My Life in Kenya at Boarding School

Becca and some of her Rift Valley Academy friends goofing around.

This year I began a new chapter in my life as a boarding school student at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. Before this year, I had never really considered the possibility of attending school there, but in the back of my mind, I have always known it was an option. My Mom and Dad had put me on the waiting list back in 3rd grade in case I ever decided to go.

For the past four years my brother and I had gone to The American School in Madagascar. That was great while it lasted, but this past year most of my Christian friends in Madagascar either graduated or left for the States. I really wrestled with the idea of staying in Madagascar, but I knew it would be hard to remain here and continue to get fed spiritually like I wanted to be. So after a lot of prayer, my parents and I agreed that we would apply to RVA even though the acceptance deadline for this year was past and my name was at the back of the list now. We thought if God opened the door then it was his will. By God’s grace I got in after the deadline.

Becca's dorm room at RVA with a few momentos of home and family.

I have already been at RVA for a whole term. I really love it there! Not only do I have more opportunity spiritually, but also academically and athletically. I was also able to participate in the school’s performance of “Death on the Nile” a play by Agatha Christie. I have always loved drama but my old school did not offer very much in this department. Being a part of the drama was so much fun! Here, I am meeting so many other MKs from all over Africa. On my first day there, I knew only a handful of people, mostly from Madagascar. But now I know people from all over the continent. I am in a great dorm, with amazing dorm parents and dorm mates. I also love all my classes.

Becca playing the part of Rosalie in RVA's drama production of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile"

Spiritually wise the school offers a lot. Sundays they have, Sunday school followed by a church service. On Sunday nights I go to SNL, which stands for Sunday Night Live. It is a time of prayer and worship and it is completely student lead. On Tuesday nights, we have dorm meetings in which we do devotions. On Thursday nights I go to “Koinania”, a student lead, time of worship, where students get to share their own testimonies and stories. Most of the students are MKs, which is amazing for me to be able to be surrounded by people just like me, who have had the same experiences and have the same goals.

Becca is surrounded by great teachers and staff who reallly care about her academically and spiritually.

One thing that is very different for me is: I have always thought I lived in Africa. When really Madagascar is completely different. There are a lot of similarities, but they are not the same. When I first arrived in Kenya I would use Malagasy words. Or I would try to talk to Kenyans in Malagasy, funny thing is: no one understood me. Also there are no monkeys in Madagascar, only lemurs. So sometimes I’ll be sitting in PE class and baboons start throwing fruit at me. I just have to laugh, because that would never happen in Madagascar! Another thing is in Madagascar everyone is short, or at least shorter than me. I am 5’8 and I have always been taller than all the girls and most of the boys in my school. Now suddenly here, I’m short or at least I’m pretty average.

Becca volunteering her time at a local Kenyan orphanage.

One thing I really love is, Kenyan food! I love chapattis, mandazis and chai! Chapatis are a type of flat bread that tastes amazing when it’s warm especially if you add Nutella to it! Mandazis are sort of like donuts, but not really and I don’t know any other way to describe them. And chai! Mmmmm…. It is sooo good! It’s simply amazing spice tea, with lots of milk. Malagasy food consists mostly of rice. Rice is really good, but I like having these new foods too!

Becca and friends during International Day at RVA.

One hard thing about being at boarding school is; I stay there for 3 months at a time. So I take a plane to Nairobi and then take a long bus ride to Kijabe. For those 3 months, I do not see my parents. That is easier than I thought it would be. Nothing against my parents, but the school keeps us busy enough that I didn’t even really have time to miss them much. The school has lots of fun activities going on all the time. I am able to text my mom usually once a day, and they try to call me once a week. I also can call my brother sometimes in the U.S. Caleb started school at the University in Montana this year. So it’s nice that I can call him, so cheap, compared to calling from Madagascar. I try to call once every 2 weeks.

The 2011-2012 RVA student body.

Even though it is sometimes hard to be at RVA, the good out weighs the bad. And I wouldn’t change schools if I could. I am so glad that I was accepted and got the opportunity to go to school here. On January 3^rd I head back to Kenya for the start my second term. I am really looking forward to it and to all that God has in store for me.

Looking Forward

Tammy and Nate still together after 21 years!

