There was a theme running through the various New Year’s messages which we had received. Philippians 3:13-14, where the Apostle Paul writes, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Dries and I agreed that we need to ‘take the new year by the horns’ so to speak and focus on what God wants to do this year. In other words, by God’s grace and guidance we are ready to take on this year’s challenges.
I have been trying to guage people’s feelings about Madagascar’s political future. Elections are planned for 2028, although I think it should be sooner while people’s discontent is still fresh. I sense that most people are either cautiously optimistic or simply shrug their shoulders and predict that nothing will in fact change. The water has once again been cut at school and we have been functioning on 160V or less for electricity. I use the term ‘functioning’ rather loosely as with that kind of electricity, nothing actually works.
The current term is approaching its end. It was exam time and many children did not write, because there is an outbreak of what I suspect is measles and many children and adults are seriously afflicted. Every year the situation becomes worse, because parents are not having their babies immunised, with the result that children are dying from a disease which is completely preventable. We try to educate the parents at school, but there needs to be a widespread campaign by the government to make people aware of the seriousness of the situation.
That was a gloomy start to this week’s news. So, let’s finish positively. I am so proud of the pre-school teachers. They have managed to make the most of their small classrooms and everything works well and looks inviting. These first years of school are so vital to a child’s development and growth. Most come from homes where there is no Christian witness and it is a blessing to see how they memorise Scripture at such a young age.
I also received my French exam results this week. I admit that I was stressed as the oral exam was particularly difficult, but I did far better than anticipated. I am glad that I persevered and I trust that it will be used to the glory of God. Thank you for praying for me.
I returned from the Royal Ranger Summit in Stanford yesterday. The ten days were jam-packed and included the NRMC (National Ranger Ministry Camp) leadership training, the actual NRMC camp and then the Africa Summit which included the National Directors from South Africa, Malawi, Ghana and Eswatini. I attended as an unofficial representative for Madagascar.
I have been blessed by the hospitality and kindness of family and friends during my time here in Cape Town. Going to church and connecting with supporters and prayer partners, is always a time of refreshing and encouragement. My mom turns eighty-two this month and spending time with her is a priority even though it is not always easy amid a busy schedule.
I arrived safely in the beautiful Cape. Martine, my English student, of a couple of months ago, decided to come with me to perfect her English as part of a future position as crew on a yacht. It was a sudden decision and God is so faithful as people opened their hearts to Martine. So far, one family will host her for some of her time here and there is also the possibility of another family. This is what Dries and I prayed for, because we want Martine to be exposed to true believers so that she will know what Christianity really means. Please pray with us for Martine to know Jesus as her Saviour and that God has a plan and purpose for her life.
The beginning of the new school year turned out to be a happy event. Teachers and children alike were delighted to be back at school. This will be our third school year after we moved and things are generally looking much better. There is still lots of work to do and since we have about 200 children this year, a serious lack of space. The news about the new pre-school spread very quickly and it was definitely the main attraction this year. The other reason for the rise in numbers, is a less happy one. The people who wanted to hijack our school and then started their own school after we had left the premises, did not re-open this year. We are not sure why, but although it was not a good school, it still allowed many children to go to school. Parents who have already paid school fees during the holiday, were left stranded without reimbursement. Many of those parents came to us for help and while we could not accommodate all of them, some managed to procure a place.
We had only two little ones who cried this year and one that thought that biting might get her sent home to mom. After only two days though, all was calm and the main focus was to get them adjusted to the new routine: proper manners, walking to the toilet and washing hands.
The first day of the primary school is usually taken up with organising books and making sure that the right names of the children appear on those books as parents sometimes can’t agree on what to call their children. It happens regularly that we call a child by the name on the birth certificate, just to realise that the child does not respond, because there is also another name, the ‘every day name’.
Royal Ranger meetings will start on Wednesday and Saturday and we are excited about what God will do in the lives of the young people this year. Please pray with us that the teachers will continue with their positive start and realise that their hard work will bear much fruit.
Dries to the rescue after he noticed that the boards for the Grade 1 children were too low.
The teachers returned to school on Monday and for the rest of the week the school grounds were bustling with activity. I focused on the three pre-school classrooms while Dries had to put up shelves in the new resource area as well as all the blackboards and the teachers had to clean up and sort out. As we are in the dry season, the dust is everywhere which makes cleaning a challenge.
