Hello Everybody,
So sorry I haven't been to faithful to my writing lately. To be honest I have been trying to put it off for a long time. Ever since I have been back I have had a hard time expressing my feelings about the experiences I have had those six months I was away. Maybe I'm not sure what people expect me to say or maybe I'm not sure how to sum it up in just 5 sentences like people expect me to. I know one thing people have been totally amazing since I have come back. I am surprised and amazed on the amount of support I had when I was away. So many people told me that they were praying for me while I was away and I'm sure I felt it. I am so sorry if I have not touched base with everyone yet as I am still trying to get back into the swing of things.
Many missionaries have told me that transitioning back into your culture is quite difficult but I thankfully have not felt that way. Maybe it helped that when I got back I had to work on a major research project of the kabary-Malagasy speech making. That kept me busy for at least two weeks. I was able to reflect on the culture through this paper in ways that I could not express in words out loud. If anyone wants a copy of it just email me and I will send it to you. I was also able to spend a little time at my grandparents house and they seemed to quite enjoy hearing about some of the differences of Malagasy culture and Canadian culture. I can express my words better if people ask specific questions instead of general questions like, 'tell me about Malagasy culture'. And I'm thinking 'oh man where do I begin'. I was also afraid to talk to people about my trip because I thought people would expect me to tell them what I all achieved while being there. I felt like this trip was like a trail and error kind of thing. I didn't know where God wanted me to use my talents or what that would look like for me. I just knew I had to try and get my feet wet one way or another. The good thing is that AIM gave me a ministry to focus on but I also had time to explore other ministries on weekends. The point is I don't think I accomplished anything actually but what God accomplished well words can't even express. I think more than anything God worked through my heart; showed me my sins, my weaknesses, and my dependence on him. He definatly confirmed my call to be a missionary even through during the most difficult moments of my time. I am sorry if this bog is a little on the choppy side; I guess all my thoughts are scattered inside my head. Thanks for reading my blog while I was away; it really feels like all of you shared in my journey with me. Praise the Lord for all he has done and will do to come!
Saturday 6 April 2013
Thursday 31 January 2013
Off to Diego
Well I thought I would do one last blog before I go to Diego for three weeks. If you look at a map Diego is the very Northern tip of Madagascar. I am taking the place so it will only take me a couple of hours but if I did decide to take the taxi bus it would have taken two days. I am looking forward to going to another region especially when this one happens to have lovely beaches. I am a little nervous however about taking the airplane all by myself with my limited ability to speak Malagasy. Oh well guess I will just show anyone my plane ticket and they will point me out in the right direction. I am thankful for the opportunity to be going by plane since I heard the bus is very rough and usually takes longer than expected.
So Diego is an opportunity to observe another ministry; specifically one that works with Muslims. Another AIM missionary, Esther has started working in Diego shortly after I arrived in Madagascar. Her ministry is working as a teacher teaching English to the University. About 90% of Diego is Muslim and I'm not sure about the other 10% but at least you get the idea. Esther's job is go along side the Christian Malagasy young people and equip them to minister to their fellow Muslim peers. Now I'm not quite sure what I am doing yet; I think I might help Esther in preparing her English lessons and I know she has a Bible study that she might want help with but other than that I will see when I get there. I think for the most part I am there to observe what Muslim ministry could look like for me in the future. Yeah I'm a little nervous because I'm not sure what to expect. I know Diego is a very dark region and many people have told me it's nice to visit but not so nice to live. I also just found out that there is no running water where I will be staying, this shouldn't be a surprise to me at all but to be honest it is a little. Hey I have been living in Africa like a queen; I'm surprised it has lasted this long. So just please pray that God will do wonderful things in these next few weeks; especially to my heart as I learn from these people and hopefully build some relationships with some of the students I will be working along side. I know it's hard to build relationships in just three weeks but hey they know English so lets start there. Oh and here's another important fact; the Malagasy language is different there. So in other words back to square one. I did however learn the greeting, Bola Tsara which basically means Hello!
So Diego is an opportunity to observe another ministry; specifically one that works with Muslims. Another AIM missionary, Esther has started working in Diego shortly after I arrived in Madagascar. Her ministry is working as a teacher teaching English to the University. About 90% of Diego is Muslim and I'm not sure about the other 10% but at least you get the idea. Esther's job is go along side the Christian Malagasy young people and equip them to minister to their fellow Muslim peers. Now I'm not quite sure what I am doing yet; I think I might help Esther in preparing her English lessons and I know she has a Bible study that she might want help with but other than that I will see when I get there. I think for the most part I am there to observe what Muslim ministry could look like for me in the future. Yeah I'm a little nervous because I'm not sure what to expect. I know Diego is a very dark region and many people have told me it's nice to visit but not so nice to live. I also just found out that there is no running water where I will be staying, this shouldn't be a surprise to me at all but to be honest it is a little. Hey I have been living in Africa like a queen; I'm surprised it has lasted this long. So just please pray that God will do wonderful things in these next few weeks; especially to my heart as I learn from these people and hopefully build some relationships with some of the students I will be working along side. I know it's hard to build relationships in just three weeks but hey they know English so lets start there. Oh and here's another important fact; the Malagasy language is different there. So in other words back to square one. I did however learn the greeting, Bola Tsara which basically means Hello!
