We are the Babbs family. Sue, Simon & Matthew visited Madagascar in July 2014. We fell in love with the country, people and wildlife, and keep returning!
The team from St James the Less, Northfield, Illinois, USA (Simon & Sue Babbs & Josh Langhoff), with friends from France (Paul & Maggie Simmons) have now completed their three week whirlwind of activity with the Malagasy, in the parishes of Amboasary Sud and Maroaloka (with which St James the Less is linked) and at the Cathedral complex.
We'll tell you the story of all that happened in a series of newsletters, as so much took place! Writing this down for you, will help me (Sue) to process all that we did. There simply wasn't time to journal / process as we travelled. We hope this will also entice you to come visit this amazing country, with wonderfully welcoming people!
On the flight from Paris to Antananarivo, Josh was spotted doing strange hand-signals! He was actually practising sol-fa hand signals, which he would be teaching when at the Cathedral to the musicians' conference.
While in the capital, Antananarivo, we stayed at Manga Guesthouse (about 5 minutes drive from the airport). They have started a craft workshop in the ground floor of the guesthouse, making wonderful products from dyed and natural raffia from palm leaves. Sue is now the happy owner of the Antananarivo scene, which she saw being made on our first day, and which had been completed by the end of the trip.
Sue had arranged a special musical surprise for Josh (music director at St James the Less) to welcome him to Madagascar.
Jocelyn, our driver, found a restaurant owned by a Malagasy musician, Rajery, who has travelled the world even performing at the Chicago Cultural Center! He's known worldwide as a master of the valiha, a cylindrical zither on which he fingerpicks hypnotic original pieces, sometimes as accompaniment to his singing.
Traditional Malagasy dancers from the highlands
We enjoyed a visit to Ambohimanga Rova (the Queens' Summer Palace) - a UNESCO world heritage site. Here we heard about the Malagasy culture and history, which helped our understanding of the Malagasy approach to life and religion. King Andrianampoinimerina lived and ruled with his 12 wives from 1787 to 1810. It remains a sacred spot for many people here. Our engaging tour guide pointed out the horned scalps of zebu, the humped cattle employed as delivery cart drivers through the city; the zebu had been sacrificed at Ambohimanga yesterday.
Photos weren't allowed inside the buildings, so we can't show you (for instance) the ladder the king would climb to eavesdrop on his wives interviewing potential guests while he decided whether to receive them.
In a moment of serendipity, our guide described a dish the king would cook for himself and his brides - mashed cassava cooked with chunks of pork, which remains such a national staple...
... that we were served it for lunch! It hit the spot. Also notable on the prix fixe menu were a tomato and red onion salad, giant avocado quarters eaten from the peel, and hunks of zebu (those poor guys!) with some kind of chard. "Simple, traditional Madagascar food," explained the restaurant's proprietor, Rajery, with a big grin.
Next stop was Axelle, a clothing factory, and one of the few places in Madagascar making bobbin lace on a regular basis. Sue, herself an avid lacemaker, wanted to meet and observe her colleagues. Unfortunately no one was working on lace this time of year, but a couple of employees showed us samples of their uncommon product, made with raffia. It was wonderful to hear Sue, briefly freed from the responsibility of keeping us all on schedule, discussing one of her passions.
Then there was the lost luggage to contend with! There were still two checked bags, ostensibly in Paris. One contained a good deal of Days for Girls supplies; the other contained Josh's clothes and belongings. Fortunately, he had (as instructed) a second outfit of clothing in his carry-on, and our helpful driver Jocelyn took us to the Super U (think Target but smaller), so he could buy enough to tide him over until the bags reached us.
Then came a true test of Josh's world-traveler learning curve (remember this was his first time outside North America and his first day in Madagascar)! He was invited to enter the airport baggage area alone, without any French-or-Malagasy-speaking companions, to work out the luggage delivery details with an Air France employee. She was great, and Sue and Maggie walked him through everything via WhatsApp.
Double fortunately, the shirt in his carry-on matched the Bougainvillea at the day's first stop...
Neny Holy (Bishop Samy's wife), Maggie, Paul, Josh, Simon and Sue
After this day in the capital to recover from the long journeys, adjust to being nearly halfway round the world from Chicago, and despatch a large number of rolling duffles of Days for Girls supplies to Toliara by road, we flew the next day on a 9-seater Mission Aviation Fellowship flight from Antananarivo airport to Ambovombe airfield (with the emphasis on field!).
We received a wonderful sung welcome from Reverends Antsa, Eric and Tsimatory, along with their families, and Fiadanana (child sponsorship coordinator and our translator).
We stopped at St Paul's, Beabo, Ambovombe on our drive to Berenty Reserve, where we would be staying while visiting Amboasary District.
Ring-tailed lemurs were waiting to greet us on our patio - and ready to help with the unpacking!
And the sifaka danced to see us!!! (Well, to be honest, it is their only mode of locomotion on the ground on account of their short front legs!)
Thanks be to God for making it possible for us to go on this mission trip, to this country filled with exciting adventures and such joy-filled people, despite being so desperately poor in physical belongings. May we learn from them to love and follow God more closely!
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