Today a team of Christians from Ambovombe, led by Rev. Gaston, cycled 14 miles to Andohalambo to open a new Church there.
Thanks be to God for their commitment to bring others into the Kingdom of God and help their faith to grow!
CYCLE FOR JESUS!
All posts by Sue Babbs
Merry and joyful Christmas
Dear Friends in Christ
Merry and joyful Christmas,
Happy and hopeful New Year 2022,
Bishop Samitiana and Holy,
Toliara, Madagascar
THANKFUL FOR RAIN!
On Thanksgiving Day here in America, may we join with the Malagasy in giving thanks for the recent rain in Ambovombe in the last week or so, but understandably grateful as they are to have water they are sad to only have this dirty water to drink.
Bishop Samitiana reports from Morondava that they have just had their first rain since 2019, while they were praying in All Saint’s Church, Morondava. Praise God!
The Archdeacon’s wife, Neny Oliviah, reports that it has also rained at the Cathedral Complex. The first rain of the season in Toliara town.
Please join in praying for this to be a good rainy season in Madagascar, filling the rivers and streams, and raising underground water levels.
ABC NEWS FROM MADAGASCAR November 1st
ABC Evening News had a segment in a series on the climate crisis that focused on southern Madagascar and the famine in our Diocese. Watch the video here
May God’s mercy and love surround the people of this region.
Bishop Cites ‘Indescribable’ Suffering in Madagascar
As the the COP26 global climate summit is about to start in Scotland, Anglican Bishop Gilbert of Fianarantsoa (a neighboring Diocese of Toliara) says the island nation is suffering its worst famine in a generation, and urges the world to address climate change.
He warns that at least one million people may be at risk.
When he refers to the south of the country, he is talking about the Diocese of Toliara: “The situation south of the country is not good. Out of our 22 regions, it has been hit the hardest. Some crops have also been destroyed by bandits.”
In responding to the current situation, Rakotondravelo believes the Body of Christ in Madagascar will do well not to live in isolation. Please join us in praying for the island of Madagascar as the people suffer this dreadful famine, and for the global climate summit.
Climate Change Famine
BBC News reports that Madagascar is on the brink of experiencing the world’s first “climate change famine”. This is according to the United Nations, which says tens of thousands of people are already suffering “catastrophic” levels of hunger and food insecurity after four years without rain.
Even though rain fell earlier this year, the worst hit part of Madagascar is still in the Parish of Amboasary in the Diocese of Toliara, where people are eating locusts and cacti to survive. Click here to read the full article.
Please pray for the people of this region.
Information on how to give to help the Diocese provide food can be found here.
Dedication of Sakaraha Guesthouse
We thank God very much that today, August 7th 2021, the guesthouse with four rooms in Sakaraha Parish was dedicated. The rent from this will help the Parish to be self-sustaining. To God be the glory! Amen!
Dedication of “Cheryl’s Place”
Cheryl’s Place is a guest house on the grounds of the Cathedral complex and is now an economic resource for the Diocese of Toliara.
On 20th July, 2021, Cheryl’s Place was dedicated, and officially opened. A service of prayer was held around all the rooms of the building, and prayers offered for all who will live in it in the future.
Responsibility for the guesthouse was passed from the Building Construction Department to the Economic Development Department.
Dr Manampy and Dr Nadia are the first tenants, renting part of the upstairs of the building, where they also have a consulting room.
Doctors’ Consulting Room
Living room upstairs
Bedroom 2 
Bedroom 1
Living room downstairs
May you rest well in God’s presence with God’s people.
Peace be with you.
“I will turn the desert into pools of water”
One of the supporters of the Diocese of Toliara wrote recently saying, my wife came across this passage today and we decided to pray it over the Malagasy in the south:
“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Isaiah 41:17-20 NIV
What a great passage! We serve a God who knows about water projects, and we know how much it is needed!
We invite you to join us in praying this for southern Madagascar.
GOD IS KNOCKING! WILL YOU ANSWER?
On April 17th, 2021, we held our first ever online fundraiser for the McGregor Toliara Endowment Fund. It was hosted and led by Bishop Todd and Rev Patsy McGregor who founded the Diocese of Toliara sixteen years ago.
The McGregors created this Endowment to offer sustainability for one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries in the world in order to promote God’s legacy and to continue the great work God has begun.
During the Zoom call, we watched a video inviting us to give to this Endowment Fund and support the Diocese. If you weren’t able to join us, or would like to share this video with others , you can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFvrMuQhJes
CLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINE TO THE ENDOWMENT FROM THE USA:
1. Enter the amount you want to give
2. Under “Gift Type”, select “Give one time” or “Set up Recurring Gift”
3. Under “Fund” select “McGregor Toliara Endowment”
or, if you wish to give by check, make it out to:
St Gregory’s Episcopal Church – memo McGregor Toliara Endowment
and mail it to:
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1503, Boca Raton FL 33429
CLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINE TO THE ENDOWMENT FROM THE UK
or make cheques payable to USPG (McGregor Toliara Endowment)
and send to: USPG, 5 Trinity Street, London, SE1 1DB
CONTACT US HERE IF YOU WISH TO DONATE TO THE ENDOWMENT FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY