Church in the Bush

Somewhere along the way Christians began to associate 'church' with the buildings they meet in. Perhaps this began when the buildings Christians met in began to not only be functional but beautiful. Efforts had to then be undertaken to keep these spaces beautiful - which meant people invested themselves in their church buildings. Or perhaps this shift began when the great cathedrals began to be built. Their towering spires inspiring awe - more awe possibly than was directed towards the one (God) for which they had been built. But whatever the reason, we lost the biblical understanding that the church is actually the body of Christ - a body that transcends buildings, locations and even time.

This truth was every apparent to me when we pulled up to a little church in a very small and desperately poor roadside village called Bitsefy. I have passed this village many times as I have traveled to other towns to minister. I always wondered how it was possible to live in those very primitive stick huts, and what they must think as the traffic passes them by on the way to Toliara.  I also often wondered if anyone had ever come to share the Gospel with them. What a surprise and joy it was, therefore, when our car pulled up at this little village a couple of mornings ago to minister at a newly planted Anglican Church. There was a newly constructed small stick and grass building with a wooden cross perched atop it, and the people were eagerly waiting for our arrival. After we arrived, they quickly packed themselves into this tiny building and began to sing with incredible joy. I thought about the people and then about the building and was reminded again that what I shared with the people here was not the building (though I loved it actually), but a unity in Christ and a family bond in the Spirit.

We spent a couple of hours in that tiny church building with its dirt floors and stick walls and watched the Holy Spirit do what he loves to do. As usual, we prayed for people and God healed them and delivered them from demonic spirits. We watched a woman begin to dance like a mocking serpent (that is the best way to describe it), and then be delivered from that demonic spirit and restored to her right mind. Praise be to God!  Another woman had fallen to the ground and lost her ability to communicate or even move much at some point after we had arrived. Yet after praying over her in the name of Jesus, she too was restored to her right mind. She stood up and began to speak normally. All the while, the church members sang on and on with great joy, led by a man with a rough, homemade guitar. God was truly being glorified that morning in that little, rough, and 'ugly' church building. All in all, it was another extraordinary Madagascar experience.

My prayer is, and continues to be, that we Christians will always remember who we are as the body of Christ -- that we will look past our buildings and our walls and to the world around us. There is nothing wrong with having a church building of course, but in the end God doesn't care about our buildings, but our hearts. And, of course, he cares deeply about whether we are fulfilling the call and command he gave us to love one another as He first loved us. I sure hope we can visit those beautiful believers in Bitsefy again. (We'll actually be driving by them again tomorrow. Sadly we cannot stop.) I saw Jesus in them and pray that they will know that they are forever wrapped in His loving arms.

-Bruce

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.

Our adventures at Iris Madagascar

Today is already our fourth day in Madagascar. For the past three days we have been busy ministering at the Iris Ministries base praying for the staff and kids. Iris Madagascar is such an amazing ministry! It was planted in Antananarivo by Caroline Thomas and does absolutely astounding work rescuing and caring for orphaned and abandoned children. They currently have 133 kids at the center, many rescued from near death circumstances but now wearing infectious and bubbly smiles on their faces! The depth of the trauma many of these kids have already experienced in their short lives is almost too hard to describe, we have witnessed with our own eyes the fruit of the transforming power of the Father's love and grace in the faces of these children. We spent our first day just hanging out and playing with the kids and also reconnecting with Caroline and the Iris staff. The past two days have been spent praying for both staff and kids. We have seen God do amazing things as he has been pouring out his healing love! Our hearts are so burdened to bless the Iris missionaries and support them spiritually and pastorally. We will be praying for people all day again tomorrow. Early on Friday we fly down to Toliara. In the days ahead we'll post more about our specific experiences and share our reflections and thoughts about what we have seen and heard. In the meantime, here are some pictures from our time at Iris:

Madagascar -- The Adventure Continues...

Our flight to Madagascar on Saturday was different from our three previous journeys to this remote island nation. Having taken a morning flight from Paris, much of the flight took place in the daylight hours allowing us to see parts of North Africa we had only previously flown over in darkness.  As we flew, I looked down upon the barren Sahara and the breathtaking Nile.  I thought about the history of this incredible land -- the glories of ancient Egypt and some of the more recent struggles of its modern counterpart.  As we continued our flight toward Khartoum, I couldn't help but think of the ravages of war in Sudan -- only yesterday I read that South Sudan is again engaged in a civil war.  As we flew over Kenya, I thought of the slaughter of innocent people by Al-Shabaab.  But it isn't just Africa.  I'm reading the news back home about racial strife and escalating violence.  Just a day ago we were in Great Britain, which is currently reeling from its recent Brexit vote and wondering what the future holds. We live in a messy, broken world, and sometimes it seems there's not a thing we can do about it.

