3 Weeks of Vacation in One LONG Post!

We are finally home, after three weeks of traveling! As much fun as it was, we could be more happy to be in the comfort of our own home. There really is nothing like sleeping in your own bed! And somehow, traveling with a three year old makes "vacation" not feel so much like a vacation. :)

Despite the 2 day ride to Tana, full of carsickness fun, once in Tana we had a great time. For the first few days, we met with a team from our organization who are planning a project working with the southwestern people groups of Madagascar. It will be a huge project, where selected Christians from each people group will be trained in crafting stories from the Bible. They will also be trained in telling the stories, and beginning small groups with them. One of the best parts about this project is that the girl on the ground who will be facilitating the project will be living and working in Tulear on our team. Tessa, is currently finishing up a 2 year tour in Tana, and will then head down to Tulear in January. We couldn't be more thrilled! She will be our first team member! :) She has been a great friend and meant so much to us over the past few years, that we couldn't be more excited for her to join us here!

After our great news with Tessa, one of the most exciting things happened to us. We were able to welcome our first volunteer mission team from Southbridge Fellowship, our home church in Raleigh, NC. I have to admit that I was nervous about the trip, wondering what they would think of Madagascar...if they would want to return...etc. But once we met them at the airport, all of my worries faded away and we were in sheer joy! I can not express how much it meant to have the team come! The team was great. They had such positive attitudes, and were so encouraging to us.

We left for our annual cluster retreat a few days after the team arrived. The meeting was held in the beautiful rainforest at Andasibe, about a three hour drive from Tana. For the next five days, we were able to fellowship with our team and other missionaries from all over the island. We were able to laugh together, cry together, but best of all we were able to worship together. It was such a joy to be able to worship in English, our heart language! :) Our team did an amazing job with the children, music, and teaching. It was such a blessing to everyone.

Unfortunately, the night before we all left, about half of the group woke up with throw-ups and diarrhea (including me!). It was awful. I don't even know if awful describes it. Whoever didn't get sick that night, developed the symptoms over the next few days. We had all kinds of fun fellowship activities planned for our volunteer team, but we ended up spending those last few days in bed. I am trying to look on the positive side, and am saying it was a good bonding experience! :) Hopefully, every time they think about Madagascar they won't have a flashback to those last few days!

Our last week in Tana was spent catching up on medical appointments and grocery shopping. We must have bought 100 boxes of cereal!

Now, we are back in Tulear and are trying to catch up on lots of missed time. We have two Bible studies to prepare for today and Grant is heading out for Mahafaly land early next week. We are so excited about his trip, as he will be spending a week in one village going through the story set he has been working so hard on. He will start with creation and teach all the way through the resurrection of Christ. Fortunately, he will have the help of two Malagasy men that speak the dialect. Grant is incredibly nervous, as he has been waiting for so long to be able to share the Gospel with these people. Pray for a great week for him, and that God would work in the hearts of these people!