We are thankful that the Royal Ranger Expedition and Adventure camp was such a blessing and that the young people could end their school year in such a way. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their hearts to remind them and challenge them to live for Christ with dedication and increasing devotion. Exam results for the national exams were very good and now these children will go to secondary school in September, which is of course a big step and we commit them to the Lord and pray that He will continue to guide them and that they will flourish. They are used to being nurtured in a small group and now they will for the most part be in classrooms with not less than 60 to 80 other pupils. Most of all, they will not be in schools where the Bible is taught and Jesus is the model for how we should live.
Exam results were good across the board. There was one failure for the national Grade 5 exam. It is sad, because Sidonie was a new student and simply did not have the same input as the rest of her classmates. The children from Ampamata who go to school on Nosy Be and attend the Royal Rangers all did well, especially Masilaza who had the second highest score in her class of more than seventy students.
Alice has also graduated and will now have to make final arrangements for her studies. We are not sure what or where. It is a difficult decision for a young person to make. Please pray with us that God will show her the way forward and that she will continue to serve Him and be a blessing to everyone around her.
I will go to South Africa at the end of September for two months. It requires a lot of planning and I also have to study for my next French exam which I’ll write when I am there. Transport is always the biggest challenge for us when we go to South Africa as one needs a vehicle to get around, because public transport does not work and is not safe. Please pray with us in this regard.
Friday was the last day of the 2024/2025 school year. It was a busy final week; exams as well as the national CéPe exam of the Grade 5’s, books had to be packed away and some classrooms cleared for work in August so that we’ll be ready with a brand new pre-school when school starts again at the beginning of September.
Dries is the avid and very capable gardener in our house. I appreciate a beautiful garden, but it is not advisable to entrust the survival of growing things to my not green fingers. Vegetables do not grow well on our island due to the humidity, but Dries was adamant that he was going to grow tomatoes.
What is written on T-shirts always catches my eye and this one in particular, as I was sure that the wearer had no idea what it meant. In fact, it set me thinking. Politicians like to refer to leaving a legacy once they are no longer in power. More often than not, it turns out not to be what they originally had in mind.
Our island had a visit from the President. On the one hand, that was a very exciting prospect, simply because we knew that we’ll have uninterrupted electricity and water, but on the other hand it meant that just about the whole population was called upon to clean, sweep and then clean some more. Not something that all people here are naturally inclined to.
You would think that starting off a new week with a morning devotional from Charles Spurgeon, is simply the best thing.
“And all the children of Israel murmured.” – Numbers 14:2 –
This devotion was not for me as I am not the murmuring kind…that was my last thought before Mr. Spurgeon started admonishing me in his best King James English. It was intense; both keeping up with the doths, thous and thees, but at the same time thinking that Spurgeon had it in for those murmurers, grumblers, complainers, whiners etc.
I am slowly getting back on my feet…literally that is. It helped that the school was closed for the Easter break and that I did not have to walk much. It gave me some time to do the preparation for the final term before the end of this school year in June.
It is good to have Dries back at home. He has so much to do and the fact that April is one of our hottest and most humid months, must have made him feel right at home.
On the other hand, we have to say goodbye to Annika and Anne who will leave on Tuesday. They had their final Royal Ranger meeting on Saturday. They have been teaching the Rangers about Germany as well as some useful German phrases for the past five weeks. The girls were surprised by how much their students remembered, because they did well in the quizz. Dries made the girls some neck ties to remember us by and Annika gave him her German one.
Lovako School in Russian Bay has fourty-eight pupils this year and the space is filled to capacity. Euphrasie and I were once again impressed by the dedication of the three teachers and the fact that everythings is clean, organised and neat. An added blessing is that the village built a well right next to the school and this makes life at school much easier.
With just one month left of Anne and Annika’s three-month stay, time is flying by, and there’s still so much to do and experience! Last week, Annika and I began working on the mural in the new classroom. We managed to complete the background for our underwater-themed design, though I’m still finding traces of blue paint under my fingernails! Our goal is to finish most of it in the coming days. Every now and then, some of the children would put their heads around the door and encourage us by some ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.
It was Anne’s turn this week to start her series on the characteristics of a Royal Ranger leader. Sometimes we need to return to the basics and reflect on our relationship with the Lord. It was therefore very fitting that Anne’s teaching started there; reading and studying the Bible, praying and cultivating a thankful heart, so that we are able to share this with the children. As I was on my way to school in a tuctuc that morning, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the day ahead, a tuctuc passed by with a sticker that read: ‘God has not forgotten you, He loves you.’
![Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19th June 1834[1] – 31st January 1892)](https://www.nggrootbrak.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Spurgeon.webp)
