trip to the forest

One of the groups who came to Tulear for the 2-week training came from an area called “the forest”, about 70k northeast of Tulear. We agreed, at the end of the training, that I would try to travel up there to visit them once a month, so that we could continue working on the stories. Last week I made my first trip there. I’ve taken bus trips in Madagascar before, but this was definitely a new experience! It was an “open-air” bus, full of goods and people, and luggage and charcoal and bikes were piled high on top of it. Amazingly, we never tipped over, but that 70k (43 mile) trip took us seven hours! We made many long stops. I made this trip with several chickens (live, of course) and some dead fish (and their accompanying flies), as well as about 75 other people J

But it was worth it. Of the eight people who came from this area to Tulear in March, only three could be at the training, but 12 other, new people came as well! All these people represent three different areas, and they are willing to come together with me once a month to keep learning the stories. When I was there, I believe I caught a glimpse of some big things God desires to do in this area. Jonoro, the pastor who went with me and helped me, has a passion to see the town we met in transformed, and all the surrounding areas transformed as a result. Listening to this mixed group retell the stories in the dialect of the area, I started to catch Pastor Jonoro’s vision too! Pray with us that the people of the forest will faithfully share the stories they’re crafting, and that God’s truth will spread and flourish there!