I HOPE to share here my heart and passion with those closest to me in a very real and transparent way. I TRUST that you will be blessed from the inside out!
nicoler@worldventure.net
Today was a day to remember. I was actually horseback riding English style with a couple of dear friends and it was divine!
I am always a bit cautious when riding English as that is not what I have done all the years in the past but to be riding a horse was a magnificent thing. When I am on a horse I feel free of all the weights of life, I feel closer to nature and ready to see things from a new taller perspective!
Funny thing was that out of the three of us I could have very well been the most experienced rider and yet they felt that they had to put me on a lead and have someone walk with us on the entire ride. That was just amazing and I really felt strange for a nano second and then got over it.
We rode for 30 minutes and it was not quite enough for me but it was great to see it was there and ready for me. YAHOO.
I am praying that after time they will see that I am ok around the horses and allow me to go out on my own.
Do you have a place that you can go in your week to just be yourself, enjoy nature and just BE. Well with the mini Spiritual Retreat or Holiday that I just took I realized that I will need a place to unplug and do things that are good for me and good for my body. A place to go and read,
Today two friends and I were able to do just that right here in the city. There is a place close to the airport and down a long dirt road where I found was restful and yet filled with activity (if I choose the activity). Club Le C A R. They have Tennis Courts, mini golf, boats and canoes that you can take out on an extensive and very dirty lake, a swimming pool and Horseback riding! We actually did a trail ride for 30 minutes on wonderful and majestic horses for around $2.50 . There are longer rides available at 3 -5 hours and eventually I am praying that I will be able to take the horse out on my own.
Today it was also great because I met two new friends here. Eloise at the pool was a spunky 10 year old that thought I was actually 14 and was SHOCKED to find out that I was on the latter part of the 30's, at least for the next 12 days. Then there was an amazing young girl of 12 that translated for us in fluent French. I forgot her name but she grew up in San Francisco so that was a great connection! I am looking forward to the people that I will meet here and the opportunities of sharing Christ through friendship and love.
This unexpected adventure has me meeting people and talking with people all over town. I am blessed that this will be, yet, another one of these places! Looking forward to all that GOD will do in and through me as I meet people and get relationally involved with them.
There of course are draw backs but you must take care of yourself and rest and retreat are things that help unwind my mind and help me process all that is around me. The major draw back is the price but I am just going to join in confidence that GOD will provide. I am not getting any younger and really need to care not only for my mental health but my physical body as well.
If you ever find yourself here for a visit then I must take you as my guest to the Club and relax for a spell so that you can enjoy the "place away" with me.
Do you have a place that you go to unwind, think, process life, workout and build relationships? A place where you can go and read a great book, study or just even do laps? I hope you do because it is very healthy for your mind, body and soul!
We were blessed with a trip out into the Sea, Indian Ocean to look first hand at some of God's creativity. Did you know that Starfish came in many shapes, sizes and designs? We also saw a sea snake, coral of different colors and designs, sea urchins and these long spiny things that can kill you with one nice stab. Oh and a sea cucumber...
Here are some pictures of some that we were blessed to see while on our mini get away!
I was just blessed with the most amazing 5 days of rest, reflection, fellowship and much needed down time here in Madagascar.
Two of my new friends invited me to come along with them on their "Spring" break from school. You see they are both from South Africa and are teachers at a local school here.
We left on Friday on a VERY long overnight bus ride East. We left Antanarivo around 6 pm and arrived at our destination some time around 6 am. The ride was a great time of sharing hearts, getting to know each other and explaining some quirks about each of us. The time away was much needed by all. We laughed, talked and then finally slept here and there along the journey. One of my new friends was very motion sick and had to "hurl" out the window
of the moving bus as it manuvered the mountain pass just right with all the other traffic.
We slept, swam, read, played at the beach, took rides to look at God's creations up close in the sea, met new friends, visited a FORT! Yes, Madagascar had 12 of them at one point. This is the last one standing. Really was refreshed, listening to the Lord, soaking in his words, prayer time and fellowship.
