May Flashback

Duncan – June 6th Update

May was a fantastic monthly since first and foremost I celebrated my first anniversary of serving as a missionary in Madagascar; this was on 1st May. At that time I was in Fort dauphin doing church-planting from19th April to 25th May.

Generally, the first two weeks of May, Rev Donne and I were looking for church-land almost daily but the pieces of land that we saw were too small and so up to this moment the search continues and I request for prayers for land. We were also looking for a house for over 10 evangelists that we were to host for a week from 19th May as well as trying to furnish it.

We were advertising almost every week in a local radio station about the new church as well as the evangelism week slated for 19th to 23rd May. On the Sundays of 2nd, 9th and 16th May we had 24, 22 and 31 adults respectively attending the new church. The church had an international angle with me as a Kenyan there and I befriended an American who also came, one of those Sundays. I preached on Sunday 16th May on why the Church evangelizes to prepare the Christians for the week of evangelism that was to begin on 19th May. We managed in those two or so weeks to get a house for the evangelists as well as bedding and utensils.

We got authorization from the local government to preach and show the Jesus film every evening from 19th to 23rd May and also secured a public address system. The evangelists arrived on Monday 18th May having traveled 619km from Toliara where I live and a Christian fetched them from the bus station and drove them to their residence.

From 19th to 23rd we did house to house evangelism in the mornings and ministered and showed the Jesus film in the evenings. I preached on the 19th which was the first day of the evening program and it went well. Many people came to listen to this fazaha from Kenya. Fazaha is the word here for a foreigner. Many people prayed the prayer of salvation.

I deliberately preached on that first day because many of the evangelists who were there had never done mass evangelism before and needed to learn how to do it. It was not easy for me and Victor during this mission because the Bishop entrusted the mission funds to us yet there were three Reverends with us but the evangelism week went well. On Sunday 24th, 49 people were in the Sunday service which was a big disappointment to me since many people were gathering daily for the evening program and there was lunch provided by one of the Christians for all who came for the service.

So pray for that new church that it may grow in every way.

I am still developing an evangelism program for the year and continue to ask for prayer. I am now back in Toliara and reveling in what God did in fort dauphin. We have an evangelist in charge of that new church temporarily, since we have only four priests and they are tied-up. The evangelists are also few. The evangelist that was sent there serves in another church. We need new evangelists and missionaries to come here. Is God calling you?