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.