Getting Back to Normal

Getting back to normal

Life has certainly been crazy for the last few weeks. But we are resuming our regular schedule now, and that’s pretty busy, but a little more predictable.

We had the opportunity to go with President and Sister Adams down to Fianarantsoa  last weekend. It is south east of here and takes about 8 hours to get there by car. We stopped in one of my most favorite towns, Antsirabe, on the way down. I love Anstirabe for it’s country feel and fresher air…it’s more peaceful there than in Tana. There are less cars and way more “pousse pousse”es—‘rickshaw’ like carts that are pulled by lean, but very strong, barefoot Malagasies. They are probably the main source of transportation in this town. Sometimes you will see them laden with every sort of thing…furniture and even bed frames!! I also love seeing the zebu pulled carts everywhere. It’s so charming and reminds you that you are in a unique country that never disappoints to entertain!! hehe. Bicycles are also more prevalent here and you hear the clang of the bicycle bells often. I wish I could live here some time on my mission, but it will never be due to my calling; I must stay close to the center of things. But I do enjoy it when I get a chance to visit!

We are working to establish a medical network in all the towns where we have missionaries, so we were hoping to visit the best (albeit small) hospital there. It is owned and operated by the Lutheran church, and they are always the best resources if there is one in town. But even at that, they are fairly rudimentary. The main surgeon/head doctor was unable to meet with us this time, so I’ll try to visit next time I go down.

We met that evening with a couple that has completed their mission and had the blessing to be assigned to work in Antsirabe. The Todds loved it here and have done an amazing job working with the leadership here. The new District President is only 27 years old!

That reminds me…I think I better share with you my experience with the principles of self-reliance. President Adams has cautioned us over and over again about giving money or stepping in to “save” a struggling Malagasy. He has told us that when we do this, it has never turned out well—either the ‘gift’ is misunderstood, or others wonder why you are not helping them…anyway, rescuing folks is really not the Lord’s way. The Lord’s way is to teach and train them how to be self-reliant. You remember our friend, “Cheesecake Patrick”…well we were tempted to buy him a freezer, but low and behold, he came up with a better solution on his own. He is borrowing one from a  friend and is trying to save to get his own. The very large order that he was expecting did not come to fruition (was downsized greatly). If he was into a payment for the freezer, it would have been difficult right now. We were proud of him for finding a more reasonable solution as he grows at slower, but steady pace.

The other example happened in Antsirabe. There is a wonderful couple who live there. They have been coming to church for years, but had net been baptized. The father does not have the use of his legs. He has a broken down wheelchair that they use to get to church, but mostly he scoots along by lifting his legs with his arms, using nothing else. They have two children but they were not married. It is so difficult for couples to get married here in Madagascar. First, they have to have to go to the city of their birth to procure a birth certificate. For many people this requires many hours of travel, and more money than they have. Once they get the certificate, it’s expensive for them to pay the fees to be married civilly. With the help of the mission office however, this couple were able to get the necessary paperwork to be able to get married. They were baptized the same day. They are a sweet, faithful and wonderful couple and everyone loves them. In spite of his handicap, Frem is able to do many things, including some painting and “handyman” work. He works hard and does a good job. Anyway, a week after their baptism, they received notice that their landlord was going to tear down their house, and they had to move in two weeks. They don’t have much money and no steady job or income. Everyone was so worried they would be homeless. Two of the senior couples wanted to build them a new house…a very basic one at that, but the President said, ‘no”. He said, we must have the members pull together and figure out a resolution. He said, “If you do this, everyone else (who is poor—which is about 80% of the people), will want you to build them a house or will ask why you won't help them.” While everyone’s hearts were in the right place, it was not the right answer. Everyone was praying and hoping the branch could help them out in some way. One option was to take the left over wood from the house they live in and have everyone get together to donate labor to build something. But that was not going to happen in time. As the time grew closer for them to have to leave, a feeling of desperation ensued. Then, the miracle happened. One of the missionaries was talking with a local businessman. Somehow the subject of Frem’s situation came up. The man asked the missionary if Frem had any experience with taking care of chickens. Surprisingly, he did! They made arrangements for them to meet. The businessman took a liking to Frem and his wife and said he had a house on his property that Frem could move into (better than the one they were currently living in!), and he would hire him to take care of the chickens. Furthermore, the businessman’s wife needed a housekeeper and asked if Frem’s wife would be interested in the job. She could bring the baby with her. They also told them they could eat with them daily! So, in one fell swoop, they had a house, income, two jobs and food to eat! Seriously, this was a miracle! We were all convinced that our way was not the Lord’s way and He did take care of this sweet, faithful couple, in a way that far exceeded our plans! We heard recently that Frem and his family had moved in and things were going well!

Moving on…we accompanied the Adams’ down to Ambositra (where most of the amazing wood work is done), and then on down to Fianarantsoa. I cannot describe the road there. Just think of the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland and you can begin to get an idea of it…winding and potholed (I’m talking craters in the road) for about the last 4 hours! In spite of taking motion sickness pills, both Steve and I were carsick! We had such admiration for the President and his sweet wife who have to make this trek every three months! On the way back, Steve had to stop and throw up!! (Oh the joys!!). I’ve only known Steve to throw up twice while in a car, and both times were in Madagascar—this being the second time). The roads here are all very windy, but some are worse than others. The fact that the potholes were so prevalent made it so the carwas going side to side while at the same time going round and round! I was sick, too, but fortunately did not have to throw up. (Probably too much information!! haha!)

