Youth Week

I just finished saying, "Soava Dia!" (Have a good trip!) to 14 new Malagasy friends! Last Tuesday, a youth group from Tana (the capital) came down for a mission trip. Their goal was to do some evangelism in the community around our church, encourage our youth, and also make some contacts at the university.

Each morning the group got together, prayed, and had Bible study. After that they would go out and do door to door (or more often - hut to hut) evangelism. They invited everyone they met to attend a film one night and a concert another night. Several times during the week they went to the University to invite them as well. The afternoons and evenings were spent with our youth group...having Bible study and playing games. Friday night they held their Jesus film night, where about 200 people showed up. 30 people prayed to receive Christ! Pretty exciting stuff!

It was so interesting to see these youth go on a mission trip. Although the distance between Tana and Tulear may not seem that great to us, to them it was as if they traveled to another planet! They awed at everything from the southern dialect to the differences in rice and water. For us, Tulear is not much different than Tana, so to watch them scramble to get a picture of unusual things every few minutes was such a sight! It truly was an adventure for them!

The trip was not without its hardships. Tessa, our journey girl from Tana had come down with them (as it is her church). Unfortunately, Tessa came down with the flu during the trip and was pretty much down and out for the next 4 days :( I knew something was wrong with her when she wanted more blankets because she said she was freezing (It was 90 degrees in the house)! Sure enough her temp was 104. Poor girl! She got better just in time to enjoy the last few days of the trip with her youth. Aside from being the worst patient ever, I enjoyed being able to spend lots of quality time with her. :)

By the time that Tessa started feeling a little better, Grant came down with it. Unfortunately, his didn't come until the morning that he had already left for Tana. He had planned the 2 day drive to the capital in order to fix his car. He hadn't planned on having the flu all the way there! Fortunately he made it there safely and was well taken care of when he got there (thanks Kristi!). He is on his way back today - he should be passing the Tana youth along the road in a few hours. I am anxious for him to get home, as last night I discovered a "friend" in the house. As much as I love animals, I am not stoked about sharing space with a mouse (especially when I am home alone)!

Another exciting event happened on Sunday. Our church just finished up a week of Baptismal classes ,and on Sunday, 6 people were baptized (all youth), including my sweet and dear friend Narindra who accepted Christ last September. What a great day! Thank you Lord for answering prayers and working in the lives of the people of Madagascar.