the future support and development of the work in Mandritsara.

Thank you so much for your continuing prayers and support,

With our love,

David and Jane

Gifts for the project should be sent to:

Mr Derek Alcock
Friends of Mandritsara Trust
244 Obelisk Rise
Northampton
NN2 8TW

email: derek@mandritsara.org.uk

Please make out cheques to "Friends of Mandritsara Trust" (F.O.M.T.) Gift Aid forms are available.

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