Our flight arrived late in the evening in Antananarivo.  As we disembarked and walked across the Tarmac, I realized it was all so familiar that I wasn't even stopping to take it in.  I just walked on toward passport control without a second thought, confident that I knew what lay ahead.  But we don't know what the future has in store -- not really.  Not in Madagascar or anywhere else.  We will spend the next couple weeks ministering to broken people in Madagascar just as we minister to broken people in upstate New York. In some sense, the human condition is the same wherever you go.  This is not to say we have the same challenges or struggles.  Some of us will never have to live in a place with no clean water and no medical care or endure the horrors of slavery, but we all know what it is like to suffer loss, to experience grief, to be human.  Life takes a toll on all of us.  And we all need the touch of a healer.  We may not know the future, but God does.  He doesn't guarantee us an easy life, but He does promise to never leave us.  As we begin our ministry time in Madagascar, I am thankful that we have a God who is constant amid the chaos of life.  He is with us in our struggles, and I can be confident that He will be with us as we minister to those He brings to us for prayer and healing back in New York, here in Madagascar or anywhere else He chooses to send us.  His love is so much greater than we can even imagine, and it is through that love that we can bring healing to a broken world.

-- Shay

God's Grand Adventure

Our time in Madagascar this year was different from our previous trips.  Due to a number of factors, not the least of which was the ongoing Air Madagascar strike, we were compelled to essentially discard our plans and let God guide us day by day.

I suppose our natural tendency when heading into foreign territory is to try to control our environment.  We want to know what each day will entail, what hazards lie ahead, where we will lay our head at night.  We feel safer minimizing the unknowns.

On previous trips to Madagascar, we'd been able to minimize the unknowns to a certain extent.  We knew what days would involve travel, where we would stay, where we would eat, which days we could rest.  This trip was nothing like that.  And we were blessed beyond measure!

Visiting Madagascar is always an adventure, but the adventure takes on new dimensions when the Creator of the Universe becomes your guide.  This is not to say that we did not rely on God during our previous trips.  However, this time we were forced to depend on Him in a new way.  Once we relinquished control, we discovered new freedom, new joys and God-appointed encounters.

Many of our favorite moments of the trip occurred in this way -- connecting with leaders and students at the YWAM base in Antananarivo, marveling at the beauty of central Madagascar for the first time, ministering in the south of Madagascar without the assistance of non-Malagasy interpreters, hearing (and recording) three little girls in a pousse-pousse (Malagasy taxi) singing a beautiful song that turned out to have been written by our host, Rev. Patsy McGregor.

We were stretched.  We were challenged.  And in a strange way, it seemed easier to take the unexpected turns in stride, knowing they were part of God's plan.  While we always hope to be a blessing to those we encounter on our trips, perhaps it is the way we are changed by these encounters that is the real blessing.  I only hope that I can apply these lessons to my everyday life back here in New York.  After all, we don't have to be in a place like Madagascar to have a grand adventure with God!

-Shay

Setting the Captives Free!

[This update was actually written three days ago, but I could not post until today due to poor internet connection.]

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:2)

My last few days in Toliara were largely spent teaching, preaching and praying for the sick -- which is what I love to do!  On Thursday I joined Rev. Noeli at a small local church in the Toliara area to preach and pray. I was able to pray for quite a few people there, and many said they received healing. We prayed for quite a while, and the church, which had no electricity, was dark before we were finished. Praying for someone you can't see is quite a challenge! 

An amazing thing happened to an eldlerly man for whom we prayed. He was blind in one eye and had extremely poor vision in the other. He said he could only see my face as a blur. I quietly prayed one of those 'help me Jesus' prayers, and then prayed for his eyes to be healed. After praying, he no longer saw a blur, but was able to see the actual features of my face. I was thrilled! So we prayed again. After praying again, the man was not only able to see the features of my face, but he was able to see them in clear detail. He said - 'Ah, you have a long nose!' I thought this observation was quite amusing, but praise be to God! 

As an aside, I must confess that sometimes I struggle when praying for the Malagasy. The first issue is that I can't speak their language, so it is sometimes difficult to know exactly what their prayer need might be. Often they just point to their head or stomach or some other part of their body. There have been so many times when I have just had to say to God - "You know what the condition is, so I trust that you will heal whatever it may be." But there is also the obvious fact that at least some of what they are suffering from is linked to their continual state of malnourishment and dehydration. Most are not able to go to a doctor or buy medicine, so they are desperate for God's healing touch. Thankfully, God is always ready to heal! But my heart is increasingly burdened with a desire to find a way to provide them also, somehow, with at least some basic medical care. My dream would be to have teams of prayer ministers working side by side with health workers, so we could bless people in the fullest possible way. So...are there any doctors or nurses out there who might be willing to come to Madagascar with us? 