As we reflect back on 2011, we have so much to give thanks to God for.  We are thankful for our mission teammates who are currently raising funds in the States. We are thankful for our Missionary Associate, Lorrell Beaber, who is doing a fantastic work with literacy as well as filling in the gaps at the orphanage and in other areas. We are thankful for our new national church leadership who is taking the Assemblies of God in Madagascar in a good direction. We are so very thankful that our kids are doing well at school abroad; Caleb at the University of Montana in the U.S. and Becca at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. We are thankful for our supporters who pray for us and have helped us so what we do. Lastly, we are so thankful to our Lord Jesus who has continued to lead us and guide us as we work here in this country.

Becca on a recent break from boarding school traveled with us to a remote church for a visit to encourage the believers.

As we close out 2011 we look forward to what promises to be a great year! We look forward to some new creative ventures in extension Bible school training that will help more lay people than ever before get the training they need to go the unreached places. We will be giving further reports on extension training in upcoming e-newsletters.  We look forward to working with our new national church leadership to an even greater degree. We look forward to Tammy finishing her teaching obligations at the American School and being able to travel and work with Nate more.

Believers in a local church in the north of the island send their greetings to the churches of America.

We look forward to Nate completing the coursework for his Master’s Degree in Leadership. We look forward to a new team member joining our field, Stephen Kuert, who will help us in several areas of training and evangelism. We look forward to the return of our team members:  the Rostorfer and Santmyire families in mid-year.  We look forward to increasing the translation and printing of books and training materials in the Malagasy language. Unreached people groups are never far from our minds. With several trips to unreached regions already on the calendar, we pray that God helps us to find ways to access these difficult areas with the gospel in the coming year.

A recent tabernacle project in the remote southeast of Madagascar.

God has been so faithful throughout 2011, we cannot wait to see how he will lead us in 2012. We hope he does the same for you!

The Power of Partnership

Children's evangelist, Barry Jorris, juggling at an outdoor outreach.

November has been a whirlwind of activity for us. We had two teams back-to-back ministering with us on behalf of the children of Madagascar. Our first team was a children’s ministry training team from First Assembly of Fort Wayne, IN led by Barry Jorris, a long time friend. He and his team endured a 7-hour drive through the winding roads of the island to do a children’s ministry training seminar in the Fianarantsoa region.

Barry's son, Kyle, taught a pupperty basics workshop.

They taught on basic object lessons, juggling, creative story telling, JBQ, and many other practical children’s ministry skills.

The children's workers of the Fianarantsoa Region who attended the training seminar.

The second team was an International Royal Rangers training team from Kenya, Malawi, and several members from the USA who helped to have the very first NTC (National Training Camp) for our Ranger leaders.  Our Royal Rangers learned so much about using a compass, basic camping skills, first aid, and water safety. (More than 50% of the Malagasies present had watched someone drown and not known what to do)

Madagascar's Royal Ranger leaders during morning assembly at the first ever National Training Camp.

In addition to those practical courses, principles in evangelism and discipleship were reinforced too. These two training teams were such a blessing to us and to the church here in Madagascar.  Sacrificial giving allows teams to travel the incredible distance to minister here, but the impact made lasts for years to come.

Learning basic camping knots was just one of the many skills taught at the NTC.

For many other churches it is not practical to fly here yourself, but your prayer and financial support is vital to our ability to minister here. That is the power of partnership. Together we can accomplish so much more. Maybe you or your church isn’t able to make the trip to Madagascar, but there are other ways that you can still make an impact.

Our 43 Ranger trainees and the international training team at the conclusion of the NTC.

Currently, we have several church building projects that need funding. Within the next few months cyclone season will be upon us and we have several churches that are needing a tabernacle to worship in that will be strong enough to resist the annual cyclone winds that hit Madagascar’s coastline. A number of these churches are busy making their own cinder blocks, by faith, believing for a roof for their building.  We are doing what we can to help with this need, but if you or your church feels led to contribute it would be a huge blessing to us. For more information just send us an e-mail and we can tell you how you can help.

A young boy prays at the outreach in Fianarantsoa. This is why we do what we do!

On a personal note, we are so glad to have Becca home from Rift Valley Academy in Kenya for the holidays. She will be with us for five weeks before returning for her second trimester of school in January. This is however, our first holiday season without Caleb. He has opted to stay in America with Grandma and Grandpa this Christmas. This is a mature decision on his part, but it is still a bit tough for us. We are so thankful that they are doing well spiritually and academically. It makes the distance apart that much easier to bear. Thanks to all of you who pray for us on a regular basis. We feel so blessed.

Learning To Lead Effectively

Sharing 5 key areas of being an effective leader.

