Hello From Madagascar!

Worshipping Together Malagasy Style

Tonight the three of us are sending our brothers and sisters at Ascension a joint description of our first Sunday and our first worship services in Madagascar. We are writing to you at the end of our day while you are in worship together in Knoxville (there are 7 hours in time difference between us.) Emily’s reflection will be on her blog as usual and Peg and I will send ours to Fr. Brett to post on the website.

By way of introduction, we have been in Madagascar five days. It is a different world here. But the same Jesus Christ who is in Knoxville is here in Tulear, Madagascar. We crossed the equator and have revered seasons. It is spring here – warm, sunny, beautiful, and dry (not humid). 

The day after we arrived, Emily started teaching English to the children and young people. They love her! They are trying to convince her to stay. Learning English is very important to people here, especially the children and youth. Emily’s youngest student is nine years old and her oldest is 60. Many of Emily’s students are the first person in their family to learn English. They strongly believe that knowing this language will greatly increase their future opportunities. Emily will continue to teach through this coming Wednesday. On Thursday, she will start her journey back to you, arriving home on Sunday. (See Emily’s blog for further details.)

When we arrived Tuesday night, Bishop Todd McGregor and his wife The Reverend Patsy McGregor met us at the airport. All of our luggage arrived with us. Thanks be to God! Early Wednesday morning, Bishop Todd met with us to review our plans and schedules and we then traveled with him to see the Gathering Place, which is still under construction and awaiting a roof. The electrical connections have been made; the water pipes are still being connected. A small thatched church has been built as a worship space nearby for those who will worship at the Gathering Place. Pictures of the Gathering Place and the church have been sent to Ascension. The Reverend Patsy has provided us with guidance about how to get around in Tulear and helped us get acquainted with many people. Bishop Todd is traveling and will be for the next two-three weeks. 

Saturday night there is an English speaking service that we all attended. Peg was the preacher. The lectionary readings here are the same as in the United States. Peg did a very fine job as a preacher. Peg felt peaceful and Emily took notes of her sermon. The children who read the lectionary readings in English did a fantastic job. The music was energetic, and we knew many of the songs. A worship team led the singing, accompanied by a keyboard player and drummer. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful paintings of Barb Johnson from Knoxville around the front doors of the sanctuary.

The McGregors live in a very modest apartment next door to the church. We have included pictures of the church and also of the slum neighborhood in which they live. Their entire apartment is much smaller than one of our transepts. 

Sunday morning Fr. Howard preached and celebrated at Ankatraka church. His sermon was translated into Malagasy by a young man named Aub. The church was built with thatch and excess lumber. It seated approximately 30 people. Roosters were crowing outside. Emily’s blog will describe what was happening outside the service. Emily and Howard went by taxi to this service. However, to their surprise the taxi ran out of gas and they had to walk the rest of the way to the church. The local Evangelist, Victor, who is from Kenya, guided them every step of the way. Peg went to church with Rev. McGregor, who preached and introduced Peg to the congregation. 

Later in the day we all went for a swim in the Indian Ocean. It was delightful. The ocean water was just right for swimming. 

Please continue to pray for us in the days ahead – for our safety, our ministry with the Malagasy people, Emily’s safe travels as she returns to Knoxville later this week, our spiritual support of Bishop Todd and Patsy, and our sabbatical rest and refreshment.

Salama (peace in Malagasy),

Fr. Howard, Peg, and Emily