Here we are continuing the story thus far of the work among the Mahafaly . . .

After people decide they are ready to follow Jesus they have to know how. After telling them the good news, Grant returned to the villages and taught them a handful of important lessons. It was basically, Now that you have a relationship with God here’s how you talk to him (prayer), tell others what he’s done for you (evangelism), gather together as God’s family (church), grow as a Christian (knowing and obeying God’s word), endure hard times and temptations, etc., etc.

At the end of this time we baptized those who were ready. Not everyone who had first decided to follow Jesus made it. This was no magical process. It was hard and messy, but there were those who now understood what it meant to follow Jesus, had counted the cost, and buried themselves alongside Jesus in baptism, “raised to walk in a new kind of life.”

After these short term lessons, Grant would take much longer going back through the stories of the Bible from creation to Jesus’ resurrection and take time to help these new believers wrestle with God’s word. Doug Campbell and I were part of this process in Andremba  2012. Doing it this way actually helped them understand their own life and land better (as truly understanding God’s Word always does). By the time we got to the stories of Jesus, they were enthralled with Jesus. That a God who owed us nothing would love us so much that he would remain involved with us over centuries and eventually become one of us in order to take our place truly changed their hearts!

The last step was teaching them what it meant to be God’s family as a local church. We continued through the story of the Bible through the book of Acts. I think we all learned going through these stories and seeing things, making connections, and understanding God’s long reaching plan that started in the beginning. For the Mahafaly, once they saw the church formed in Acts they intrinsically knew they needed to do the same. “If this is what God’s people did in the stories then we need to do the same,” they would say. In those days, three small groups decided to become churches–people meeting together and committed to treating each other like God’s family.

Thank you to those of you who are joining us in fasting and praying! We’ve just returned from the bush again, this time training men who will be the future overseers of the work.

There are two of these men, Emasike and Estifihezy, but only one of them has been able to attend the training thus far. As of now, the Mahafaly churches are deciding together whether to appoint another man who can attend next training. We give thanks, however, that the churches, though very busy and struggling with issues from many different sides (theological, physical, interpersonal, logistical, temptations, etc.) are healthily working through these issues and taking responsibility as leaders.

So, with that update, would you please join us in lifting up these specific prayer requests (if you already received our prayer guide these are the same, with some updates):

The towns Ampanihy and Androka.

This is the last Mahafaly area to reach for every section of the Mahafaly region to be saturated with a gospel driven church presence. Our leaders (from Besatra and Andremba) already have family in these areas. Pray for opportunities to share there and plant churches before the end of this year.

The two Apprentices: Emasike and Estifihezy,

These two Apprentices mentioned above. Pray for wisdom as the leaders decide who to send to the next training. Pray for the two Apprentices that they would learn how to rightly handle the Word of Truth for themselves and be able to teach others how to interpret God’s Word.

Pray for all involved as we train these men to truly understand, apply, and teach God’s Word–especially as we try to equip them to understand context and find the main idea of passages of Scripture using oral methods. Pray that God’s Spirit would take their deep desire to lead their churches and equip them to rightly handle God’s Word.

Pray for these two Apprentices to be faithful stewards of the money their churches have collected for them, and for us to be wise mentors for them in this.

The Mahafaly Churches

Pray for the new churches to faithfully pass on the stories and teaching they’ve received to their children churches. Pray for time and energy as older churches help the younger churches, and that they would have wisdom in gathering leaders from these churches who can clearly pass on true teaching all the way down.

Pray for all the church leaders: for conviction of sin, for faithfulness in persecution, for perseverance in suffering and temptation, often during difficult times (the famine ravaging the area, sickness of children, etc.) the leaders are tempted to return to their sacrifices and witch doctors to find help and freedom from fear.

Pray for the intense physical needs of the Mahafaly: the famine of the last several years, the lack of access to water, the simple illnesses that often plague especially the young and very old.

