This blog is a continuation of my last post – If you haven’t read about the crazy Holy Spirit Adventure Cj Goldsmith and I went on the other day – please click to read about it here: Madagascar Update: The Day the Lady in the Grocery Store Invited Us to Dinner.
Friday morning, I woke up excited about what the day would bring. I still couldn’t believe the series of events that led us to this moment… I was so excited, I could barely sleep the night before.
We ventured out into the very busy streets of the capital of Madagascar to meet our new friend Mari. For some reason, it was extremely busy outside and the sidewalks were flooded with people – along with the usual pop up vendors selling shoes, household items and fruits, vegetables and grains on blankets spread out right on the concrete.
Madagascar is a beautiful chaos.
We weaved around the myriad of people – older men walking slowly, tiny kids running right into us, mamas carrying baskets on their heads. Two ‘white’ people in the midst of only Malagasies – we definitely stood out. But I walked unafraid, as the Lord has really taken away a lot of the anxiety I felt last year on my own race after being robbed (I’ll post more about this in another blog post!).
Experiencing Antananarivo is experiencing an assault on the senses. Every square foot brings constant stimuli. Honking horns and combis zooming by inches from you, the click of ‘zebu’ (cows with long horns) on cobblestone streets, the stench from unrefrigerated meat hanging from bucheries, the smell of burning coal. Beautiful but deteriorating architecture all calling for your attention – all painted in bright multicolors. “Bonjou, Salama” – Malagasies are very friendly people and all want to greet you.
We finally turned into the Shop Rite parking lot to pick up chocolate for Mari and were on our way.
Iris Ministries is situated on a peaceful, rambling cobblestone road – across from a beautiful old church with a bell tower. We met up with Mari there and followed her across the street to see the houses where the children live.
The view across from the church.
The first house was the baby house and we were greeted with toddlers all vying for our attention. One tiny boy wanted me to hold him the entire time. The children were obviously taken very good care of – there are two local women assigned to every 8 children and their rooms are nice, cozy and inviting.
Mural in the baby house at Iris Ministries
We then headed to the teenage girl’s house – a beautiful old house that was a beautiful environment for the girls to live. It was obvious they had a strong community as they all piled up together in the TV room.
Last was the boy’s home. A group of teenage boys lived there – they were playing basketball out front and CJ played with them. I played with a little boy who had a physical disability but smiled so brightly. He delighted in showing me all of his toys that he pulled out of his pocket like Mary Poppin’s bag. I talked to one of the house mamas and we laughed together when she told me she was the mother of three girls and prayed for a boy, but was pregnant with another girl.
Afterwards, we were invited back to Mari and Michel’s house again. We walked through an alleyway full of character (and characters). It really is neat to immerse yourself in a completely different culture and see different parts of the city you wouldn’t normally see.
It felt like stepping into the home of old friends. We took off our shoes and were invited to help ourselves to anything in the kitchen. Mari and Michel actually left their house and told us to make ourselves at home. This never happens on the Race! They told us it would bless them if we thought of their house as our own. What in the world?! The Lord is *so good! We don’t deserve any of these blessings but He just keeps heaping them on. We ended up in their music room, playing the piano, guitar and singing with their oldest son. When Michel returned, he told us to ‘sing like no one is listening.’ We then gathered around him in the kitchen to chat while he made sandwiches – we talked about hiking in the Rockies, the Holy Spirit, Bethel and our favorite pastors and sermons. Books we had read and would recommend and movies that ignited passions in our hearts. I didn’t want to leave, but we had to. Before Michel drove us back, he invited us to come back to Madagascar to stay at their house any time we liked – he even said he’d pick us up from the airport!
CJ in his element.
When I think about the amazing people I have met during this journey, I’m absolutely blown away. Mari and Michel in Madagascar. Hanitriniala and her daughter Koilonia – and the beautiful songs they’ve blessed me with (and all of the translators we’ve grown to love). Brandon and Melinda – the full time AIM missionaries in Swaziland who welcomed us into their home and lives with open arms. Rhoda and Kempho who taught me how to dance in Botswana. All of the kids at Golden Dream Academy in Vietnam and their stories of perseverance through deep hardships. The Spangler family in Honduras, the dinners we shared while trying to keep food away from their rambunctious dog Woody. Andrea and her family doing Kingdom work despite the dangers and surrounding gangs in El Salvador. And I have to stop because there are COUNTLESS others and my heart is about to burst (or at least I’ll start crying) if I don’t stop this list.
All I know is this: Heaven is going to be one gigantic party. A party none of us deserve, but a party that our Father will delight in inviting us to.
