From a Boy to a Father & Hope Amidst Ruin…
From a Boy to a Man to a Father…
Eight years ago a young boy, Lolosy, was faithfully coming to the Sunday morning Kids Club that was held in the gazebo at the Sarobidy Maternity Center. During the following years, Lolosy was motivated to learn, animated to share, and excited about the love of Christ that was for him! Eventually, Lolosy grew out of the Kids Club program as he grew into adolescence.
Fast forward to last month. A young first time mother who was receiving prenatal care at the Sarobidy Maternity Center came to the center in labor late at night. With her, her husband, Lolosy! The young couple welcomed a beautiful baby girl on November 9th. Lolosy, a proud new father, was thrilled to show off his newborn daughter to his former Kids Club teacher, Rota (the lead midwife and national director of SMC).
With nearly 12 years of working in the same community providing critical maternity care, comes the beauty of sharing life and experiences with many… and in this case, watching a boy grow into a man and now a father. We’re so very thankful for this gift! Thank you to all those that made this possible through your generous partnership with the Sarobidy Maternity Center!!
We praise the FATHER for the ways He is working in the hearts and lives of young men and women. Would you join us in praying for Lolosy and Micheline– that Jesus alone would be the center of their marriage and their family.
Graduating Moms and Babes…
One of the great joys that we look forward to each month at the Sarobidy Maternity Center is when moms and babies graduate six months after delivery. This is a time that we celebrate all that these ladies have accomplished… over 50 health education lessons, participating in weekly Bible Studies, building community, growing and nurturing a baby, bringing that baby into the world, becoming mothers, either for the first time or the fifth time, and loving their babies so well!
This last month, we celebrated nine beautiful moms and their babies as they completed 14 months of the Sarobidy Maternity Center.
We praise the Lord for these nine women and their precious babies– we’re thankful for their tenacity as they face the precarious reality of a life lived in poverty and with few resources. We’re thankful for your kindness that has provided these women and thousands of others with a FREE resource in order to experience safe and compassionate medical care at the Sarobidy Maternity Center!
November by the Numbers and a Big NEED…
We never cease to be amazed and in awe by what the Lord is calling and equipping our team to do in Madagascar! This month at the Sarobidy Maternity Center, the midwives conducted…
– 214 prenatal and postpartum/newborn exams
– 28 postpartum home visits
– 32 ultrasounds
– 12 safe deliveries
while also…
– welcoming 12 new women into the prenatal program and
– graduating 9 moms and babies!!
Because of your giving and generosity, we’re able to provide these services (and more) as well as keep our doors open 24 hours a day to receive women in labor. Amazing smiles of joy in the birth room are just one of the rewards this side of heaven!
And now the NEED…
Earlier this month, the Sarobidy Maternity Center lost 20% of their monthly budget when Eden: People + Planet (formerly Eden Reforestation Projects) completely pulled out of Madagascar.
In order to continue to provide wages, retirement, and health benefits for 24 staff members as well as care for 120+ women and their babies each month, would you consider becoming a champion of the Sarobidy Maternity Center? In all honesty, we’re in desperate need of monthly partners at $25, $50, $100, $200 or any other amount that feels right to you.
In like manner, if anyone would like to sponsor a woman at $60/month for 12-14 months through our Healthy Mother/Healthy Baby program, we would welcome the opportunity to provide you with the following….
* The name, picture and story of one woman who has recently joined the Sarobidy Maternity Center.
* A picture of her at 36 weeks pregnant with a big, beautiful belly.
* A picture upon delivery with her and her newborn baby so you can continue to pray for them both by name.
* A tax-deductible receipt from WorldVenture
FRANÇOISE:
29 years old
3rd pregnancy, 0 living children
Married
Highest Level of Education Completed: 12th grade
Estimated Delivery Date: 7/3/2025
Françoise lives over an hour away from the Sarobidy Maternity Center and requires two buses to get to us. Though this is her third pregnancy, she doesn’t have any living children. Her first healthy baby, died at the age of two when he contracted malaria. Her second baby died in utero at 6 months. Pregnant for a third time, Françoise learned about the Sarobidy Maternity Center and the care we provide from a previous SMC graduate and immediately applied for acceptance. Françoise is thrilled to be enrolled in the prenatal program as she eagerly awaits the birth of her precious baby.
