What motivates them?
-Chuck Rapp Life on Nosy Mitsio has many challenges. Here’s my Top Ten list. 10. Outhouse and bucket showers 9. Poor nutrition and strange foods 8. Very little electricity (solar) and no AC 7. 400 square foot home 6. Lots of dirt 5. Missions study and homework 4. Remote location 3. Very difficult travel 2. New language 1. Constant flow of village visitors and little privacy What motivates a family to take on these challenges? I heard the answer to this question during the team...
Read MoreAnother long commute…
-Chuck Rapp I’m convinced that Madagascar has the worst roads in the world! In order to beat the traffic and also travel during the coolest part of the day, we left Ambilobe at 2:30 AM Wednesday. The distance to Diego Suarez is a bit less than 100 miles, and the trip took 5 hours due to mega bumpy roads. About 2 hours into the drive we had a flat tire, so I was (earnestly!) praying for no more troubles the rest of the trip. Prayers answered! Diego is much more a tourist town with a lot...
Read MoreOur time in Nosy Mitsio comes to a close…
-Chuck Rapp By the last two days on Nosy Mitsio my body clock was pretty well adjusted. Bedtimes were early (no 10:00 news), and I awoke rested shortly after 5 AM. Here’s a shot of Tuesday’s sunrise taken from the front porch. Pretty nice way to start the day. A SPECIAL TREAT… On our last day on the island, one of the village young men stopped by the house with a special treat. Two fresh coconuts. He deftly cut away the shell with a machete and opened each top. The larger one...
Read MoreHonored Guests
-Chuck Rapp We were the honored guests Sunday night at a village party hosted by the Mayles. About 25 – 30 people from the village and the village headman came. We were joined by AIM teammates Steve and Becka Orner and their three children. We experienced watching a goat and two chickens get butchered and prepared for the meal. It’s 6:15 AM as I’m writing this and three women from the village are back here washing all the dinner dishes in our front yard. The front yard was...
Read More3,000 year old process brings communities together…
-Chuck Rapp Saturday our village went to help another village process the rice harvest. Here you see the before and after pictures. In between is a lot of hard work! The first step is to cut and bundle all the rice stalks by hand. All the bundles are combined into a few large piles. A 30 foot by 30 foot area was then cleared and swept clean. A handmade fence with a gate was erected around the clearing. The rice was then carried into the fenced in area and spread evenly around. You may...
Read MoreSnapshots of life & work in Nosy Mitsio
-Chuck Rapp There’s one thing I’ve learned that children all over the world have in common–they all love to have their pictures taken. The second thing they share is they all love to see themselves in pictures! This morning we had the opportunity to visit Liam’s school. Below are pictures of classmates and Francoise, one of the teachers. It’s amazing to hear all three children carry on conversations with their Malagasy friends. In their conversations with us they...
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