This month I had the privilege of teaching basic leadership principles to all the national leaders of the Assemblies of God in the island. The head of every province and region was in attendance at a special leadership summit. My training on leadership was then followed up on by our national church officials who presented to these key regional pastors a new and improved structure for leadership.

Taking questions during our sessions.

This new structure is designed to empower more localized decisions in a particular region of the country and to give them the authority to make better and more informed decisions for their areas. Our national church officials then turned over the seminar to our new missionary from Tanzania, Paul Balela, who explained in detail the main concepts of the indigenous church and how our goal as leaders is to help each national church to become self-supporting, self-governing, self-propagating, self-theologizing, and self-missionizing. Having an African present material like this is so wonderful. The principles are already working in the church in Tanzania and Balela has been a church-planting missionary with the Tanzanian Assemblies of God for years. He has planted over 40 churches in several countries and now brings his experience and his heart to Madagascar.

Balela sharing key principles of the indigenous church.

This type of summit meeting is especially exciting since I have been asking the Lord how we can help the National Church here to retool for growth and increased effectiveness. During my MA studies in Nairobi, it became apparent that there were some very good church models on the African continent, which were successful in an economic system quite similar to Madagascar’s. I began arranging for various African church leaders to make visits to Madagascar to cross pollinate with our leaders and create an idea exchange. Being an island, Malagasies do not benefit from other church leaders passing through. That sort of exchange is rare.

Balela shares about the self-supporting church with the country's A/G leaders.

Having a missionary from an African context is also an added blessing. Paul Balela and his family have been sent here by the Tanzanian Assemblies of God mission department to partner with the Madagascar church to help in church planting and training. He has been able to bring practical, proven ideas from the Africa continent and package them within his own context and experiences so that the way forward is becoming clearer to our local leaders.

Madagascar's national leaders in front of the Bible school chapel on the cold blustery last day of the seminar.

Pray for us as we continue moving toward better structure and stronger local churches in the country. A strong national church produces strong pastors who in turn lead strong local churches which in turn produce strong lay people who can then go where we cannot go, reaching every tribe and every village with the gospel of Jesus Christ. One day soon Malagasies empowered by the Holy Spirit will be preaching the Word, helping the needy, and church planting in every remote region of this great island. That is why I am here. That dream is what keeps me going.

School Days

September….Back to school time.  Like all parents, we missionaries have to answer the hard question of what are we going to do for school this year?  Home school?  Public (national) school?  Private school?  Christian school? Boarding School?

As of this year, we have done it all!  Home school, National (French) school, Christian school, International School, Boarding School and now we have even sent Caleb off to the University of Montana!  This fall, Becca has left us as well to attend Rift Valley Academy, a missionary boarding school in Kenya.  People ask us, how could you send her to boarding school?  It wasn’t that we sent her away, but she was begging to go!  She is thrilled for the opportunity to study in a Christian environment with 500 other MK kids!  She has already auditioned and got a part (she got a callback!) in the play “Death on the Nile”.  She chatters away to us about her day through texts and phone calls.

Caleb and Becca on the balcony of our apartment before heading off for their first day of French public school in Albertville, France.

We send our kids to school to be educated, but I have learned many lessons along the way as well!  For us, it is important to keep the end result in mind.  What do we want or think this child is capable of doing after high school?  For those of us living overseas, we need to consider what we want our child’s primary language to be.  It is a great benefit for our children to speak multiple languages, but most students need a primary language in order to succeed academically.   By keeping the end in mind, our children can pick classes and take standardized tests to meet college entrance requirements.

There are other “educational experiences” that we wanted for our children and we had to find ways of providing them, such as getting a driver’s license, working a summer or part-time job, learning to balance a check book, and basic housekeeping skills.

Another lesson we try to constantly to remember is that there is no one right answer.  What works for one family, may not work for another family.   We develop community by supporting rather than judging the choices that other families make even when they may be different than ours.  What works for one child, may not work for their sibling.  There are no “cookie cutter” answers.  Each child is unique and each year decisions must be made with much prayer and thought with that child in mind.

Becca on her first day of school at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya.

Most importantly, missionaries need to be aware of their child’s spiritual development.  Spiritual maturity does not just happen on its own.  Most of us missionaries do not have children’s pastors or youth pastor’s providing great opportunities for our kids to grow.  Our kids do have wonderful opportunities to serve along side us, but we can’t take it for granted that they are learning the lessons being taught to their American peers in English Sunday School classes.  We must be very deliberate.  In our situation, even though our kids speak English and French, church is in a third language, Malagasy.  We must therefore provide other opportunities for our kids to grow in Christ, whether that be family devotions, listening to podcasts in English, attending English worship services or starting English speaking bible clubs or youth groups.

