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Worship : 8 : 0 0 A M a n d 1 0 : 3 0 A M Office Hours from 9 : 0 0 to Noon, Monday to Friday | ||||||||
 
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This site has some pictures from the life of our congregation. We'd like to have you come visit us. ***************** Hi everyone!
It's been quite a while since I sent out an update and I apologise for that. It wasn't intentional, but I was thwarted by the cyclones aftermath last month. I had an email all typed up and ready to send when I went to Ambato ( my banking town) at the end of February, but the phone lines were still down a week after the cyclones. M/car isn't connect to the fiber-optic backbone and thus the ol' dial-up is all we have and it of course could not be used.
I'll
start with the cyclones, and yes it is intentionally plural. Cyclones
Fame and Ivan first hit the coast on Saturday (2/16) and they slowly made
their way across the island. We've already felt the aftermath of a couple
of cyclones at my site that, however, this experience was quite different.
The cyclone still had quite a bit of strength when it arrived. The winds
and driving rain were enough to knock over fences and make many roofs in the
village leak (including mine). It lasted for almost 48 hours. The
damage on the coast is equal to if not less than the damage that has been
caused by the massive flooding around the island. Roads and means of
communication are sparse to begin with in
The last 2 months have been both fruitful and difficult. While I've talked to the NGO, ADRA (an adventist mission development organization), about going to fokontonys by vehicle with them, it has never come into fruition. I've also only been able to go to two of the fokontonys by bike. Rain, cyclones, miscommunication, changes of plans, and broken down vehicles have thwarted nearly every effort I've made.
At the CSB I'm finally finding ways to help other then just filling out cards and giving kabarys (health messages) in the morning. I've even had people start approaching me outside of the CSB because they had health questions. The most common thing that people come to me about is toothaches. It kind of has me stumped. I can tell them to take some Ibuprofen and that they should go to the doctor, but the doctor too gives them Ibuprofen and antibiotics occasionally. The closest dentist is 60 some kilometers away and most people cannot afford to see him. Other things like women who want to start birth control or who have malnourished children are easier to talk to and give straight forward answers.
A week ago I got to celebrate a milestone with my village. They achieved the title of "Kaominina Mendrika" or Champion Commune. It's a program run by SanteNet, an NGO funded by USAID, which then selects local NGOs, in this case ADRA, to run the Kaomiana Mendrika program in villages across the counrty. After the village is selected they set health goals (ex. 80% of children fully vaccinated, mosquito nets distributed to all pregnant woman, or a certain # of health messages given in each fokontony) and the goals are attained through the work of trained health workers. If after a year the goals are attained, the village is given the title Champion Commune (much like Minnesota Star cities, only they had to work hard for it and 90% of the villages in M/car can't claim to have the same title). The celebration consisted of many boring speeches, but also skits, dances, and puppetry. Afterwards I had a very enjoyable conversation with the Director of SanteNet (it was the first time I spoke more that "good morning" or "hello" to someone in my village if that gives you any idea how refreshing it was for me).
Easter was a lot of fun. I again had lunch after church with my friend Voahangy's family. I made no-bake oatmeal cookies for dessert that they really enjoyed. My dog kind of ruined the meal. He followed me back to their house after I went home to get the cookies. He often follows me so this was not new, but this time he followed me into the yard and into the kitchen. I was mortified at this, but they didn't seem to mind and gave him a huge plate of rice which they kept adding more and more goose to. He barked at the cat and I repeatedly tried to get him to leave, but they kept telling me that it was ok and that he needed to eat b/c he was hungry. So not only was I embarrassed, but I guess I'm a bad mom too, b/c they felt like they needed to feed my starving dog :(
My favorite Easter tradition was actually Easter Monday. Families traditionally go for a walk ad they call it, or a picnic would be a better way to describe it. In my town it's a tradition to do this with your church, so we left at 8 in the morning and walked about a 1/2 hour outside of the town to a large field. Here each of the families sets up a camp and builds a small house by tearing branches from the bush. This ensures that you have shade for the day. After you're done building your house you walk around and visit other people, see where your friends are and compliment their houses. The day was filled with singing, lots of dancing, relays, games of volleyball and soccer and of course eating. It may well be my favorite day so far here in M/car.
I have to admit that I am looking forward to the next two weeks when my stage has its IST (In-service training)followed by some vacay and a health fair. Not only am I excited to see my friends and find out what they have been doing, but this marks the point when we can begin our secondary projects. As I've begun to set up a routine here I have been trying to figure out what would help the community. The doctor is still pushing really hard for kabone (latrine) sensitization and getting funding to build them throughout the village. I agree that it would be worth while and will do my best to work on it, but unless there is ample support from the community it won't amount to anything other than wasted money. What I really want to start is a physical/health education class at the schools. I haven't worked out any of the details yet, but I've talked to teachers who would support it. After the 3 days of IST I am
going on a short vacation with some other volunteers. We haven't decided
where we are going yet. We initially had thought of going to Ile Sainte
Marie, a small island 8km off the eastern coast. Seeing as it was one of
the places hardest hit by the cyclones, we may reconsider. All that's
certain is that we will be on a beach. That fun will amount to 3 or 4 days (oh,
if only it could be longer!) and then I'll head to the Over the last month and a half I have become quite tight with the mayor of Amboasary. The village owns my house and thus are in charge of it's maintenance. Nearly once a week I've had to talk to either about my roof leaking or still not having electricity. It frustrating to keep having to address such issues, but then again I know that there a much bigger problems I could be facing. The first time I had to go talk with him I had to precede the meeting with a formal letter with my reasons for addressing him. After 3 drafts the doctor finally allowed me to deliver it. Things still are not fully resolved, so I'm sure that I'll have the pleasure of plenty more conversations with him. Sorry to have rambled on for so long. If you've made it to the end thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, letters and packages! They always brighten my day! And with all the tea and coffee I've gotten, it brightens my morning too!
Much love, Kristen *****************
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Youth
