love Madagascar

Madagascar. If you have heard of Madagascar, you have probably only heard of it from the movies Madagascar. Other things you may find interesting are that 90% of the flora and fauna found in Madagascar, is found no where else in the world. Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world! Can you believe it? And you thought it was a tiny island off the coast of mainland Africa...well think again. The population of Madagascar is around 25 million. The Antemoro people make up about 1.5 million of that and live on the southeastern coast. Did you know that Madagascar, on some lists, ranks in the top 5 poorest nations in the world? I see poverty every day. And lest you think it is only in the village, poverty is everywhere. I see poverty monetarily and poverty spiritually. Can you remember a time where you saw both types of poverty in one person? Can you remember a time when you saw it every day? I'm not saying it doesn't happen in the United States, because it does. But the

I have been visiting a specific area to the west of Manakara for about 4-5 months now. I have made some good contacts in this area and enjoy the honest answers I get to questions I ask about Malagasy culture.  There is one specific village I have been visiting every week for the past 4 weeks now. The first time I entered this village, I met with the mpanjaka, or king, of the village. He was very warm and inviting and kind. I was instantly drawn to him and knew he would be a good soil to sow seed. The next few visits, there was a funeral and he was not there. However, his wife was each time. We visited with her that week and weeks following. You could instantly see the walls that had been built up around her heart. Walls that were built with culture and decorated with animism. Fast forward to this week. We went, armed with stories from scripture, because we knew those are the only things that can extinguish the walls the enemy has built in this couple's hearts. We arrived, and t