The decisions that our family has made about school this year are the hardest schooling choices we have ever made!  These decisions were not entered lightly.  Along with Caleb, we weighed the options between a Christian and State University.  We considered what he wanted to do (wildlife/research biology), as well as what spiritual support group was in place (living in the Chi Alpha House rather than on campus in the dorms).

Caleb at the University of Montana

As I write this, Caleb is in the U.S and Becca is in Kenya while we continue to serve in Madagascar. We are empty nesters for the sake of our children’s schooling. It is with extra prayer that we start this new school year!  So far, we have had excited phone calls home updating mom and dad with exciting tales.  But we know there will be adjustments to make, lessons to learn and opportunities to seize.

Praying for you and yours as you too begin another school year,

Tammy

Changes

These past few months can only be adequately described with one word, CHANGE.

On June 3rd, Caleb, our 18-year-old son, graduated from the American School of Antananarivo. We were very proud of him as he was awarded the president’s award for academic excellence. The following day we said goodbye as he boarded a plane to the U.S.A. to get a summer job and begin his new life as a college student at the University of Montana where he will be studying Wildlife Biology.

Caleb is a high school graduate!

In the same period of weeks, Becca, our 15-year-old daughter, was feeling the Lord leading her to apply for acceptance at Rift Valley Academy, a missionary boarding school near Nairobi, Kenya. (Can you say empty nest?) After much prayer and some real work from the Lord on her behalf, she was accepted and will start her new life as a sophomore at RVA at the end of August. While this change may be difficult for us, we are very happy for Becca. RVA is a wonderful school with a rich missionary heritage and offers her a great academic and spiritual environment.

We will miss the energy Becca brings to our home.

During this very same time, our national church held a vote and elected a new leadership team for the church here. This means that I will be working with a new team of leaders for the next 5 years.

In addition to that change, two of the three AGWM families that work with us here went home on a planned furlough the first part of June for their year of itineration? That was expected, but what was not expected was that the other family that we have been working with here was asked by AGWM to redeploy for a new strategic initiative in East Africa, this summer! That means that our team of 20 + people in early June, will be down to 3 by the middle of August. Thank goodness for Lorrell Beaber our short term MA who is here this year doing a great job in literacy training and development. If it weren’t for her, Tam and I would find ourselves with a team of 2. Since our whole team is either on furlough or redeploying, we will be moving across town to a different house so that we can better keep tabs on the Bible School and our orphanage. This means yet more change.

A team photo of our AGWM families and a Tanzanian A/G family all ministering in Madagascar taken in late May 2011.

Because of prearranged travel plans, Tammy and I have been apart for the past 6 weeks. She is in the States taking some classes for her teaching certification and I am in Nairobi, Kenya working on my Master’s Degree. We both will return to Madagascar on August 5th and we will begin to move on August 6th. Then on August 15th, I will be traveling to the U.S. to help get Caleb settled in at the University of Montana, while Tammy takes Becca to RVA to get her set up there. As you can see our life is still a bit crazy, please keep us in your prayers.

I will not kid you that this has been a little more than stressful for us having all this change flying at us in the same 30-day window, some planned, some not so planned. But we spent a lot of time in prayer and held on to Jesus. Now looking back on things, we see God’s providence in it all. With an eye on the recent church elections, we now have a year to focus on our new national church leadership team and help them to restructure the church, redeploy pastors for strategic church growth, expand their training efforts, and develop a vision for growth to help the Assemblies of God of Madagascar to reach every tribe and region of the island with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why we are here in the first place.

Had I been able to write the script it would not have looked like this, but God knew what he was doing. We truly feel God’s hand is in every aspect of what has transpired and have a real peace about it all. Please continue to pray for us as we labor with the Malagasy people and as we continue to adjust to all the changes that have recently come our way.

Caleb: Closing A Chapter In My Life

Becca and Caleb fresh off the plane in Madagascar, July 2004.

As I stepped out onto the large staircase connected to the massive Airbus 380, I looked around at the dark tarmac and watched the airport personnel running back and forth between the huge plane and the airport terminal. Finally, I stepped down off the last step and my foot came down on Malagasy soil for the first time. Since then I have lived as an MK (Missionary Kid) in Madagascar these past six years and in France for a year before that. My time living outside of the United States as an MK has greatly affected who I am and what I will become. I have learned a lot about myself, and have learned a lot about who I am and who God needs me to be.

