|
October 2002
Dear Friends in Christ,
We are writing you from Fianarantsoa, Madagascar, again, after
a much longer-than-planned absence. Altogether, part of our family
was out of the country for five months! We are truly thankful
to be able to be back together in our home here, and back to work
teaching as well.
The civil conflict that started in January finally pushed us
to leave Madagascar in mid-May. We had tickets to return July
12, but it became clear as that date neared that it was not yet
advisable to return. ELCA asked nearly all their Madagascar missionaries
to stay in the States until September 1. Mark returned the first
week of September; the rest of us came the first week of October.
The big news is that the conflict is over and Marc Ravalomanana,
a vice president of the FJKM (the PCUSA’s partner denomination)
is the new president of Madagascar. President Ravalomanana has
the backing of all major nations, including the United States.
He is working hard to increase living standards and to fight corruption.
We have great respect for all that he is trying to do.
Despite the good efforts of the new government, life is much
harder for most Malagasy than it was before the conflict. Reports
are that up to two-thirds of the population is out of work. Prices
for most basic foodstuffs and for items such as car fuel and cooking
gas have risen a lot. Some items are still hard to find outside
the capital. We are quite aware that life is hard right now for
our students, and will probably not ease until the first harvest
comes in in February.
We have both started teaching back at the Lutheran seminary.
Mark is also advising three students and Cynthia two as well on
their master’s theses. Cynthia will begin teaching at the
FJKM theological college in the coming week.
Summer Activities
Over 400 toys made by Maky Madagascar, the income-production
project of the Women’s Committee at the Lutheran Seminary,
were sold over the time we were in the States. Thanks so much
to all who bought or sold!
The construction of the first phase of the Family Center, funded
by ELCA, was completed in our absence. A celebration to open the
new center will be held sometime in November, and we'll surely
send you pictures!
Cynthia was awarded a research grant by the University of Natal,
South Africa, for an article she had published in July 2001.
Mark published an article on "Jesus and the Land Crisis"
in International Congregational Studies, July 2002. He was also
able to get some good research done in Boston during our home
stay—thanks to his brother-in-law in Newton, Massachusetts,
for letting him sleep on the couch!
Future (microscopic!) Plans
Mark’s mother, Dr. Rita Hrecz, had planned to come out in
July 2002 to do a seminar for Lutheran high school science teachers.
This trip was postponed and is now scheduled for July 2003. Through
the generosity of many individuals, churches, and church organizations,
we will be able to give each of the 11 Lutheran high schools a
few microscopes and prepared slide sets to use with the scopes.
We greatly appreciate the grace of these gifts, as we know the
teachers and their students will too!
The second phase of the Family Center has been approved for funding,
and plans are beginning to take shape for starting construction,
hopefully before 2003.
Family News
Some educational issues for our children arose in evaluative
testing done in the States during our absence from Madagascar.
We feared that the depth of the problems would result in our not
being able to return to mission service. God has taken care of
us and allowed us to return through the gift of an experienced
teacher who has volunteered to teach two of our children for the
2002-2003 school year. Ms. Kathie Nielsen, a teacher with much
training and 25 years experience working with learning disabilities,
is here in Fianarantsoa with us. Kathie is from Roseville, Minnesota.
She and her husband, Pastor Ron Nielsen, have volunteered a year
of mission service to help teach our children. Words can scarcely
express how grateful we feel to the Nielsens and to God for calling
them to come and serve in this way!
Prayer Concerns
- For our children Joseph, Paul, and Ella to continue to make
good transitions into their new school year.
- For a good rainy season for Madagascar, which will do much
to restore the economy and the people.
- For the new government of Madagascar, that the many needs
of the country may not overwhelm them and that their new president
may stand strong in his commitment to honesty and righteousness
in leading the country.
- For our students, some of whom are facing the hungry season
with even less in resources than before, that they may grow
into better and wiser leaders for the FLM.
Our Thanks
Once again it is our pleasure and honor to thank you for this
work that you make possible! This is all the more true given the
wonderful gifts many of you have sent to provide microscopes and
slides to the schools here! We know that your financial support
does not come from the excess of your wealth (cough! cough!),
but from the sharing of your living, of yourselves. We thank you,
and we bless God for such an abundance of grace through you to
us and to our sister and brother Lutherans of Madagascar!
In the love of God through Jesus Christ,
Mark, Cynthia, Joseph, Paul, and Ella Rich
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41
|
