His Work
Among
the Malagasy People of Madagascar
Go ... and make disciples of all nations
Matthew 28:19
March 2010
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His Work Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
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| Volume 24, Number 3 |
March 2010 |
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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 |
Pressing On
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one
thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13,14 (KJV)
The above words of the Apostle Paul needed to be taught in Madagascar to the
Malagasy people as well as to other people groups around the world. Paul said,
“forgetting those things which are behind”. To the Malagasy people this is
almost impossible. The Malagasy people try to follow Christ and His life
example, but they are constantly reminded about their ties to the Malagasy way
of life and their cultural beliefs. Their whole life is wrapped up in trying to
do things that will give them praise and glory in the eyes of their ancestors.
It is so important for the Malagasy people to exhume the bones of their
ancestors and to glorify those ancestors that it is hard for the Malagasy people
to move ahead and progress while they are constantly looking behind at their
ancestors while seeking guidance from those ancestors.
“Jesus said, unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit
for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (KJV) We all know that driving a car in reverse at a high
speed is very difficult. It is much easier to drive a car going forward at a
high speed. However, the Malagasy people seem content to stay in reverse at high
speed no matter what the rest of the world is doing around them and no matter
how much progress is lost because they are not interested in going ahead and
getting on with life. To the Malagasy people their entire life is in the past
and in their ancestors. There is no future for the Malagasy people without their
Malagasy ancestors. I am not even sure that it is correct to say that the
Malagasy people have put their “hand to the plough”. Putting their hand to the
plough would mean attempting to forge ahead and leave that which they have known
and worshipped for many centuries.
If we take time to think about this Malagasy mindset, then it is not hard to
understand where the Malagasy people are coming from in their beliefs or
longings for the past. I know that as an American we are proud of our heritage
and the many people who have worked so hard to make the United States the
country that it is today. We have special days to remember those who have given
their lives (such as former presidents and soldiers) to make the United States a
better place for us. Many people visit the birth places or burial places of some
of those people who we consider as founding fathers of our nation. We tend to
immortalize these people to the point that they could do no wrong. Some of the
very people who were fighting for liberty and justice from Britain, and who
signed the Declaration of Independence that sought “freedom and liberty for all”
were at the time of the signing of that declaration people who were slave
masters. Many people still consider our heritage of the big colonial houses in
the south and the ownership of slaves as a way of life that we as American
should return to at all cost. We still revel in the past and long to follow the
former ways.
The Apostle Paul also stated, “reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians
3:13,14 (KJV) This passage shows that there needs to be some form of action
taking place on the part of the person that is seeking the mark. Paul used two
words to show this action. First, “reaching”, and then “press(ing)”. Both of these words show that their must be some desire or action
towards getting ahead on the part of those who are looking to get away from
their former lives and benefit by being a part of the new life that comes
through being a child of God.
Paul stated in another passage, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
(KJV) It is for this transformation that we press on and look to Christ to free
us from the traditions of this world. Without Christ then we will see no need to
change or to better ourselves. It is this reaching for Christ and pressing on
that we continue to put before the Malagasy people as we teach the death,
burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
It is our prayer that the Malagasy people will see that there is no longer any
benefit in worshipping that which is dead and in the tomb (the ancestors) when
we can worship CHRIST which is alive, risen, and at the right hand of God in
heaven. Pray that as we reach out and press on towards the Savior that the
Malagasy Christians can see our example and follow us as we are following
Christ. If we are unwilling to leave the past and look to HIS cross, how can we
expect those who we are trying to teach and lead to leave their past and give
their lives to the Son of God?
Many years ago it was said and written that, “In God we trust”. Many people are
now trying to take those words out of our American past and heritage. If we
truly trust in God then nothing that anyone can possibly do will be able to
remove our trust in God. This is what we need to show everyone around the world
and we need to instill this trust in God in the Malagasy people if we ever
expect them to leave their ancestors. Please continue to pray for us and the
Malagasy Christians as we labor together in Madagascar.
Did
You Know . . .
. . . that
even though the majority of Malagasy people, and most of the
international community continues to reject the present “Transitional
Government” in Madagascar this has not stopped the transitional government and
its leader Andry Rajoelina from trying to find some legitimacy. Now the
transitional government is trying to get the other three political parties to
join with it to form a new consensus government. This present transitional
government took power through a coup and now they think that if they can get
others to unite with them that what they have done in the past will all be
okay.
There is a deadline looming for the country of Madagascar. If there is no
legitimate constitution and government in place by March 16, 2010 then the
international community is going to start applying sanctions against the present
government and select individuals within the present government. With only 5
days remaining before the deadline at the time of this writing I do not see how
it is feasible for a legitimate constitution and government to be in place in
time to curtail the impending sanctions. Please continue to pray for Madagascar
during this time of uncertainty.