Island-wide Focus

Pray for the Malagasy Baptists who are growing in their passion for reaching all of Madagascar. Pray for opportunities to continue discipling their evangelists. Pray also that we would be able to help facilitate a storying project that would potentially equip churches to translate God’s Word into the heart languages of the many tribes. Pray that all the tribes would have the chance to hear God speak to them in their own vernacular. Specifically pray for a potential group meeting in October.

Pray for Andakoro, our church in Toliara, to have strength to pursue their goal of planting 40 churches in Toliara. Pray for their bivocational leaders to balance family and ministry and that they are helped by every church member working towards the goal. Pray for cell groups already in existence to grow into healthy churches.

Pray for our team’s families to love and serve one another as spouses, and that we would raise our children to know and love the Father.

 

Grant and Jodie prayed through and chose to focus on 3 villages. But in a place where almost no one can read the Bible–or much of anything–how do you give them God’s word?

That’s where Tessa came in. My wife, Tessa, was chosen to lead groups of Malagasy from three dialects of the south to work together to create stories from God’s creation of the world until Jesus conquered death with his own. There are over 20 different dialects in Madagascar, sometimes making it very hard for different tribes to understand each other. These groups crafted stories that were true to the Bible but in the colloquialisms and everyday speak of the average Mahafaly person. In this way, God’s story became their story; like Jesus it took on a form they could understand, fit into their world, and began to transform it.

Grant shared stories like these with the 3 villages of Kilimary, Besatra, and Andremba: starting with the creation of the world and pausing after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Understanding the whole story helped the Mahafaly grasp what exactly Grant meant when he asked if they were ready to follow Jesus.

Grant had already shared the gospel with Kilimary and Besatra by the time my teammate, Doug, and I had come out. We got a chance to be there when Grant first shared the stories with Andremba. Every time after sharing the stories, the villages were asked to make individual decisions to believe and follow Jesus. And in every village, the stories were clear enough that a small group was ready to follow Jesus.

People came from all kinds of walks of life, from the respectable (teachers, village elders, local political leaders) and the dark paths (witch doctors, murderers, thieves). Sometimes it was both. One such man was Emanda, a local leader with a dark past as a cattle thief and murderer. We’ve heard him compared to an animal who, if you ever saw him coming toward you on the road, was to be avoided at all costs. But after being prepared by God as I described before, Emanda’s heart was changed listening to the stories. He knew his life needed to change–and he gave his life over to Jesus. His especially is a story of life change (though his eyes are still wild and he is still the Malagasy version of Chuck Norris!). His testimony is famous in the region, and many have seen the power of the Gospel through the change he’s experienced.

We recently returned from a bush trip. There is so much to tell! But first, we want to try and tell you the story of  how the gospel and churches living the gospel have reshaped the Mahafaly.

Grant and Jodie Waller arrived here in 2008. They had a background in church planting, working previously in Japan and Seattle, but had long felt a calling to reach the Mahafaly  specifically. They were eager to move to Southern Madagascar and be mentored as new missionaries, but instead, found themselves without a team. As the only missionaries then working with the Mahafaly, they began their work.

Mahafaly means “making taboos,” and the tribe lived up to its name. It’s a culture of respect for elders and the rules they’ve made–even if that means killing kids born on certain days and sacrificing 500 cows when the owner dies. They understood we are all covered by hakeo (a curse). Hakeo stops all life, and so in order to keep living, blood must be shed to lift the curse. Therefore, the Mahafaly sacrificed all the time. But little did Grant know that as he carefully built relationships with Mahafaly villages, God had prepared them.

One village had eight brothers at the helm. Their father had just recently passed away. Then the father came to one of the brothers in a dream, telling them to take religion seriously. Shortly after that, Grant showed up in their village telling them he wanted to share good news about God with them.

In another village, the president of the village was visited by his father–a fortune teller. This man prophesied that in three years a white man would come with news that would bless the whole village. It was three years later that Grant arrived telling them he had good news to share with them.

It wasn’t a new idea to spread the good news that God spilled his blood for the Mahafaly; God had been preparing things for a while.

 

 

 

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.