Matthew 28:19
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son.

This has been an eventful year for everyone as Patsy and Todd McGregor return to America after working as missionaries for thirty years. Please pray for them as they adjust to life here.  They arrived from Antananarivo on December 15. They answered God’s call to the mission field thirty years ago with two small children. We all need to follow their amazing work and go and make disciples for the Lord in our own journey.

2020 has been a different year for me, I am grateful to God for healing from surgery and radiation therapy but it is a slow process. Jesus walks with me on the journey and one day I will be fully recovered and then I hope to return to Toliara. Thank you to all my supporters for your continued prayers and financial support while I have been dealing with health problems in the United States. I still work for the women and children while I am in the US so please continue to support me with your prayers and financial gifts. Technology is an amazing gift we have and I am in regular contact with people in Madagascar. I am still working with SAMS and have an open account and as soon as I am well, I will return to Madagascar to work with the women and children so please continue your support. Thank you

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.

The women have been working on crafts and Days for Girls kits. Chretienne and Harisoa organized the women to sell the products at the craft market by the beach in Toliara. They have trained the women to sell the products and different women go each day. There are small open shops in the craft market where the women are selling their products. This is very important as the women are learning to be entrepreneurs.

The women work together as teams in many activities at the center. Celine makes crafts at the center and often stays to cut grass to take home to feed the family zebu. Celine fills a bag full of nutritious grass and carries it on her head, she walks two miles to the center.

Famine is still a problem in Southern Madagascar and people continue to die because of the lack of food and water. The animals are also dying so an important food source is disappearing, also the zebu are used to pull the carts that take families to town to purchase supplies.

There has been some relief from the famine and the lack of water but it is not over so please continue to support the people of Madagascar. Ialy , the Project manager for the diocese, organized a truck of water to go from Toliara to Andranohinaly and Andranovory.

The North English Church in Antananarivo donated rice, and rice was also donated from the Diocese of Toliara and taken by truck to Ambovombe in Southern Madagascar.. The food and water is distributed to all who need it.

Proverbs 28:27
Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

Please consider making a donation to SAMS to help the people who need food. Make a note on the donation stating it is for famine relief in Toliara. I believe that if those who have plenty share with the needy of the world there will be enough but everyone has to share.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Blessed New Year.

Romans 12:13
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I would love to hear comments or notes of how you are doing, you can send them to jacquelinelowe51@gmail.com 

Click here to read Jacky Lowe’s latest newsletter.  Jacky is a SAMS missionary in the Diocese of Toliara, living in a simple room at the Women’s Center at the Cathedral Complex. Jacky is grateful for this room, and the small inhabitants who share it!

In her newsletter, Jacky includes many photos which tell the story of the lives and homes of Dola and Mbiny.  In comparison, their homes make Jacky’s room look very luxurious!

In 2016, the Diocese formed the Days for Girls Enterprise  at the Women’s Center, where washable, re-usable feminine hygiene products are made.  The Diocese hired 6 women to sew kits, including these two grandmothers from the neighboring village, Andranomena.   Not only have we been able to donate kits to many women and girls, but we are also now able to provide work to 12 women.

Donations to further the work of the Diocese with women children and other ways can be made here.

Romans 12:12-13:  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I am so grateful for all that the Lord has provided in my life, especially the gifts I have and the ability to share them with those less fortunate. The Lord continues to bless me every day to be a blessing to other people.

With the help of churches in South Florida I purchased a new oven, baking equipment and  ingredients for cakes and cookies for the Women’s Center.  The women made cakes and cookies that were sold during the three weeks of meetings and the Synod in August.

Read more here

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”                                                                   Matthew 28: 19

Sunday July 28, Rev. Patsy was leading the service at Ankilibe, where Esterline is the evangelist. Patsy and I travelled to Ankilibe in a Tuc Tuc a three wheeled vehicle with open sides, faster than a rickshaw (pousse pousse) but very breezy.  Though  much quicker than walking which is the mode of travel for many Malagasy people.

