Children of God
Our children have become some of the regular village kids. They squat nearby as they watch a man build his canoe. They gather in the crowded cooking hut with all the other village kids to eat a plate of rice and sour mango salad…
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Our Double Lives
Where we are now is about as close as we can come to being on the exact opposite side of the world from where we were just a month ago. Sometimes that’s what it can feel like, going from one side of the planet to the other – like we’re standing upside down…
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Treasure
How could I take a 9-month-old, and a 2 ½-year-old and a 4-year-old to a place where they could get sick or hurt and be days away from medical care? A place with no schools, where my wife and I would have to struggle to educate them, where they would be exposed to demonic activity and where child trafficking happens? I was ashamed of myself that I was not strong enough to pay that price.
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Traveling in the US
We’ve been working on our travel and speaking schedule while here in the US, and we’re excited about all the opportunities that have come up. Read here for an up-to-date list of our travel and speaking schedule while in the US.
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PHOTOS: Our Team Arrives on Nosy Mitsio! Nov 2014 – June 2015
In November 2014, our team finally arrived to join us on Nosy Mitsio, Madagascar! Here are photos of their first 8 months in Madagascar, activities and learning as a team, a Malagasy “rodeo”, a local funeral, a couple med-evac’s, and more. 110 photos
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New Life
And so begins our bold ministry to the Antakarana. Whether working in the rice fields, sitting on our porches or fishing, we will speak of the God of creation and boast of him in all that we do, lifting up prayers and thanks to him as our friends watch and see that he is a part of every aspect of our lives.
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PHOTOS: Living Life on Nosy Mitsio, Dec 2013 – Nov 2014
These are all the photos since we found and purchased our team boat (Dec 2013), finished building and stocking all the homes of our team members, and went to Tana to pick them up in Nov 2014. During that whole time, we continued learning language, building relationships, getting used to life on Nosy Mitsio, and just getting ready for our team’s arrival. 153 photos
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The Mess of Life
It’s quiet here, nothing but the sound of light waves hitting the shore. Everybody’s gone to a spirit possession ceremony and party. Apparently the spirit of someone’s grandfather is sitting inside of her and has made her sick for two years. The spirit needs to be called out so it…
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His Only Son
At the bottom of the first five steps of our outdoor stairway, Matimu was laying, toppled over under his walker. He had just started to cry. Lora got there first and picked him up, but I was the first to see the blood pouring out of his mouth, dripping on the ground. I grabbed Matimu from Lora and started running…
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Latest News
Six years ago, I first took this photo of "Port St Louis" (essentially the "gateway" to Nosy Mitsio). It's still one of the most beautiful photos I've ever taken! Even from the start, we really put a LOT of effort into getting started and initiating ministry on Nosy Mitsio. Of course, that makes it even more sad how things turned out at the end of our time there. But God is good and we know he has good things in store for the future! He's not done with us or with the Antakarana people of northern Madagascar and we look forward to continuing to work alongside God in reaching them. Faithfully following Jesus is full of both beauty and sorrow, painful struggles and hopeful anticipation - just like Jesus's own life. We're pressing on!
This is a great little article, written by some missionaries working with a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea. They do a good job stating some of the common criticisms of missions and also provide a good response from direct experience. Many of the things he writes about are also criticisms we've encountered and his responses are similarly true!
Five Secular Myths about Missions
fromdanielsdesk.com
This is a guest post by my friend Trevor Johnson, a missionary to the remote Korowai people of central Papua, Indonesia. Please enjoy his unique perspective on modern mission work! April 1874 R...We've had a great first month at YWAM Ozarks! We've enjoyed the relaxing environment, participating in the community activities, and the good times of fellowship. We've also had many opportunities to spend time with family, which has been great for all of us. This week we're in Tulsa! We'll be visiting our home church Sanctuary Tulsa tomorrow, spending time with family and friends, and celebrating my birthday and Independence Day. God has been very good to us during this time!
Please pray for us as we consider dates for returning to Madagascar. Pray also that all the arrangements and things necessary for our continuing visas would be taken care of as God wills and in his timing.
We've had a great first week back in the US, enjoyed spending time with family, and celebrating Matimu's 8th birthday! Tomorrow we'll be heading to YWAM Ozarks to begin the second part of our sabbatical there. Excited about it!
We had a great time in Dumphries last week (our former village in South Africa during our time in the Peace Corps)! We were showered with generosity and hospitality. It was so awesome to see how everyone's doing and how so many of the kids we worked with are growing up. We enjoyed visiting the schools we worked at and we also enjoyed catching up with our host family. God has blessed us with a great time and great relationships in this part of South Africa! Here are a few of our favorite photos (and our favorite people) from Dumphries.
Tomorrow we board the plane to return to the US to continue our sabbatical for a time there!