His Work Newsletter - April 2010

Countless times in the bible people were in dire need of help. There was the widow of Zarephath who was out gathering a few sticks so that she could prepare a last small meal for her and her son. Then along comes Elijah and says to the woman, �Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.� 1 Kings 17:10 (KJV) Then, as the woman, who was concerned with the needs of her and her son was willingly going to fetch the water Elijah requested, Elijah says, �Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.� (vs. 11) The woman explains that she does not have a morsel of bread for Elijah, and the woman also states that she is ready to prepare the last meal for her and her son before they die. Elijah then tells the woman to go ahead with her plans, �but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.� (vs. 13)

By this time the woman is probably thinking that either Elijah is deaf and did not hear what she had to say about her and her sons last meager meal before death, or Elijah could care less about what the woman was needing, and only concerned about his own hunger. However, the woman was obedient, and in the end the woman and her son ate well for many days. Through her obedience to Elijah the woman received an unseen blessing that came because of her obedience, and her willingness to help another person even when the circumstances of her life and the life of her son were so dire.

Elijah already knew the plight of the woman and her son before he went down to Zarephath. Elijah knew that the woman and her son did not have any food in their house. Elijah knew they were close to death. Why didn�t Elijah just give them what they needed and be on his way? Why did Elijah require the water and the morsel of bread from the woman?

Then there is the story of the woman who�s husband was a prophet, and a servant of Elisha. This story is in 2 Kings 4:1-7. The woman cries out to Elisha because her two sons are about to be taken away from her because of money that her deceased husband owed, and that she cannot repay. So, what does Elisha do? He asks the woman, �What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house?� (vs. 2, KJV). The woman tells Elisha that she has one jar of oil. Elisha tells the woman to borrow many empty jars, and then to close herself in her house with her two sons and the one jar of oil and the many empty jars. The woman was instructed to start pouring oil from her one jar of oil into the other borrowed jars.

Now, if this was you or me, we would be thinking what is the use? Pouring oil from one jar to another jar is just a waste of time and possibly a waste of oil. What if the oil spills onto the floor? What about the oil that remains on the walls of the first jar? However, the woman starts to pour her oil into the borrowed jars, and to her astonishment the other borrowed jars soon are all full of oil from her one jar of oil. The woman and her two sons run out of the empty borrowed jars, and at this time the oil stops flowing from the woman�s jar of oil. The woman and her two sons are told to sell the oil, pay off their creditors, and to live on the remaining money.

Both of the above stories required faith on the part of the women. Both of the stories also required visible action from two women in order for them to be blessed. The blessings they received were not handed to them without them first acting. The first woman gave Elijah something to eat when she had very little to give. The second woman provided her oil, and went about borrowing empty jars from her neighbors even though she did not understand what the outcome would be of her efforts to follow Elisha�s strange requests.

There was a missionary in Kenya who received a request for help. This was not unusual. People are always asking missionaries for things that they would never ask from a friend or a family member. This one time, however, was different. When the missionary was asked for help he agreed to help the person on one condition. The person was asking the missionary to give up the pair of shoes he was wearing that day. The missionary would have to go home barefoot if he agreed to help the person. The missionary agreed and took off his shoes and handed them to the man who requested them. Then the missionary said that he expected the man to help the church by giving a goat to the next church meeting because the missionary was willing to help him with his shoes. The man agreed and they went their separate ways. When the next church meeting came about the man who received the shoes came with a goat to help the church meeting with food. If the missionary had not made his own request do you think the man would have brought a goat to the next church meeting?

The big question is whether or not we should do something to help the church or wait and let the Christians struggle along with what they have until they can complete the task. It would be so much easier sometimes to just do everything myself and know that it is done. Where would the learning and growing experience for the Malagasy Christians come from if I do everything for them and did not require anything in return? Elijah and Elisha both required something from the women that were in need. The missionary in Kenya required something from the man who wanted his pair of shoes. Is it to much to ask of the Malagasy Christians for them to do some things that will help themselves?

Stacy and I have differing opinions on just how much I should be helping, doing, giving, or leading on a daily basis these days. Stacy thinks I should be actively leading. Right now I am not willing to do much visible leading. Why? I am trying to give the men of the Ambohimarina congregation time to learn to help themselves with what they already possess. This may be a slow process. However, I believe that if the church is going to be strong and be able to grow in the long term, long after the missionary is gone, then the Ambohimarina congregation needs to start taking hold of the reigns and start directing its own destiny without always waiting on the missionary to make all the decisions, or always expecting help from the missonary.

