by admin | April 6, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Life in Madagascar. It’s difficult to explain. It’s beautiful and it’s ugly. It’s triumph and it’s defeat. It’s growth and it’s tearing down. It’s truth and it’s lies. In these ways, it’s really no different than anywhere else in the world. One of the big...
by admin | March 31, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
(11:30am Monday morning- Madagascar time) If you can’t see it… we’re that massive island (the world’s 4th largest in fact) underneath this storm! Our city is the “pin mark” in the NW corner of the picture. Cyclone Hellen is...
by admin | March 17, 2014 | Blog, Our Videos, Uncategorized
A few weeks ago we started singing with the ladies before and after our class sessions. It’s amazing how singing breaks the darkness and the staleness of the air and replaces it with life and refreshment. We’re singing about the great love of Christ and...
by admin | March 17, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s been really good to be back to work at the Sarobidy Maternity Center. To be with these women, to build relationships with them, to hear their stories of triumph and defeat, to rejoice with them and mourn with them, to laugh with them, sing with them and...
by admin | March 12, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
This little chick-a-dee of ours just turned 8. How is that even possible? I can vividly remember the excited anticipation when she was still in my womb and the moment she entered the world… our hearts and lives were forever changed and we wouldn’t have...
by admin | March 11, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Say you live in sunny Santa Barbara and you travel to Maine to visit friends and you bring back some still kickin’ lobster for your friends back home. That’s a voandalana. Or perhaps you live in Arizona and you’re traveling to California for a...
by admin | February 27, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
We’ve been back in Madagascar for 2 weeks… the journey was quite the adventure– one which you can read here. No matter how many times we return back and forth, there’s always an adjustment. When returning to the States, the adjustment is to...
by admin | February 23, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
I haven’t been posting much lately, or posting practically at all for the last 6’ish months. Our days have been busy with fundraising and all the State-side work that comes with “home assignment”. And truth be told, life for me… my...
by admin | February 3, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Last week we were blessed to receive a huge box packed with lots of love by some friends of ours in frosty Ohio. Truth be told, this friend and I have never officially met, as in, in person. We’ve emailed, texted and talked on the phone… and without a...
by admin | January 30, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Boxes. Totes. Purchasing. Receiving donations. Sorting. Packing. Itemizing. Applying value for each item. Numbering. Taping itemized list and box number. Zip-tying. Packing Truck. Driving Truck to Sacramento. Unpacking Truck into holding container. 94...
by admin | December 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
You may remember when we first went to Madagascar it was a bit of a trial… a trial to make sure that our family wouldn’t merely survive but thrive in ministry on the Red Island. As a result, we decided it was in our best interest to go to Madagascar as...
by admin | November 30, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Earlier this month, Jamie and I (sans kiddos), traveled to Haiti with our awesome new teammates, Neal and Danielle Carlstrom and their wee one, Jolie. Though our time was short in Haiti (Tuesday morning to Friday), our time was rich– full of learning,...
by admin | November 7, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Last week we shared with you the most recent news about Josy and Redy– that the surgery had been performed and the only news we had was that we knew they were both OK. On Friday morning, November 1st, we received a phone call at 4:30am from India. Josy...
by admin | October 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
For your reading pleasure… our October newsletter. If you’d like to receive these monthly email updates into your inbox, simply drop us a line here to tell us!
by admin | October 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
We’re excited to share with you our newest ministry video of 2013 as God restores health, forests, and hope in Madagascar! Restoring Health– through the Sarobidy Maternity Center as we strive to empower impoverished women with truth, education, and...
by admin | October 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
On Monday, Jamie and I are traveling, sans kiddos, to Haiti for 5 days! You may wonder, Haiti– why Haiti? In truth… it’s a good excuse to have some much needed time away from our tribe of little crazies, er… kids. The first time ever...
by admin | September 30, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s almost indescribable the transformation that took place at the house where Jamie grew up into what is now the Sarobidy Maternity Center. I think Rota, our Malagasy midwife said it best after living in the house for a few months before and during the...
