For more than twenty years we have strived to put Christ first in everything, and show a servant attitude to those around us.  We have not always succeeded in what we do.  We try to tell people, and especially the church here on earth, that they are to look to God and rely on Him for the things they need in this life, both physical and spiritual.  We try to tell them that the missionary is just a person like them.  Missionaries can make mistakes and they can stray from the truth.
          However, it seems that no matter how much teaching we do, there are still individuals that are looking to the missionary or physical things of this life for guidance and growth instead of looking to God.  This point was driven home to me recently while I was talking with some of the Christians in two of the three congregations in Antananarivo.  It all started when I told them of the possibility of us going to the United States in 2007.  We thought that since we have worked with the Ambohimarina congregation for more than 3 1/2 years now (by March of 2007 it will be 4 1/2 years) that we should come back to Madagascar in 2008 and start another congregation in the Antananarivo area.  I expressed this thought to two different groups of Christians.  Was I surprised by the reaction that I received each time.
          I thought that things were going well at Ambohimarina.  In most areas things are doing well.  The congregation averages 150 in attendance, we are continuing to meet as the men of the congregation each Saturday morning for Bible teaching and prayer, we have 3 men in the congregation that are capable of teaching and preaching besides myself, several of the men take part in leading the worship service on a rotation basis, the Betikara Orphanage is operational and has functioned for two years at Ambohimarina with only a few logistical problems and the school is soon to open for the Lambs of Betikara and the children of the surrounding areas.  The problem is not so much that things are not progressing.  The problem lies in the fact that most people (the Ambohimarina Christians and local Malagasy who live close to Ambohimarina) see the work at Ambohimarina as the work of the missionary.  They do not look at the church as being from God.  They feel that if a missionary presence leaves Ambohimarina now the congregation will weaken and soon even dissolve.
          This could be a true assessment of the spiritual pulse of the Ambohimarina congregation.  Recently we took two (one week in June and one week in August) one week trips.  One trip to South Africa and the other to Nosy Be an Island off the coast of Madagascar.  Upon returning from our trips I started hearing that things did not go well while we were away.  First, there was discord in the weekly Wednesday morning Bible study group.  Second, each time that we were away from the congregation over a Sunday we were told that attendance drastically declined and that hardly any of the Christian men came to worship.  It was reported that on one Sunday we were away only 3 out of the 15 men of the congregation were in attendance.
          Another instance that shows a need for further teaching and maturation is a request that we received recently from one of the Christian men at Ambohimarina.  His heart is in the right place, but his reasoning for wanting to provide an alter for the congregation at Ambohimarina is misguided.  This Christian man came to us and wanted to build a large ornate raised alter at the front of the main auditorium for the church to use during our times of worship to God the Father.  All we have is a simple podium (which most of the time I do not even stand behind when teaching and preaching) that sits on the cement floor of the building at the same level as the rest of the congregation.  We thanked him for offering to do this for the congregation and then tried to explain why a physical alter is not needed in our spiritual worship.
          Are we surprised?  Hardly!  Are we discouraged?  NO!  We have experienced this same thing many times during our twelve years in Kenya.  We are reminded, however, that the church needs further teaching.  They need to see the Father for themselves instead of through the eyes and words of the missionary.  They need to commit their spiritual lives in service to Him, and put their trust in Him instead of the physical things (missionaries, buildings, raised ornate alters) of this worldly life or the Malagasy ancestors.
          We strive to teach about the spiritual Father above and His spiritual Kingdom here on earth.  We endeavor to instill in the Malagasy Christians a faith in things not seen as the Bible states in Hebrews 11:1; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  We ask you to pray for His church in Madagascar, and the Christians that are grappling with the physical manifestations of worship they see around them each day.  Pray that the Malagasy Christians can have faith in God the Father above and rely on Him for their daily physical needs, and especially for their daily spiritual growth.
 

• Pray for the Malagasy Christians as they try to separate themselves from their Malagasy traditions and years of teaching that are centered on physical manifestations instead of on Christ our Lord.
• Pray for Kit and Havilah as they settle into another year of school.  Pray that they can do good in their studies, but also pray that they can be a light to others and put Christ first in all the things they do.
• Pray that our teaching will help the Malagasy Christians see Christ and have a desire to follow Him in everything they do.  Pray that they can put the spiritual life above the physical life and let God provide for their physical and spiritual needs.