Dear Friends
?Is anything too hard for the Lord?? Genesis 18:14
The life of Abraham is a wonderful testimony that nothing is too hard for the Lord! When God asked him to look up and see if he could count the stars, it was as if God was saying to him, ?Whatever happens, Abraham, look up! Whatever challenges, difficulties and impossibilities lie in your path, always look up!?
One of the joys in Mandritsara is to look up, as Abraham did, into the glorious night sky, with the Milky Way stretched from side to side and countless stars in stunning array. The sight of it all, with Mars and Venus adding to the picture, makes a 3am call to see a newly arrived patient in the hospital an occasion to sing ?The heavens declare Thy glory Lord? and to be reminded that for the God who put all that up there, nothing is indeed too hard!
When Dr Hanitra, our eye doctor, was a child, her father was a teacher in the remote village of Matsoandakana ?100km north of here, but twice that distance by ?road?. It is not accessible by road in the rainy season, so although it is a big village with a school, clinic and Gendarme post, it is very isolated. Hanitra remembered that it also has an airstrip. Recently she has had one or two patients from that area, and the memories of her heart have been stirred into a burden to bring physical sight to cataract patients in the area, and most of all to bring the good news of Jesus to them. So she asked MAF whether a flight there would be possible. MAF flew there to check out the airstrip, and landed safely. So Hanitra has arranged for MAF to fly her and her eye team there for 2 days of medical consultations and gospel preaching this month.
From 30 October to 9 November, 34 men and 2 women came from over 20 villages around Mandritsara where small groups of believers are now meeting to attend 2 weeks of Bible traning that Pastor Julien organises each year. Most of them are the leaders of their village groups. Some have been coming each year for several years now, others are quite new. David had the joy and privilege of joining Julien and David Ratovo (pastor from Tana and president of the Association of Bible Baptist Churches of Madagascar) in the teaching programme. David taught on the attributes of God, plus a couple of sessions on the life of Elijah, and two on the Christian and sin.
One man who attended is Thomas from Antanantanana ? about 120km away and probably the furthest away of all those who came. This was his second year to attend. He shared his story with us, and we would like to share it with you. Antanantanana is a big village with 2,300 inhabitants. Thomas, now aged 50, was the Roman Catholic catechist for the village. He was very active in the Catholic Church and rose to be an Inspector of Catechists for the district. In the year 2000, however, he was very disturbed when he received an official letter from the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in Madagascar, authorizing its members to take part in ceremonies of ancestor worship in addition to attending the mass etc. Ancestor worship involves sacrificing oxen to the ancestors and other pagan practices. Thomas couldn?t sleep. He was sure this was not consistent with following Jesus Christ. His wife, Brunette, on the other hand, was very happy to immerse herself in these pagan rites along with the vast majority of the village people. In 2005 Brunette became sick, with abnormal bleeding and an abdominal swelling. Thomas took her to Antsohihy, 200km from here, where there is a government surgeon. He could not help her. They went to a Seventh Day Adventist hospital, where she also received no help. In desperation they came to Mandritsara and went to the government hospital ? but again received no help. Finally in December 2005 they came to us. With the help of our ultrasound machine David was able to diagnose a hydatidiform mole ? a rare abnormal kind of pregnancy where there is no baby but the uterus if full of grape-like cysts. He advised an urgent hysterectomy which was performed a couple of days later and following which Brunette made an uninterrupted recovery. When they first arrived at the hospital it was time for the morning gospel message, and Thomas listened with much interest. He was very struck with a tract he was given ?4 things God wants you to know? (an old Scripture Gift Mission tract which we have reprinted). He spoke at length with Mr Radesana, our hospital evangelist who explained the gospel to him. On Christmas Day 2005 they were still in Mandritsara and Thomas decided to attend the service in the Baptist Church. Brunette, however, decided to go to the Catholic Church. It was only a few weeks since her operation so she needed to sit down. But the Catholic Church was jam-packed and there were no seats left, so she came away without taking part. On the way home, she met Thomas who was rejoicing in the message about Jesus that he had heard, whereas she was feeling only disappointment. The outcome was that both she and Thomas came to trust in the Lord and started a meeting in their home. They received opposition, first from the village elders and then from the Catholic church. However they have both continued to faithfully follow the Lord. Mr Radesana and some others have been out to visit them and there are now 7 new believers preparing for baptism.
Thank you for praying for this. On 22-25 October, David, Dr Francis, Olivier (our administrator) and Alfred (chairman of the HVM board and a Professor of Geology/Water Engineering in the University of Antananarivo) flew over a thousand miles with Helimission visiting Maintirano and 5 other towns in the west of Madagascar. The flights were wonderful and no-one was sick in the helicopter! We explained to the authorities in each town that we were looking at the needs in each town with a view to opening a new medical work in one of them. The leaders in each town told us why their town was the most needy and we should go there in preference to the other towns! There certainly is huge need ? medically and spiritually. We visited all the government hospitals and saw some reasonable buildings, but hardly any personnel, and obviously very few people use the facilities. When we asked in one town, for example, what was the most urgent medical need there, the reply was ?there are so many women here who die in childbirth?. Transport in the area and between the towns is very difficult. When we landed in one town, the helicopter was immediately surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of children. The need is immense ? pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest field. Pray too for the Lord?s guidance as to our next step.
We have just spent the most moving five days visiting Rachel and her team on their Indian Ocean Island not far from Madagascar. What a blessing it was to see how she has become fluent in the local language after less than 2 years. Everywhere we walked we bumped into people who knew her and wanted to talk to us. Rachel is hoping to spend a month in Chad before returning to the UK in May and seeking the Lord?s will for her future.
Thank you for your continuing prayers and interest,
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.