Comment Below :)

Hey everyone!

Today, technology wins because the cool awesome poll I put up on the right side to see how many people can come to the presentation isn't working.

So :) if you can come I would love it if you could comment below! You can always e-mail me as well!

Thanks so much!

Tell Me What You Want...

what you really really want, oooooohh
I'll tell you what I want
what I really really want

I want you to come to my presentation about my time in Madagascar a zigga zig aaah

I may have slightly changed the lyrics to that song... but it was necessary given the current situation.
YOU'VE JUST BEEN INVITED!
YES.
YOU!

What: Mary's Madagascar Presentation
Where: North Country Christian Center
            116 Adams Ave.
            Eveleth, MN
When: November 3, 6PM
Who: You and hopefully other people so I don't talk to an empty sanctuary!

You can RSVP by answering the poll at the top of this blog on the right side :) That way I know how much coffee and snacks to bring! (the coffee and food will be Madagascarian... Madagascan... something from Madagascar)

I hope you can come so I can share with you the experience you made possible! I also want to be able to thank all of you personally for your prayers and financial support. I really couldn't have done it without you!

I hope to see you all in a few weeks!!

The Beginning of the End

A new month is here already again! I can't believe it's already the middle of August and I only have a month left in Madagascar. There has been a lot going on the past few weeks. English classes have continued Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We've started a new English class on Mondays and Thursdays during the day at a local school. These classes have been very fun to teach because the kids are really great.

I've still been doing Malagasy lessons Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings but I have my last lesson on Friday! I'm happy with the progress I made in language, but I still wish I could've gone a bit further with it. The boys and I have still been doing English schooling when they are done with their French classes. When we aren't doing school things, we've been doing lots of fun activities like going to the beach, making crafts and visiting Maxi the lemur (he used to live in their yard, but now he's about to be released into the wild!)

I've been really lucky to have Josianne as a good Malagasy friend in Toliara. A few weeks ago we went to a soccer game together. She's been so generous. She is always willing to practice Malagasy with me or take me around town or to meet her family. She is going on a vacation very soon after her exams, but I'm hoping to see her in Tana one more time before I leave.

Last Saturday I was also given the opportunity to "preach" at the English service at the Anglican Church. I attended the English service quite a few times because many English students attend and it was nice to talk with them. Their tradition is to have someone, from those who attend, lead or preach each week. I tried to avoid preaching as much as possible because I am really not good at it. God did not gift me with skills necessary to preach. I'm not just one of those people who says that and is actually really good at it... I'm really not good at it... I'm really really bad at it. However, I eventually gave in... mainly because they put my name on the schedule before I could say no. It actually went fairly well, I think. God helped me through that one.

Here's the sad news... Josianne took pictures for me while I was preaching so I could post them on here, but I got slightly trigger happy with my delete button and I accidentally trashed them.... 

...on both my computer and my camera. 

oops.

Currently I can still see the pictures in my trash folder, but it won't let me restore them. So... hopefully soon I can inquire a computer genius and he or she can get the pictures back for me.

Here's what the next month looks like:

On Monday I leave for Tana. I will have one week there meeting and preparing with the children's program team before retreat. We'll all leave on Sunday, the 25th, for Mahajanga. We'll have one week of retreat in Mahajanga. The Schafflers and I will high tale it back to Toliara and I'll have about a week and a half here. On the 10th of September I'll go back to Tana on a taxibus, where I will be reunited with my Brazilian family! Then, on the 14th of September I'll get on a big 'ole plane and head back to America. It still doesn't seem possible that I'll be home in a month. I have mixed feelings about it. 

Prayer request 1: Pray that God would use us to help the kids have fun and learn about Him on retreat. Pray that it would be a relaxing and re-energizing time for all the missionaries.

Prayer request 2: Pray for safe travel for all the random ways we'll be moving around Madagascar this next month.

:)

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

Modge Podge

May I present a random collection of thoughts, experiences and pictures:

First thing's first... THANK YOU!!

I was going to post a thank you to all of you who helped in sending me a package that I received and I'm sorry it's so late, but it's happening now!

We have been enjoying all of the contents of this package. The boys and I made the fake snow, we've been drinking the hot chocolate and we've made quite a few batches of delicious nachos with the taco seasoning. Thank you so much for your generosity in sending it. It was a massive package!! 

