Day 3 of the climb Altitude: 3450m to 4335m; Hiking time: 3-4 hours. A short but steep climb up grassy slopes offers superb views of this wilderness area. The vegetation zone ends shortly before we reach our next camp at Mawenzi Tarn spectacularly situated beneath the towering spires of Mawenzi. Spend the afternoon acclimatizing and exploring the area. We’re into high altitude by now, so please pray that we will adapt well to the thinner air. Avoiding altitude sickness is essential if we are reach the top. Pray that we’ll sleep well and recover from sore muscles and tired feet. Pray that we’ll be strengthened in our faith by the scripture passages we’ve memorised for the climb – faith on behalf of the people groups we’re praying for. Today we are praying for the Betsimisaraka who are the second largest group in Madagascar, reaching close on 2 million. • The dense forest area they live in along the eastern coast has isolated them from access to health and education services. They are intelligent and hungry to learn, but teachers are reluctant to take jobs in such remote conditions. Many villages can only be reached by helicopter. • The Betsimisaraka are hard working, their main activity being timber trading, but prolonged isolation has resulted in dire poverty and 80% of illiteracy. This explains why only 30-50% understand the official language, Malagasy, which is why it is imperative that the Betsimisaraka have the Bible in their own language. The translation project • Preparatory work started among them in 2006, and translation is now in the initial stages. The Jesus film has been translated and recorded, and Luke’s gospel has been drafted. • A rapidly growing church-planting movement through the work of Island Mission underlines the urgent need for Bible material. Those involved in discipleship and leadership development among new believers say, “We can’t do this work without someone doing the work to provide the scriptures. We hope it will not take too many years because the time is now!” It is essential to accelerate Bible translation in the language of the people to equip leaders and ensure that new disciples don’t fall away. • The Betsimisaraka have excellent memories and are natural story tellers. This makes an oral bible translation strategy the obvious choice for addressing the urgency of making the Bible accessible in their language. 6 Prayer • Praise God for the work of Island Mission and their commitment to bring God’s Word into the remote forest of the Betsimisaraka. • Pray for emerging Christian leaders among the Betsimisaraka in the rapidly growing church-planting movement. Pray that God would encourage them in knowing that people are working and praying for God’s Word to reach them soon. • Poverty is a great hindrance to the work. The average daily income is less than $1 a day, and many people only eat three times a week. Often they are too weak to work, travel or preach God’s Word. Pray for those involved in feeding schemes, that they would have wisdom to find the balance between providing hope and maintaining local initiative. • Pray for the political situation in Madagascar. After 50 years of independence there is a pervasive spirit of poverty, in spite of the country’s rich mineral resources. Pray for peaceful elections later this year that will brig hope to the people.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 08:49:11 +0000
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