Miniature Missionaries
This last month was busy for Havilah. She spent Saturdays and Sundays with the
Betikara orphans. During the week she was busy with school work. I am sure that
all of you parents that have teenagers that are in the 11th and 12th grade are
familiar with the testing that takes place in preparation for our children
applying for entrance into universities around the world. Havilah is now being
flooded with application forms, catalogs, and flyers from many different
universities that are vying for her attention. Needless to say, the mail being
generated by all of these prospective universities is more hard mail than
Havilah has ever before seen in her short life. In fact, the only thing that
Havilah normally receives by hard mail is the IRS yearly tax forms. Thank you
Uncle Sam! :-)
Havilah was also busy this last month practicing for, and participating in, the
2010 World Math Day that took place on March 3, 2010. There were 1,133,246
students and 56,082 schools from 235 countries that united via the Internet to
set a new world record by correctly answering 479,732,613 questions with a total
of 572,753,084 correct answers. The total correct answers for 2009 numbered
450,000,000. Havilah was in the 14 to 18 year age group. Havilah is now 16 years
old. She was able to answer math questions in five different levels with an
overall accuracy of 98.2 %. Havilah’s efforts and perseverance throughout the
day found her being placed first among the students at the American School of
Antananarivo that took part in the 2010 World Math Day. Havilah also found
herself placed in the top 100 students overall for her age level at the end of
the 2010 World Math Day competition.
We mentioned in the past that Math is not one of Havilah’s strong points. We
were encouraged to see her take part in the day. We were also pleased to see
that she actually found the World Math Day experience to be fun. Havilah is now
looking forward to the 2011 World Math Day.
This and That
Public Address System
The work for installing the public address system is progressing. Two of
the four anti-theft cages are now secured firmly to the rock walls of the
auditorium. The covered lockable table for the amplifier and the wireless
microphone system is also securely mounted. We are still in the process of
wiring the system. If all goes well the public address system will be
operational in the next couple of days. The remaining two anti-theft cages will
have to wait to be mounted until a time can be found to do the work when the
Betikara school is not in session.
Ankadivato Congregation Need
Since the passing of John Ratovohery on December 21, 2009 the congregation that
meets at Ankadivato has found themselves with a problem. Back in August of 2004
the Betikara Orphanage moved out of the Ankadivato building. Up until August of
2004 Betikara was responsible for paying for the rent on the building. The
Ankadivato congregation was free to worship there rent free. Once Betikara moved
John Ratovohery started paying the rent on the building. Now that John is with
our Lord and his wife Esther is in the states there is no one to take up the
reigns and continue the rent payments so that His church can continue to
worship.
If no one or no congregation is willing to help with the rent before the end of
March 2010, which is just half a month away, the Ankadivato congregation will be
out on the street and have to scramble to find a new place of worship. We (Stacy
and I) considered helping them with a few months of rent (about $150.00 -
$175.00 monthly), but we would not be able to help them on a regular basis for
an extended period of time.
Since the Ambohijatovo building slid off the side of the hill in Antananarivo
that congregation has also been without a place of worship. For a while they
worshiped in a restaurant, then recently they started worshiping in the home of
a member. However, it would not be convenient for the two congregations to try
and worship in this one home.
Since the Ambohijatovo congregation is in a home of one of their members they do
not have a place that they can hold mid week classes or have teaching
appointments for those who are interested in studying the bible. These studies
have recently been held at the Ankadivato building. If there are not enough
funds to rent the Ankadivato building then not only will one congregation be
affected, but two congregations will be struggling to find a place to hold
teaching appointments and mid week bible classes. Please consider this need
prayerfully. Please contact us if you are willing to help or have any ideas that
we can consider.
Visitors to Madagascar
The Rosie family will be hosting visitors from the Three Chopt congregation in Richmond, Virginia. Presently Eddie and Carol Hendrix are in Africa and will be coming to Madagascar from March 25, 2010 to March 30, 2010 before returning to the states. As you can see by the dates, this will not be a long visit. We are looking forward to the arrival of Eddie and Carol and hope to be able to share with them concerning His work and the Betikara Orphanage in Madagascar. Please pray for their safe travels in Africa and to and from Madagascar as they return to the states.
|
EXPENDITURES FEBRUARY | |
| Diesel |
$ 530.59 |
| Vehicle maintenance |
0.00 |
| Rent and Utilities |
963.37 |
| Office |
257.29 |
| Travel |
0.00 |
| Misc. |
2.94 |
|
| |
| Total expenses |
$ 1,754.19 |
What
can you do?
You can pray!
¨ Continue to pray for the country of Madagascar as things continue to
get worse financially on a daily basis. There are many people that are now out
of work due to factories closing. Some of the Malagasy Christians are affected
by these closures.
¨ Pray for the Ankadivato and Ambohijatovo congregations as they go
through this time of transition. Pray that they can remain strong and that they
can find a solution that will help both of them and further the kingdom of our
Savior in Madagascar.
¨ Pray for the men of the congregation at Ambohimarina as we continue
to study together on a weekly basis. Pray that they can become the leaders that
His church in Madagascar needs.
We welcome you to join us in this work for Him . . .
| Barry, Stacy, Kit and
Havilah Rosie B.P. 7554 101 Antananarivo Madagascar Tel. 011-261-32-02-081-14
|