Madagascar - Visiting Churches in the Rain Forest (Day 3)

We got in last night at 11 pm local time and didn’t get to bed until 1:00 am.  We could not go to sleep right away.  Our bodies were telling us it was only 6 pm, which in fact it was in Dunedin.  The four hours of sleep was much needed, but, as it turned out, brief.

We got on the road early today.  After a 6:30 am wakeup, we had breakfast, a brief planning session, and then got in a car with Rivo (ree – voe) and Ony (oo – nay) Randrianarahy (good luck with that one).  Father and daughter.  Rivo has had his children in a private American school, so Ony’s English was excellent.  Ony was our official translator, although Rivo and most others speak English well enough that they could have done the job.

We travelled to the east of the capital city of Madagascar where we stayed the first night.  Our first stop was the city of Moramanga.   There we met with the equivalent of our presbytery executive in Tampa Bay (main leader of the region of Presbyterian churches).   His is an energetic pastor with a gregarious personality.  I liked him right away.  His name is Pastor John Rakotonindrainy and that is him in the picture with the lemur on his shoulder.  Another Pastor John. 

After tea with Pastor John and his wife, Hoby (oo –bay), we went to a Malagasy park.  It was a chance to do a bit of eco-touring.  At the park, they put us on a canoe, crossed a small creek, and there we were met by some eager lemurs.  I was the last one across the creek and by the time I joined the others, I looked up just in time to see a lemur jump from a tree onto Kelly’s shoulder.  Welcome to Madagascar.  We travelled down a trail among the Eucalyptus trees with three species of lemurs following us the whole way. 

Our next stop was a crocodile farm.  Having spent my life in Florida, this was not quite the experience others might have had, except for one interesting detail.   There were 24 large crocs in the park.   A wooded trail went around the pond that was home to those crocs.  You know how our zoos and animal theme parks make it impossible for the dangerous animals to come in contact with visitors?  Apparently that particular safety code is not a Malagasy tradition.  There were multiple places where, if wanted, the crocs could make it up the bank to the trail and even one place where all that separated us from their domain was a gate with a single bar three feet off the ground that said, “No crocs.”  

We went to a hotel afterward down the main street of town from the church and school where Pastor John and Hoby lived.  It was nap time.  Again, much needed sleep.  We then returned to Pastor John’s home and met with Pastors Jean-Luis Zarazaka and Hanta Vololana Christianne.  These three rural church pastors spent the evening telling us about the church in Madagascar and allowing us to ask them questions. 

The three pastors told us about the influence of “traditional religion,” which included medicine men, idol worship, and praying to ancestors.  They told us about miraculous healings that came through prayers of the Christians, including a couple of people healed of leprosy with no medical intervention.  Only prayer.  They told us how the typical Malagasy church worked and the practical challenges they face in doing ministry.  Transportation to remote churches and materials such as books for pastors were on the top of their list.

We took a break to visit Pastor Jean-Luis’ church.  Tomorrow will be a dedication of the church and tonight we saw the full-out production to get ready.  One team was still staining the wood floors under the pulpit. Another team was decorating the inside of the church.  Another team was putting a covering over the new outdoor seating area for the meal.  Still another team of women were around back slaughtering, plucking, and preparing a flock of chickens for the meal the next day.  It was old school food preparation.  Kill the bird, gut it, and pluck it as a social gathering. A lot of laughing around fires for warmth and others for cooking.  These groups would be there all night in order to get ready for the 9 am ceremony tomorrow.

I told Pastor Jean-Louis, whose church had spent 10 years building the church that held what looked to be about 600 people, how impressed I was.  I loved the expression he used in response.  He said it several times, “You encourage me.  Thank you.” He inspired me.

We went back to Pastor John’s and hate dinner of tilapia fish, roast beef, and rice.  Not that we were hungry.  We had not only eaten a full breakfast and lunch, but also “tea” (breads and teas) twice.  I was still full from all of the meals on the airplane.  Though it was late, though we were exhausted, we ate anyway.  Courtesy demanded it.

We exchanged gifts with the family, said goodnight, and headed to the hotel.