The Newest Member of the Family
Camden brought home an abandoned duckling from the soccer field/cow pasture yesterday. He and the girls then began construction on a proper home for a baby duck, complete with in-ground swimming pool (a dog bowl). Later in the day I made eye contact with that duckling, and we had… a moment. There was mutual recognition in our eyes that living in the jungle with kids is, at times, exhausting. The duckling (its name is Ping) is now on day 2 of learning to live in a new environment with a new culture and language.

Here is the newest member of our family, Ping the duckling (yes, someone is taking a nap in the background)
We, however, are on our third month of language and culture learning. It is both frustrating and rewarding, depending on the day (or even the hour). Why are we learning Sakalava? I mean, how many people even speak Sakalava? And why can’t someone just speak to these people in Official Malagasy or French, both of which many people understand, anyway?
This is why we are learning Sakalava:
No language or culture is so superior that it can claim exclusive access to the truth of God, and none is so inferior that it can be excluded. –Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message

Rosina, Rebe and Tori (taking the photo) translating the first story from “The Jesus Storybook Bible”
Sanneh goes on to say that, “Being translatable into other languages, the Bible comes not as a book bound and sealed but as an open text ready to absorb what it finds, if only by stumbling upon it.” In other words the Bible, which is the word of God, has always been translated into new languages and cultures, taking what is good in those cultures and providing the true source of that goodness. And our team has officially begun the Sakalava chapter of the story… this week some of us started translating Luke 18:1-8, and others have begun to translate Sally Lloyd-Jone’s The Jesus Storybook Bible. I had a brilliant professor at Covenant (Dr. Perry) who provided me with this analogy:
God’s word, like a grapevine, is identifiable as a unique species. It produces wine, not milk. But, the vine is transplantable into new soil, which fully engages the climate, such that the wine it produces takes on its spices and scents while remaining God’s unique word.
We are here in Nosy Be with our grape seedling, and it is being planted. Pray with us that it will grow large, that many cuttings will be taken from it to start new vines, and that a wine will come from it that is pleasing to God.

Our neighbor, Papa Sabutu, giving us a tour of his jungle farm. He loaded us up with coffee, bananas, mandarins, oranges, cassava, and black pepper!
What an educational place to raise kids … ‘hands-on’ learning. Now that is a real “Children’s Museum!” Interesting and informative post. Love from Winchester TN.
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You’re right about that! This is constant hands-on learning…today our taxi broke down and we waited around for an hour, but the awesome part was that we were right next to the ylang-ylang plantation and the flowers smelled so nice. Love you…Rebe
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Love your stories! They bring a smile.
We mailed a small package a week ago, including your kids’ mefloquine and goodies. Rebe, are you and Bryan stocked w antimalarials?
Loved the postcards from you and Camden!
Hugs,
Christy, Brian, Sydney and Keenan
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Glad you got Camden’s postcards…Thanks for sending the mefloquine for the kiddos. They will be running out fairly soon. Bryan and I are all stocked up and we are on Doxycyline which we can easily get here….Blessings, Rebe
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Ahhhh – this is an awesome post!! Love your “moment” with a duck and your imagery of God’s Word as WINE. So good. Love you all, and happy Ping has found a home….:)
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It’s good to hear from you. We miss you guys…greet our friends and family at All Saints for us. Is there any talk from All Saints about a trip to Madagascar? We’d love to have any or all of you!!! Blessings, Rebe
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Avery and I sat down tonight to find pictures of Keely – she correctly remembered that you guys are in Madagascar (I was surprised!) and she thought it was so cool that she could see pictures of you and the family. She’s had so many questions today about missions and where you are living and what life is like there. So thankful for your updates to open up conversation with her (and just so I can hear how you guys are doing, too!). Love and miss you!
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Hi Meghann, it’s great to hear from you. I saw a post from you on Facebook about sending a package and I will get back with you in the next couple of days about that. It’s great to hear that Avery is interested in what God is doing all around the world. Our team leader, Rosina and my friend Tori, just began work on translating the Jesus Storybook Bible into the local dialect, Sakalalva. It’s a large undertaking, but I’m excited about it and pray that God will help us persevere. Trusting you are well there…I enjoyed looking at a bunch of photos on the All Saint website recently and seeing all of the faces of the children. May the LORD continue to bless and strengthen you as you lead His young flock….Love and miss you, Rebe
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Rebe,
I can’t even imagine being stretched like you guys are being stretched. It puts my stretching into perspective (no, it’s not a competition) but it does help me by making me mindful of the bigger picture outside of me and mine. Your posts are also reminders to pray for you all. Thanks for being so transparent. Prayers for you, the family, and Ping.
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