On Friday, I had an opportunity to teach 20 or so people who were preparing to be confirmed. I tought on the Holy Spirit and healing - but also about who God has called them and equipped them to be as part of the body of Christ. It has been my experience in the USA and abroad that far too few Christians truly understand who God has created them to be. This stems from a lack of understanding of who they are as God's beloved children - truly loved by the Father, and who they are as heirs and co-heirs of the Father's kingdom. Part of this lack of understanding comes from a lack of Scriptural knowledge, but it also comes from a failure on the part of the church to teach about these truths. We often teach people to be 'good Christians' (ie. 'religious) but not how to be sons and daughters of the Father. To be  completely honest, I am still in the process of leaning this for myself.

On Saturday, Avery and I had quite an adventure. We joined Rev. Noeli and drove 4 long hours into the bush to teach and pray at a 3 year-old church plant in Betioky. We left at 6am and drove on what could only loosely be called a road. At one point we drove into a valley that our driver said was very dangerous at night because of robbers. We then passsed through the 'robber's' town. I have never really worried about our safety here, and I didn't then either, but it did make me think about the risk that is inherently involved with mission trips such as this. Things can definitely go wrong, but so far God has protected us - and we are incredibly grateful. 

Since we had to return before sunset, we could only spend about 4 hours in Betioky. The church in Betioky has no building yet, so we gathered outside under the sun (and a few flapping tarps). After about an hour of singing plus my teaching, we spent the remaining three hours praying for as many people as we could. As it turned out, we prayed for many who were struggling with serious demonic oppression. It is quite hard to describe what this was like but, suffice it to say, we saw many people powerfully set free! How marvelous it is that God is Lord over all things in heaven and on earth -- and that there is such incredible power in the Name of Jesus. Our ministry in Betioky was quite exhausting but well worth the time effort it took to get there. Someday I hope we can return. 

On a final note, we are currently driving back up to Antananarivo so we can catch our flight on Tuesday. As I look around at this beautiful country, I am realizing how much I am falling in love with this place. It is starting to feel 'normal' to be here. The poverty is grinding, the needs are staggering, but there is so much opportunity to share the love of Jesus. We are excited to see how God will use us here in the years ahead. 

Avery and some of the beautiful children from Betioky.

Bruce with Rev. Noeli (to my right) and the Betioky church leaders.

We prayed for this little girl who was suffering from a badly bloated stomach. She may have had a tumor or it may have simply been a situation of malnutrition. I was moved to tears as I prayed for her, and I am continuing to pray that God will heal her and set her free!

This woman fell to the ground as we began to pray for her. It was clear that she was oppressed by demons. We prayed for her to be delivered and God quickly set her free. A few minutes after this photo was taken, she was standing and in her right mind.

One of the many bridges we crossed on the way to and from Betioky. Because it is the dry season, most of the bridges crossed dry ground. 

Some of the beautiful baobabs we saw on the way to Betioky (there are many in the south of Madagascar).

The Little Things

    The balcony of Bishop Todd and Patsy's house is one of my favorite places to enjoy the fresh air and the smell of the salty sea. As the sun goes down each night, the sky turns a mix of blue, orange, and yellow. It is simply beautiful. Today as we were standing out there, one of my favorite animals, a butterfly, floated by the vividly purple flowers growing on the balcony. It's methodically beating wings were so steady despite the cool breeze blowing. Seeing it reminded me of the little things. It is so important to take time to enjoy what's around you. Doing this is an easy way to find God. I would say that I am the person in my family who takes a little more time to adjust to change. The first time we came to Madagascar, I was astounded by the extreme poverty of the people here. I learned to focus on each day and the little things in it. Sometimes it was the smile of a little girl's face or a colorful flower on the side of the road. I could see God through those things and it reminded me that he is always there. 

    We are now in our last few days in Madagascar, but we intend to make the most of them. Tomorrow my Dad and Avery are heading out at 5:00 in the morning to a small village four hours aways. My dad is going to teach on healing and then they are going to pray for people. I pray that they will be able to bless those around them and that God's light will shine through them. Also, the Air Madagascar strike has finally ended, but we can't get a guarantee that our flight will actually take off on Monday. We will probably have to make our way back by car, and drive back up North on Sunday morning. I really enjoyed the beatiful scenery as we drove down South, and I am looking forward to experiencing it again! 

-Abbie