Thank you for the stationery supplies! We have had an amazing response to this
appeal and have now nearly reached capacity for what we can carry with us.
We will be buying some things in Toliara e.g. a sewing machine and
portable CD player for the Diocese, to enable us to make best use of the 2 day
banner making class, and to play some music in the children’s sessions. Patsy has had the CD player on her wish-list
for a while, and the idea of making 14 banners in two days without a sewing
machine was too much of a challenge for Sue! Todd and Patsy’s housekeeper, Jeannette, has
just taken out a loan to buy a sewing machine for herself, and we will get the
same model as that so that she can train other women to use it. Jeannette is a skilled embroiderer – as can
be seen from Todd’s shirts, which she embellishes with Malagasy dancing people.
News from Mauritius (where Patsy served as priest for 15 months)
is that the launch of her musical “A Time to Dance” has been well
received. This was written in dedication
to the women of Madagascar and proceeds will go toward raising awareness, hope
and empowerment of women in Madagascar.
And we heard that the worship community at the cathedral complex in
is outgrowing its current place in the training building, so it’s good news
that progress is being made with the building of the Cathedral. There is a matching grant in place, this year
to raise the remaining funds for that.
We are in the process of having all the necessary immunizations,
and getting prescriptions for antibiotics to take with us in case of traveller’s
tummy or an injury to Sue’s arm which has lymphoedema. We would much appreciate prayers that none of
the antibiotics are necessary, and that we tolerate the anti-malaria drugs when
we start taking them a day or so ahead of arriving in Madagascar – being sick
on those long flights doesn’t sound like a good start to the trip!!