by admin | September 29, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
We often think of the remainder of this line as it takes a village to raise a child… this is indeed the case in Madagascar and we love this aspect of Malagasy community life. This last year, we’ve been blessed and encouraged to find that it also takes a...
by admin | August 26, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
We’ve been back in the States for close to two weeks now. It was smooth sailing across the world on each and every leg of travel. The 10-hour drive from our home in Mahajanga to the capital city of Tana. The 11-hour plane ride from Tana to Paris. The...
by admin | August 4, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The first two women of the Sarobidy Maternity Center had their babies in the last week! Judicia had a beautiful baby girl and Prisca, a sweet baby boy! Both moms and babies are doing well and are settled in at home. Rota, the malagasy midwife and I have already had a...
by admin | July 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s mind-boggling to us that in less than 8 days, we’ll be on the first leg of our journey back to the USA for the fall. It’s only been a year since we were last in the States for the main purpose of completing my midwifery license and taking my...
by admin | July 23, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
I wanted to take the time to introduce you to the 10 women currently enrolled in the Sarobidy Maternity Center’s prenatal program. The staff and I consider it an honor and privilege to get to know these women and walk alongside of them during these months...
by admin | July 19, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s been several months since I last wrote an update about Josy. If you receive our monthly newsletters, (or if you don’t and want to… sign up by dropping us a line here) you know that his health has stabilized, he’s been...
by admin | May 31, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
On Monday, May 13th, just 1 day after American Mother’s Day (Malagasy Mother’s Day is actually the 26 of May), we officially opened the doors of the Sarobidy Maternity Center. What a feeling! We received the first 5 pregnant women that day and the joy in...
by admin | May 12, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s the eve of opening day… not the eve of the opening day of baseball season… though I have desperately missed the last few years of these. Not the eve of a summer break or the eve of a beautiful relaxing vacation, though both of those would be...
by admin | May 3, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
60-year old Eliza is a single mother to 7 children and a grandmother to 7 grandchildren. For some time, she’s been struggling to keep her last 2 children in the government college. The fact that they’ve been attending college is actually quite...
by admin | May 3, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
When 1+1+1= 42… Forty-two is the number of boys and girls that are now receiving a preschool and early elementary school education after a father and his two adult daughters each took out a $95 loan and then combined them to open the Glory School. Forty-two...
by admin | May 1, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
In early 2012 we started a small micro-finance loan project after some friends gave a generous gift to get this started. Last month, we did a year-end review of the project. We’re thrilled to share that in the last 12 months, 108 women and men have a received...
by admin | March 29, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Around here, life has been intense. Our days have been beyond full and our nights of sleep sometimes a little a lot too short. Around here, our minds have been swirling with the need-to-do’s, the want-to-do’s, the must-do-nows, and the...
by admin | March 15, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It was just 3 short weeks yet what-feels-like-forever-ago, that we wrote to you with the devastating news of the prognosis for our dear friend and ministry partner Josy. Three weeks ago that we were preparing ourselves that Josy might not live another week. And...
by admin | March 15, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
A brutal reality is the medical care or lack-there-of, in this country. Madagascar doesn’t stand alone in this reality as I’ve experienced the same truths in other developing countries. We’ve recently been forced to look at this nasty reality square...
by admin | February 21, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Friends, thank you for your continued prayers for our dear friend Josy. It’s been 2 weeks since our last update just after Josy had surgery. There’s been several times that I’ve sat down to write a letter but the suspected diagnosis and...
by admin | February 15, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Friday. A grandmother in her late 40’s is seeking help frantically. Her first daughter of 8 children is in labor with her first child. She’s in the home of an extended family member, hemorrhaging with no medical attention– no doctor, no midwife....
by admin | February 6, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Friends, we are humbled by your prayers! We are humbled by your love and care for a dear friend of ours that many of you have never met but have only heard stories of over the years. We are humbled by your notes of encouragement to send along to Josy and notes for...
