Beangezoka is a village about 13km North East of Mandritsara accessible by some challengingly muddy roads. It is in a particularly beautiful part of the surrounding countryside and a village where the team leader Hilde has been visiting for years.
Nathan and John
A church was planted there some years ago now, and amidst a series of difficult circumstances they have remained faithful and full of joy. Sadly, the pastor Rakotomalala passed away in December 2019, and so the church is now being led by a young man called John. He is only twenty-two but nevertheless has shown encouraging maturity and seems to be growing in Christ, even though this responsibility was thrust on him several years earlier than anyone had planned.
He is keen to reach non-believers in his village and is thinking about doing this possibly through a football match. Do pray for his ongoing growth as a leader and for his devotion to Christ. John is only just starting to take his first steps in preaching. Please pray for these early attempts at preaching; and for weeks where there is no sermon, that the church would be fed and growing just by the reading of God's Word and prayer together. Please pray for training for John, that he might be able to participate in the regional CITAF programme: a six year programme of pastor training where trainees make an annual trip from their villages to spend two months in Mandritsara to be taught a combination of theology, Bible handling, preaching and pastoral skills. For many it can be a significant sacrifice to leave their families and rice fields for this period; however it can also prove to be a wonderful opportunity to grow in personal discipleship, fellowship support with like-minded brothers, and general spiritual encouragement from a team headed up by Pastor Julien.
The Church in Beangezoka is in many ways representative of a number of the village churches in the Mandritsara district. Please join us in praying for all the village churches - that the Holy Spirit would equip teachers in each congregation to feed these flocks.
Let's pray for access to teaching for God's people – as preachers for these congregations are being sought or trained; for example, the Voice of the Good News radio frequently broadcasts recordings of talks from Pasteur Julien or other Tsimihety preachers.
And for those villages currently out of range of transmission, let's pray for plans for a new radio transmitter that could, in the course of time, make resources like this available to many more.