We walked the last half a mile as the dirt road was to soft and the tuc tuc could not move. The people from the village came to greet us it was a beautiful morning full of the glory of God. The church was a one room, the structure was wood with aluminum sides, and a few rice bags where they ran out of aluminum sheets. The roof was long grasses woven together and held in place with thick pieces of wood. There was one door and no windows but plenty of light through spaces.

Inside the church there was an altar, 5 chairs and the pews were long pieces of wood on concrete blocks eight inches from the floor. I did not attempt to sit in the pews I asked if I may use a chair, as I would not be able to get up.

The altar table was covered with a white cloth decorated with a green cross. The candle holders were unique, recycled yogurt containers containing sand to give weight and they worked very well. The host was safely placed in a used coffee jar and the wine in a red ketchup container. Rev. Patsy brought a chalice and a plate for the host.

The people were so humble at the church and they were so grateful that we came to visit.  One felt so welcome. We were truly on holy ground and the service was very special.

One requires lots of patience in Madagascar as time passes very slowly.  I know God is teaching us all patience and the real meaning of, ‘in God’s time.’  Recently, I  had a weekend of problems.  My phone decided to stop working on Friday morning at 5am it made a strange noise and the screen went black. I sat on my cracked toilet seat and it broke completely.  Ouch!  Saturday, the water to the kitchen and bathroom stopped running but everyone else on the compound had water. I solved the water problem by going to the faucet outside and filling several buckets with water and carried them into the Women’s Center. Monday, Fiavy found a blockage in the pipe and the water started to flow.

The toilet seat was a job for Fiavy (he lives on the compound as one of our security men). He came and made a cardboard cut-out of the seat and went off to buy a new one which he replaced the following Monday.

The phone took a few days longer and a trip into town with Patsy and I now have a working phone. I am very grateful but it takes patience and endurance to wait for repairs to take place.

The women are baking I demonstrated how to make cookies on Thursday and Friday 6 women in pairs made the cookie dough. We froze the cookie dough and will bake the cookies and sell them at the Synod at the end of August.

The women are also learning about Centering Prayer. On the days we cooked we sat for 10 minutes in silence and then they talked about their experience. Andre the young man in the picture is an interpreter when I am teaching.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”                                                                         Colossians 3:16

I would love to hear comments or notes of how you are doing.  You can send them to jacquelinelowe51@gmail.com.  Thank you

Ephesians 5:20 In the name of our Lord Jesus give thanks every day for everything to our God and Father.

After a very busy September, I went on a five day retreat to the beach, to be with God in the silence.  Each morning, after breakfast, I would walk a mile to a cross in the sand made by the roots of a large tree. 

During the walk I would simply enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, the ocean, birds, rocks, goats, children playing, sound of the waves, beautiful art in the sand made by waves, shells, and rocks.  It was an amazing experience and a wonderful way to start the day.

The women were very busy in October making 500 Days for Girls basics kits. Harisoa and some of the women distributed the kits to a number of villages near Toliara.  The kits were paid for by The Days for Girls organization in America and were free for the women, so now many women do not have to miss work or school because of their menstrual cycle.

 

 

On Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings the women are learning to crochet with the goal of making prayer pockets. The prayer pockets will be blessed and then distributed in the diocese during pastoral visits, when people are sick or need prayers for other reasons.

Women who attend the center live in a variety of houses, some are made of concrete, of sheets of metal or woven grass.  There is no running water in any of the houses, water is carried in plastic containers from communal taps.  Toilets are a hole in the ground in a small building, and bathrooms are a separate small building where one takes a bucket of cold water to bathe.

 

Children are the joy of Madagascar.  There are many and they always have a smile on their face.  They play in garbage dumpsters or puddles after rains.  The boys play soccer with balls made from plastic bags and girls cook using rocks and soil.

 

 

On Sundays Bible stories are taught using colorful pictures on a flannel graph board.  The children love the stories and are mesmerized by the wonderful illustrations.  Olivia and Tantely teach the Bible stories and I help them to prepare as the instructions are in English.  The children also learn simple songs it is such a joy to watch them their eyes are wide and full of wonder.