If you’re interested in sponsoring Françoise or another woman throughout her time at the Sarobidy Maternity Center, or you’re interested in becoming a monthly donor for any amount, please visit WorldVenture, our sending organization, where you can create a secure online giving account.
ONLINE:
CALL: (800) 487-4224 and select #6 to speak with someone M-Th 8am-4pm MST.
MAIL:
WorldVenture
20 Inverness Pl E
Englewood, CO 80112
* Please specify account #6401-909 in the memo *
Thank you for considering partnering with the Sarobidy Maternity Center and for joining us in prayer for the Lord’s provision to continue this vital work.
Hope Amidst Ruin…
Over the last several months, Red Island Restoration has inherited several planting sites from Eden: People + Planet (formerly Eden Reforestation Projects). With Eden’s recent full departure from Madagascar, Red Island Restoration has continued to secure these abandoned sites as well as continuing the reforestation and protection efforts with local communities. On Jamie’s last trip to Madagascar at the end of October, he had the privilege of visiting several of the sites and work with the rehired staff who lost their Eden jobs over the last year. It was incredible to see the passionate desire of these men and women to care for their families while restoring their country and receiving an income from Red Island Restoration funded through our partnership with Accelerated Restoration Collaborative (ARC). With great pride, they showed Jamie and the RIR team the reforestation and protection work they’ve done over the years as they walked through waist to head-high trees that spread out into the distance. And with sadness, they showed the team the drastic edge of the reforestation efforts that coincided with the end of Eden’s funding, resulting in miles of cleared mud flats riddled with dead mangrove stumps, revealing just how much work is left to be done. Hope amidst ruin.
Later in the afternoon, they walked through some of the last remnant primary mangrove forests that boasted towering trees larger than Jamie has ever seen before– the “grandparents of the mangrove forest”. At the same time, off in the distance, the threatening sound of axes chopping away at these majestic trees that have withstood countless storms over the decades. Hope amidst ruin.
At the end of their time, Jamie and the RIR team, along with the community members, eagerly mapped out next steps of working together to restore and protect these precious forests that God so intricately designed. While discussing the concept of caring for creation, Jamie had the opportunity to further share about the Hope that surpasses all this world has to offer through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Hope amidst ruin– hope for protecting and boosting the diverse array of birdlife and animal life in this area, including several species of endangered lemurs. Hope for a community to experience partnership in their efforts of caring for creation and the forests that feed their families. Hope for coming to know and love the Creator, the God of the Universe, who created, knows, and loves them.
Please pray with us as we continue to seek sponsorship in partnership with Accelerated Restoration Collaborative, to resume the planting and protecting of hundreds of millions of trees throughout the northwest coast of Madagascar. Please pray with us that as people care for creation, more and more Malagasy would experience true heart transformation as they are drawn to the Creator.
Financial Update and Year-End Giving…
Thank you so much to those that have started giving or have increased their giving since our newsletter last month. We’re slowly getting closer to our goal of being 100% fully funded by the end of 2024. We still have a ways to go and would really love your help to get there! As you consider your end-of-year giving and financial commitments for 2025, would you prayerfully consider joining our financial partnership team? For those who already generously partner with us, would you prayerfully consider increasing your regular giving by 10%? Every donation or increase, small or large, is vital to our family’s ability to stay in full time ministry in Kenya and Madagascar.
Any of the following breakdowns, a different amount, or a special gift that feels right to you would be greatly appreciated!
3 @ $200/month
6 @ $100/month
7 @ $50/month
11 @ $25/month
** All donations are tax-deductible through our mission organization, WorldVenture. **
There’s three ways you can join our team or increase your current giving…
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 special gift.
2. CALL(800) 487-4224 and select option #1 to speak with someone 8am-4pm MST (M-Th).
3. MAIL a check to:
WorldVenture
20 Inverness Pl E
Englewood, CO 80112-5622
Please specify your donation by writing account #173 in the memo line.
(Note, for tax purposes, our names should not appear on the check.)
We’re thankful for the privilege to be part of what the Lord is doing in Madagascar and Kenya. Thank you for considering joining in the journey!
In this season of advent, may we each look to Jesus, our Joy and Hope, amidst the ruin in this broken world.
With love,
Alissa, Jamie, Isabella, Eliana and Gavin
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