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His Work Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19 |
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Volume
22, Number 12 |
December 2008 |
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The Barry Rosie family
have worked on the mission field in Africa for more than 24 years under the
oversight of the: |
Fraley’s Chapel |
Elders Mike Whitehurst -
662-287-7631 |
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True
Confessions (of
a sometimes confused missionary) Paul once
said, “.
. . circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for
zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians
3:5-7(NIV) Paul also
said, “To
the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I
became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so
as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like
one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under
Christ’s law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become
all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save
some.” I
Corinthians 9:20-22(NIV)
I often wonder if Paul ever asked himself,
“Who am I?” I wonder if he ever woke up in the morning and was momentarily
confused about what role he needed to play for the day. I wonder if Paul
was ever tongue-tied in confusion when he considered the audience of the
moment. I wonder if Paul ever regretted (even if for a second) who he was
and who he needed to be. In a personal sense, Paul had reason for
confusion. He was a Jew and then became a Christian. He was a persecutor
of Christians and then a defender of Christians. He was elite among the
elite and then gave up the elite to be rejected by those whom he called
brethren. As a missionary, Paul had reason for
confusion. He was a Jew when he needed to be a Jew. He was like one under
the law when he needed to be like one under the law. He was without the
law when he needed to be like one not under the law. He was weak when he
needed to be weak and strong when he needed to be strong. I wonder if Paul
ever asked himself, “Who am I?” I confess
that sometimes I get up in the morning and ask myself, “Who am I?” On
Monday through Friday, I get out of bed and put on my best clothes while I
bemoan how tattered my best clothes must seem to those with whom I
interact in the most elite school on this island. I cannot compete with
those who travel out of the country every vacation and replenish their
wardrobes. On Sunday, I put on my worst clothes and worry that my worst
clothes look too good to those who come to worship barefoot. There are
days when I am fully dressed and have to look down at what I am wearing
before I am fully aware of who I am supposed to be for the
day. I confess
that sometimes I get up in the morning and ask myself, “Who am I?” On
Monday through Friday, I am constrained to be a Christian in action only.
I mentally “shake the dust from my feet” realizing that many of those with
whom I deal daily simply do not want to hear His word. I try to discipline
my mouth, hold back my words, and encourage myself with thoughts that
there are those who see that I care about (and yes, love) those around me.
On Sunday, after holding back my words with sheer might all week long, I
find it difficult to let the words loose and speak of Him to those that
long to hear. Vacation
times are often the most difficult for me. At those times, I repeatedly
ask myself, “Who am I?” Everyone at school has been looking forward to
this December break with excitement. The big question is, “Where are you
going for vacation?” There are those who will go to Switzerland to ski.
There are those who will go to the French or Italian Riviera. There are
those who will shop on the Champs Elysee in Paris and those who will take
the Walt Disney Cruise. Even the missionary families who have children in
the school fly out to South Africa to shop or go see Grandma and Grandpa
for Christmas. It is at these times, that my “Who am I?” becomes filled
with self-pity. The first few
days of vacation, I habitually experience a tremendous backlash from the
last week of school before Christmas chaos. I enjoy the school concerts,
the parties, and the excitement of the children, but in the back of my
mind rests the thought that I can’t speak of Him in this constrained
setting (that of a secular school). By the time this year’s vacation
started, I was as exhausted as ever. I spent Saturday sleeping and only
moving when it was absolutely necessary, but my mind would not stop. Who
am I, and why don’t I get to go to skiing in Switzerland, shopping in
Paris or even South Africa, or visiting Grandma and
Grandpa? The next
morning, I dragged myself up, put on my oldest dress, looked down at
myself and realized it was Sunday and that finally I was free to talk
about Him. I looked forward to worship despite my continuing tiredness.
The singing was great, His Word was even better, and the fellowship of
Christians was the best of all. Everyone lingered after worship and we
planned for the coming week, when the children’s Bible classes would
perform (sing and recite Bible verses) for the adults. The church would
pass out milk, cookies, and candy (the only treat most of the church kids
would receive over the holiday season). Just before everyone departed for
home, one of the teenage boys of the church asked us to come and visit his
mom. She was just home from a lengthy stay in the
hospital. No one
balked, rather the Christians were anxious to make the visit. We all
(adults and children alike) moved toward the two cars. We crammed both
vehicles and made the short drive to visit a sick mother. The whole family
lived in two small rooms. I could touch the ceiling over my head. Barry
could just stand up straight in the room in which we stood. The parents’
bed filled the living room. If one sat down on the small couch shoved
between the wall and the bed, his knees would be squeezed against the side
of the bed. The mattress on the bed was one inch thick. A small shelf
sitting to one side of the bed held a set of rather garish red teacups and
an assortment of dirty and tattered small stuffed animals. The floor was
crumbling cement and the walls crumbling brick. There was no bathroom or
kitchen, no convenient source of water, no table off which to eat. We were
fifteen adults and we were unable to fit in the house all at the same
time. Mom lay in
bed. She was unable to sit up, but her face brightened as we entered the
house. We prayed and listened to their horrendous hospital story. Mom and
Dad thanked the church for coming to visit, for inviting them to worship,
and for caring enough to teach their son. In that instant, I was not
confused and I was no longer sorry for myself. I knew exactly who I am.