I thought this would also be a good time to share the photos from when I was able to see the kids get their Christmas boxes! They were all very excited.

It was really amazing to see the other side of the Christmas box project, but was also a little disheartening. Corruption is ever present in Madagascar, even in distributing Christmas boxes to kids.

Since we're rolling on the pictures I'll go ahead and share some from things Micah and I have been doing like playing with play-doh, practicing fine motor skills and learning the letters in his name. He is hilarious and I enjoy him so much. He's my buddy.

Also here is a picture from when we celebrated Madagascar's Independence Day! All of the kids get these lanterns and carry them around at night when the fireworks go off. They're all hand made out of paper and inside is a place to put a small candle... possibly not the most fireproof lantern ever made... but it works as long as you don't shake it too much.

So there you have it. The most random blog post ever. I'm so thankful for all of your support and prayers! Thank you so much! A longer blog post to come soon!

Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Luke 17:33

Balafomanga!

I'm finally writing an updaaaaaate! All kinds of things have been happening like...

Madagascar's Independence Day! It was last Wednesday. We went to fireworks (balafomanga in Malagasy... I think this word is wonderful) on Tuesday night and then to a parade the next morning. It was one of those moments when something that reminds me of home suddenly shows up in the middle of a completely different world. The parade was a great time, though. I went with my language helper, Vohangy and Kara and the three boys. I was finally able to see the drummer girls I'd been hearing so much about. They drum at different events, and I think on most weekends, as part of a program meant to keep them from becoming prostitutes. They are amazing!

I was able to see a few English students there and some other friends, which was so nice. That part of it reminded me of 4th of July parades when you run into everyone who's known you since you wore diapers and footy pajamas. I loved it. 

It was a bit odd thinking about celebrating a day like this with all the political hullaballoo going on. It almost seemed like we were celebrating something that wasn't real. The elections have now been pushed back to August 23rd. There are still three candidates running illegally and a lot of funding from other countries has been pulled because of it. Prayers are definitely needed for this country when it comes to its leadership because things are so blatantly corrupt.

The boys have their last week of French school this week, so we'll be upping the English schooling more during the break. We've been reading lots of books, which has been fun. And we've also been doing some of our favorite activities like playing ninjas and lego and our newest favorite... Monopoly! It was Luke's birthday a few weeks ago so he had a ninja birthday party and one of his presents was Monopoly. He's beaten all of us the couple times we've played so we're trying to end his winning streak.

There is a woman here who has just started up a class teaching women how to heal from loss and I was able to go to one of her classes a few weeks ago as well. God is really moving through her and changing the women's lives in amazing ways. Prayers for her ministry and relationships with the women would great!

Our unit retreat is coming up very soon at the end of August! I'm leading the children's program again this year so I've just finished most of the planning for it. We have a lot of kids this year and it's been amazing to see how God has provided people to help with the program.

I led my first solo English class last week and it was so great! It's a beginner's class and luckily there's a great teaching guide I was able to use that helped a lot. It was slightly difficult trying to explain some of the directions in Malagasy, so there was a lot of confusion and laughter. Although I can see that I've gotten better, I still have a long way to go with language. Thankfully there were some students who spoke pretty good English and they were able to help me translate a lot of things.

I've also been preparing for my GRE exam coming up in October... dun dun dun! So everything has been keeping me pretty occupied and has made time go very quickly. I honestly can't believe I only have two and a half months left. I can already feel that I'm going to miss a lot of things about Madagascar.

Prayer request 1: That I will be focused on what God has to teach me during my last couple months here and that I will stay diligent in language learning.

Prayer request 2: Wisdom for the future and trust that God will open up a job opportunity for my time between coming back and hopefully going to grad school.

Prayer request 3: A few missionaries have finished their time here and are headed home, so prayers for comfort for them as they've said good bye to the friends and life they've made here.

For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Luke 11:13

All Systems Go

You know those times when everything starts happening at once and all of a sudden it's been two months and you don't even know what happened during them?

This happened to me.

Just recently.

Which is why I haven't blogged in what seems like years and now I'm not sure how to pack it all in.
I suppose the best thing to do in these situations is to just... go for it. So. LET'SDOIT.

