When you sign up for the World Race, you get to choose the route of countries that you’d like to go to and do ministry. I chose my specific route because of Madagascar. I thought about how exciting it would be to be a part of the first squad of racers to travel there. Now that I’ve been here for almost a month, I know one thing for certain. Madagascar needs Jesus.
This country is a rare gem… unlike any other place in the world. It’s beautiful on the surface, but its heart is hurting and needs healing only the Lord can provide.
There’s a spiritual heaviness that hovers over this place that I’ve never felt before. The cultural norms leave me brokenhearted, but also make me more determined to share the loving heart of God.
I’ve learned a lot about this country and its people from our Malagasy translators. Ancient traditions dictate ways of life on this island. A few things we learned: witchcraft is heavily practiced and witch doctors kill children to use their organs to make medicine, prostitution is legal and the massage parlors are home to human trafficking, the living connect with the dead and the dead are believed to have the power to affect the daily lives of the living, every seven years the dead will be taken from their tombs and the families with rewrap and dance with the bodies, and because of the overwhelming amount of street children they are often killed or sold into prostitution.
The capital city of Antananarivo, where we’ve been living, is the most polluted place I’ve ever been. I can literally feel myself breathing in the pollution every time I inhale. The air is dark and the stench of the city is astonishing.
As I sit on the public transportation system, with 30 people squeezed into a 15 passenger van, I gaze out the window and wonder how people live like this. Street kids hang on the window of our van and beg for help. Whole families live next to massive trash piles and dig through it daily to survive. As I pass the massage parlors, street kids, and tombs, I pray for healing for this country.
So, what’s the good news? People here are hungry for God. People here know who Jesus is, but don’t have a relationship with Him. But, as soon as you begin telling them about the heart of God and what He has done for us, they want more. Hundreds of people gave their lives to Christ this month simply by knowing more about Him. That is so powerful. He is so powerful. The Malagasy people need to break free from old traditions and embrace the freedom that Jesus offers us. It doesn’t matter if you’re the richest American or the poorest Malagasy street kid, God loves us all the same. I know God can, and will heal this place. Madagascar just needs a little push in the right direction.