by admin | February 5, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
God provides. That’s all there is to it. He provides. For our work in Madagascar, He provides the resources, the finances, the people. In our life, He provides the peace that passes all understanding. He provides His incomparable love. He provided His Son....
by admin | February 4, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
It is with a heavy heart yet a heart still full of hope that we write to you today to ask you to pray for Josy, our closest friend and partner in ministry. As you read this, he is laying in a hospital in the capital city awaiting emergency surgery on Monday. I say...
by admin | January 23, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Over New Year’s we went to Antananarivo for some cooler temps, some fellowship with other English speakers, some play, some work, and alas, some shopping.. though shopping for stuff like Oatmeal and Sundried Tomatoes is not necessarily what I consider...
by admin | January 22, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The kids having been asking me to bake lately. In fact, Gavin and Eliana both attempted to bake their own renditions of dessert yesterday… for Gavin it was chocolate pizza and for Eliana, it was chocolate cake. Of course the measurements were all askew and...
by admin | January 13, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Antananarivo, try saying that fast 10 times. Antananarivo or Tana for short, is the capital city of Madagascar and is where we recently spent a week over New Years for business but also play and fellowship with other English speaking friends in the missionary...
by admin | December 28, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s that time of year again… time for families and friends to share Christmas letters and cards, photos of how the kids have changed and stories of their latest news, accomplishments and/or tribulations. So… we decided to do the same… ...
by admin | December 20, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
It’s the afternoon of December 20th. Christmas is 5 days away…. so technically 4 more days until Christmas. Have I done any shopping? No. Have I sung any familiar Christmas hymns in church? No. Have I done any holiday baking? No. Have I seen any...
by admin | December 17, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
Tuesday is market day in our house. There’s nothing really special about why Tuesday is the market day other than the largest deliveries of fresh produce arrive on Tuesday and Friday mornings at the market that I shop at. Of course, when I say...
by admin | December 14, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
I’m not sure of the number of traditional midwives here in Madagascar but I know there’s a good number of them. These women have no formal training but rather their knowledge has been passed down from older generations. Dadan’i Sisy, pictured here...
by admin | December 12, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
This is a guest post from Tara Livesay. Tara is a gifted writer, a fellow worker and soon-to-be midwife doing what we’re getting ready to do in terms of providing maternity care to some of the “least of these”. Tara and her family live and work in...
by admin | November 27, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
You may have read about our doozy of a Thanksgiving last week… if not, my last post will give you the back story. I was sick. Sick as a dog. 5 full days of raging fever, intense body aches, and extreme fatigue… and that’s all. No respiratory...
by admin | November 25, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
Celebrating major American holidays and living in Madagascar somehow just don’t go together very well… or maybe we just haven’t found our groove with them just yet. In fact, the last 4 holidays we’ve celebrated in Madagascar have been...
by admin | November 21, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
Not necessarily a fun topic to think about or address but it’s a killer (quite literally) to live with day in and day out, everyday of one’s life. Poverty and Injustice. They happen all around us. Sometimes we’re aware of them and often times,...
by admin | November 5, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
You read that right… Jamie and I had our 10-year vodiondry anniversary November 2. Vodiondry in Malagasy is literally translated as sheep’s butt, so yes, in fact we did celebrate our 10th sheep’s butt anniversary! Or in other terms, we celebrated...
by admin | October 23, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
Many of you have heard about Mahabana over the last 13 years. Mahabana is an incredibly special place to us for many reasons… the people, the relationships, the simplicity of life, the fishing, the history, the ways God has worked, the ways He has transformed...
by admin | October 16, 2012 | Blog, Uncategorized
If you’ve got 6 minutes and want to see an absolutely spectacular movie trailer about the real deal Madagascar– no cartoon animals here, you really must check out this video. The full-length movie is coming soon. Here’s a little blurb from their...
