A phone call from the Mikea Forest may be simply 21st century technology to some, but to our partners there – and the friends that love them here – it is much more. Hanitra says it well – “This is a miracle! This is a miracle for us to talk to you from the forest!” And the connection stayed in tact long enough to get a brief update from them.
I speak for awhile to Jonoro and he passes the phone to his wife and partner, Hanitra. When I ask about her health, Hanitra replies “It is hot. It is so hot, Patt. It is the season of hotness.”
I’ve only been in the Mikea Forest during the months of May/June and October/November – the cooler months. ( And the latter being the season of the falling mangoes. I found that out the hard way.) But even in the cool months, everything has to stop from 11:00 am to 2:00 om because of the heat. You can barely breathe – and the air seems to burn your lungs and parched throat. And this is just the worst hours of the day – 9-11 and 2-6 are no picnic either. So when our Malagasy friends tell us that they are suffering with the heat during this “season of hotness”, we at least have something to relate it to.
Here in the US, if it gets up in the 80s, we turn on the AC or a few fans – we jump in a pool or a lake, we take a cool bath or shower. In the Mikea Forest there is no water. We have dug 4 wells with 4 different professional well companies and they have all hit the same wall of rock 60 ft deep down. There is still no water.
The villagers born and raised in this region dig roots out of the ground for moisture. Jonoro and his family eat the babo root when the can get it,but we also supplied them with large barrels to catch rainwater from their metal roof. Unfortunately, their supply is low this year and they are running out of water.
I ask if they can somehow get in to town to buy a water supply, but they tell me the roads are too unsafe to travel by oxcart. This time of year is also known as the” season of thieves” – a time when food is scarce and thieves roam the forest looking for food or goods to steal and sell.
We need to purchase a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for their family – to enable them to leave the forest in the event of a health crisis with their young children or anyone else in the village.
Also, security has increasingly become a serious issue in Anjabetrongo. It is not a safe place and they need a way to escape if necessary. But while we currently have a couple thousand dollars set aside in an vehicle account for them, there is still nowhere near enough to buy the kind of car that can travel the roads to this remote place. God help us help them…
They tell me that the school is going well – even though their days must be shorter right now due to the extreme temperatures. Hanitra, an excellent teacher and the supervisor of our school program in Anjabetrongo, is currently training the two new teachers that we have hired. One of the teachers is Julia – the widow of Solofo. Solofo was the excellent teacher and young leader in the Anjabetrongo church who was poisoned last year. We have been able to support Julia as she has adjusted to life without her husband, but now she is able to earn a living – something she is very grateful for.
Jonoro also teaches at the school and oversees the young church – teaching daily discipleship classes and helping the families. When safe, they travel to the neighboring village of Analabo as well as deeper into the forest to the family of Fandahara to meet the needs of the villagers in these two locations.
They both tell me they are very tired and eager for me to come to them with encouragement. They ask us to please pray for their health, and their protection during this difficult season – that their food and water supply will hold out. Also to pray for the young congregation in the forest and for the Mikea tribe – the family of Fandahara – who are enjoying listening to the New Testament on tape in their own dialect.
I remember to tell them that someone has donated the funds to purchase a modem they requested for their computer. If we can also fund the monthly internet service, this means that they will no longer be isolated. From their little house in the Mikea Forest, under the light of a single light bulb run buy solar power, they will be able to IM and email their friends and supporters here in the US.
They are about to tell me about the cyclone that hit last month when suddenly the phone goes dead. I call back several times but can no longer reach them. But at least we were able to hear each other’s voices.
I think Hanitra has it right. I think it is a miracle.
If you would like to help buy a vehicle for Jonoro and Hanitra or contribute to our work in the Mikea Forest, click here.