ELCA Global Mission Stewardship

The Mahafale people of Madagascar are constantly beset by drought, famine, and nomadic changes. In response to their gospel calling, health workers associated with Ejeda Hospital, a Lutheran hospital in this southwestern part of Madagascar, have shown creativity, leadership and dedication in dealing with these and many other challenges.

The staff at Ejeda Hospital are engaged in a community-based program that addresses the most urgent needs of the Mahafale people. The program provides clean water, prenatal exams, immunizations for children and adults, growth monitoring for children under age 5, information about nutrition, and treatments for a variety of diseases. Four health care centers have been built and staffed as ways to reach out to the communities.

Evangelism in the town of Sakanay
A report by Evangelist Anastasie Maho

Sakanay is a place where most people are non-Christian. There are those who do not agree to development or anything new, but only want to follow ancestral practices and thus resist Christianity. But the love of Christ constrains me (2 Cor. 5:14).

Subsistence living and famine rule in Sakanay. People live on cactus fruit and some are able to cook other food only once a day. They have no money to bring for offerings to help with evangelism efforts. In spite of that, God is working mightily.

Sakanay has a population of 760. During March and April of 2003, I visited 257 people. Sixty-four people have been baptized. One person agreed to stop rejecting Jesus Christ, then brought all his charms to be burned. This person has now begun to study the catechism and I hope he will soon be ready for baptism.

In the mornings I teach basic school subjects to small children. We hold our school under a broad tamarind tree. I have no equipment or text books to use, not even a mat or chairs on which to sit. So, we all sit on the ground, teacher and students together.

I have about 70 students signed up, of whom 46 come daily. Of these 46, eleven are baptized.

All this leaves the afternoons open for home visits as well as teaching the catechism. Shepherds of the Renewal Movement come from Ejeda to encourage us.

Eagerness prevails. Children, for example, are alert and quick to learn all that is taught. But they wander off when feeling hungry, trying to find cactus fruit to assuage the pangs. It is their sole food, and they give in to the urge to seek it every hour or so.

Food needs also are being addressed. The only thing readily available to eat is a mush made from the seeds of the Tamarind trees. They are very acidic and in their natural form will burn the stomach. Clay must be added to neutralize the acid. Additional food-producing projects have been initiated as well.

In addition to addressing the health and physical needs of the people, the Malagasy Lutheran Church has made evangelism a priority. House-to-house visitations provide an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and often include an effort to teach adults to read and write. Over the last several years, more than 10,000 people have head the gospel through such efforts, and hundreds of baptisms have resulted. In many cases, children have been baptized before their parents.

Funding through the ELCA has helped build wells that provide safe water. Funding also has helped to provide hand-grinding mills, plows, and oxen, along with boxes that can be used for solar cookers and bicycles to make transportation easier. Income generating activities, such as sewing cooperatives, help with the livelihood of those living in remote areas.

Ongoing support of the Mahafale program helps staff the hospital and provide health supplies, brings education and income generation to the people, and spreads the good news of Jesus.

The 2005 Vacation Bible School program through Augsburg Fortress offers a mission project opportunity that would raise funds for the Mahafale project in Madagascar. VBS campers have the opportunity to put into action what they learned -- God calls us to care for our neighbors near and far.

For more information on this or other projects you can support, contact the Rev. Twila Schock at 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2641, or by e-mail. You can contribute on-line at through ELCA Good Gifts