‘David Mann has just come back from Madagascar. Pray for the AEF council as they meet to decide whether it is God’s will that the Mann family and others go to Madagascar to start an evangelistic medical work in the town of Mandritsara, working with the Association of Bible Baptist Churches.’

I found myself staring at the empty baggage carousel on my own at nearly midnight in Ivato airport, Antananarivo, Madagascar, my bags still stranded somewhere in Paris! It’s difficult to put into words the “out of my depth” feeling that struck me in that moment as I stood there alone and very far from home churning over a multitude of questions in my head

How does a twenty-something year-old lass from the Land Down Under end up in Northern Madagascar to teach missionary children? Good question! The short answer is by just a few aeroplane flights!

Mananara is a town on the coast, there is no road and the journey takes 4 days on foot in the dry season. The walk began before sunrise after finishing last minute packing late the night before.

Death is an ever-present adversary in Mandritsara... Life is precious. Life is beautiful. It’s worth the fight. We don’t give up...

Around 500 people have had their sight restored each year… there are only 25 eye surgeons in the whole of Madagascar, which has a population of 30 million.

The Mandritsara district covers about 10,500 sq kms. That is about three times as big as the county of Kent in SE England, or half the size of Wales. Over 90% of these people live…

The walls are now complete and the roof is being installed. It is still expected that the expanded maternity unit will be fully operational by…

“If I hadn’t been put in prison, I might never have heard the Good News about Jesus!” …. We have been amazed at the access we have been given and how the Lord has opened this door for us. We have seen many ladies accept Christ and…

The main thrust of my sermon was of about all peoples hearing the gospel in their own native language. This is what happened when God poured out his Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and many people, speaking many different languages, heard the gospel so that they might call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

For a long time, God has put in my heart a thirst for a job that is directly linked to the expansion of His Kingdom. One day, our pastor said that praying is good, but you must also have the willingness of heart to respond to God’s call to action.

I am in Bananaville, I have come by Helimission helicopter to this remote village on the edge of the rainforest and two days’ walk from Mandritsara as part of the regular outreach of the Good News Hospital community health team. My task is to see those who are sick…

This story is slightly unusual, in that I was moved to write it by an urgent call for help that has come from the team in Mandritsara - the need for medical doctors. Staffing levels from August onwards look absolutely critical…

This is the story of a little girl, named Siadine. Siadine is eight and lives with her parents in a remote village. One day, she was being a big sister to her little brother, when she fell…

In May ’23 I came out to Mandritsara to set up a new dental surgery in the hospital. I didn’t think I had too much to fear back then, but possibly not being allowed to do what you are trained to do is a bit scary…

One of the delights of working at Hopitaly Vaovao Mahafaly is seeing God answer prayers… And it is a special joy to be able to come to a patient’s bedside and testify to our Father’s goodness in answering those prayers.

"Something's wrong with my baby! I need help! This isn't normal!" Olivia is in a panic (true story, name changed for privacy

Whilst growing up considering what to study at University, I had an enthusiasm for supporting medical mission work to meet spiritual and physical needs of people in contexts with less material resources than our own.

I wasn’t planning anything else. I was retired and settling down to life in UK. Or so I thought! As I write (early November 2023) I am sitting in a hotel room in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar

For a pregnant woman, this journey of several days is exhausting. Lamina was incredibly happy when she finally saw Mandritsara in the distance and by chance even found a bajaj (a small three-wheeled taxi) that could take her and her companions.

Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide, was the faith and testimony of Abraham in Genesis 22 when God called him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. At the Good News Hospital, God's people have been reminded time and again that "The Lord provides."

I was born and grew up in Amparafaravola, near Lake Alaotra, 230km north-east of Antananarivo. It’s now 20 years that I’ve been in Mandritsara. I didn’t expect to stay such a long time when I arrived in 2003. But I am still here.

We arrived in Mandritsara in mid-May so are very new to the town and the project… To give a balanced picture, I’ve been asked to list nine things – three surprises, three disappointments and three challenges in these early days.

Where better to start than at 2am last night… The lights in the new surgical building start are turning on one by one. The team are arriving…

Posters were put up in the neighbouring villages of Ambalamahogo and Ambalasatrana, teachers were meeting in preparation and prayer… What a response! Expecting only a few children the first Saturday, the team were amazed to have over 100 children and adults arrive.