On March 7 2020, I left Miami for Madagascar with a team from Saint Andrew’s School Boca Raton, Florida. I was the representative from the congregation of the Chapel of Saint Andrew, which is located on the school grounds.
We were on a short-term mission trip to visit the children in the village of Manamby, too small to find on a map. We flew into Morondava, on the west coast, from the capital, Antananarivo, and then drove to Manamby. This visit was part of a larger plan to someday build a school for the children there.
The team was to return to Miami via South Africa and I would continue on to Toliara for a six-week visit with the Rev Patsy and Bishop Todd McGregor and the people in the Diocese of Toliara compound.
On March 17, Mme Holy (the wife of Bishop Samitiana) and I left the capital Antananarivo on the two-day overland trip to Toliara. Little did I know at the time that my planned 6-week mission trip in Toliara would extend to 9 months and that I would return to Miami on December 15, 2020.
While in Toliara I stayed on the Diocesan Compound in the guest room in the Women’s Center.
The second day I arrived, I was asked to quarantine for two weeks because there was a concern that Neny Holy and I had been exposed to Covid-19 on the trip to Toliara. During that time of quarantine, my only interaction with anyone was through the window to the outside. I loved this opportunity!
I have always wanted to visit a cloister and here I was. It was a wonderfully quiet time for reflection and rest. Plus, it was so hot that for the first few weeks I mostly slept. I later learned that the average annual rainfall in the spiney desert of Toliara is 16 inches. This was not a challenge for me. I grew up in the Central Valley of California where the average annual rainfall was 13 inches. However, I later learned from Google sources that the dewpoint of Toliara ranged between muggy, oppressive and miserable. When I arrived in March, it was definitely “miserable” 24/7.
By April, it became clear that I would be in Madagascar indefinitely. A few days after my arrival in Toliara, the Madagascar borders had been closed due to Covid-19. International flights had been suspended and interior travel was curtailed to commercial transportation of food and life-giving items.
I soon settled into a routine. Each day started with my morning wakeup call by the roosters crowing around 5 a.m.
Due to Covid-19 there were restrictions on the number of people who could gather in a single location. So instead of regular corporate prayer which was the normal practice on the diocesan compound, a schedule was set up so that two households would meet for daily evening prayer. During my visit, I joined different households in prayer depending on the rotation schedule.
About a week after my quarantine time, I was able to access internet and I started to communicate with my family and church community. The typical American question arose, “what do you do all day?” So, I would say that during my time there I developed relationships, by spending time with people. I really came to experience the saying, “God uses us just as we are and wherever we are.”
With regard to the “doing aspects” :
I participated in the regular schedule of corporate prayer such as the monthly days of diocesan prayer and fasting and the intermittent Sunday services. These were special spirit-filled times that deepened my understanding and experience of prayer.
Holy ( Bishop Samy’s wife) and Emily Nell making a presentation in the Cathedral It is hard to talk and wear a mask!
I offered to tutor English, teach the basic Order of Saint Luke program of Christ’s Healing Miracles to the students of the Bible College, and introduce and teach the concept of Blessing Prayer developed by Roy Godwin, Russ Parker and others.
I helped to write a grant proposal to continue the Rooted in Jesus program and other spiritual and leadership development programs in the diocese. We learned on Thanksgiving Day that the proposal was funded for the next two years! What jubilations!!
It became clear to me that I needed to suggest projects that required a minimum of sustained attention, so I encouraged xeriscaping — let’s support God by growing local plants that will survive without water or much attention.
I encouraged the cleaning up of the land in the compound – clearing areas around the cactus rather than pulling out the cactus. I kept saying “let’s support the way God plants this area”. And indeed once the grass and vines had been cleared, the cactus really popped out and they were in blossom. So it was very effective.
I paid Seliny 5000 Ariary to cut grass for 3 hours as my contribution to help maintain the compound. She took the grass home to feed her zebu.
Doing this the Malagasy way…Emily Nell and Fiadanana, sitting on a cement bench that Jacky Lowe gifted through a grant proposal
I wanted to clean up the area outside of Holy’s office. And, as a result a bench was put out there so she could sit outside. I do not think they would have even thought to put one there till the grass and vegetation had been cleared to show off the trees and the cactus.
I met with Rev Patsy McGregor on a regular basis, acting as her sounding board and editor as she created several devotionals, some of which incorporate reflections on life during this worldwide pandemic.
