Question and Answer with Victor

Victor Osoro is among the very few young men who have pioneered international missions in Africa. He has been called to serve as a missionary in Toliara, Madagascar, a neglected region in the Southwest of Madagascar. Later on in the year, he hopes to be ordained as a full time minister in the Anglican Church of Madagascar. Below is a summary of a short question/answer session held with Victor during his furlough in Nairobi during May 2010.

C.A: Now that you are home how do you feel?

V.O: (Gives a long sigh…”home sweet home… I manage to read his thoughts…”) I am excited to be back home. It feels good to speak Swahili once again.

C.A: What do you like most about your mission work?

V.O: (Smiling slyly…) It‟s an exiting adventure, a journey of faith. I handle each day as it comes...cyclones, tornados...once we traveled on water for three hours...holding our hearts close to our beings we sailed through...swimming was a skill we had not acquired while in Kenya. Mmmhhh...talk about what faith can do!!

C.A: What is your favorite Malagasy food?

V.O: Mmmmhhhh….ravin‟toto. It‟s a mixture of crushed potatoe leaves and pork as stew with rice...nothing tastes better!!

C.A: With the much success, there sure are challenges, tell us more about that.

V.O: At the beginning language barrier was a mountainous challenge. People come and pour out their hearts to you in Malagasy and you are left in the dark, expected to offer a solu-
tion to a problem you have not heard. The climate is extremely hot, hotter than famous Mombasa. The sun there is definitely closer to earth than any other place. Lately there was a coup. Politically, the country is drained. As missionaries we don't have a say as much. Prayer and emotional support is the much we can offer these people. (Victor looks extremely depressed…”this must be hard for him…” I think as I prepare to focus on a much lighter topic…)

C.A: So… any parting shot? A comment perhaps?

V.O: (suddenly, with a defiant stare he looks at me.) People will always need you, but you go where people need you most. (I slowly nod in agreement, quickly doodling down the point..) I look back up. (At this point, Victor is looking away.) In Kenya there are about 20,000 missionaries, in Madagascar there are about 200 missionaries… (a hundred fold indeed !!! I think as I jot that down.) I go where people don't want to go.