I am teaching numerous times throughout the week, and teaching and preaching every Sunday. I gladly do this to help edify and strengthen His church at Ambohimarina and to bring others to Christ. However, when asked by the men what the church should do I often say, �You are the men of the congregation, what do you think should be done�. God has given us all talents. Please pray that the Christian men at Ambohimarina will use their God given talents and be willing to lead His church and not always rely on me to give them answers.

Tina, Solofo, Jules, Antoine, Martin, Lala, Jean Baptiste, Robert, and Andry are all capable of doing so much more for the Master. Please pray that they will receive the guidance that they need from me and from the Master. Pray that they can be confident in what they do in His kingdom. Pray that they can see the need to take a greater role in His church at Ambohimarina. Pray that I will know just when to help, and maybe more importantly when not to help, as they continue on their Christian journeys.

. . . that the Lord is blessing His church in Madagascar. Just last month I wrote asking for congregations or individuals to help us with the ongoing need to rent the Ankadivato building for the use of the two town congregations. This need arose after the passing of John Ratovohery who supplied the necessary monthly money to rent the Ankadivato building.

Instead of needing help from outside Madagascar to continue this work, God has provided strong and willing Christians in Madagascar that are willing and able to take on this need. The two town congregations will be taking over the monthly rent of the Ankadivato building starting the month of June 2010. We ask you to pray for God to guide them and provide wisdom for them as they undertake this task. This task in noteworthy in that it gives us hope that one day His church in Madagascar will be able to stand on its own and spread the good news of Christ without having to seek outside financial support.

Eddie and Carol Hendrix came and went on their whirlwind tour and visit to the Rosie family in Madagascar. They were actually only here four days if you do not count the days that we picked them up from and returned them to the airport. Those four days were packed full of events.

We spent many hours talking about the many facets of His work in Madagascar. We talked about His church. We talked about the continuing needs and outreach of the Betikara Orphanage. We talked about Andry and the impact that Andry is having on all of our lives, both physically and spiritually. We spent time in prayer together. We went to the Betikara Orphanage for the scheduled Saturday afternoon teaching of the Betikara Lambs. It was during this time that Eddie and Carol passed out gifts that they carried with them through two African countries and many different plane flights before they were actually able to rejoice with the Lambs who graciously receive their gifts.

We worshiped together at the Ambohimarina congregation on Sunday morning. Then after noon lunch all of us, except for Stacy, loaded into the Toyota Prado and headed for Andasibe to see some of the Lemurs of Madagascar. Stacy had to stay behind and write a required 6,000 page paper for her University of Phoenix Doctoral course. Well, not all of us can have fun all of the time. Some one has to work. :-)

We thank God that Eddie and Carol Hendrix were able to pass by and visit with us. We feel blessed to have such a caring Christian family of brothers and sisters. We also thank God that we were all kept safe in his able hands while we were together and travelling on the roads of Madagascar during this time of instability that has overtaken Madagascar.

The work that was deferred until we could find a break in the Betikara School teaching and activities finally arrived. The week after Easter Sunday no classes were scheduled for the students. We used this time to mount the remaining two anti-theft cages to the rock walls of the Betikara main auditorium. The wiring for the two additional speakers is now completed. However, without a concerted effort and the compliance of the national power company we may still have a problem from time to time. We already had to take one drill for repair due to a surge in the electricity. The drill was repairable. Now we need to probably purchase a small voltage stabilizer that will help protect the amplifier system from brownouts and power surges.

Once that is done, we still need to pray that the electricity that is always iffy in the Betikara area will be present on Sunday mornings so that we can use the new public address system. We already arrived one Sunday morning to find Betikara with no electricity. We set up the public address system having faith that the power would return. God provided, and the electricity returned during the fifteen minute break between Sunday school and worship time. Maybe battery banks and an inverter should also be considered. Such is life in the third world and Madagascar. :-)

EXPENDITURES MARCH
Diesel	$ 276.47
Vehicle maintenance	1,845.51
Rent and Utilities	894.47
Office	567.69
Travel	0.00
Misc.	0.00

Total expenses	$ 3,584.14