Whether wearing my best or wearing my worst, whether constrained to speak
of Him or not, I do try to care (even love) both those who are willing to
listen and those who are not willing to listen. I try to “look after
orphans [both physical and spiritual] and widows in their distress and to
keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James1:27) and that is
enough to be! One statement from this mom and dad and suddenly skiing in
Switzerland, shopping in Paris, or cruising with Disney doesn’t hold a
candle to serving those who don’t even wear shoes to worship. Who am I? I
am one of HIS privileged.
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Did You Know. . . .
. . that we were not the only family to be broken into recently.
Everywhere I go, and everyone that I talk to, are all relating their own
stories of what was taken recently from their homes. Some of them say that
the thieves were very brazen and entered their homes in the middle of the
day. It seems that with the economies of the world taking a large down
swing, as well as the upcoming holiday season growing closer there are an
ever growing number of break-ins in this island nation of Madagascar. I
guess even the thieves are feeling the pinch these days and need to have
more to get by on from day to day. We are hearing that the crime rate in
the United States is also increasing due to the downturn in the global
economy. |
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this and that Ambohimarina
Songbooks The new
songbooks are being used and everyone is thankful for books that contain
“all of the necessary pages” so that they can find and sing the posted
songs for worship. The Ambohimarina congregation was able to help out with
the cost of the books. They contributed about one third of the total cost
of printing and binding of the books. We are hopeful that this will help
them appreciate and take better care of the books this time
around. Traffic
in Antananarivo
We are definitely into the month of December. We continue to see an
increasing number of vehicles (from other areas of Madagascar) on the
roads, and are experiencing bigger and longer traffic jams than usual. Of
course this is not good for us. We are spending many more hours in
vehicles trying to get things done. Parking is always difficult in
Antananarivo, however, this month we are finding it impossible to get a
parking place. We are looking forward to the month of January when the
holiday season will be over and all of the people that are visiting
Antananarivo for the holidays will return to their homes in the
countryside of Madagascar for another year.
The traffic is quite different from what we were used to in Kenya. In
Kenya many of the businesses close down completely for the month of
December. All of their workers get their month long vacation (not two
weeks like in the U.S.) at the same time. Because of this, the traffic in
Nairobi is just the opposite of here in Antananarivo. When businesses in
Nairobi close down for December many of the people head home (upcountry)
for the holidays. The major bus companies vacate Nairobi with throngs of
people that are heading home and do not return to the capital until after
the new year when they return with the throngs of people that are
returning to Nairobi to resume working. Vehicle
Update The old
Daihatsu workhorse is still in the garage. When I first talked to the
garage owner I was given an estimated time of completion of about two
weeks. When I took the vehicle in and dropped it off for repairs I was
given an estimated time of completion of about one month. Well, it will
soon be one and one half months and the vehicle is still at the garage. I
go by often to see the progress or lack thereof. So far progress is being
made. This was not an easy patch and paint job. The engine was removed and
the body was separated from the chassis. Several of the mounting points
between the body and the chassis were reinforced. What is the time tested
expression. “All good things come to those who wait”. So, I continue to
wait! Christmas
greetings The Rosie
family would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your
support, both physically and especially spiritually during this last year.
We continue to seek out ways that we can effectively reach out to the
Malagasy people and share the love of our Savior with them. We realize
that without you constantly lifting us, and the Madagascar work up to the
Father in prayer that we would not be able to serve Him effectively and do
“His Work” in Madagascar. Please continue to PRAY. |
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Merry Christmas and
a Happy
New Year from
the Rosie
Family to all of you! |
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Miniature Missionaries
Kit and
Havilah are officially out of school for the Christmas break. Kit will be
driving down to Florida to spend the holidays with his grandparents. He is
looking forward to a lot of steak in his diet over the next few
weeks.
Havilah would like to spend a lot of her time out at the orphanage
with the Betikara Lambs. Since I am out at the land 6 days a week for
teaching and building project concerns there will be a lot of chances for
Havilah to tag along. Of course this will mean that Havilah will have to
get up and not sleep late many mornings like she would like to do during
her break from school. :-) There are still a lot of preparations to take
care of, and practicing that needs to be done on the part of the Lambs and
Havilah before the big event on December 20th. |
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What can you do? ¨ Pray that we
can effectively reach out to the Malagasy people. Pray that they in turn
can seek Him as they live
their daily lives. ¨ Pray for the
Rosie family as we continue to serve in Madagascar. Pray that we can
always see the needs of the Malagasy people and be ready to help them in
their spiritual walk with Him. ¨ Pray that the
Ambohimarina congregation will become better equipped to teach others
about His kingdom. Pray that they can learn how to more effectively use
their bibles as they reach out to their family members, friends, and
acquaintances. ¨ Pray for the
Betikara Orphanage and the work we are daily doing with the Lambs.
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We welcome you to join us in this work for Him . . .
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Barry,
Stacy, Kit and Havilah Rosie Tel. 011-261-32-02-081-14 |