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Our Blog

SUFFERING

     Thousands of miles and a whole continent in between are two women.  They don't know each other, nor will they while on this earth.  Yvonne and I know them both.  Both of them are suffering.

     Several weeks ago Yvonne was coming home after visiting a friend when she came upon Bernadette.  Wrapped in little more than rags, Bernadette was laying outside the doors of local clothing and jewelry stores, barely conscious.

     Though we did not know her name at that time, we've seen Bernadette before along with countless other beggars that roam our neighborhood.  We had never seen her in this condition.  

     Her lips were white, her eyes yellow and her hair speckled with grit from the street.  She sat in a puddle of air conditioning condensation and her own urine.  Without help she couldn't sit up, let alone stand up.  

     Someone nearby had given her a cup of water and a morsel of food, but she was too weak to lift her hand to put them to her mouth.  Two young women had stopped to comfort her, but really did not know what to do.  Mostly, people either just walked by or stood and stared.

     With the help of our translator, Gerand, we were able to extract enough information to know that if we didn't help her she was going to die.  The three of us were eventually able to lift Bernadette into a tuc tuc and transport her to the local hospital.

     Within a day she had regained much of her strength.  Within two days she was able to walk to a bathroom (without her cane) and bathe.  A week later she was able to leave the hospital.

     The curious thing about Bernadette is that she has family not far away.  They have enough to provide their sister food and shelter, but Bernadette prefers wandering the streets and begging.  We have seen her several times in the last week, right where she has been before.

     While it is apparent that Bernadette, who is 60 years old, suffers from some form of dimensia, it is also apparent that she has enough awareness to know she has a place where she could live in a semblance of dignity.  She prefers indignity.  Her family is well aware of her condition, but is unwilling to fight through Bernadette's obstinance to help.

     Back in the states, there is another who is suffering.  She did not grow up in squalor, but in middle class America.  As a young girl she contracted polio.  Now as a 74-year-old woman she is battling cancer.

     What we know about Jeannine is that she is a fighter.  She fought through polio and raised a family without the help of an absentee husband.  She persevered through adversity and was able to provide.  The ultimate fruits of her labor are two children of immense character.  

     Her son and daughter are the picture of what any parent's heart would desire; both accomplished and both with healthy families of their own.  Most importantly, they love their mother deeply.

     When we heard of Jeannine's challenge Yvonne and I really didn't know how to respond.  You see, Jeannine is a friend of ours.  We have shared Christmas and Thanksgiving together, but we did not know how to share in her suffering.  So, we prayed.

     Just recently we exchanged e-mails, and Jeannine said this: "I believe the only way I'll succeed in winning this challenge is with God's help."

     What I see from a distance is the success of Jeannine's suffering.  She has already won.  The rewards are her children and grandchildren, who are now at her side with love and compassion.  In return, Jeannine has persevered with courage and grace.

     No matter how pragmatic or accurate a doctor's prognosis, where there is God there is always hope.  And where there is hope there is love.  The Bible says, "...God is love...Now there abides these three; faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

     You see, the difference between Bernadette and Jeannine is love.  Bernadette's family is ambivalent when it comes to her suffering.  There is defeat and separation.  There is no desire to ensure the one who is suffering any sort of comfort and in exchange they receive no comfort.

     On the other hand, Jeannine's family is tied together in love.  They are bound by compassion and mercy.  I suspect that though they might not even recognize it, that their hearts are set on the prospects of justice prevailing - that ultimately their hearts are united in eternity.

    So, one family is divided, the other united.  One is forlorn, the other hopeful. One woman suffers in bitterness, the other in love.

    We are reminded of a Savior, who's birth we are about to celebrate.  He lived, He suffered and He died...for us.  Then He was resurrected...for us.  

     Yvonne and I pray that you would know this love this Christmas.  That it would resurrect purpose in your life.  And once you know it, share it with someone who is suffering.  It is the greatest gift we could possibly give.

The Plague

Mike Broadhurst

     Since we have returned to Madagascar in early August an outbreak of the plague has taken on world-wide attention.  In a country inadequately equipped to accurately track births, deaths, income and other useful social information, the latest confirmed cases of the plague by the World Health Organization as of October 12 is 684, nearly 10% (64) of which have led to death. 

     To put this in perspective, the population of Madagascar is at about 25 million, so according to WHO this problem is not on a scale with the Ebola virus of 2014 that claimed over 11,300 lives in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone (total combined populations of 27 million).     

     Furthermore, according to WHO, the Madagascar Ministry of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations and other international sources the case/fatality rate is far less than the Madagascar plague epidemic of 2014 when there were 116 confirmed cases and 40 deaths between August 31 and November 16.

     There are three types of the plague - bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic.  According to WHO, bubonic plague infects the lymphatic system, septicemic attacks the blood and pneumonic is the infection of the lungs.  Pneumonic plague is the most lethal form of the plague and has claimed most of the lives here in Madagascar.

      Bubonic plague is transmitted by fleas that are carried not just by rats, but other animals - even cats and dogs.  Pneumatic plague is transmitted through cough droplets from infected persons.  The CDC states that pneumatic plague originates, “from untreated bubonic or septicemic plague that spreads to the lungs…typically (contracting pneumonic plague) requires direct and close contact with infected persons.”

     Public gatherings, such as worship services and concerts are being cancelled.  Public schools are closed until November 6. Here in the city of Toamasina we have noticed a noticeable drop in people frequenting public places such as the beach, the three small grocery stores, open-air markets, dining establishments and the like.

      One of the most startling images for us is the burned-out pauper village on the beach overlooking the port.  A mere three blocks from our house and 200 meters from where Mercy Ships once moored, it was a place where 100 to 200 people resided.  It is an area where mounds of garbage are accumulated and the poor rummage for scraps of food and reusable junk.  The inhabitants of the small community had constructed shelters from sticks, plastic bags, cardboard and discarded tin. 

     Of course, places like this are breeding grounds for rats and the fleas that carry the plague bacteria, so it is only reasonable that the government put a torch to the area.  What went unaddressed was the health of the persons who were living there and forced to find refuge elsewhere.

    So, for the time being much of our ministry work has been put on hold.  We haven’t been to church in two weeks and we rely on the internet for sermons from our rector at The Church of the Cross in Bluffton, South Carolina.  We don’t spend much time in public and when we do we take great care.  We avoid groups of people, even resorting to the donning of surgical masks – although Yvonne is more committed to this precaution than me.

    With all of this in mind and to put it into perspective, Yvonne and I know hundreds of Malagasy people.  We have not heard from a single individual about a case where a relative has either contracted the plague or died from the plague.

    Our final request is that you continue praying for the people of Madagascar and God’s will for this nation.  We have seen the fruits of His labor and that of our fellow missionaries.  The potential for change here is real and verifiable.  The Malagasy are hungry and thirsty for a future and a hope.

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