God even provided opportunity to encourage three baby believers in Foulpoint. Two of them recently had everything that they owned burned down due to a car crashing into their homes. They lost many things and yet their only request from me was to please find Bibles in English and a English - Malagasy dictionary. Their humility, care and pure concern for us while we were there was what serving in the body should be all about.
This is a whole new way of thinking than in my "american" life. Please let me explain...
A long time ago some very wise people in America told me that if you saw something that you wanted but not NEEDED. Think about it, pray about it and in 30 days if you still WANT it just as much then you can go back and get it. This helps on impulse buying and keeping within a budget.
Here in Madagascar things are a bit different. If you see something that you think might work in your house, book shelves, safe, pictures, a fridge. You don't price it out and go from place to place. YOU BUY IT TODAY, RIGHT NOW this very day!
You can imagine how this is really messing with my brain and how frustrated I am because I keep waiting and thinking that I can go back and get it later... Well, when I go back things are no longer there that I needed in order to set up house. :)
Sandi received her Malagasy Drivers license today and was so very excited. You see for the last month and a half or so she has been driving with an expired Americanlicense, praying that she would not get pulled over and have to show her papers. She has been asking what to do, how to apply, filling out forms and getting things notarized, even had to go and plead her case before someone because our NGO doesn't have official status right now. ( That is a whole other story related to the turmoil in country going on.)
With all the running around and all the worries she now is a licensed driver in Madagascar for LIFE!
I am looking forward to doing this in February this coming year! You see, you have to live here for over 6 months before you are able to apply...
There is a first for everything and today I hit another first.
We went into town to get something for Sandi and saw plastic streamers lining the capitals lake in the center of town. When we asked if something special was going on this is what we heard "It says that today is International washing of hands day." "Most Malagasy don't wash their hands."
Later we both looked at each other curiously and with that I determined that I was going to look this up online to get to the bottom of it. This is what I found out:
This second annual event was started in 2008, many countries across the globe participate in teaching children in order to start good habits for later in life...
"Using water alone is not enough!" a slogan that has been used.
Japan has a dance to go along with the day of celebration.
Last year over 80 countries participated in GHD activities, with about 200 million children washing their hands with soap and water. Activities ranged from school events and contests, government outreach initiatives, SMS messaging, photo exhibits, and celebrity involvement.
Nepal, planned a host of activities including, the promotion of handwashing within the health institutions, and the development of a Teej festival song with handwashing with soap messages.
Parts of Africa taught restaurant workers on handwashing techniques, even production and broadcast spots on handwashing. Mali even had practical handwashing demonstrations in 336 schools.
Global Handwashing Day is an initiative of the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap, and is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies and individuals worldwide.
So, please mark your calendars for next year and be prepared, October 15th is Internationally known and celebrated as "Hand washing day!" I sure would like to be prepared for it next year.
Can you believe it? While you are there in the United States getting ready for Fall, enjoying the leaves changing colors, some rain and early snow in some areas. I am sneezing my nose off, plants and trees are coming out of hybernation and springing forth new life!. I do miss the many things that you can buy or make this time of year with Pumpkin and the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving - I put out some candle holders in the shape and color of fall leaves and something was said reminding me that we here in Madagascar are experiencing SPRING.
I was just invited this week to join some teachers on their SPRING break for a week at a resort town. I said "isn't it early to have an entire week off of school?" The response was just, "it's our Spring break!" Not sure yet if I will be able to attend with them but it is really something to try and get my mind around as the "Rainy season" of Spring comes forth!
By the way we have had some great and incredible RAIN, or downpours. I love the smell of rain, the sound of it as it hits the ground or the rooftops and the wonderful blanket it lifts the very next day! Praise the Lord for fresh RAIN!
Really I am so confused, Hot or Cold, End of the Year or the Start of the year, Fall or Spring. I am sure that these are only a few of the things that will keep me thinking in the coming weeks and months!
Today I went to a local pool with some other missionaries for some rest and relaxation. I have been working since Monday on my container, accuring it, riding back with it, depositing it, and then All of Friday unloading it and making a real mess in our new home as I unpack and organize.