Eh hem. To begin this particular blog I will fill you in on a few of the fun and educational activities that Luke, Jo Jo, Micah and I have been doing...

Fun educational activity #1: We made a family tree! Wooo! I forgot to take pictures of this one... my bad.

Fun educational activity #2: We made newspapers! We still write articles in them about adventures we've had or books we've been reading!

Fun educational activity #3: We went on a photo scavenger hunt around the yard and watched a video on composition and using angles when taking pictures.

Fun educational activity #4: We made a tornado in a jar and we watched a video about storm chasers...

Fun educational activity #5: We learned about vikings and made shields... and our can of spray paint exploded...

The two secret weapons of fun and educational activities I have learned are: Pinterest and Prayer. Yep. The two P's. First prayer... then Pinterest... then prayer again.

Mmm okay. So after doing many fun and educational activities with the boys, I traveled up to the north of Madagascar with two other short term girls to help with the training of a new TIMO team. We did a kids' program while the parents did their training. The training was in Ambanza, but the team was going to be based in a village in Nosy Be, a smaller island of Madagascar. We flew into Nosy Be and then took a speed boat across, back to the mainland to get to Ambanza. We were there for a week, staying in a hotel. It was amazing how fast we connected with team members, we were all sad to say good bye to them.

When the training was over we were able to go with the team to the village for their welcome meal. There was a delicious meal all prepared for us with music and decorations. The president of the village spoke as well as a very well-respected man in the village. It was amazing to see how willing they were to welcome the team to their home; they explained that the team was welcome in any hut in the village. They also encouraged the team to speak with them even if they couldn't understand each other.

We went with the team members to move into their huts as well. It was a really moving experience to watch them cry as they were finally given their keys and were prayed over in their huts for the two years of ministry ahead. God's presence was truly felt.

After saying one last good bye to the team, we headed off to our four day vacation at a villa in Nosy Be. This was a complete switch over from where we had just been and it felt a little weird at first as we thought of the team with no running water or electricity. However, we had an amazing time visiting beautiful beaches, seeing lemurs and watching the sunset from the highest point on the island. It was a great retreat, break and fellowship time with the other girls. Also a good time to re-focus and spend some uninterrupted time with God.

It was back down to Toliara for me after a short night in Tana. It was comforting to get back and feel like I was coming home. The boys and Kara met me at the airport and I got four great welcome back hugs! The boys were on holiday from school so one day we went out surfing and I actually caught a pretty good wave! We also went fishing and snorkeling, and we sailed back around dinner time.

After that excursion, the Schafflers took me to a small fishing village called Sarodrano over the weekend. It was so beautiful! I got my own hut, which I quite enjoyed, and we sat by the water, ate fresh fish and lobster and got our faces painted with mud. It was another "I'd never trade that for anything" experience and at the end we sailed home! I got to stand on the outrigger to keep the boat balanced, which was awesome because the view of the water is great from out there!

Now we're back into a routine. They boys are back at French school so when they come home in the afternoons, I do some English schooling type stuff with them. I've also started language again, three times a week with my new helper Voahangy! It's a bit frustrating feeling like you're starting almost all over again, but I'm hoping what I learned in Tana can help me to get further here. I still struggle to have longer conversations with people, it's still usually very short ones... and then I get lost haha. God's teaching me patience... I like to see results quickly, that's not always possible.

English classes are going to start up and so Peter is going to teach me how to do some storying stuff with the students. That will be two nights out of the week, so it will be fun to see the things I learn there as well.

In addition to all of these things, I've felt God's calling to go to grad school for student affairs. One thing that I've realized through being here is how much I really loved the university experience and also how much I've missed it. I'm hoping to eventually work with university students either in admissions or career counseling. While this job wouldn't allow me direct ministry to students, my plan is to focus on building close relationships with students and work from that foundation.

WHOO. So. It's all happening at once. I definitely will be needing your amazing prayers for the months I have left.

Prayer request 1: Prayer for the Nosy Be team, that they would develop close relationships with the people and would trust God as they begin language learning and adapt to a new life.

Prayer request 2: That God would continue to give the creativity and tools I need to effectively teach the boys and that he'd give me patience and perseverance in language learning.