 

At the end of October,we were visited by Rev. Hal Spears and his secretary, Trudi Tooby, from England.  They had visited a convent in Antananarivo to be present as two nuns took their final vows and then they came to Toliara to visit with Bishop Samitiani and family.  I had met Rev. Spears as he lives near my brother.  Trudi stayed with me and we had a very pleasant few days.

 

Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Friday June 8: I demonstrated, making oatmeal raisin cookies to the women, with an emphasis on hygiene and hand washing. Zafy was my interpreter and the women asked lots of questions. There is a lot of sickness here and handwashing is important.  I gave out small bars of soap to the women to use at home.  Soap is a luxury for them. The oven in the kitchen has no temperature control, so Josianne & I practiced the cookies before the demonstration & discovered that the oven was very hot and we burnt the cookies but the people who live in the compound still enjoyed them. So on Friday I put the oven on low and watched cookies bake so as not to burn them and praise the Lord it worked.

I asked Nolavy to speak to the women while the cookies were baking. Nolavy is the wife of Rev. Victor and they live in Morondavo. They are both here in Toliara to teach the student Evangelists. Nolavy was mentored by Rev. Patsy as a teenager and has studied Theology in Kenya. In March 2018 she attended the United Nations conference in New York and talked about the difficulties of women here in Madagascar. The women were very attentive of the information she gave them, she is an inspiration to all the women  in Madagascar. 

There is an active Mothers’ Union here and the women made jewelry for Mother’s Day and sold tickets for 5,000 Ariary each (about $1.50). Those who bought the tickets received a gift for Mother’s Day. The money raised is to purchase T-shirts for each women for the annual Mothers Union Conference here in September. The women had a lot of fun making the gifts for the small bags you see them holding in the photo.

On Pentecost Sunday we had three baptisms at the Cathedral. Bishop Samitiana was the officiant and the service was wonderful, many people were wearing red outfits, and you could feel the Holy Spirit in the church.  The three boys who were baptized were very cute and they stood by the font for their baptism and Bishop spoke to each one of them.

People are very creative with transportation here, nothing is impossible. I have seen a teenager riding a bicycle with 3 small passengers, 1  on the back, 1 on the front and 1 on the cross bar. I saw a Father riding a motorbike with his 3 sons and the most creative was the whole family on a motorbike, Mum, Dad and 3 children the young girl at the back was holding her Mother very tightly.  I bought a  chair for my room and last Tuesday went to collect it, in a pousse pousse. I checked the chair and then Bruno the pousse driver brought the chair home for me. Bruno is Meza’s husband  and she attends the women’s center. Josianne & I then went to the market to do the weekly shopping.

It has been a busy month and life has  a Malagasy routine, July will be busy as Sue & Simon Babbs will be visiting from Chicago. They have visited Toliara several times.  Simon helps with Quickbooks and Sue with crafts & Days for girls. Days for Girls teaches health & hygiene and they make sanitary napkins from fabric for the women and girls.

Please pray for Venerable Hery and his family and all the people in Sakaraha, also Rev. Victor and his family in Morondavo.  There are people there who are terrorizing the local people to steal money, and people are being killed.

Psalm 56:3  whenever I am afraid I will trust you.

This verse has been my mantra this past month and it works.

Please support these women and their children with prayers and financial donations.

I have been here for one month and life is different every day.

Psalm 105:4 Turn to the Lord, your strength and seek his presence always -a verse I turn to each day.

The day begins at 5:30 morning devotions in Cathedral at 6-6:30.  Coolest part of the day, beautiful to see the sun rise.  Breakfast, trips to town to visit market, the bank, set up phone, internet, work on visa application are some of the activities of the day.  Travel to Toliara town is about 4 miles in a pousse pousse  a rickshaw pulled by a bicycle, a relaxing way to travel and often entertaining.  I have followed a pousse pousse with 2 goats as passengers and they were not happy, one with 4 chickens attached to the handle bars and travelled in a luxury one with steps to help you climb in.