Since I was able to get so much done on Friday, I went ahead and took about 6 hours off to enjoy swimming here locally. It is still not scorching outside but the swimming time was very refreshing, even though the pool was sort of heated.
It was great to just play with Fanilo, be called Anutie Coco once again. The furthest thing from my mind was cleaning up and organizing. Ok well most of the day. Around 2:30 pm I did start feeling like I needed to get back to work and get some things done. As of right now I have put away blankets, bathroom items, organized my bedding, pulled out sheets for another missionary, put away and organized almost all of the kitchen and now really feel more at home here than I have over the last few months!
Funny how certain "things" help you adjust! There is a strange level of comfort here as well now that the candles are out (making everything smell wonderful), the kitchen is organized in Tupperware as much as possible. My BED has been made and slept on already! Praise the Lord for the ability to have a wonderful nights sleep! I NEEDED THAT. It is also nice to have my tempur pedic pillows and my wonderful down comforter! YES! I still need my blankie!
Many of you have been praying, if not over the last week or so then for much longer. Some have been praying for my journey from the beginning.
I have many miracles to report here:
Germain and I made the 8+ hour taxi boos (a minivan filled to capacity) ride to Tomasina/Tamatave safely. We drove past over 4 critical accidents during the drive but we were dry and very safe. We missed our first bus and could have been involved in at least one of the accidents if we would have been on it.
We stayed at an inexpensive hotel (a dive if you ask me) but yet again the Lord kept us safe and out of harm. (the patio doors on my room did not lock or even shut so I slept with my money strapped to me and with all clothes on, ready for anything!
I carried A LARGE SUM of money on my person and was never threatened in any way.
One document was discounted in 1/2 because we are believers in Jesus! Praise the Lord!
My container passed around customs (did not ever go through customs!) This is unheard of! AMAZING and blessed MIRACLE of GOD! Still locked with my original locks - never opened!
We had possession of my container within under 36 hours (again unheard of on this side of the world.)
God lead us to the right driver (a believer that we were able to talk with and encourage) He was safe and gave glory to GOD each time we passed through a military checkpoint. There were 13 in all.
The forklift arrived within 10 minutes of us getting to the drop off location and was done in record time. Possibly under 30 minutes... (You pay by the hour and have to count drive time from the forklift location to the drop location and back..) Total time amazingly under 2 hours!
We were given a ride most of the way home and walked about a mile at around 2 am without incident!
I am so very grateful for such an amazing GOD that I serve! I am blessed beyond measure to have walked such an amazing 3 days with HIM guiding every step, answering prayers so very specifically and providing such amazing contacts. I even had about 6-10 hours of Malagasy lessons while on this travel.
Please take a moment to praise our incredible Heavenly Father for how specifically he cares for each one of us!
So, do you remember back in March or April the entry about Paradox or "pair of ducks"?
I find myself emotionally experiencing this with the arrival of my 20 ft sea container. For almost a month I packed, sorted, inventoried, repacked, and palletized the items that I would take with me overseas to Madagascar. There was a LOT of work that went into doing this just right and many people came alongside of me to help make this happen.
The paperwork arrived last week and I was so excited that I actually jumped in the air in reaction when I was told. So, if that is the case why do I have the feelings now that I am feeling. I have seen so many people go without so many things, from the street children that I have created relationships with to my very next door neighbors that live with very little in their mud or clay dwelling.
I know that part of me is hoping that there are things in there that I could really use and will be excited to see. Another large part of me feels like I am spoiled and have way to much, and what can I give away without looking like I have so much and my stuff is better than their stuff or no stuff at all. It is all just stuff anyway, right? You can't take it with you to heaven, and it doesn't help to share the gospel with someone if you have stuff, right?
Well, I am walking up to the bus now, to catch a Taxi, to take me to the bus station so that I can ponder for the next 8 plus hours what will I do with the STUFF out of the container once it is actually here and I can start unloading it. I pray that my mindset will not be "look at what I have", yet a mind full of "how can I bless others with what I have?" I pray that the Lord would look upon me with great favor, that he would constantaly remind me that I came from dust and to dust I go again, eventually, that is...
