i know i am no expert on africa, and have been to very few places on the continent, but.... i think i can say with confidence that Madagascar is one of the most unique places throughout it all.

Antanarivo, the capitol of the island was our first stop. Driving on the crowded roads that seem like they should be one way....but, of course, being that it's africa, there is always room for many lanes...i was constantly amazed at the m's there as they drove along the winding, hilly streets, dodging chickens, goats, sheep, cows, people, and then other crazy drivers...one of the journey girls driving us around said, "oh, you just get used to it..." ha. and i thought driving in jo burg was bad.

all in all, it was a good trip. we spent a night in Antanarivo. The layout reminds me of italy, so from a distance it's so beautiful...but, up close, it is...well...a typical african city...

on tuesday, we flew to Tuliar to meet up with the couple we shadowed throughout the week. They are an amazing family, and God is using them in mighty ways in the work He is doing in that area...it's just inspiring to be around people who have one focus...single minded, undivided hearts to their God, and to telling others about Him...

I hope I can be like that one day...

Grant has done Bible storying with several of the villages in the area, particularly focusing on the Mahafaley people...so, on Wed, we drove out to those villages to meet the people and get video footage and photographs of the people. It was a 4 hour drive. One hour of it was on paved road, and the rest was on...well...ha....it's hard to even call it a road with all the mud, deep pot holes, and terrain that seemed to vary with every minute of our drive. Just driving down such a bumpy road was enough to make us exhausted by the time we arrived in the village. It had been raining a lot during our visit, so there were many times when we would drive through what seemed like deep, huge ponds, and i couldn't help but wonder how the water was NOT seeping into the truck...and even MORE to my amazement, that we did not get stuck...

it was quite a miracle. ha

TIA (this is africa).

anyway

Through Bible storying with the peoples a few months ago, Grant saw about a 100 men and women from 2 of the villages accept Christ! Knowing that many times, tribal villages will make decisions as a group, Grant stressed to them that it had to be an individual decision to follow Christ. So, one by one, the people stood up and said they wanted to make such a commitment.

So, during our trip down there, we got to witness Grant and a local pastor baptize some of those new believers! They did teaching on baptism...how the water doesn't save you, only God does...and they also had a discussion about the charms the people were wearing...telling them that since Christ was now their Lord, there was no need to carry on the superstitions the charms represent.

So, as we made our way down to the water, the believers took off their charms and were then baptized! It was so awesome to see the Spirit at work in their lives!

Now comes the hard part...discipling. And the workers are few. They need help training these new believers, teaching them the word so that they no longer have to depend on the white man...but can themselves be deeply rooted in the truth of His word, and then go forth and share this good news with their surrounding neighbors...it is amazing how a national can have a much greater influence on his/her own people than a foreigner....

We left the next morning to head back to Tuliar along the same, hard road, spent a day with Grant and his family, and then started our journey back to Jo burg.

I'm so thankful I got to go on this trip. Even though I know nothing about taking pictures with such expensive cameras, it was still fun to try and capture the moments, the people who are absolutely beautiful because they're made in the image of our God...and then to even get to photograph the baptism and capture such moments in time where the Spirit was at work, and God was claiming lives for His Kingdom...it was...well...just. incredible.

thank you for all your prayers!

so, i got to go to this awesome art gallery that has a collection of art from all over Africa... check out the incredible craftmanship of some of the artisans throughout this continent...

this is a little bit bigger than lifesize, and it's a sculpture of a woman all made from wire!...and her dress is made from sprite cans....it's so much cooler in real life, but it was really amazing.



anyway, i'm trying to learn all i can about the art world on this continent...so hopefully there will be a way to connect it somehow to the gospel. It's overwhelming, though. There are about 2500 different tribes in Africa, and they all have their own traditions, customs, art methods, etc....so, to research African art...where do you start??? May God lead me. :). He'll have to.

tomorrow, I'm headed for Madagascar to help one of the videographers with a coverage she is working on....they're letting me tag along so i can get some experience with photography....but, it's overwhelming, because i don't have much experience with their crazy, thousands of dollar cameras....but, i am excited about getting to go to this island and see another part of Africa.

Just, pray we have safe travels...but, even more so, that we can be an encouragement to the m's there, and that we can have opportunities to share His hope with those we encounter....