(MADAGASCAR) Sharing the Hope of the Gospel to Spiritually Eager Students in Madagascar
- by ubfhq
- Apr 17, 2025
- 846 reads
James Lee | Pretoria UBF, South Africa
By God’s grace, Missionary Josephine and I visited Madagascar from April 2 - 9, 2025. When we arrived in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, it was very peaceful and lush with green landscape. The size of the land is six times larger than South Korea, with a population about 30 million. Madagascar was the colony of France for about 80 years. Approximately 50% of the population practices indigenous religions, 7% follow Islam, and 43% practice Christianity.
In Madagascar, there exists the Malagasy people, an indigenous people group who have lived on an isolated land since its inception. The Malagasy mainly eat rice, instead of corn powder, which is a staple in other African countries. They also rely deeply on their ancestor spirits: there is a large grave of their ancestors in the middle of the village.
Madagascar is a poor country. There are no traffic lights in the capital city at all. Some students on campus merely eat a banana or an avocado for lunch. I saw many skinny dogs walk slowly on the streets, looking for something to eat. The worker’s monthly salary is about 50 US dollars, and the monthly wage for a professor is about 250 US dollars.
When we landed at the airport, Sister Shaloy welcomed us. About 5 years ago, Shaloy visited Korea and met a Bible teacher from Kwanak 1 UBF. She studied the word of God diligently with her. Last December, Shaloy attended the Africa New Year Conference and shared her life testimony and prayer topics with African UBF co-workers.
On our first day in Madagascar, Shaloy invited us to campus to evangelize to some students. The University of Antananarivo offers all subjects in French, so Josephine and I were limited in our conversations with the students. I met a mathematics student, but he spoke French, while I spoke English. In our attempts to converse, I used Papago, a translation app. Shaloy also helped us talk with students as she is fluent in French and Malagasy.
We invited Shaloy to stay with us in the same guest house we were staying at. Every day, we visited the campus together and had meaningful fellowship. Despite Shaloy’s busy work schedule at her company, she and Josephine prepared food for students before going to the campus.
The students at the university were very humble and polite. Josephine and I are old, but they were happy to engage with us. We met two or three students every day, and on the fourth day, God opened the door to start a group Bible study with some students who were interested. Before going to Madagascar, I studied the book of Mark, organizing it into seven Bible studies. We only had the time to have group Bible study three times during our stay and were able to study Mark 1-3.
During our first meeting, Brother Tsiory, Sister Vivian, Brother Avotra, Sister Rogo, Sister Alifeno, and Sister Tendry attended. We discussed Jesus calling Simon and Andrew. Simon and Andrew had jobs as ordinary fishermen. But the job Jesus gave them was of eternal value and much more precious. Jesus gave them life purpose, mission, and a personal calling out of His love. What a privilege it is to be called by Jesus. Secondly, we learned that Jesus has the authority to drive out all impure spirits from man. Impure spirits obey the word of Jesus, and Jesus frees us to restore the image of God in us.
Tsiory joined our second Bible study. We discussed the faith of the four friends who brought their paralyzed friend on a mat. They made a hole in the roof of a house to bring their friend to Jesus. Jesus didn’t rebuke them but saw their faith. More important than physical healing, Jesus forgave the man's sins and restored his broken relationship with God. Like the paralyzed man, we must be forgiven by Jesus’ blood. Tsiory was moved by how Jesus healed the paralyzed man.
During our third Bible study, Brother Tsiory, Sister Vivian, Brother Rosales and Brother Mitia joined. We studied Jesus, the bridegroom at the wedding (Mark 2:18-22). Jesus, our bridegroom, came to bring joy, which is much more important and fulfilling than the fast the Pharisees insisted on. The second point was that Jesus called his disciples to the mountain. Jesus is also calling us to step away from the crowd, come to the mountain where He stands, and follow Him, as His disciples. We are to grow as Jesus’ disciples, trained by the Holy Spirit. The words of Jesus encouraged the students and enlightened their souls, shown in their bright smiles. Since our return to Pretoria, South Africa, Shaloy has continued to keep in contact with them to study and pray with them.
Though the people in Madagascar are poor, they have hope for their country. 70% of its national population are young. When the youth of Madagascar meet Jesus Christ through studying the word of God, the nation will be a light to other African and Asian countries. To meet Christ, they need someone to teach them the word of God. We have been praying for Shaloy to grow as an equipped Bible teacher and a good shepherd like Jesus for the people of Madagascar.
Prayer Topics:
1. Sister Shaloy’s spiritual growth and for her to possibly move closer to campus.
2. Regular online meetings with the students to finish the book of Mark.
3. Another future visit to encourage each other and have fellowship.