Prayer request 3: That I would know how to balance preparing for the things back home like the GRE exam and applying to grad schools, while staying focused on things here and making sure I'm paying attention to all the things God still has to teach me.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose Romans 8:28

The Unforgettable Journey

I MADE IT!

Thank you guys so much for all of your prayers about the journey. God kept everyone on the bus sick free both days!

All I can say about the view during the journey is that I can't say anything about it because nothing would describe it. IT WAS AMAZING! I tried to capture it with some pictures and videos, but it doesn't quite look the same. 

I was able to travel down with a Malagasy woman named Landy, who was so helpful and sweet. It's a long journey, so I was very grateful she was willing to go down with me.

The first day we traveled from Tana to Fianarantsoa, we left around 8am and arrived around 530pm or 6pm. Our driver was very timely and we arrived pretty early, which was great because the office at the Fianar bus station was still open so we could book our tickets for the next day. God's hand was on us there as well. We were able to stay the night in Fianar at a nice hotel, which was great.

The next morning we got to the bus station at 7am, our hotel had breakfast as well which was SO NICE. We ended up leaving around 9am, and our driver was not as punctual as the first. We stopped quite a bit, but (like I said before) the views were amazing so it didn't matter. It started to matter a little bit when  it was around 6pm and my bladder was about to explode, but God got us to Toliara around 830pm. Pete was at the station waiting for us with two of their boys, JoJo and Luke!

Check out some of these views...

Pretty amazing. God is definitely my favorite artist. Kara had dinner ready when I got to the house, which was delicious and they had my room all set up. I was able to take a shower and then pass out under my mosquito net. Yes. I get my own mosquito net. I love it. It's like camping every night. I also get a head lamp. Please refer to the photo below:

My stay here has already been so great! I'm having a blast with the three boys and I'm learning a lot from Kara and Pete. Toliara has a much more laid-back atmosphere compared to Tana, which I'm really enjoying. I'm very excited to see the way God will work while I'm here and to get into a new routine. 

In a few weeks, I'll be leaving for Nosy Be to help with the children of a TIMO team that will be based there. I'll be working with two other short-term girls, Heidi and Bailey, for two weeks! I'm very excited. I forgot I already told you that in my last post.. I'm just really excited, okay?

Prayer request: That I would continue to stay focused on God and finding strength and refuge in Him, and that I would continue to adjust to the new culture and life in Toliara!

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18:10

Goodbye Tana... it's been real.

I really can't believe I'm leaving Tana in a week and a half. My time here has been filled with challenges and amazing glimpses of God's love for me and others. 

A couple days ago I said good bye to my roommate Sara and also Leah, another short-term girl who I was blessed to meet and spend time with here. As we said good bye at the airport, it was obviously really sad, but I was also filled with a bit of excitement about starting the second half of my time here. 

Last week I also had to say good bye to my lovely dance classes, which was another surreal moment. Even though I know I'm leaving, it's hard to really wrap my head around it. 

In a few days we'll be sending off the Petrelli's who I've worked with my whole time here. It will be really sad to see them go as well, but they will be back in Madagascar before I leave, so we'll see each other again! Sending off everyone at the airport and beginning to pack myself has thrown me off a bit. I've started to think I'm going on a plane in a week and a half instead of a taxibus to Toliara.

Speaking of that taxibus... 

Prayer request 1: That our trip would go smoothly. The roads are pretty windy in some parts of the journey and most people get sick, so just that I would be able to handle any sickness that may occur and we would arrive safe and healthy.

I'll be going down with a Malagasy woman named Landy, who I met at our send-off party for Sara and Leah on Friday. She's very nice and I can't tell you enough how much it means to have her going down with me. It wouldn't be possible without her coming with me, so that's definitely a praise point for me. So yeah, that will be a two-day journey, but totally worth it because everyone says the view is amazing.

So... let me tell you a little bit about Toliara and what I know so far about my second half of ministry. They just recently got hit with a devastating cyclone and are in pretty bad shape. Last I heard 80 people had died and most people had lost their homes.

Prayer request 2: Provision for the people in Toliara and that they would draw close to God during this time, also that God would speak through the missionaries stationed there and show his love through them.

