Heading South...

We arrived in Toliara on Friday after an incredible week with Iris Madagascar.  Words really cannot express how touched we were to be able to minister to the Iris team, some of the Iris children and even some other members of the community.  The work done by the Iris team in Antananarivo can only be described as sacrifical love.  They work in very difficult circumstances (often 24/7) to share the love of Jesus with 133 orphaned or abandoned children, many of whom have special needs and/or have experienced unspeakable trauma.  Truly, it is almost impossible to wrap your head around the way that some of the women and children here have been abused.  That is what makes the work of Iris in this country so vital. The Iris Children's Centre is not an orphanage. It is a family.  These children are loved, and it is beautiful. We feel so blessed to have been welcomed into this very special family.

Since our arrival in Toliara, both Bruce and Abigail have been sick.  We are thankful that Bruce now seems to be on the mend as he is longing to get out and minister.  Abigail has also improved, although she is now covered in painful bug bites.  No fun!  We are all hoping to be well tomorrow as we have been invited to pray with a local witch doctor who is open to receiving blessings for his family and home.  We have also been blessed to have connected with two other newly arrived short term missionaries (Wendy and Lydia) who are staying here at the Bishop's Gathering Place with us.  Wendy is a recently retired nurse from Connecticut who will be spending the next couple months working on public health issues.  Lydia is from London and happens to be studying at the same theological college that Bruce and I attended.  Abigail and I had a wonderful time yesterday giving these two ladies an orientation tour of Toliara.

Please keep us in your prayers as the last few days have felt like a bit of a battle.

-- Shay

The brand new St. Patrick's Cathedral in the Diocese of Toliara.