Let's Start With the Good...

Grant's Trip Day One:

This week, Grant had his first trip out to the bush without a Malagasy helper. We felt confident that he was ready to make this trip by himself. His plan was to visit villages that he had good relationships with, and felt comfortable going in alone. One of our biggest concerns was that he would struggle in communicating with the people. He is able to communicate confidently in official Malagasy, but is still working on the Mahafaly dialect.

God is sufficient when we aren't, and He proved that to us on this trip. Grant was able to not only communicate, but to communicate well with the people! Being without a helper truly forced Grant to pay attention to what people were saying. Instead of having someone translate for him, he was forced to figure things out on his own. If he didn't understand - he would stop them and ask them to explain. They were impressed by his growth in the Mahafaly language. Of course, he has a LONG ways to go before feeling confident and I'm sure there were plenty of awkward conversational moments - but this trip was ultimately a great encouragement for him!

Grant was able to spend a lot of time in the village of Kilimary that first day. One of the most interesting things about the people here, is how they mix their beliefs. Each village we go into has a different set of beliefs (a lot based on how much influence the outside world has had on them). If you are in a village close to a large town, you can see how Christianity has influenced their beliefs about the spiritual realm, but deeper in the bush you will see a more "pure ancestral" worship. Kilimary is a village that has seen a lot of evangelist type people come through. The mix of beliefs in the traditional African religion and Christianity is evidence of that.

When asked about the spiritual realm, the people of Kilimary gave some interesting answers. They talked about how there are angels and demons, and how the angels live with God in heaven and the demons live with Satan on Earth. They proceeded to say that when a person dies they float around with a "good smelling fragrance" until they pass by an angel. When the finally pass by an angel, if they are good they go to heaven and if they are bad they go to hell. Yeah...Grant had them explain that one several times to make sure he was understanding correctly :)

His time in Kilimary was fruitful, and he learned a lot about their physical life as well as their spiritual. Despite being rainy season here, the rain has not proved sufficient. Many people are dying from lack of food and water. And it looks as though there is no help coming for them. Pray for wisdom for us, so that we will know how to best meet the physical and spiritual needs of these struggling people!

Grant left Kilimary, with an open invite to return and stay with them for an extended period of time. They even have a hut already prepared for him! They are anxious for him to teach them the Bible. They recognize that they are confused about Biblical truths, and are hoping that Grant will be able to come and explain those truths to them. They are anxious for him to begin!

Grant's Trip Day 2:

Day two of the trip, proved to be just as exciting and fruitful as the first day. He was able to visit several other villages that he has been working in. They were all incredibly excited to see him, and conversation went great. He made progress in the villages that he has struggled to make relationships in (Tanantsoa and Ambatry) and started feeling comfortable in villages that have before felt more formal (Andremba). In all villages he was able to share Biblical stories and truths! He could not have been more excited! One of the best moments of his day was in the village of Ambatry. He has struggled to make a good connection with this village because it is one of the larger villages. That morning, he saw two men sitting under a tree. He sat down with them, and began talking. The conversation went smoothly and developed into a spiritual conversation. Before he knew it, it was no longer him- but a large group of listeners (pic with group sitting in a circle by tree). That is one of the best things about teaching the Bible here. In America, if a passerby hears someone telling someone else about Jesus they practically go running in the opposite direction to avoid being pulled into the conversation. But in Africa, the people love to hear and learn about spiritual things. Life is so easy going here, that people passing by will just stop and "pull up a seat" to share in the conversation. It was such a blessing for Grant!