Dear brothers, sisters and friends,
The last newsletter was an extensive report on everything that happens here. This newsletter we hope to keep a little shorter, but certainly no less interesting.
The trip to Maroamboka last January
Actually, that was more or less wishful thinking. Sometimes the rains come later in the season. This time, just about all the cyclones arrived in January. Those rains that come along are great for the farmers, but less fortunate for the roads. Our friends in Maroamboka advised us not to come. Since there were no pressing matters to attend to, we called off the trip. It’s always a tough decision because you know it can only be done again two months later. On the other hand: When it rains that hard, there is not much you can do anyway. The paths become dangerously slippery and most people are poorly accessible as a result.
New Planning
During this trip, I hope to make some further arrangements with the leaders of the churches in Maroamboka. These arrangements are about mentoring Bible students.
Bible-students
Hey! Did I mention something about Bible students just now? Yes indeed, a wish we have had for a long time seems to be happening now. During the previous visit, Jonoro had come with us. Jonoro is a Malagasy pastor, and he has an awful lot of contacts. Jonoro raised the topic here and there, and that ball started rolling. We are now actively working with two groups.
The first group comes from Vohipeno. This town is relatively close to our village. It is Thadee’s group. We have known Thadee for a long time. Eight years ago, Thadee and his wife Haja were stationed as missionaries in Ikongo—the centre of the Antanala region. He now teaches young Malagasy Christians himself. As part of this teaching—and his wish to strengthen our ministry—he hopes to come to Maroamboka for a week sometime soon. This group is unlikely to have much trouble with the language as they live relatively close by (still 4 hours away by car).
The other group is from Tulear. That is much further away! Their trip will take about two days. These students mainly speak the Vezo-Malagasy language, and most have no experience with areas elsewhere on Madagascar, let alone in such a remote place as Maroamboka. For this group, it will be a bit of a shock when dealing with different customs and a different language. Jonoro has also trained these students and hopes—and we with him—that he can come along himself.
But … Sponsorship …
Yes, now, of course, we come to finances. These students (not all) had the opportunity to study because there was a budget for their daily needs. Other students had to study mainly in the evenings so they could work during the day.
Travel and accommodation in Maroamboka is not in their budget. Of course, students are allowed to stay in our house for free. The cooking utensils, mats to sleep on, and all other adaptations are a great use of our own time and money as far as we are concerned.
But the journey, and food whilst travelling, is very expensive by Malagasy standards. Also, some students will also not be able to work during that week. In preparation, they went to several churches to raise sponsorship. As it turns out, getting that done is not so easy. Having money, and giving money away is a very sensitive issue on Madagascar. We are dealing with one of the poorest countries in the world. Yet, we felt it was important for students to try to raise some money. After all, the great commission of our Lord Jesus is telling churches to send missionaries and evangelists into the world. Secretly you hope the churches are eager … Surely that will take some more time here.
May we Appeal to you?
Initially, I suggested that the students might be able to set up a GoFundMe campaign. That was one of my less bright ideas. Such a campaign is effective in the West, but here each potential sponsor has to be asked individually.
To make things a little easier for the students, we have agreed with AIM-Netherlands to set up a separate fund for this. We hope to raise about 1,000 euros for these two groups. May we appeal to you?
It will be a great learning moment for these enthusiastic students. But even better than that! These students have a heart for their own people.
The situation reminded me strongly of the collection Paul did in Corinth. The apostle Paul asked for money from the churches to support those in need, especially the impoverished church in Jerusalem. He encouraged the Corinthians to contribute generously and reminded them of their own blessings and the importance of helping others.
De studenten komen uit arme kerken, maar ondanks de armoe willen hun volksgenoten bereiken met de boodschap van hoop en redding! Wat een voorrecht dat we hier getuigen van mogen zijn én aan mogen bijdragen!
Those of you with a dutch bank-account can make contributions via the link below.
Donation towards the student (DUTCH ACCOUNTS ONLY)
For those among you who have their bank accounts outside the Netherlands, you can use one of the following options:
Donate towards the students via Paypal
Donate towards the students via Stripe
Please mention that the gift is given for the bible-students!
Short News
Just one last update regarding translation work. We met a young lady who grew up in Ikongo (the centre of the Antanala area). Delia is her name, and she is temporarily living in the capital. We have found Delia willing to record the Gospel of Luke. We hope to get the whole book finished before she goes back to Ikongo.
Every chapter is a blessing! For many people, audiobooks are a godsend because they cannot read or write. Please join us in prayer, that we will finish as many chapters as possible!
A big thank you for your prayers for Katja who had broken her collarbone. Meanwhile, the bone seems to have healed well without the need for medical intervention. Katja says she still suffers from the muscle in her neck—it is a bit stiff so to speak. Fortunately, she has not compromised on mobility.
This was it for now
We hope that after reading this letter, you, like us, are also looking forward to what the future holds. We can make plans but one thing we know for sure is that “what the Lord intends, happens.” (Proverbs 19:21)
We feel privileged to receive so much support in our work. Thank you for your prayers, compassion, and support!
Together with you, we want to keep trusting in the Lord! Because God is good, always! And always God i s good!
We sincerely wish you God’s blessing!
Katja & Jurgen
Vanya, Issa, Abbey, Dani en Simeon Hofmann.
Things to pray for
We are thankful because:
- we serve a great and mighty God;
- God adds daily to His Church;
- we see more and more Malagasy with a heart for mission;
- Jonoro helps us so much;
- Delia wants to record Luke’s gospel;
- Katja’s collarbone has healed well.
Pray that/for:
- our financial standing will return to normal;
- the next trip to our village;
- we may find enough sponsorship for the students;
- the audio recordings with Delia;
- the plans to bring students to the village.
Friends and good neighbours help make a house a home, and that certainly goes for us here. We already knew Sylvestre, our first contact here who allowed AIM to build us a house on a plot of his land. We regularly share a meal. We have also become acquainted with the president of the fokontany, a high local government official, and his wife.
Then there is Menja, the local teacher, who has agreed to help Jurgen translate Bible stories into Tanala. They have already visited a remote village together.
Then the rats. When we asked our friend maman’i Prisca whether she had rats in her house she said “Yes, in the roof.” Did that not bother her and keep her from sleep? “Oh well, we Malagasy sleep together with animals.” is what she replied. We honestly have a little trouble there. So far the rats have put their teeth in our food, soap, bedding, pillow covers, clothing, schoolbooks, toys, and wood. We are not amused. We gave Vanya a kitten, but she is still somewhat young to be on the job. In the meantime Jurgen is making us a ratproof cupboard for storing our fresh foods. No more rats on our tomatoes!