Sunday I left for an exciting recon trip - Madagascar. I am now sitting in a hotel lobby in Jo-burg, South Africa. There was a forced overnight. My flight leaves in the morning. As I have mentioned to people the destination of my trip I have for the most part seen the same reaction - almost each person has thought of a cartoon with the same name produced by Dream Works and then they have all begun to sing a certain song that was featured in the first installment of this cartoon.
I find it interesting how the world around us comes to influence the way we think and process information. Each one of us has a slightly different world view and at least part of it has been influenced by the community in which we have grown up. Stay with me...
If Dream Works had not made a movie called Madagascar then many people in the western hemisphere had not had a clue that this island nation exists. This is not just any island in the world. Madagascar is the forth largest island on planet earth after Greenland, Papua (or New Guinea), and Borneo and is the second largest island nation in the world after Indonesia. The first inhabitants came all the way from Borneo, in dug out logs. They then blended with people from mainland Africa and when the European colonial powers "took over" Africa, Madagascar was claimed by the French.
Because of its isolation as an island off the east coast of Africa, the animal and plant life is both unique and diverse. There are species here that can not be found elsewhere on the planet.
Since their independence from France in 1960, there has been little peace on the island. The last event was a coup d'etat in 2009 and since then the nation has been in utter and complete disarray and instability.
About half of the population are animists and ancestral worship is an important part of every day life. They even exhume their dead to honor them and carry them in processions through town before rewrapping them for a new burial. Muslims are trying to gain presence on the island. The church has in many places become syncretistic, ie they have blended their Biblical beliefs with old traditions.
This week I will be meeting with pastors, bishops and other church leaders in the capital Antananarivo to share about Mission SOS. Praying for devine connections to take place these coming days. Our East Africa Director Glorious Shoo will be with me as we plan for the future.
Pray for us this week!
C u soon!
About Unknown
Hi, my name is Peter Almqvist and I am a minister of help. I work with setting up large outdoor evangelistic festivals all around the world, primarily in Africa. Currently we are on what we are calling the African Capital City Tour, or ACCT for short. We preach the gospel to those that have not heard or have yet to respond. The cry of the lost has been heard and we are responding to their SOS.
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