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December 7, 2009

How Sweet It Is!

This is one of my favorite times of the year in Madagascar. It's when a lot of fruit comes into season and we have an abundance of it around our house. We have been enjoying every type and size of mango you can imagine. Litchi just came into season which are a lot of fun, if not sticky, to eat. Next comes the persimmons which are a favorite of our family to eat fresh or frozen. Of course, this doesn't include the Pineapples (sweet as candy), bananas (many kinds), peaches, plums, strawberries, jackfruit, lemons, limes, etc... It can be a regular buffet of fruit at times!

But that is not the sweetest fruit for me right now. The sweetest fruit is the fruit of our labors. I believe strongly in the training and equipping of our national church as one of the greatest hopes for our nation. Who better to reach the nation of Madagascar, than well trained Pastors and believers from their own nation.

Recently I was able to travel down to the southern region of Tulear to assist in the planting of two new churches in a very isolated and barren, desert-like area of the island. Along with fellow medical missionary Aaron Santmyire, we went to the villages of Ankazoabo (population 10,00) and Beharoa (population 15,000). What was so special about these two new church plants is that both Pastors and their wives were recent graduates from the Bible School that I had taught and helped train. What an incredible joy to work with Pastor Tsivery and his wife who had arrived in Ankazoabo only a month before and to see already 20 believers worshiping with them. And then to arrive the day after Pastor Victorian and his wife arrived in Beharoa, and to help them hold their very first meetings was great. During our brief few days of ministry with them we were able to hold 5 evangelistic crusades with many accepting Christ and medically treat hundreds of people in these two villages. And to know that there is now 2 new churches working to reach another 25,000 people is a wonderful thing.

And next week, I will get to go and visit another of my former Bible School students. He actually graduated a couple of years ago and is up on the northeast corner of Madagascar in the rain forest of Moaransetra. He has already been able to establish a strong church there in his short time there. We will be going there to encourage and reinforce what Pastor Alfred is working to accomplish in this hard to reach area also.

Then there are also those students I am teaching right now that are already producing that sweet fruit. This week I will give the final exam to a group of 1st year students on the subject of Personal Evangelism. During this 10 week course, these 11 students have led over 50 people to Christ as they have been implementing the principles taught to them.
There is no sweeter fruit than to know people are coming to Jesus!

So, the next time you walk through the produce section of your local grocery store or bite into a nice ripe banana, think of the sweet fruit that is being produced in Madagascar!

How can you pray?

Pray for Pastor Tsivery & Pastor Victorian and other Pastors like them who are starting new churches in unreached areas. May God provide, protect and bless their labors as they strive to build the local church.

Pray for Pastor Alfred that I will be visiting next week. He lives on the east coast in an area very vulnerable to cyclones. May the visit bring encouragement to him.

Pray for the whole island as we are entering the season of cyclones and rain. We are experiencing daily rains now. In the last week alone we have had over 12 inches (30 cm) of rain. The rains are good for growing rice, but if they come too fast and too hard, with the high winds, it can be very damaging to the people, their homes and their crops.

Pray for the ongoing political crisis. We are not close at all to any real solution to this situation. the different political parties cannot come to agreement on an exit plan for this crisis. This means the mounting increase of unemployment, the continuing cuts of millions of dollars in international aid and support, as well as increasing inflation of daily living costs due to the instability. Life is becoming increasingly difficult for the average person on the streets. Crime is up 5 times over what it was last year at this time. A solution needs to be found.

As always, but sincerely from our hearts, thank you to each of our supporters who give and pray for our ministry on a consistent, ongoing basis. It is your giving and prayers that truly allow us to taste the good fruit being produced here in Madagascar! Together we can all "taste and see that the Lord is good!"

Blessings!

Jay

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