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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 Poor

Mike Broadhurst

     "The poor you shall always have with you..." Jesus, Matthew 26:11; John 12:8.

     For Yvonne and me this is one of the most unsettling quotes in the Bible.  Think about it.  It's not just a statement, it's a promise.  "The poor you will always have with you."

     This month marks the beginning of the fourth year of our work in Madagascar.  Poverty here is far beyond anything imaginable in the USA.  The fact is that if 80% of the Malagasy had access to the programs offered to impoverished Americans they would consider themselves rich.  We have seen the living conditions of both and that, friends, is not hyperbole or exaggeration.  It is a material fact.

     So what compels us to press forward in the face of such daunting conditions?  We would like to explain.

     As you know, our primary focus here has been to present the common Malagasy with some kind of economic hope for their future.  It hasn't been easy.

     We have conducted five, 3-month long business training seminars over the past three years.  Over 300 people have graduated from our classes.  We have helped start 40 businesses.  Twenty percent of the businesses failed.  A couple more are still paying their loans, but have moved onto other endeavors.

     However, in light of the fact that 80% of new businesses fail in the first thee years in the USA, we take great joy in reporting that our graduates have shown a greater propensity to succeed than the statistical averages in the Land of Plenty.  Over half of our entrepreneurs have paid off their loans.  Another 25% are not just operating, but expanding their businesses.

     Ponder that for a moment.  In a land where formal education stops at age-9 for the average person; where nearly half of the children under the age of five are malnourished; where there is no medical care to speak of; where corruption is so severe that I dare say most Americans would wilt - 75% of our students have either made good on their debt or are moving toward financial sustainability.

     We would like to tell you about one of the success stories.

     Ten years ago Masy traveled about 30 miles outside of Toamasina to purchase some affordable land where she could grow rice.  Previously she had demonstrated the ability to succeed in farming, but because the land was always leased or borrowed her efforts were never sustainable.

     The village, Tanambaovao, is lush and full of potential, but the inhabitants there were of typical Malagasy stock - country folk ignorant of the vast potential of the earth upon which they tread every day of their lives.

     Trapped by cultural tradition with little knowledge of modern agricultural techniques, the village was a defining picture of Madagascar's impoverished reputation.  While great potential lay literally at their feet, laziness and superstition ruled their psyche.  

     In the face of curious and doubting eyes, Masy began to work her small plot.  An interloper with strange ideas and a different attitude, she began to plow and cultivate land she now called her own.  The villagers took note that when Masy worked on Tuesdays and Thursdays she was not struck dead by angry deceased ancestors.  They were more amazed when they saw that the land was not cursed by the dead, but was blessed by the living.

     Masy's work ethic and integrity influenced minds.  Her harvests were rewarded and she kept on expanding.  Other villagers started to farm their land and even work six days a week.  She started a church.  The village showed signs of prosperity.

     Two-and-a-half years ago Masy was one of our first business school graduates.  We will never forget how she wept when Aleph Ministries gave her a loan to construct a massive fish farm that at next harvest will reap 5,000 tilapia.

     Since that time Masy has enlarged a pineapple farm to 7,000 plants, expanded her rice plantation six-fold, planted a clove plantation (3,000 trees), formed an herb cooperative with the village and spearheaded the construction of a primary school so that the children do not have to make a treacherous four-kilometer walk to gain an education

     During this time we have not seen one shred evidence of Masy's success displayed in the form of earthly accoutrements.  This harvest season her rice plantation produced a 50% profit on her investment.  The money is earmarked for her next endeavor - an orphanage for 20 and agricultural training center where Malagasy can learn invaluable farming techniques.

     Recently I stood on the hill that overlooks the village and where the church that Masy planted stands.  What I saw below was nothing short of miraculous.  Where fallow ground had occupied the valley two-and-half years ago, rice fields and vegetable crops had taken root.

     Yes, the Lord said, "The poor you shall always have with you..," but we suspect that was less about His desire for us and more about our inclination to deny Him.  

     The perseverance and faith of saints like Masy bring a different promise by Jesus to mind.  It is what energizes and encourages Yvonne and me.  "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

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