This city sits up in the mountains and is more wooded than most of the cities we have seen. We enjoyed meeting the members there who are always so happy to have visitors. President conducted interviews and meetings Saturday evening and Sunday until 2:00—then we began our momentous trip back to Antsirable—Ugh…not too anxious to do that again any time soon!!

June 26th was Independence Day, one of Madagascar’s biggest holidays. Street vendors fill the streets in the weeks ahead, selling all types of Malagasy flags, and colorful lanterns hang from all the small street shops. It’s a fun holiday with festivities for days!—including the sound of fire crackers all throughout the days…and nights!! The night before (June 25th), the children walk through the neighborhoods carrying lanterns lit with candles. It reminds me a lot of Halloween. The boys also carry lightsabers and the little girls have crowns that light up, and various other lit toys.

We watched as many people were walking down the hill near where we live. We decided to follow them. One little family took us in! ha! They explained they were going up to the Rova (the old Queen’s Palace) that sits high above the city atop a mountain of sorts just across from our “hill”. People go up there to see the fireworks. They let us follow them and I was determined to try and keep up with them. Well, let me tell you, getting up that thing was a feat…especially at night! Part of the path is made up of very deep and steep stairs that go straight up! Then the path is muddy and slippery in spots. The man called it a “lalana ratsy” or “bad path”. I gotta admit, I was a trooper, but definitely winded by the time we got to the  top. There was a kazillion people up there! There was a band playing and the cars that had driven up were unable to move due to the shear numbers of people and other cars. So they just stopped in the middle of the roads and the roads all became giant parking lots! The crowd was dense and we held on to each other so as not to get separated. We tried to see the fireworks and were able to see the high ones, but there were thousands of people cramming together on the side of the fireworks and we couldn't get close enough to see the lower ones. We tried, but I seriously felt I couldn’t breathe and had visions of being trampled!! (OK…I might be a little dramatic here,  but that’s how I felt!). I was horrified to see people standing on top of cars (not their own), to get a better view. I wondered what the owners would think if they saw them?!? Seriously, the crowd mentality was a little scary! The fireworks that we were able to see were good and lasted a long time. When they were over, we were lost. Picture Steve standing out with his I-phone held high trying to decipher the GPS  directions to find our way home in the dark! We ended up going down a different “lalana ratsy” with stairs that reminded me of old Roman ruins! I was ever so grateful to see our street. We made it home unscathed except for muddy shoes and tired knees; and don’t forget we did all of this in our missionary clothes…me in a skirt and Steve in slacks and a white shirt. We must have been a site! But…when in Madagascar….haha! We enjoyed our authentic Malagasy pilgrimage to the Rova for Independence day!

I keep pretty busy with daily calls from the missionaries (some days more than others), experiencing a variety of health challenges. Some are very minor, like headaches, or a ‘sty’ that someone thinks is deadly! ha! Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are common, but can be minimized by observing better sanitation rules, hand washing and not eating with the people. I know it’s hard to turn down an offering, but the water is not pure here and some don’t have running water. Therefore the chances of them washing their hands regularly is pretty low. So…thus the diarrhea. There have been other issues as well and I’m grateful for a wonderful doctor that we have found who makes my life so much easier! His name is Dr. Oswaldo Lara who is a US Board Certified surgeon from Argentina. He, like us, is a missionary for his church (Seventh Day Adventist). He has dedicated the last 12 years to missionary service as a doctor in Africa and in Madagascar. He speaks English, is very thorough, and is a blessing to us!! He  has had to do emergency appendectomies for the missionaries in the past, and we trust him 100%. He will take my calls 24/7…I feel like a lucky missionary nurse!! But of course, he can only treat the missionaries in Tana.

Steve continues to meet with returned missionaries to assist with business plans and to help as he can with ideas to help them be successful. With the unemployment rate begin what it is they need to be creative in finding a way to sustain themselves and a future family. We pray for their ability to follow through and grasp the concept of being self-reliant.

This past 2 weeks have not been easy ones!! In addition to losing our dear elder, I bit down on something and one of my back teeth broke entirely off. It gets worse. It was a tooth anchoring a 3 tooth bridge! I wanted to cry!! I was able to find a decent Malagasy Dentist at the 7th Day Adventist clinic who was able to fashion a ‘flipper’ to hold the two teeth. It looks surprisingly OK, but bugs the heck out of me! Suddenly our 2 year mission just seemed like an eternity—until I can get my teeth fixed properly! Ugh…

Then the next morning, I banged my head on the kitchen cabinet and ended up with a gigantic goose egg on my forehead. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but each day the bruising extended further down my face until I had two black eyes, bruising over my nose and down to my cheeks. I can assure you, I’ve been quite a colorful site for two weeks! One eyelid is STILL purple!! I’ve added new Malagasy words to my vocabulary as I try and assure folks that  I wasn’t beaten, and, “no, it was not my husband!!” JK

We continue to love the opportunity to serve together and are always enamored with the Malagasy culture and lifestyle. We are still trying to understand the streets and find better ways to get places. We don’t particularly love that part of Madagascar! We feel blessed and happy (despite some challenges) and welcome anyone who wants to join us—particularly the senior couple type!—always recruiting!! hehe

We pray for all at home and love hearing from each of you whenever you get time!

With love,
Steve and Michele