I should be back in about 3 days! Love and hugs to you as you go through your own "pair of ducks" each day.
"The word "Christian" means different things to different people. To one person it means a stiff, upright, inflexible way of life, colorless and unbending. To another, it means a risky, surprise-filled venture, lived tiptoe at the edge of expectation... If we get our information from the biblical material, there is no doubt that the Christian life is a dancing, leaping, daring life."
The unexpected adventure by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg
For a few weeks now a couple of friends and I have had the opportunity to unwind and play some games. We have laughed until our stomach's hurt, until we cried and many funny sayings have come from these nights.
Praise the Lord for opportunities to just "be" and enjoy each others company.
Some of you might know how my heart lept for joy when someone pulled out the Skip-bo cards. Brought back incredible memories of great friends back home and amazing times!
How refreshing it was to get out today to go and think on top of a large area that looked out over rice patties and such a beautiful area of God's creation. I was even blessed with the opportunity to think out loud with a good new friend.
While I was out it started to rain and it was fun to walk home in that rain. To feel the warm cleansing of the rain. It is 88% humidity here so the rain is not chilly or cold but falling down in a strange new way to me. To wear short sleeves and be fine in the rain.
I am so excited to hear that my container arrived in the port city of Tamatave here in Madagascar. 8 hours away by bus. Knowing that life here is not easy like so many would say it is in a third world counrty but knowing that the color of my skin brings on judgement and expectation no matter where I go, who I talk with and what I am involved in.
Today I was hit with the let down of all the new costs that are croping up in order to get the container released to me. Today I was told that it will cost over $2,000 american dollars to get it through customs, processed and on the truck to the final storage lot. And that is with the NGO status and duty free one time installation - I planned for $500 american dollars not the rest. On Sunday night I hop on an 8 hour bus going to the port to walk the paperwork through.
All this came to me after I spent the morning on my face with the Lord listening to a pastor preach on prayer; answered and unanswered.. By the way I loved it and will possibly listen to that podcast again and again! Way to go Gene! What a great way to start the day even if I did not come out of my room until afternoon to be greeted with such ridiculous news.
Why do we have to be ruled by money in our lives. I wanted to laugh out loud when they told me the figure in Malagasy AriAry ... 1,690,000 to get the paperwork for the container transfered to me, to have the container lifted from the dock to a truck and to have all the items scanned in the port. 1,000,000 AriAry to have it loaded on a truck and taken to the storage facility. Then another 300,000 for me and one other person to travel by taxi bus, be there for three days and all the other things that might be incurred.
Knowing about all the comforts that lay inside I am a bit at peace. I know that GOD will provide the finances to get this container out of the port and here to Antananarivo where it is to be stored. I know more than that, an adventure is awaiting me. I am ready to see what character comes out of each step. I am looking forward to spending time around other Malagasy people and picking up more and more of the language. Germain is a great teacher.
Like I have said before, You never know what adventures lay around the corner in a 3rd world country. Adventures cause character to arise. What will my character say about the amazing GOD that I love?
Hurricanes, Typhoons and cyclones are all the same just different
For the third night in a row we have had Rain, not just a light sprinkle… The last couple of nights it has been a nice wetting but after a couple of hours it would let up and that would be all.
Tonight, we had HEAVY RAIN and just after I did a little research about Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones.Did you know that the only difference between the three is the location?The motion and effects are basically the same.
I pray this is not one of the three just a good ole’ RAIN.I pray that those with homes in the rice fields and those without homes would find shelter on this night!I pray that this rain will nourish the crops that so depend on the rain and that all the dirty, filthy areas will have that freshness that only rain can bring.
I am praying that we stay dry, this new home finds to hold steady under it and that tomorrow will be a blessed and clear day.
Tonight, Sandi and I found ourselves out past dark because we had many errands to do in town and then of course we had to sit in terrible traffic here in Madagascar. I can say that it is not the worst in the world but at least when you are in traffic in the states you don't have to listen to other cars honking at you to move, people and bikes zipping inbetween cars in spaces that nothing should even fit. Oh, yeah - traffic is traffic no matter what country you are living in. There are a lot of cars going in the same direction as you, making you loose time. The honking and beeping are just bonusus.