On the way to Toliara we pass the local bus station where people gather to go to other parts of the island and travel in large trucks with seats it is a very busy area.

There is a supermarket called Score which is helpful, but we buy vegetables and fruits at local market as they are fresher and less expensive,  when  shopping Josianne or Jeanette travel with me to help with language.  On one trip with Jeanette I had pleasure of watching her bargain for 4 live ducks for the Seder dinner Easter week.

Easter week was very spiritual we had a service each day and a Seder on the Wednesday.  St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the compound is beautiful.

Easter Sunday the Cathedral was full of people dressed in their Sunday best, members walk several miles to service.  Easter Monday members of the Cathedral went on an exciting trip to the beach, in a full mini bus.  The beach was very crowded but we had a shady spot to sit and the ocean was beautiful.

Last week I travelled to Antananarivo the capital to visit the Ministry of the Interior to work on my visa.  Rev Victor, a priest from Kenya, came with me as I am not speaking Malagasy yet.  The trip there in the taxi was exciting, taxi was a French Citroen and looked older than I and would not idle so driver started it many times as traffic busy and it shook like a bag of bones.  Driver was very jovial and a competent driver on roads with no signs just a few police directing traffic which all obey.  I knew we would get to our destination & safely home because God is in charge.  We completed some work on visa but they need more papers from Bishop Todd, so I will be returning.

Bricks being made on the side of the road and laundry drying as we drove to the Ministry.

A group of houses in the middle of the rice fields in Antananarivo.

The women come each day to the women’s center and work on a variety of projects, it is a social time for them as well as work.  I sit with them when I am not working on other projects, they are very happy and often sing as they work.

     

Please support these women and their children with prayers and financial donations .

Click on  Support Jacky to make ONLINE donations.
Mail checks to:     SAMS USA, PO Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003
Check payable to: SAMS USA
In memo write:      Jacky/women

Please hold Jacky in your prayers as she prepares to leave for Toliara on 17th March.

Jacky writes:  The journey continues as I prepare for mission work in Madagascar.

October 2017:  I completed the IMPACT course in Toronto Canada.  It was an amazing course on mission preparation including spiritual formation, culture, communication, personal issues, health, team building and God’s faithfulness.  I am well prepared for the mission field.

February 2018: I returned to Toronto for the Principles of Language Acquisition: Natural Tools and Strategies course (PLANTS).  An incredible course providing a proactive approach to learning a new language.  We studied  child like learning activities, grammar, semantics, and phonetics.  We spent 3 days in small groups with a  language helper learning a new language using methods outlined in the course.  It worked!  I have never successfully learned a second language, but at the end of the three days I had a small vocabulary and a few phrases that I could pronounce in Tagalog a Philippine language.

I am ready for my departure date of March 17.  Please continue to pray for me for safe travel and a smooth transition to life in Toliara.  My support raising still continues, no amount is too small.

Click on “Support Jacky”  to make ONLINE donations.  She still needs around $5,000 to cover the costs of her three years in Toliara
Mail checks to:     SAMS USA, PO Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003
Check payable to: SAMS USA
In memo write:      Jacky/women

Jacky Lowe writes: 

Join us in a journey of hope, to empower the women and children of Madagascar to overcome poverty through education and the love of Jesus Christ.

The journey began in November 2007 , when Rev. Patsy McGregor spoke at the Diocesan Convention in S. E. FLorida, and I was inspired to go to Madagascar. Three short term mission trips were completed in 2009, 2010 and 2015 but I wanted to do more.

Mark 1:17-18 Jesus said to them, “Come with me and I will make you fishers of men” and at once they left their nets and followed him.”

In January 2016, Rev. Patsy asked me to work at the women’s center.  I will be there for 3 years.  Raising funds for my support began in July 2016 and I hope to depart in March 2018.

I will teach the women in Madagascar to develop workplace skills to provide for their families, but I need your help with prayer and financial support.

Click on Support Jacky to make ONLINE donations; or
mail checks to:  SAMS USA, PO Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003
Checks should be payable to: SAMS USA; memo:  Jacky/women

Please join us on this journey of hope.