Gathering of the Madagascar Saints

  By Elder Kevin Ray Moore  (used by permission from author)

Members and missionaries walking an hour and a half to church in Manandona 

Many changes for the better began to happen in Madagascar as the members caught the vision of striving for temple blessings. The nearest temple to them was in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2200km across the Mozambique Channel. Securing such blessings required many of the Saints to make significant personal sacrifices and exercise great faith.

As a missionary in Madagascar until June 2013, I had the privilege of helping and witnessing this great work. One afternoon during a meeting with the local church leaders, our mission president called and informed us that he felt the Besoa group of 35 members should be rejoined with the original Manandona Branch, 6.5km to the south. He asked us to begin preparing the people for the sacrifice they would be asked to make. This change would require the Besoa members to hike three hours round trip to the Manandona Branch for all of their church meetings. We were somewhat surprised, but began to make the special effort of strengthening the faith of the members of that area. We wanted to help them have a sure knowledge and testimony of fundamental Church doctrines such as faith in the Lord and in His leaders, the keys of the priesthood, and the blessings that come from obedience. After two months of regularly visiting and giving specially prepared lessons to all the families, we felt that the members were ready. All but a few had made attending the temple a priority and were preparing to make the sacrifice to travel to South Africa. We felt that the gathering of this group of Saints could occur soon.

Our mission president came on April 14, 2013, to meet with the members in Besoa. There was a special feeling as we walked through the rice fields to the wooden chapel for the last Sunday service that would be held there. Everyone came and greeted us on the path with beaming faces. The meeting commenced, and when the time came, our mission president announced the gathering of the Besoa Saints back to Manandona. Many members were unsure, as the three-hour hike seemed like too much of a weekly sacrifice. Yet, when we returned later that week, we found greater optimism and increased faith. Many were cheerful as they said  they would make the hike. Brother Rakotonirina Richard, recently released group president, confidently stated to us that he was going to take his family to the temple and would not let such an obstacle stop them. We decided to accompany the members on their first Sunday on the rugged road that wove 6.5km through the mountains and fields to the Manandona Branch building. 

Twenty of the 36 members made the transition that day, including many who struggled in their faith before. There were children as young as two years old with their parents and grandparents, the oldest of which was 75. In the following months, more members started coming. Manandona’s branch leaders were still visiting and praying for the last few stragglers.

Not two weeks after the change was made, swarms of locust began to plague the surrounding areas, but not in this valley. As is sung in the hymn Praise to the Man, “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.” That was only one of several swarms of locust in the coming weeks that spared this valley but destroyed the crops of valleys nearby. I witnessed one swarm begin to settle in the fields, but as they began to consume the crops, a strong east wind picked up and drove them out of the valley. After the locust swarms were past, 40 armed robbers from the south began to steal cattle, slowly moving northward. Many people made plans to leave if necessary, but the Saints expressed their faith to us that the Lord would protect them. He did, through a sudden and unexpected cold spell which drove the robbers back to the more temperate desert in the south.

Swarms of locust destroyed crops of surrounding valleys but spared the Saints' crops

The Saints were blessed yet again when a rare hard frost came one night and lasted well into the day. Many people’s potatoes withered away, but not those of the Saints. The branch president of Manandona was accused by his neighbors of using magic, but he responded simply that he kept the commandments of God. 

It was a great witness to me to see the increase in faith and commitment of those Saints in Besoa. It was not a simple sacrifice for them, but it brought forth great blessings. I pray that it will eventually help bring forth one of the greatest blessings of all: having the blessings of the temple in their lives.

Saradroa,  a remarkable place

This weekend we traveled south three hours to Antsiribe for a Saturday missionary zone conference and a Sunday visit to the branch of Saradroa. It was great to be with the missionaries in that area who are doing a great job. We were able to hold the conference in the home of Elder and Sister Todd, our senior couple in the area, who are wonderful tutors to the leaders of the member district and of the branches. This district is actively preparing to become a stake.

On Sunday we traveled with the Todds, the District President Pierre and the zone leaders an hour north of Antsirabe on the main "highway" (actually a fairly narrow, but paved windy two lane road) to an obscure unmarked trail heading up the mountain. In our four wheel drive trucks we followed this very challenging, deeply rutted and steep trail for several kilometers until we could go no further with the pickups. We then walked a footpath for another kilometer into the mountains to the "chapel".