From our first weeks in Madagascar, Caleb embraced all of Madagascar's wildlife, especially it's birds.

Through being an MK, God has touched me in nearly every aspect of my life. I have learned to trust God and to be comforted by Him alone. He is my only true constant in life. I understand now, from experience, what it means to go through spiritually rich and spiritually dry times. I have learned how to deal with change even if it means evacuating from my county during a military coup d’etat. But most of all, had I never left the States, I would have never realized just how much God cares about the things that are important to me and that He can use those things for His glory.

Who is that white kid?

When one is an MK it seems that there is a lot of pressure put on you to go into the ministry. For me though, I never felt a pull to go into the ministry, at least not in the official meaning of the word.  From the time I was very small, I was very analytical, lining up all my toys in straight lines from tallest to shortest. As a toddler I sorted cards according to some system that I made up in my head and other similar games that I would play for hours. Science has always been my thing, and God has blessed me in this field of study. I used to ask myself how liking science was supposed to be pleasing to God. I wondered how studying the migratory patterns of Blue Cranes, or watching bacteria grow in a lab, or teaching a 9^th grade biology class was supposed to compare with being a pastor or a missionary somewhere.

Caleb has always preferred being outdoors in the wild, whether it's a forest or a beach..bring it on!

I remember about a year ago, asking God if He wanted to use me somewhere in ministry and the reply I got back on that prayer was in effect “We’ll see.” Really that is the only answer I needed, because with that response the images came back from the many different events in my life where God came through for me. He showed me things He had done that had everything to do with my relationship with Him, the strengths in the gifts and passions he has given me and very little to do with, should I say, orthodox ministry.

The most common view of Caleb in Madagascar.

One example of this was when we evacuated from Madagascar in early 2009. The experience of being evacuated, saying good-bye to your friends, possibly forever, on very short notice, and joining a new large high school part way through the quarter is a horrible and very lonely experience. Identifying birds has always been a passion of mine, and certainly something I never thought God would ever use. That changed on the night we evacuated. An African Marsh Owl, one of the 30 species of birds on the island that I had not yet seen, was sitting on the tail of the plane. It was like God had reached down from heaven and said I’ll be with you will no matter what happens during this chaos. When we got to Kenya, despite having been there several times, I saw new birds everywhere. By the time we returned to Madagascar a month and a half later I had observed over 150 new species of birds, even though in that whole time I hardly left Nairobi, a bustling city of nearly three million people. The best part for me was when we finally got back to Madagascar. I spotted a pair of Sooty Falcons flying over the airport parking lot. Yes, they were a new species as well. Now could all of those birds have been just a great big coincidence? Sure, but the feeling of comfort and reassurance that came from seeing everyone of those birds was not.

Caleb birding during the evacuation to Nairobi, Kenya 2009.

Many times God has given me little reminders like that; things that mean volumes to me and very little to most other people.  Madagascar itself is like a candy store for me, with more then 80% of all its species found nowhere else in the world. Living here I have learned a lot about who God is and what He wants me to do. What I have learned boils down to this; while I don’t exactly know what God wants of me, I do know that I am gifted in science, analytical and critical thinking, and I have a real relationship with the Lord Jesus. Another thing I know for sure is that He does not care if I become a pastor or a missionary in my adult life. He needs me to be me and to use the gifts He has given me for His glory. For now I will go to university and study biology. Where that will lead to, I do not know, but I know that God is backing me in this and if that is the case, His plan will become clearer in time.

Caleb's Senior Portrait 2011

Photo Shoot

We borrowed a Malagasy family's porch for this shot. I think it turned out great.

Every few years a missionary must make a new prayer card to help their supporters and friends remember who they are and how to pray. With Caleb heading off to college soon and us not heading home on furlough anytime soon, we decided it was time to update our prayer cards for the folks back home.

We liked this shot, but we thought it looked a bit too much like an album cover than a missionary prayer card.

There are not a lot of Americans in Madagascar and when you have four tall white people dressed the same and someone with a camera taking pictures, crowds tend to gather. It was interesting taking various shots in Malagasy neighborhoods and watching the reaction to the people around us.

This was a nice series of shots in a Malagasy neighborhood with the traditional mud brick walls.

This old woman tottered by and then jumped in front of the camera it was quite funny.

Eventually the bravest of the young onlookers joined us for a photo together.

