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 Children site just 3-5 minutes away |
 Inside Adult Site (outside class rooms accommodated the others) |
 Baptismal Candidates |
Light in the Midst of Darkness
April 28 2008 / ShareHim in Madagascar, Apr. 4 - Apr. 19 '08 #286by Darrin John
Personal Testimony of Darrin John.
My trip started off by choosing a campaign that was already full, but eventually one spot became open and I was able to go to Madagascar. What a trip it was traveling from Montreal to Madagascar to join a great team of brothers and sisters who were committed to sharing Christ in Antananarivo and Mahajanga! The brethren at Soamanandrariny was very hospitable and helpful as we worked together sharing Christ with family and friends.
In the adult site Pastor John Andrianasoa was an excellent translator and guide along with Pastor Sylvestre who worked with the visitors and bible interest so that they were properly prepared for baptism and further ministry. Due to the favorable attendance on Sabbath, we opened three school class rooms to accommodate our members and visitors. As a matter of fact, I was advised by Pastor John that some of the meetings were being transmitted via a cell phone to someone who lived too far to attend in the week days.
In the children’s site we had a solid attendance of enthusiastic children who were supervised by Sister Harrinalala Andrianasoa (Pastor John Andrianasoa's wife) along with a wonderful team of women. On two occasions, a joint district children’s choir sang in the adult meeting, and it was like heaven on earth hearing this children use their harmonious voice to glorify God.
Like all the other sites in Antananarivo, we experienced power outages, and the children’s site only had electricity four days out of the 16 days of meetings, so they relied on two generators that were donated. However, sister Andrianasoa, in retrospect wrote, "the devil was in rage but the Lord is powerful." As a matter of fact, while others nearby had no electricity for some two weeks, at the adult site which was a church building, we had electricity, which reminded us that ultimately Christ is the Light of the world.
Personally, I will never be the same because my life was changed with my encounter with the people in Madagascar and with God's amazing grace. In addition to the other sites we had 350 visitors that attended the meetings at Soamanandrariny, 112 decided to observe the Sabbath, 168 decided to get baptized, 16 were baptized on April 19th and more will be included at a Central Malagasy Conference mass baptism on May 24th. Furthermore, despite the power outage at the children’s site, 31 children of non-members are enrolled in bible class. In the midst of darkness God’s light of love shone through. To God be the glory!
In the adult site Pastor John Andrianasoa was an excellent translator and guide along with Pastor Sylvestre who worked with the visitors and bible interest so that they were properly prepared for baptism and further ministry. Due to the favorable attendance on Sabbath, we opened three school class rooms to accommodate our members and visitors. As a matter of fact, I was advised by Pastor John that some of the meetings were being transmitted via a cell phone to someone who lived too far to attend in the week days.
In the children’s site we had a solid attendance of enthusiastic children who were supervised by Sister Harrinalala Andrianasoa (Pastor John Andrianasoa's wife) along with a wonderful team of women. On two occasions, a joint district children’s choir sang in the adult meeting, and it was like heaven on earth hearing this children use their harmonious voice to glorify God.
Like all the other sites in Antananarivo, we experienced power outages, and the children’s site only had electricity four days out of the 16 days of meetings, so they relied on two generators that were donated. However, sister Andrianasoa, in retrospect wrote, "the devil was in rage but the Lord is powerful." As a matter of fact, while others nearby had no electricity for some two weeks, at the adult site which was a church building, we had electricity, which reminded us that ultimately Christ is the Light of the world.
Personally, I will never be the same because my life was changed with my encounter with the people in Madagascar and with God's amazing grace. In addition to the other sites we had 350 visitors that attended the meetings at Soamanandrariny, 112 decided to observe the Sabbath, 168 decided to get baptized, 16 were baptized on April 19th and more will be included at a Central Malagasy Conference mass baptism on May 24th. Furthermore, despite the power outage at the children’s site, 31 children of non-members are enrolled in bible class. In the midst of darkness God’s light of love shone through. To God be the glory!