I will be living with the Schaffler family for my whole time there, which is very generous of them. My main job will be helping Kara homeschool her three boys and then I also may tag along to Peter and Kara's english classes. 

Ooooo! Also... 

THIS IS VERY EXCITING NEWS READ THIS PART FOR SURE
just in case you're skimming :)

this is the beginning of the part ---->   so, our team leader Daniel told Heidi and me about an opportunity to go to Nosy-be in April to help out with a TIMO team's kids as they do a week of training. Nosy-be is one of the most beautiful parts of Madagascar and we'll be able to see the village that Rosina and her team will be working in. It's an amazing opportunity, but Daniel told us we would have to pay for our own round-trip plane tickets. 

Heidi and I emailed our offices to see if we had any extra money that we could use toward our tickets and it turned out that we both had extra! You all have been so generous I actually had extra money, so thank you so much! Unfortunately, because I would be flying from Toliara, I have to stay over in Tana for one night which raises the price of the ticket. 

BUT.

Heidi ended up having enough to pick up the slack for me, which is extremely generous of her. So, we'll both be going to Nosy-be in April for a week!   <---- that's the end of the part 

Definitely another praise point. 

So overall, God has shown me in so many ways how much he loves me by providing in ways that I definitely don't deserve and providing opportunities I never would have thought to ask for. It's amazing how well God knows each of us and tries to knock us off our feet with his generosity. 

Just one more of these....

Prayer request 3: That I would be able to take all I've learned in Tana and apply it in Toliara.

I'm sorry it took me so long to blog! Thank you all so much for your continual support and not forgetting about me! :)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Choosing to Love

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16

Yeah. I know, I usually end my posts with a verse, but the entire subject of this post came from this verse, so I'm re-organizing just this once :)

So. We had Christmas break, which was a pretty big challenge for me because there was a lot of down time. And... time to think about missing things, which was not good. So, break was a pretty big struggle for me over all, but even when I went back to work I was finding it hard to not just want to curl up in bed and pretend I wasn't in Madagascar.

Then, I was reading my Bible one night and there was a whole passage on God being love, but the verse above stuck out to me more than the others. "God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." I had been praying for help to want to be here and help to make my heart more like His. I wanted to be able to love people no matter what was going on with my feelings or emotions. I just didn't know how to do it... again... with not knowing how to do things.

How can you constantly pour out when you feel like you have nothing left?

Then. This verse. Abide in love and you will abide in God and He in you.

Boom.

The reason I felt like I had nothing left was because I had stopped giving. That seems counter-intuitive, but when I read this verse it made me think about choosing to love. I wake up in the morning. I may not have gotten enough sleep, I may miss my family, I may not be feeling well... all of these things I can't control. But there's one thing I can control and that can make it all better: choosing to love.

If I choose to love, choose to abide in love, then I will abide in God and He will fill me up again.

Sometimes I'm not sure I get things completely right, so I tested my hypothesis the next day. I woke up, I felt the same as I had the other days before and then I looked at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath and said "today, I will love no matter what, no matter where, no matter who, no matter when"

And I walked out my door. And I had a beautiful day. A day full of smiles and meetings and funny moments. I was happy where I was and as I was giving love to others God was giving love back and I could feel it. It didn't matter how small the love was, whether it was a smile or playing ping pong on a kitchen table, it was still love and I felt like I was overflowing with it.

It's not always easy to choose to love, but I think when we do the reward exceeds the effort.

So. This is now a proven theory. Although, I haven't tested it on multiple people yet so you all can let me know how it goes for you and we can make this thing legit.

Here are some pictures from Christmas and MinJung going back to Korea that I thought I should share with you...

Pedro and Asafe decorating our "Christmas tree"

The neighborhood kids' Christmas party

MinJung before she left for Korea :(

Back to business... prayer requests:

• Health... I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple days.
• The Petrelli family as they prepare to leave for Brazil. That they would trust God for the travel, sustaining the language they've learned, and helping them to have enough time with family and friends.
• Prayers for Sandrina, the lady I've done dance things with, as she waits on some support so she can go to Hong Kong in March and eventually start a dance school here.

Happy New Year :) thank you for your prayers, they mean so much and have really been helping me through my time here.