We love the people of Madagascar and even doing this photo shoot was fun because it allowed us to interact with people in their homes and in their neighborhoods. Below is the finished product, with special thanks to Joan Nelson who is a “Rockstar” when it comes to artsy design and Photoshop.

The final product for the front of the prayer card

Feeling Frazzled

Pulling Dave Boyd and Buddy Barrel in a pousse pousse around the streets of Tamatave.

This last week wore me out, but I am so very happy it did. We were blessed to have David Boyd and a BGMC Team here for a week of ministry in Madagascar. BGMC (Boys and Girls Missions Challenge) is the children’s missions arm of the Assemblies of God and supplies funds for all manner of projects needed by missionaries. David Boyd and his wife Mary head up this vital ministry in the U.S. and they travel each year to various countries to get a feel for what God is doing in various parts of the world.

Jay Risner produces a pan of Cracky chips at an outreach event much to the surprise of the volunteer.

On this trip, Dave came with Jay Risner, who is an AGWM missionary evangelist to the children of the world. Both of these guys have been friends for many years. In addition to Dave and Jay, we had Kelly Presson and Mike Gold. Kelly is a great and talented children’s pastor from the Michigan District and Mike is a part of the missions prayer task force for Kelly’s church.

Teaching the children's workers how to use a sack puppet.

They arrived on Monday night and by Tuesday morning we were headed off to Tamatave on the east coast to see how the Malagasy coastal people live and then have a day of children’s ministry training and several children’s outreaches. The pace was hectic, but the pastors and leaders there were so appreciative and hungry for training.

Jay, Pastor Parami, and Dave ham it up with the kids at the outreach in Tamatave.

After several days in Tamatave, we returned to the capital and held a training seminar for the children’s workers in Antananarivo. The following day was our annual Kid’s Day celebration where over 3,000 kids from various AG churches gathered together under one roof for ministry, singing, performances, and spiritual encouragement. This year our BGMC team shared a special message with illusions, stories, and illustrations that the kids loved.

Malagasy children at the Kid's Day flock around Buddy Barrel the mascot for BGMC.

Throughout the week the team asked about the ongoing ministry in Madagascar and how they could pray and participate further in helping us in our work. BGMC has been such a blessing to us over the years. There was never a day this week when we slowed down, but in the end, everyone was glad to know they squeezed the life out of each and everyday day they spent with us. They left fulfilled and exhausted and we remained behind tired, but extremely encouraged. Thanks BGMC for making this past week possible. We are so blessed to have so many great supporters.

Kelly Presson as Ahh-Choo amazes the children at the Kid's Day celebration.

Clean Water Makes A Difference!

Pastor Gervais displays the clean water he has thanks to his new rain water catchment system.

Clean water is the most important commodity on the earth. It is more valuable than oil. It is more precious than gold. Without it you cannot live. Helping needy people gain access to clean drinking water is one of the many things we are involved with here.

Water is hand pumped from a shallow well for everyday use.

We are fortunate to be able to partner with the Africa Oasis Project through Assemblies of God World Missions as well as other interested individuals. Together we are making a difference in the lives of numerous communities in Madagascar.

Pastor Gervais checks the water level in his rainwater storage tank.

On the east coast we were recently able to help two churches and their communities by building rainwater catchment systems for their church roofs. In many areas on the east coast, the water table is very shallow and creates a difficult situation. At shallow levels, the water is easy to find but very polluted, but if you dig too far down you hit ocean water and it is undrinkable. There is a very thin band of acceptable water to be had, but it is hard to hit it just right. Most villages just drink the water they can access close to the surface but are faced with numerous water borne diseases as a result.

Another rainwater water catchment system in Foule Pointe, Madagascar.

In consultation with a local NGO who specializes in clean water projects, we sought a solution that would assure clean water for drinking for these communities. After an onsite inspection and testing, a three-pronged approach was used. A hand pump well was installed for everyday water use into the midrange clean water aquifer, then a water catchment system was constructed using the church roofs and a holding tank to gather drinking water, in addition, better constructed outhouses were dug far from where the wells were installed to ensure against possible under ground contamination.

Pastor Jose and his family pastor on the east coast of Madagascar.

Both pastors are very happy with the projects. Both tanks were quite full of clean drinking water when we visited recently. The pastors explained that the local community and their believers come by the church daily to fill their water bottles with clean drinking water. Both pastor’s families told me that their children had been free from diarrhea, the number one killer of children in the 3rd world, for many months. These types of stories make us so glad to have partners in prayer and support like you.