Her faithful small blue car just could not make it anymore. I am not sure how old this car is but I guess a time ago someone used the car while Sandi was out of the country, the car overheated and the thermostat was taken out or thrown away? Not quite sure what happened but it is no longer there. That is a very critical part of a car and tonight we heard the car talk to us in ways that it had not in the weeks previous. We stopped once for about an hour ate some dinner and waited for the car to cool down thinking that we just needed to check the oil. The oil was checked and it was ok, the car started up again fine so we were on our way.
Not to soon later we were hearing the car talk to us with hissing and stalling out, we were getting a bit nervous. So as we crossed the lake to get to the road to our home we pulled over. A friend of ours from church came with water to help. We had been driving, who knows how long, without water and the car was overheating. I am so very blessed that we were sound enough to give it rest and that Sandi pulled over when she did. Praying that the car will survive to tote us around another day?
Right now just praising the Lord that we are home and that we are ok!
I must confess though that I had taken all the important things out of my purse and strapped them down on my person. My passport, money, camera, house keys - the things that you really don't want thiefs to have... We were sitting on the side of a dark road, two white foreigners just sitting there for almost 20 minutes. With my recent experience with the phone being stolen from my head, just on Friday, while I was talking on it I thought that I should be ready and I was. I even had a compact ultraviolet flashlight in one had that could give me the added power of pain If I had to punch someone. Mostly I was thinking that I would shine it directly in their eyes. The whole time just praying that GOD would keep us safe and that help would be there soon. Nothing wrong with being prepared!
Today we were greeted with a visit from Martin, he lived in a house on our previous property. He came over right away because a notice arrived at his home addressed to me regarding my sea container! Sandi yelled for me to come and when I saw the paper I jumped for joy!
We are so excited here that this mysterious container I have talked about, and so many have asked about is finally in Madagascar.
Now the process begins for us to get it out of the port and over to the lot that it will be stored at.
Please rejoice with me that it is here and that we can move forward on getting it brought to the city and start to unpack it a little bit at a time.
" He took them with him and they withdrew by themselves. "
Luke 9:10
I have been spending regular time in precious and quiet solitude to start each day! What a blessing it is to listen to his sill small voice!
PRAISES:
1.) My room-mate and I have moved into a larger and safer home with a full time guard! I am confident this provision is from the LORD. Praying for opportunities to share with our guard and his wife the great love of Christ.
2.) I have joined a home fellowship here locally with a combination of Malagasy, South African, Dutch and American. It is good to dive into the word with other believers and to see all the wonderful ways that GOD talks to us.
3.) Even though I don't speak fluent Malagasy yet, it is great to start relationships with street children. I have met three young boys under the age of 7. Now all I do is give food with a smile, sometimes shake their hand or just greet them with a Salama Tumpko! knowing that for now it is enough.
PRAYERS:
1.) My cell phone was grabbed from my head, inside of a car, sitting in traffic down town on Friday. I am so very glad that it was just the cell phone and that none of us were really hurt. Please continue to pray for safety as people here become more and more desperate to provide for their families.
2.) Please pray for communication. With nationals (Malagasy), with co workers, with other missionaries from other countries and with friends. There is so much to learn when you are in such a melting pot of customs, word choices and plain old daily routines. What may be common sense to me is very foreign to others.
3.) Pray for me to continue to experience the Lord in refreshing ways daily. Still, I have been very quiet so far as I absorb my surroundings. I have managed to spend good time in the mornings waiting on the Lord and it has been a huge blessing. Pray that will not be offensive to those around me and that I will soak up all that I need to learn and know on God's schedule not anyone else's.
4.) Please pray for Malagasy to practice language with. Pray that this is lined out just as GOD would have it and that I don't try to overwhelm myself but that I move ahead with HIS understanding and patience.
Just today I read in a devotional about JOB. He found his legacy through the grief he experienced. He was tried that his godliness might be confirmed and validated.
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