Dan and Elizabeth Turk — September 2022 Update
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Dear friends,
Like most parts of the far south, water is in short supply at Soatsifa. Recently, a new well in the area provided water, but it was brackish and unfit for drinking. In the past year, the FJKM has constructed a water reservoir system that collects rainwater off the new church building’s roof with funds from The Outreach Foundation. There is another system that collects water off the ground. When we visited Soatsifa in July, one of our group asked what the water collected from the ground was used for. The answer surprised us: “for drinking.” Although the water from the church’s roof is much cleaner, there is not enough for people’s needs. People are grateful to have clean water from the new reservoir.
We came to Soatsifa as part of a trip with the General Secretary of the FJKM, Pastor Jaona Rakotonindrainy, and one of six officers of the FJKM, Mr. Georges Randriamamonjisoa, along with Pastor Tim and Julie Rogers-Martin, who represented Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Indialantic, FL. We came to see the breadth and depth of the FJKM’s ministries in the south including places where work is in progress using funds raised through Outreach to alleviate hunger.
Before leaving for the south, FJKM President Pastor Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi shared the vision of the FJKM for the next four years: “Sharing the Gospel, the Gospel that changes history.” For the FJKM spreading the Gospel is holistic, inseparable from activities to improve people’s lives here on earth. Pastor Ammi emphasized the importance of education for alleviating poverty by quoting Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
One of the things that impressed us the most from the trip was how strongly, consistently, and creatively FJKM leaders expressed their conviction of Christian ministry as holistic, bringing salvation to peoples’ souls and addressing their physical needs as well. Jesus didn’t just preach, one person told us, He was a teacher and healer as well. The presence of Mrs. Razanalivao and Mr. Ranarianirina is a manifestation of the FJKM’s dedication to ministry in the far south: their salaries are supported by the headquarters of the FJKM. Parents at Soatsifa can only afford to pay 2000 ariary (about $0.50) per month for each child’s education.
We visited two schools and 18 churches, including two that were inaugurated on our trip. At one of these churches, 20 people were baptized during the inaugural worship service. We saw several wells and water catchment systems that the FJKM has recently installed. We witnessed the joy of thousands of Christians. The FJKM is expanding rapidly there with 24 new churches established in the past two years.
We saw many other ways that the FJKM is ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of the people in the poorest regions in one of the world’s poorest countries. In communities where there is not enough money to support pastors, some are supported by the headquarters of the FJKM; others are supported by congregations in the capital city. Some of these wealthier churches are also supporting catechists and laypeople who receive theological training and lead churches. The FJKM is establishing schools, wells, and water catchment systems, and taking part in efforts to alleviate hunger by providing seeds and emergency food for those most in need. Partnerships with The Outreach Foundation, PC(USA), the Madagascar Mission Network, and Korean Presbyterians are assisting these efforts.
Synod President Pastor Soja Arthur leads FJKM’s efforts in the southernmost synod. He is from the south and works tirelessly to help spread the Gospel and alleviate poverty. Under his leadership and that of the FJKM’s National School Department, the FJKM now has 16 schools there, up from six just a few years ago. Tsihombe is the largest and was started by the Atsimon’i Mahamasina FJKM church in Antananarivo in 2016. With just 30 students in its first year, the New Eden School at Tsihombe now has just under 300 students, after adding a new class every year as students advance. This past year the school was recognized for getting the best results of all schools in its district, public and private schools combined.
Getting good teachers to serve in southern Madagascar is a major challenge for the FJKM. Few qualified teachers from elsewhere in Madagascar are willing to move there as Mrs. Razanalivao and Mr. Ranarianirina have done. FJKM entities are sponsoring young people from the south to study at the FJKM teacher training college in Antananarivo to address this issue. Currently, eight students are taking part in this program, all committed to returning to the south to teach. One of these students, Mr. Fanomezantsoa Vellentini, told us, “We are the best suited to bring real change to the south.”
The FJKM’s priorities for further ministry in the south include building new classrooms for four FJKM schools that do not have enough classrooms for their students (Jangany, Imongy, Tsihombe, and Mahasoa), sponsoring the studies of more student-teachers to serve in the south, digging more wells and building more water reservoirs, building a conference center at Ambovombe, building a teacher training college to train hundreds of teachers to teach in the south, and establishing a seminary to prepare pastors to serve in the south. The need for new school classrooms is especially urgent.
This past year, international publicity generated a lot of news about the extreme hardship and malnutrition that the people of southern Madagascar face as a result of drought, poor governance, and an ever-growing population, made worse by COVID-19 restrictions and climate change. Most articles written about the south focus on how dire the situation is for the people, lemurs, and endemic plants of southern Madagascar.
The FJKM tells a different story, of creative ministries spreading God’s love in concrete ways to bring salvation and hope. At the end of our 10-day trip, most of us flew back to Antananarivo. The next day Pastor Soja was on the road again, returning to Soatsifa to oversee the first-time distribution of water from the church’s reservoir.
Our trip to the south highlighted the history that Presbyterians from the U.S.A. have had in ministry with the FJKM. We found out later that Elizabeth’s father, Bill Warlick, had traveled to Soatsifa in 1994 with the head of the FJKM Evangelism Department at that time, Pastor Jean D’Elinivo. On that trip, Bill and Pastor D’Elinivo brought Mrs. Elisabeth Razanalivao and her husband, Marc Ranarianirina, to Soatsifa to start teaching. We were privileged to see the fruits of their labor 28 years later.
We give thanks for the history that we Presbyterians have in contributing to FJKM’s efforts to spread God’s love in southern Madagascar. There is much to be done, but it is wonderful to be in partnership, changing lives.
Peace in Christ,
Dan and Elizabeth
Read more about the Turks’ ministry in Madagascar HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Dan and Elizabeth Turk in Madagascar. All gifts of any size are welcomed to help provide training and education to improve the lives of the Malagasy people. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.