Adventures In Madagascar

David Hamilton's house in Morafeno
where he has planted a church

David Hamilton and the church in Morafeno
where they used to meet under a tree

Building a church

David with Friends at Nosy Faly

David with other friends at Nosy Faly

David and Deborah at Andasibe

Brave Deborah at Andasibe

Baptism

Missions Trip to Madagascar Reminder

Since the Hamiltons will be traveling back to the US this fall and winter, we have changed our trip date to July of 2008. We are going first and foremost to be a blessing to the Hamiltons. While there, we hope to put on one or more "workshops" for the midwives and other medical professionals in and around Diego. In addition, we would like to bless the medical professionals with a gift that will help them in their practice. Please pray for David, Deborah, and Kristin as they seek God's direction for the specific topics to address in the workshop(s). Also pray to see whether or not God would have you join us on this adventure. It will, no doubt, change your life as you go to serve the Hamiltons and the Malagasy people. We will have the official "sign-up" at the beginning of 2008. More details to come.

David, Deborah, MarLee and Liam Hamilton

 

Tidbits from EBONY

He Brings the Nations to Us

(The names of people and places may be changed to protect Elizabeth and her work.)

Dear Charis Family,

My life is full of cross cultural experiences right now and I haven't even left for the field yet! I leave for the country of Ebony in mere days!!! I will arrive in the city of Candybar on December 16. I appreciate your prayers as I make this transition.

Some of you may remember that before my work in Ebony began, I spent five years living in another Central Asian country that I call "East YOUland." I spent those years learning the two languages of the region. One of those languages is "YOU." Because of my connection with the work that still continues in East YOUland, and because I am still able to speak the language, God has brought an amazing opportunity to my front door step.
Read on...

Glenda is a twenty-eight year old, YOUgirl from Central Asia who arrived in America a few weeks ago so that she could receive a cornea transplant. She and her father are staying in the same home that I am staying in. At first my YOU language was VERY rusty in speaking with them, but I am encouraged to say that it continues to improve each day. God has used me to give them a way to communicate with their hosts, understand our culture and understand the medical situation they are in. It's very difficult for them to get used to the food and other aspects of the culture. As their hosts, all those involved are trying to be very careful with security issues so that, when they answer to their government, they do not have to admit to being involved in any subversive activity. God HAS opened doors for spiritual conversations, however. They have shared with me that they believe Glenda may have her eye problems because of evil forces at work in her life.

Keith is Glenda's father and has also come from Central Asia to help with Glenda's surgery and recovery. As I have talked with him, I have seen how he is carrying so much guilt in his heart over Glenda's condition. He was away on business when she caught measles as a child and lost her eyesight. His family has chided him all these years, saying, "If you had only returned three days earlier, her eyes could have been saved." He told me this story and then later told me about a time when he was babysitting her at the age of 3 months and she accidentally fell off of the platform they were sleeping on (he had fallen asleep next to her and she rolled off). He asked me, with deep pain in his eyes, if this could have pre-disposed her to losing her eye sight two years later. I gently, but firmly told him that babies sometimes fall and that I don't think this has anything to do with her eye problem and I don't believe it is his fault that she lost her eyesight. He is so heavy hearted, though, and so broken as he waits to hear if her condition can be treated. He is struggling deeply with the fact that it looks like the doctor will only be able to fix one of Glenda's eyes, but not both.

On 11/14/2007 I wrote about my experience with them during the surgery:

I got to observe a cornea transplant today!!!!

Corneas, and eyeballs, and doctors, and cute YOU girls, and our Lord are just ..... cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The doctor's office found no other translator for Glenda. So, there I found myself, signing all the official paperwork that I was her translator. Oh my! I felt so sorry for her!

SIDE STORY: I'll tell you, though! By the end of the day, I was SO sick of translating every, SINGLE thing the nurses have to report that they are doing!! The poor, last nurse to interact with us came in to take out Glenda's I.V.

She said, "Tell her..." (I was SO SICK of hearing "tell her..."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

She said, "Tell her I'm putting this tape on her arm over where the IV was and its going to be really tight." Before I could muscle a better response, I said, "Why don't you just DO IT and she'll notice that?" I didn't realize what I had said until the other English speakers in he room started giggling at me.

During the surgery, I just kept thinking about how awesome our Creator is!
I thought about....

--how incredible eye balls are!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eye doctors have NO EXCUSE for being atheists! :-)

--how it is amazing the intricate stitch work and methods a Dr. must use in order to do what JC did with mud and spit.

--since it was a cornea, I kept thinking about darkness and light, praying for this YOU family and letting my heart just rejoice at the light that would flood her world and allow her to see clearly!

Amazing.

With still 20 minutes to go in surgery, Glenda started to wake up a bit and dream. (She was not under general anesthesia.) She said things in YOU language, like, "Can I help you guys?" and "Can I pour you some tea?"

I said "no" to the tea, but the Dr. said, "Hey now! If she is offering food, don't turn that down!"

In the majority language of her region, she busted out saying, "Let me speak!" I said, "OK! Speak whatever you want!" Then, she was silent. It was pretty funny and she enjoyed hearing about it later.

By far, the next part of the story is the best. When she REALLY started to wake up (but, still didn't feel anything), all of a sudden she said, "I can see him!!!!!" (The doctor was above her, still looking through the microscope down at her eye.)

He prepared an antibiotic shot to go in her eye and she said, "I can see that NEEDLE!" :-)

She just kept repeating it over and over again. Even after they put the patch over her eye, she kept saying, "I could see him. I could see him." It made me cry.

As she was coming out of the anesthesia completely, she experienced a lot of pain all of a sudden and had trouble controlling her emotions. Out of nowhere, I believe the Lord just put on my tongue to say with a firm voice, in her language, "Are you a strong girl?! Do you have strength in your heart?! Are you a grown up?! Isn't this worth it?!" And she totally calmed down. It is pretty funny to me now because it seems so mean and I truly can not remember how to say those things correctly right at this moment. That is why I feel it was just Father leading me. She is so precious. I can't believe I spoke to her that way!!! :-)

The whole rest of the day she just kept instructing me to say thank you to everyone for her. Her father wept and wept in the doctor's arms after we went back into the recovery room.

The doctor was able to tell Keith (the dad) that her vision problem had nothing to do with her measles experience, nor anything caused by any person when she was younger (they can run pathology on her old cornea which determines these things). It was such a blessing to the father to hear that!

Glenda went for a follow up appointment the other day. When the doctor took the patch off of her eye, she saw the lighted reading chart and exclaimed, "EEEE!!!!" :-) The doctor said she is healing really well.

Please keep remembering Keith and Glenda. They are currently living in my home for two more weeks. They have a long road of recovery ahead and a lot more cultural adjustment they will have to go through. We also continue to hope that we can share more with them. Her new vision was provided by a very young organ donor who lost his life in a car accident. I want to talk with them about the concept of someone's life giving LIGHT to us. Please pray for their hearts to be open to Truth.

All my love,
Elizabeth Carmichael

Cousin Praying