love Madagascar

When you go into a village, as a foreigner, it is important to follow the rules of culture. Many times, being a foreigner in a place so far outside of the norm, can get you into trouble. I won't go into the deep details of why Malagasy people in the village are hesitant towards white foreigners...but let your imagination take you to Pocahontas and you have a similar idea. Most villages are so far out, it is hard to get to them. This is the exact reason much of Madagascar remains untouched by the Gospel. The villages are hard to get to and a lot of learning is still to be done once you arrive at these far off places. A village is just a bundle of a few modest Malagasy homes within a small area. Sometimes, though, villages can stretch from the main group of homes to one outlying home that can be kilometers away. Visiting these outlying homes requires lots of travel by foot...something I am not well adept at doing. Through bushes, sand, rocks, and sometimes water, the people on

Well, I think it's about time I updated you on our trip to visit the very rural village of AKZ. This village is located near the rain forest and is about a 1 hour hike through streams and mountains. I was stretched...both physically and mentally...but loved every minute (even loved it through my tears of pain). We arrived to the entry of the hiking trail around mid morning. I don't know what I had prepared myself for, but it wasn't what I saw or expected. The first mountain was downhill...easy peasy? NO. It was downhill, on dry clay. There were quite a few times I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. I do need to mention that, I had prepared a rather large pack. It was full of belongings that I needed to survive a week in the village. Upon our arrival, the sweetest Malagasy family showed up to accompany us. The eldest daughter, who was petite, about 25 years old, and not wearing shoes, insisted on carrying my pack. Before leaving, I weighed my pack at 26lbs.