October 16, 2002

Dear Friends in Christ,

Yesterday we received a visit from Pr. Andriamasinoro and Pr. Joelson from the Amboniavaratra Theological College of the FJKM. We had not seen them since the fighting that took place in Fianarantsoa last spring, and so we were glad to hear of their news.

The college is located quite near the governor's residence, where most of the shooting took place. In addition, the students and faculty of the college were quite active in the movement to unseat the former president, Ratsiraka, following the elections that he lost last December. So the college had to close for four months last year. By God's grace none of the members of the college were harmed during the fighting.

Last year's class was promoted to their final year of study (which takes place near the capital, Antananarivo) despite the loss of those months of classes. The school is now set to re-open next week with 67 students! That is a great increase over previous years, made possible by a special grant from The Outreach Foundation to expand and improve student housing.

The new president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana (he is also a vice-president of the FJKM), has been telling the whole country that they need to get to work learning English, that this will help develop the country. So Cynthia will do her part by providing English classes for both the students and the profs, and they are very glad to have the services of a native English speaker!

Please pray for our sisters and brothers in the Amboniavaratra Theological College, and the work of the FJKM, which has been so crucial in making the transition to greater democracy—and therefore greater hope—in Madagascar.

In Christ,

Cynthia Holder Rich and Mark Hrecz Rich

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41