Most of all during this time, I developed friendships that will last a lifetime.
A Honduran reporter once said that San Lorenzo was a village forgotten by man and God. Yet God had not forgotten. He used this report to inspire a Honduran priest to reach out to this isolated mountain community of subsistence farmers. Missionary Jeannie Loving went along and began to serve the people in the name of Christ in 2008. A church formed. Jeannie began to dream that this spiritual community would have its own building.
God opened the door for other projects first. Jeannie coordinated construction of a playground and a community center made of ram-packed earth. Several groups began to use this center, including a kindergarten and the new church. Eventually, Jeannie fixed up a simple house so she could be rooted in the lives of the people.
Hunger arising from crop failure is a regular occurrence in San Lorenzo. The villagers raise crops for their families’ daily food, usually without surplus to sell. Jeannie was eager to help them farm successfully. She applied her experience as an organic gardener to train farmers. Jeannie started a demonstration farm where she shows how to develop rich soil through composting. People receive seeds and seedlings.
Jeannie saw the community’s hunger for God, too. She organized Bible studies with the help of fellow Christians gifted in teaching. People have attended those studies enthusiastically. Jeannie says that “their greatest spiritual need is one we all have: to forgive. It is by forgiving that you are forgiven. We need a lot of forgiveness.”
When the Diocese of Honduras approved construction of the church building, Jeannie’s decade-old dream began to be realized. SAMS Missionary and Architect Jack Melvin designed the building with input from the community. Jack shares that Edil, a member of the church and the chief contractor, “is a true craftsman, who puts love into his work.” Construction proceeded quickly in spite of a pause due to the pandemic – and with no electric tools! The priest, Father Victor, who serves three churches, preaches and leads Holy Eucharist every two weeks. Jeannie says “He is very pastoral. He sends all the vestry members daily encouragement, stories, and Bible passages.” Iglesia Santa Maria Magdalena now has its own space in which they can serve the community, thanks to generous Senders who caught the vision God planted in Jeannie’s heart.
SAMS Missionaries Dr. Rusty and The Rev. Tammy Firestone have served in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for nearly two decades. Today, La Trinidad Anglican Church, which Tammy pastored for 10 years, is now under Bolivian leadership. The church actively shares the hope of Christ in word and deed. During months of strict lockdown from the pandemic, small groups have engaged in neighborhood outreach to foster discipleship and care for others. They named the effort “Project Salt.” The small groups have delivered groceries and other essential items to needy neighbors, reminding them – as one elderly woman cried out in joy – that God has not forgotten about them. La Trinidad is living out its mission to be the salt and light of Christ.
Pictured above: Second from right, Rev. Juan Cris is installed as priest at La Trinidad. On the left, Rev. Tammy lifts up the Bolivian pastoral leadership in prayer.
Rev. Tammy shared the Gospel in word and deed at La Trinidad in various capacities for a total of 15 years.
When the pandemic hit, La Trinidad responded by coordinating efforts to deliver groceries to parishioners and neighbors around the city. This was no small feat, as the lockdown was strict and people could only leave home one (assigned) day per week. In this picture, Pastor Juan is getting ready to make a delivery.
In Ambridge, Pa., SAMS has long enjoyed a warm partnership with Trinity School for Ministry (TSM). TSM’s academic buildings are just across and up the street from the SAMS office. SAMS and TSM share an interest in reaching the world with the Gospel through the Anglican church. Recently SAMS Missionary Russ Smith, in Chile, became an adjunct professor of Missions for TSM’s online Spanish Academic Program. Over the summer he taught the class World Mission to eight students from Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. Biblical training helps empower Spanish-speaking church leaders for ministry. As the Lord leads, the Gospel inspires them to share the good news globally. Read more about Russ’s ministry training church leaders on page 19 of TSM’s Seed & Harvest magazine.
In conversation, Russ explains that due to history and culture, Latin Americans are uniquely positioned to bring the Gospel to areas of the globe that are difficult for U.S. citizens to enter.
Mobilizing Latin Americans for mission has been a conviction on Russ’s heart for 41 years. His leadership at the Rural Bible Institute in Chile and now his teaching for TSM help fulfill this calling on his life.
Pictured above: A graduation ceremony of Rural Bible Institute students in Chile. Russ Smith is in the top row on the left.
If you find this topic interesting, you may wish to learn more about the Latin American mission movement here.
