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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Seeking His Glory in the midst of Change

Several weeks ago we were finishing up a study of the book of James with the young believers in Sambava.  These men have been having Bible study at our supervisors, Kurtis and Holly's, house a little less than a year.  Some of the men had read about baptism and wanted to be baptized while other men said they did not know enough about the church in order to be baptized.  There are several types of churches in this area, but few if any solely teach the Bible here in Sambava, Madagascar.  So the Baptist church and sole submission to God's word is new.  We decided that when we were finished studying James we would study Acts.  This would help the men understand what a true church is.  It's been great to learn under our supervisors, God has richly blessed us with their mentorship.

We recently studied James 4:13-15
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Little did we know that the teaching from this passage would come into affect very soon in all of our lives.

Last week Kurtis and Holly came to our house with sad news.  They will be going back to the USA to have their baby, but due to pregnancy risks they will have to leave this coming week and be gone for a long time.  It is possible that they will not be able to return here due to medical reasons.  Then came the second wave of change, since the next closest supervisors are 20+ hours away from us we will not be able to stay in this city. 
We prayed and asked God to reign over this situation.  We were led to ask for the decision to be reconsidered for us to stay in Sambava and continue the ministry here.  However, it was not approved and this Wednesday we will be moving to Fort Dauphin, Madagascar.  God is giving us peace with this and we look forward to how He will use us for His glory in this new area.

Many changes come with our move.  Leaving our friends and young believers here, learning a new city, learning a new dialect of Malagasy (which seems to be completely different than what we have studied for a month and a half), moving our belongings, and meeting new supervisors and team mates.  Many times in the past week and a half we have just had to say, "God, you are still God."  We have already seen His peace overwhelm us.  Wow!  Some of the things He's shown me through reading John during this time, I wish I could write them all to you.  I know He is seeking my good(molding me like Jesus) and His glory through this rough situation.  I've seen Him take ugly situations in the past and make them beautiful.  I pray He gives me a glimpse of the beauty in the future, but for now we will trust Him and expect His greatness to come of the heartbreaking present.

Last week we had to tell the men at Bible study the sad news.  We retold James 4:13-15 and told them the news.  They were shocked that their teachers were leaving.  We tried to answer all the questions they had about the situation and we have all committed to pray that Kurtis and Holly can return next year.  "Can other people come teach us the Bible?" they asked.

Then we began to read Acts with them as we had planned.  Do you know what the beginning of Acts records?  I believe God knowing ahead of time the situation prepared this study for us.  The disciples are standing looking up into the sky because Jesus has just ascended into heaven.  I think half of them were thinking, "What do we do now??"  They soon remembered what Jesus had been teaching them for years.  They received the Holy Spirit in their hearts and began to preach the gospel.  "Repent and be baptized in Jesus name!"  Thousands of people were baptized in the first days of "the church."  The church learned together, fellowshipped together, ate together, and prayed together.

I'm not saying we are Jesus himself, but I imagine that on Wednesday when we fly out of Sambava the men will be standing there just like Jesus' disciples.  These new believers from the Bible study are having to grow up fast like the disciples did when Jesus ascended, but just as the disciples did, these men have something better than a teacher, they have God's Spirit!  We entrust them to the Father.  I pray they will continue to learn, fellowship, eat, and pray together.

I can already see God's glory shining in the midst of sadness.
Yesterday, not just the 2 men that wanted to be baptized, but 5 men made a public proclamation of their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism!  These are leaders of this town, business men, leaders of families, and forever changed men of God.
There is already talk about where Bible study will take place next week when we are gone.
To add another "Halleluiah" to all of this, one of the villages a well was dug in last month has asked that these men come teach them the Bible.  We have given the men this challenge and they are excited to begin this ministry!

There is a hard road ahead of these new children of God.  Please earnestly pray for them as they continue to grow in their relationship with God.  Ask God to give them opportunities to pray and see His answers that will build their trust in Him.

Although Leah and I are very sad to leave our new home and friends and travel to the opposite end of this huge island, we know that God will provide.  Pray for His glory to come of it all!  He has sent us out and we continue to follow Him--wherever.

Seeking His Glory in the midst of Change,

Andrew
I was "Happy" and rejoicing!




Indian Ocean Baptism=Watch out for that wave!

To God be the Glory!

2 comments:

  1. Hello Andrew & Leah from North Carolina! I am Anna & my husband is Chris, we are the Joyce's. Andrew I believe we met you at East Side, where your mom & Mr. Todd go to church, many years ago. Chris & I are also missionaries to jails, prisons & juvenile detention here in the states. We are members at East Side. We have been hearing of the exciting things going on there with the ministry & now with the move. You are in our prayers! We can not see what lies ahead for any of us but we try to walk in faith that our Lord will take care of us in every situation. For us it may be the trial of a fight breaking out in the cell where we are ministering, for you all it may be getting sent somewhere new when you just got to where you are. Trusting the Lord is just that, TRUSTING! One step at a time! May our Lord Bless you as you take your next step & may you know there are a bunch of folks back here in NC praying for you! God Bless you!!! In Service for our Lord, Mrs. Anna Joyce

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  2. Andrew and Leah, thank you for the update. May God bless you as you transition to the other side of the island. The small group of single adults that I teach on Wednesday nights is studying through the book of Acts right now as well. It is neat to know that fellow believers are studying the same text of Scripture, though they are half way around the globe. It was wonderful to hear of the proclamations of faith and the baptisms. God's glorious Kingdom is growing and it's great to see that you are a very important part of it. Blessings again. Curt Dean

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