Fighting fires, planting hope, eternal growth…

Posted by on November 24, 2020 in Blog, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Fighting fires….

Wildfires continue to be a devastating force to the islandof Madagascar. High temperatures, extremely dry landscape, slash and burn farming, and charcoal pits that lose control are a recipe for disaster. This year we’ve had multiple fires in various sites and one which burnt a large portion of one of Eden Project’s reforestation sites.

The Eden team of site guards have been trained as lay firemen and have been fighting fires for years with minimal equipment. Last month, a 40-foot ocean container sent by Eden Projects arrived in Madagascar from California and included loads of fire-fighting equipment– fire flaps, fire rakes and water-carrying hose backpacks.    Just last week a fire broke out in Ankarafantsika, one of the largest national parks in Madagascar and one in which Eden Projects partners. After several days of the flames burning uncontrollably, the government called for our team’s assistance to put out the fire. It was the first time the Eden crew had used this equipment from the USA and within two days, this team of 16 brave men successfully put out of the blaze!! 

Planting hope…

 Eden’s planting season for mangroves is year-round in contrast to the dry deciduous planting season which correlates with the rainy season, typically, the first three months of the year. The last several months, the various nursery crews have been hard at work in preparing for the upcoming planting season. 


* Nursery construction or reparations and building shade covers for each 2,000 pot planting column.

* Collecting and chopping organic matter, fertile soil and manure in order to make healthy compost.

* Seed collecting, seed triaging and storing.

* Measuring, cutting, packing and seeding over 1.5 millionplanting tubes.

* Daily watering and regular weeding of the planting tubes.

* Mixing soil and compost into a golf-size mud balls, inserting a seed and drying it in the sun to create a seed ball. Then creating and counting 13 million of these seed balls… and storing them until planting season begins! 

* Building reliable water sources and drilling deep bore hole wells in order to provide ample water for the nurseries and clean drinking water for the villages. 

* Collecting and cutting organic material to create mulch layers for the massive planting sites. 

Once the rains come sometime in January, our teams will be ready to plant millions of dry deciduous trees as fast as we can to ensure their best survival due to the ever-growing shorter rainy season!

With each of these seed balls and trees planted, so is hope. Hope in combatting extreme poverty through job creation, hope in combatting severe deforestation that is contributing to the crippling of this island nation, hope for a changed future for generations of kids and families to come.  

Eternal growth…

There is so much about our earthly lives and the choices we make that are similar to devastating fires… things that result in death and destruction. Similarly, there’s so much about our earthly lives and the choices we make that are similar to planting trees… things that result in nourishment, health and new life.    It is our prayer that with every seed ball and tree planted, that men, women, and children would toss off the things that cause death and destruction in their lives and come to a profound knowledge of and desire to know Christ and enter into deep relationship with Him.  

The area of Morangobe has been partnering with Eden Projects for the last four years. This coastal village is comprised of approximately 100 people spread out over several kilometers and is in the heart of the Sakalava region, a Malagasy people group who are typically deeply opposed to the Gospel. Recently, two Eden planters from Morangobe approached Josy and said, “we’ve heard and seen that you are followers of Jesus”. They continued to ask Josy if he or someone else could return to share with them about Jesus.    

Please pray for the village of Morangobe and others all along the northwest coast of Madagascar. We long to see seeds of Christ’s love planted in hearts resulting in eternal life and relationship with the Lord. 

Josy and Ana: Global Partners in Ministry… 

In case you missed it in our last newsletter, we’re thrilled to share that Josy and Ana have been appointed as Global Partners in Ministry with our mission organization, WorldVenture. We’re so thankful that our organization sees the deep value in partnering with Africans to learn from and partner with, to effectively share Christ in an African context! Josy and Ana will continue in their roles with Eden Projects while at the same time, further pursuing ministry– specifically, traveling to and supporting evangelism in remote villages by partnering with Malagasy pastors, aiding in Bible distribution and assisting with church planting in areas such as Morangobe. 

 Please join us in praying for Josy and Ana, as well as their kids, Jocya, Princia and Joïce– pray for wisdom and the Lord’s leading as they further engage in ministry in remote Madagascar! As Global Partners in Ministry, Josy and Ana are seeking financial partnership so that they may purchase and distribute Bibles, support Malagasy pastors as missionaries and to attend WorldVenture field conferences.  

Would you consider joining Josy and Ana’s financial partnership team? All donations are tax-deductible through our mission organization, WorldVenture. 

There’s three ways you can join the team…

1. CLICK HERE and follow the link to set up your secure account with WorldVenture where you can proceed to make an on-going commitment or one-time gift. 

2. CALL (800) 487-4224 and select option #6 to speak with someone 8am-4pm MST (M-F).

 3. MAIL a check to:

WorldVenture                           

20 Inverness Pl E

Englewood, CO 80112-5622

(Please specify your donation as designated for Georcelet (Josy) and Ana Armand by writing account #4001-960 in the memo line. (Note, for tax purposes, their names should not appear on the check.)


Thank you for investing in and praying for Josy and Ana and their ministry of bringing Christ to remote areas of Madagascar!

Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to see this beautiful island nation restored with life-giving forests on their lands and the promise of eternal life with the Lord in their hearts! 


With love, Jamie, Alissa, Isabella, Eliana and Gavin 

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