Sunday 13 January 2013
Hello Friends
Another monthly update coming your way. I know, I know, I started with trying to do weekly updates but that obviously didn't last too long. Hope all of you can forgive me.
Anyways this past week was the first week I back after Christmas Vacation. It pretty much felt like I had been on vacation forever for some reason. I spent my vacation doing more language hours; trying to work ahead so I can finish my language course a month early (which you will hear more about later). This meant doing language lessons on Christmas Eve and the rest of the holiday. It went alright though; increasing my hours I think has made me progress in my language ability a bit more. I appreciate all your prayers in this area, it has really helped. I actually talked to the taxi drives twice during Christmas vacation and it was more than just 5 words. Of course the words might have been in the wrong order and my pronunciation being very poor but I think they both understood me. I also talked a little in Malagasy with the English teachers I work with and they said that if I stayed a year longer I would be really good! I think everyone is just glad that I am trying and they enjoy laughing with me about it. So next thing on the agenda is working on my Ethnography. I told you guys about that right? I'm not sure but anyways it is a study of a topic in the Malagasy culture that I can learn about and than do a written report. My topic is on the Kabary which is a tradition that stems way back in history (they are unsure when it exactly occurred of speech making. Now this isn't just any kind of speech making this is a Malagasy style of speech making. Malagasy people like to express there feelings through many proverbs and images. Kabarys are unique to only the Malagasy culture because the speeches are created around the Malagasy style of speaking. This is something the Malagasy people are very proud of because it is something that belongs to them and not any other culture. The Malagasy people have had a lot of things taken away from them but this is not one of them. I am supposed to do research through research and observation. I have supposed to have 5 interviews and lets just say there has been a few bumps on the way that makes me a little short reaching that goal so far but it is okay I know God will come through for me.
I don't know if I will have a chance to blog you again in the next month so thought I would let you know about my next adventure. I heading off in three weeks to the region of Diego which is at the very northern tip of Madagascar. If you look at a map you can find it pretty easily. Anyways this region is full of Muslims and since I am thinking of working with Muslims full term this will be a great opportunity for me to see what this kind of ministry would look like for me. I will be living with a full time AIM missionary there who is a University English teacher. I will help her in class and outside of class with preparation. I could really use your prayer as I go and check out this ministry. Pray that God will give me direction through checking out this ministry and pray that God will continue to give me an open and loving heart towards the Muslims. Also pray that I will be able to get all my schoolwork and ministry work wrapped up here so my focus can be there in Diego. So the next time I write I may be getting reading to pack up for home because shortly after I get back from Diego I go home. So hopefully I will write when I get back from Diego but if I don't keep me in your prayers for my trip back which is March second. Thank you so much for all of your support. All of you are amazing!
Anyways this past week was the first week I back after Christmas Vacation. It pretty much felt like I had been on vacation forever for some reason. I spent my vacation doing more language hours; trying to work ahead so I can finish my language course a month early (which you will hear more about later). This meant doing language lessons on Christmas Eve and the rest of the holiday. It went alright though; increasing my hours I think has made me progress in my language ability a bit more. I appreciate all your prayers in this area, it has really helped. I actually talked to the taxi drives twice during Christmas vacation and it was more than just 5 words. Of course the words might have been in the wrong order and my pronunciation being very poor but I think they both understood me. I also talked a little in Malagasy with the English teachers I work with and they said that if I stayed a year longer I would be really good! I think everyone is just glad that I am trying and they enjoy laughing with me about it. So next thing on the agenda is working on my Ethnography. I told you guys about that right? I'm not sure but anyways it is a study of a topic in the Malagasy culture that I can learn about and than do a written report. My topic is on the Kabary which is a tradition that stems way back in history (they are unsure when it exactly occurred of speech making. Now this isn't just any kind of speech making this is a Malagasy style of speech making. Malagasy people like to express there feelings through many proverbs and images. Kabarys are unique to only the Malagasy culture because the speeches are created around the Malagasy style of speaking. This is something the Malagasy people are very proud of because it is something that belongs to them and not any other culture. The Malagasy people have had a lot of things taken away from them but this is not one of them. I am supposed to do research through research and observation. I have supposed to have 5 interviews and lets just say there has been a few bumps on the way that makes me a little short reaching that goal so far but it is okay I know God will come through for me.
I don't know if I will have a chance to blog you again in the next month so thought I would let you know about my next adventure. I heading off in three weeks to the region of Diego which is at the very northern tip of Madagascar. If you look at a map you can find it pretty easily. Anyways this region is full of Muslims and since I am thinking of working with Muslims full term this will be a great opportunity for me to see what this kind of ministry would look like for me. I will be living with a full time AIM missionary there who is a University English teacher. I will help her in class and outside of class with preparation. I could really use your prayer as I go and check out this ministry. Pray that God will give me direction through checking out this ministry and pray that God will continue to give me an open and loving heart towards the Muslims. Also pray that I will be able to get all my schoolwork and ministry work wrapped up here so my focus can be there in Diego. So the next time I write I may be getting reading to pack up for home because shortly after I get back from Diego I go home. So hopefully I will write when I get back from Diego but if I don't keep me in your prayers for my trip back which is March second. Thank you so much for all of your support. All of you are amazing!
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