This metal roofed building shown below is located next to two brick thatched-roofed homes typical to this part of the country. There is no village to be found anywhere close. The 100+ members walk from humble houses located all over these mountains. Many walk long distances to church faithfully every week. This building was built by the members and has a dirt floor and no glass windows. The nearest electricity is 40 or 50 kilometers away. The running water is from the river at the bottom of this valley where several people were baptized two weeks ago. 

In this photo you can see the little generator that provides what little power they use to power the CD player that provides the music for their meetings. 

As this is the only power source for any of the members, they take advantage during the meetings to charge their cell phones. Cell phones are the one connection with the modern world that they have, even way out here.

                                             

We were warmly greeted by the members on our arrival. These people are very poor materially. Many were bare footed is spite of somewhat chilly temperatures. We have never been among a group of people with a greater spirit and anxiousness to learn the gospel and serve in the church. The missionaries have never done "tracting" or contacting in this area. They travel up here an hour and a half, one day a week, and teach  people who are invited by the members or who just show up. It is the stuff of missionary legends.

We had 105 at sacrament meeting which is a little over 100% attendance. The average attendance for this branch is 96%. What is more remarkable is that this is also the percentage of tithing faithfulness. 

There are currently four full-time missionaries serving from this small branch out in the middle of nowhere, two serving in Madagascar and two serving in Africa. We met with the young women and young men, about twenty, and asked how many were planning on serving missions. All raised their hands. Below are the two homes adjacent to the chapel. Two of our full-time missionaries come from these homes. 

Because this is a one room church, most of the classes are held outside. There is a plan to build a larger brick church adjacent very soon.

Below is the branch council which meets each week with the presidents of each auxiliary and quorum. This was run with a written agenda, just like in the handbooks. These wonderful, humble leaders often make the hours-long journey to Antsirabe for leadership training. They frequently return walking up the mountain in the pitch dark. There are no lights out here. 

As we observe in many places here, it is the children that often touch our hearts.

A few classic Madagascar Photos

Pig on a bike

Ocean Baptism

House built on a rock

Madagascar: LDS Church (playlist)

Madagaskar Tour 2012

Amazing sights in Reunion
Last month Anna and I with Elder and Sister Heap took a six hour hike to the Grand Benare, the second highest mountain on Reunion at over 9500 feet. From there we could see most of the island and look into two of the three "cirques" or incredibly deep canyons formed by the volcanoes. At the top we were literally on a cliff with a sheer drop off of thousands of feet. In the first cirque we saw way below us a small village that is only accessible by a steep hiking trail or by helicopter. We hope to hike there one day. In the other cirque is the beautiful city of Cilaos which we visited this week by car.

The following photos are taken from Cilaos

The top of the mountain in the distance is the Grand Benare

Many member district and missionary zone conferences.

It has been two months since the last post. We have been traveling every week. We returned today from Reunion where we greeted two new sisters and two new elders and sent one elder off for home.

In the past two months we have had three member district conferences. In May the Reunion District conference was presided over by Elder Collin Bricknell of the Area Presidency. These conferences are just like stake conferences. On two of the district conference weekends we also had a day of zone conference with the missionaries on the Friday before. Last week in Tomatave with the two conferences I ended up speaking and teaching about twelve hours over the three days, mostly in French. With additional interviews it makes for a pretty exhausting schedule. We flew home for a day and back on the plane for the islands. Over three months we end up presenting zone conference about ten times in the different areas. Just as we finish the last one the new round of zone conferences begins.

In nine days we say good bye to ten missionaries in Madagascar and welcome fifteen new ones. This is a hectic and bitter sweet experience. We will miss the missionaries that we have come to love and respect over the past year. Yes, in a few days it is our anniversary. This last year has gone by very quickly, yet it seems as if we have been here a long time. 

The photos are of the Antsirabe District Conference where we had over 650 in attendance at the Sunday session. This district is working diligently to become our next stake. 

Here is the children's choir.

The next photo is from our young men/ young women/ YSA fireside we recently held in Tomatave. We asked them who was preparing to serve a mission and almost all of them raised their hands. Currently we have over 100 full time missionaries serving from Madagascar in various places in the world. There are many more who are planning on going. This represents the real future of the church here. 

The following photos are of the countryside outside of Antananarivo taken during an inspection visit of one of the clean water projects overseen by our humanitarian senior couple missionaries.

Even though the temperatures were chilly, most of these school children were without shoes.