I come from a village that’s a couple of hours’ walk from Mandritsara – Ambodilengo. I lived there in spiritual darkness. I did not know God. In fact I knew very little about God or about the Lord Jesus Christ. When I was 8 my parents divorced. I lived with my mother until I finished primary school, and then with my father and stepmother.
I went to the Protestant Church high school in Mandritsara and did little jobs to help pay my school fees. Then I went to the Lycée, but I failed the Baccalaureat and there was not enough money to pay for me to repeat. So I went back to live in Ambodilengo and to look for a wife. I became the leader of the local football club.
At the Protestant school I had learned a little about the Bible, but back in my village that was soon forgotten. To be honest, I lived a bad life. I served idols of various kinds and I was involved in divination, witchcraft and contacting evil spirits. I made alcoholic drinks (baitsa), and I drank them until I was drunk. I also sold them to have money.
One day in 1997, someone told me: “It is good to pray to God.” He told me the good news about Jesus and he encouraged me to pray. I said: “From the moment there is one person here in our village who prays, I will be the second one.”
After that, we received a letter from the Good News Hospital to tell us that they were coming to play a football match in Ambodilengo. There was also a letter for me personally that said: “We want you to be there because we want to talk to you.”
Then the Good News Hospital team arrived and we played football together. During halftime, Radesana preached the gospel and distributed tracts. He also gave me a Bible. I was very happy to hear the Good News of Jesus and I accepted the gospel.
After that, people from the hospital and the church took turns to visit us each Sunday (Radesana, Dr Mann, Dr Adrien, Zoky Solo, Pasteur Julien). But it was Radesana who came most of the time. So, I came to trust in the Lord Jesus and I turned away from all my sins. The Lord changed my life and I was chosen to be the leader of the small group of Christians that would eventually become a church. I was the leader for 9 years. My wife, and also my children, followed me to church and together we served the Lord. We have a big extended family in the village, but none of them goes to church.
In the beginning we were a small group, but we grew little by little and by the time I moved to Mandritsara, there were about 50 in the congregation, including children.
A lot of things happened during that time. At first we met in a school, but then the local people objected to us using the school and we were thrown out. For a year we met in someone’s house, but after a year we were also thrown out of that. Then we moved to an unfinished house (roof but no walls). But the village elders didn’t like to have a church there because it was next to a place used for idolatry and ancestor worship. But we thank the Lord, because we were then able to build our own church building with help from Christians from overseas. The building is 6 metres wide and 10 metres long and this is still the church building. We were also able to get benches.
In 2005, the Good News Hospital asked me to come to work in the Community Health department. I accepted this and as well as the health work, I started preaching the gospel in many villages and supporting the small village churches. I thank God that I was able to receive some Bible training by following the T.E.E. courses (Theological Education by Extension).
When I completed these, it was my turn to reach out to lead others in learning the word of God through the T.E.E. courses. This is in the Loharano region, northeast of Mandritsara.
As a result of that, there are 7 villages in the Loharano region with active cell groups now, and all of them have baptised members. They were also able to send one of the believers, François, to the Bible Baptist seminary in Antsirabe, south of Antananarivo, with the intention that he will become their leader in the future.
My other responsibilities in the Community Health Department include giving vaccinations to children and pregnant women, teaching health education especially on sanitation and toilets, and producing anti-mosquito oil to help protect against mosquito bites and prevent malaria. All these activities go together with preaching the Gospel.
My wife and I are also involved in the team which is translating the Bible into the Tsimihety language.
I wish to thank the Lord and want to glorify Him with Psalm 145. “I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your Name for ever and ever.”
Thank you.
The writer of this story, Rabemahazaka from Ambodilengo.
Please pray for my eyes, that I don’t go blind (I have glaucoma).
Please pray for my wife, Beni, who is often ill and has been operated on 4 times. She can’t work for a living, though she manages to do work around the house, like cooking.
Please pray for two of my children – I am not sure about their faith. Pray that our whole family may believe in Jesus.
Please pray that many people will be saved in the places where we go, and that I will continue to be able to do God’s work, especially visiting the village cell groups.