We recently got back from a bush trip chock full of exciting stuff! We had a team from our church Southbridge Fellowship in Raleigh come and teach on true worship, community development, and host a medical clinic. It was amazing to watch how God had put Tessa and I (Chyella too!) in place to be the bridge between the Mahafaly and this team of people God has richly gifted in unique ways . As far as I see it, both this week and always, fulfilling God’s mission to reach the world is the only way you can really understand yourself and be fulfilled yourself.

We also got to watch the Mahafaly host their own leadership meeting. Grant Waller has been meeting with church leadership for the past few years but this was the first time the Mahafaly were solely in charge of hosting and leading the meeting. There was a lot of crawling, stumbling, and face planting, but we saw the Mahafaly leaders taking the first baby steps toward being independent and leading themselves. We will continually modeling what leadership means, assisting them as they try, watching them lead and providing critical feedback. The end goal is for these leaders to be self-sufficient and be able to lead and teach others without leaning on us. There may still be some hand holding now, but very soon the Mahafaly church will be walking on its own.

It was a great trip and we are very blessed to be here. We are reminded that God is not changing to world to meet our needs, but he is at work changing us to meet the needs of the world! He is changing the Mahafaly for that same purpose.

Let us say that we are blown away by the support we’ve received. It is always hard to leave people, especially when, in some cases, we know we may never see them again on this earth. But we are buoyed by your cards, emails, and visits–your kind words and your gifts. You, our extended family, have been there for us and we take that comfort with us as we go. Also, we are so thankful for the support of Southern Baptists. We love all members of our Christian family. But after seeing the level of love and support from Southern Baptists for those of us going we are particularly grateful.

You probably already know, but Southern Baptists give part of their money toward missions. For every dollar you give to a Southern Baptist church, a percentage of that dollar goes to help people like our family get to where we’re going and get to the people we’re trying to reach. This is called the Cooperative Program, and because all Southern Baptist churches cooperate together to fund certain things we are getting a post-graduate degree we couldn’t have afforded otherwise and we are able to make disciples in Madagascar. In a time when some have threatened to stop giving money toward the Cooperative Program, we just wanted to thank you for changing our lives through your cooperation. We don’t have time for infighting! Because of you, we now go to help change the lives of others.

Let me give you a practical example. I had the chance to go with Grant Waller and others to the bush last week to help give oversight to nearly 20 baptisms of church leadership.  The gas to travel the 5 hours to get there was about $100 dollars. So let’s say you put a $100 dollars toward the Cooperative Program. Well you just allowed us to drive down and help set people on a completely new trajectory. Thank you.

Time has flown and a month has passed. We are very grateful to have Wifi up and running after a long wait. Although we have lived here (Toliara, Madagascar) before, you forget the hard, little details that can be so frustrating. Since arriving we have struggled with the feeling of being in a familiar setting but still needing to adapt again to our surroundings. A perfect example of this would be when we went out the Monday after Passover to outfit our house. Everything place we went was closed. As we should have remembered, the day after Passover is a big celebration day here and no one goes to work. It’s little things like that reminding us that we may know this place but we’re still going to have to adjust again.

Everything is familiar and everything is different. We are here as a family this time. We’ve already had the opportunity to go out to the bush together. It was tough. Having a child out there is much harder than we realized and it definitely keeps us from doing as much as we would like. Of course where it shuts some doors, going as a family is a blessing that opens other doors. We’re looking forward to going out again for a longer stay in July.

But speaking of the bush and how everything is the same but different—we are, no doubt, in a different stage of ministry than we anticipated. We’ll speak more about it in another post, but God, in his awesome faithfulness, is doing incredible things among the Mahafaly and the island of Madagascar as a whole. When Tessa and I left in 2013 there were 3 churches. Now there are close to 200 churches! Those first churches faithfully shared with their friends and neighbors and planted other churches, who also continued to share the gospel and plant other churches. And the gospel has just continued to spread and the churches to multiply. It is so exciting to see God at work! And in his goodness God has allowed us to come in and be a part of that at this time.

So please pray that . . .

• We would adjust well as a family living here (and hand over our expectations).
• The gospel would continue to spread and the churches to multiply.
• That God would tread down the enemies to this incredible change and strengthen the leaders of this movement.

We are now done with our two-month training, and days away from flying to Mada. We were poured into by many people along the way. They have taught us many valuable things: how to map a global city, different ways of understanding and retelling God’s great story, how to legally and financially prepare for this longterm journey, and how to team together to get the job done. But honestly there are two main things that have stuck out to us through it all; they are basic, but crucial. Only God affects change in this world, and the way we join his work is by  filling ourselves with his truth in the Bible and being filled by God the Spirit.

