This past week has been a trying week for all the
mission team members. The beginning was not so bad; we got to celebrate Heidi's
Birthday which was pretty exciting. I did not have any wrapping paper so I hid
her gifts all over the house. Her Birthday gift consisted of brownies apon her
request; the sad part is that she made them herself with the help of her
roomate of course (me). I knew this was the first time she has spent her
Birthday away from her family so I expected it would be hard. That night
however an unexpected swerve in the road left the enter Missionary team devastated.
We found out that one of the missionary families had to go home immediately due
to their child becoming ill quite severely. Since they had only got to
Madagascar about three weeks ago (just before I came) it seemed the best
solution would be for their daughter to go to a doctor close to where they
previously lived in the States. The missionary team was quite understanding as
we all agree that the well being of your family is always first especially in
this situation. We were saddened by being separated by a family we grow so
close to in just a few weeks, especially Heidi and I since we lived in the flat
just below them. The husband and wife were like second parents to us by looking
out for us and giving us some much needed cooking advise. They should know
though that they are in all of thoughts and prayers daily. We as their
missionary family send many blessings with them as they follow God in his
direction for them. We also thank the Lord for the friendship we made with them
while they were here.
Hmmm with pains there are always blessings. A
blessing for me was getting all those supportive emails from friends and family
members. I get reminded that I have friends and family members that are here
with me on this journey in spirit by the many prayers and thoughts. If I could
now ask all of you to receive prayer requests for me at this time that would be
great.
Prayer request #1: I ask that my spirit would be
strong in the Lord at times; in times of sorrow, celebration and just those
plain normal days. It is easy to forget who I am doing this for by getting
caught of in the moment.
Prayer request #2: Pray for the Missions Conference
that happens this week for all the AIM team members including myself. My we
grow in knowledge and understanding in what it really means to be a missionary.
May it also be a good time for team bonding.
Prayer request #3: Please pray that I can get
retain as much vocabulary as possible through my language studies. I know that
the best way to love the Malagasy people is by speaking their language. It is a
difficult language to learn and for the most part takes a few years to learn it
and I have just six months. Along with that request pray for my Ethnography
study (study of the culture), as it is a big ordeal and requires some boldness
on my part to interview people and put myself out there in order to understand
their culture.
Prayer request #4: I have a week off from working
at MCA (Madagascar Christian Academy) due to the conference but after that I
will be teaching again. I just pray that the kids will be able to understand my
speaking and learn was a native speaker of English sounds like so it can benefit
them in when searching for future employment.
Prayer request 5: That I may push myself more and
more to understand and love the Malagasy people as our heavenly Father does. I
desire not to have the critical mind of a foreigner but to keep and open mind
about everything.
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