Wow. This hotel was
busy last night. The hotel is right on
main street and main street was happening last night. Somewhere around midnight
there was this lovely family feud just below us. Yelling and screaming in Malagasy. Then the trucks would drive through
town. Not many of them at night, but
still there were some. And the protocol
here is to tap the horn at walkers to let them know you are there. Those horn taps were heard all night. On top of that, my room was adjacent to a
hallway with a light that you switched on and off as you used it. Someone turned the light on around 3 am and I
woke up thinking it was morning. Not a
restful night, but all was well. A good
warm shower, a clean set of clothes, and I was back on the road to
Antananarivo, the capital city.
There is an interesting expression we use about someone
moving at high speeds. We say they are
moving like a bat out of hell. When you
think about what a bat who has been to hell might have experienced there and,
given the opportunity to leave, how that bat might fly out, it is a vivid illustration. That was Reja our driver today (pictured
above next to Kelly). He was driving
fast. Safe, but fast. We didn’t mind. We were ready to get back ourselves.
In one town, we stopped to pick up a few items to bring home. There was a series of shops we visited. Whenever I meet someone here they always
assume I’m French and greet me with “bonjour.” Most vazaha (“white guy”) are
French. They are a bit surprised when I
say back to them, “Manoa aonoa,” Malagasy for “hello.”
I’m finding out that
Diamondra is quite the little negotiator.
I had a few items I wanted and was beginning to try to understand the
price. Diamondra came in and by the time
she was done the price was dropped from about $15 each to about $8 each. I’ve always enjoyed haggling in these
settings but Diamondra is a skilled professional!
I did something unusual for lunch today. I didn’t have rice. I had French Fries. I found myself wondering with all the meat
they eat and now the addition of French Fries how much high cholesterol and heart
disease are prevalent in Malagasy society.
It was a nice change of palate.
We got back into the capital city and went immediately to
Pastor Laurent’s office at the seminary. He has something important for what
I’m doing with these blog posts – high speed internet. Also, I’m finishing up for my sermon
tomorrow. I’m preaching from 1
Corinthians 1 where Paul is dealing with the divisions in the Corinthian
church. Some followed Paul, others
followed Apollos, still others followed Peter, and still others felt they had a
special connection with Christ. My call
will be for unity in the church. What’s
nice is bringing this message from another culture allows me to drive home the
unity we have in Christ. Kelly and I are
inextricably bound to the Christians here as are you. It is our shared faith in Jesus Christ that
makes it so. My message will be along
those lines.
We had dinner with doctoral student named Alfred studying at
Manchester University in England. We
were all still road weary from the trip and headed for bed early.
Tonight we will stay at Pastor Laurent and Diamondra’s
home. They live in a walled in compound
on about a third of an acre. Pastor
Laurent explained that most Malagasy never buy a home. They buy a piece of land and build a
house. Pastor Laurent and Diamondra
bought this piece of property from a student and began building a small
home. It took several years to complete. Not long afterward, Diamondra’s sister,
Ando, and her husband began building on this same property. They live in the house next door within the
compound. While they have been away in
America, Ando and her husband have been caring for the property and overseeing
another project: the building of a guest house.
This guest house has been 12 years in the making. You just build as you have money. Lately, with the coup and flight out of the
country, money has been limited. Still,
they have been slowly able to make it near move-in ready. “On your next visit here, you will stay in
our guest house,” Pastor Laurent said.
It is still a humble home, but it is nice.
I’m tired, it’s 11:30 pm, and I’m up at 6:00 am and have a
big day of worship ahead.
Thinking of you.
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