Tessa and I are on this journey because we heard what God said about the world and how he’s working to save it. And his Spirit filled us with excitement and showed us the way to go. That is the only way to change things. Tessa and I want to change the world, and I think all of us agree there are a lot of things that need to change. But only God changes the world. We will not change anything in Madagascar. But God is changing things there, and we are going to join what he is doing. What do you want to change? Start with what God says and what God does. He will lead you from there. And remember, God won’t change the world for your sake; he changes us for the sake of the world.

I love March Madness and the thrill of the buzzer beater (see Maye’s shot against UK). But things are getting more intense for us as we work against the clock. We are now days away from leaving this country, our friends, and our family. It is an exciting time and a hard time. Our time of training in done and we are now focused on packing what’s left and saying good goodbyes. For us it seems fairly easy: we want to pour out our lives for those who desperately need life in Madagascar. But it isn’t just about us. We leave hurting family members behind. And I know from past experience that after a few days in another country you begin to feel the hole in your heart from the people you’ve left behind.

But God knows our pain. He sent his Son away to give us life. It was hard, but it was worth it–for everyone. The Bible reminds us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame . . .” (Hebrews 12:2) We hate the hurt involved in this life decision, but we know there is joy ahead . . . because of Jesus. He promised us that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29) It’s hard to leave family and friends who are like family. But Jesus has promised and this way we’ll have even more family. We’ll have a new, larger family of Malagasy brothers and sisters because of what we’re all giving up now.

So please pray . . .

• for other friends who will be flying around the world in the coming days. Pray for kids as they fly, over details like making flights and bags making it. Pray for opportunities to share the good news even as they start their journey.
• for our families as we all get ready to say goodbye, that the God of all comfort would comfort us with peace and love that come from him.
• for Tessa and I to care for each other well through this transition; that we would grow closer instead of distant.
• for our time with friends and family that we would be able to speak words of blessing over them and have mutual encouragement in Jesus.
• for the Spirit to enable us to share the gospel clearly with some before we leave.

We’re back from a week in New York City, learning a little of what it looks like to plant churches in global cities. It was amazing to, in a short week, learn how to work together as a team and see how to quickly engage the community around us. Here’s what our trip taught us:  

• Working as a team is harder but better. We had 6 adults and 6 kids on our team. That made getting around and working in NY harder and in some ways meant we could do less. But together we accomplished more. Those kids also started conversations that led to the gospel and they themselves shared the gospel with others. Because we all worked together, everyone was able to do more.
• Harlem, like the rest of our nation and our world, needs racial reconciliation. One of the keys to the gospel spreading in Harlem appears to be healing past and present scars. Harlem’s identity is rooted in the Civil Rights movement but that identity is being shaken as other New Yorkers and West Africans move into the area. The only thing that can bring these people together is the good news that those born again through Jesus are born into a multiethnic, reconciled family.
• America needs more gospel and less politics. The churches in our area (and there are a lot of churches in Harlem, fyi) were known in the community more for their politics than any good news or good deeds they offered. Is the same true of your church? Would someone honestly looking for the truth hear the good news at your church or the latest good or bad news from Washington? Our communities needs Christians to be people with good news full of good deeds not more politics.

With that in mind, please pray . . .

• for Jesus’ church in America to faithfully share the good news and model reconciliation among people who aren’t like them.
• for all those we shared the gospel with in NYC. There are many people searching for spiritual truth in New York. Ask God that he would continue to open their eyes to see him.
• to see yourself how God is working in your community and how he wants to use you and your church to spread good news and good deeds.

What would you do if you were just dropped off in a big city with the goal of effectively spreading the good news of Jesus? Where would you start? How would you try to learn about this place and the people who live here? What barriers would you need to overcome?

That’s what we’re going to New York city to learn. We’ll be there this week learning how to engage a global city with our good news. Please pray . . .

• that we would see how God is working in New York and join him
• that we would be able to effectively share the good news with people there.
• that we would learn how to understand and effectively engage a global city.
• for all the church planters and faithful Christians already at work in NY.
• for the people we will meet in NY, that we would help them and learn from them.

We’re excited to share that Nathan graduated this weekend with his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Seminary! He has worked very hard these last few years, and we’re so thankful for this milestone! His girls are proud of him!