Marc had a seminar this morning for Malagasy interested in reaching the Bara. He is trying to encouraging storying and stresses the importance of speaking in their heart language. Apparently many people speak Official Malagasy to the Bara and in result, the Bara don't understand half of what is spoken to them. Not only that, but Malagasy preach fire and brimstone to the Bara in a threatening manner and this approach has proved to be fruitless in spreading the gospel. But since Bara is currently an unwritten language, their tradition is oral and they're very good at telling stories. So Marc and Stacy used this approach while they were in the village. They told a NT story every Monday (since it was taboo for the Bara to work on Mondays).
There were six individuals who attended Marc's seminar today, but nobody could come back in the afternoon to hear more. It's a bit discouraging for Marc because it doesn't seem like people are interested in hearing more.
For lunch we ate Malagasy style- on a mat on the kitchen floor. We had one bowl of rice, a spoon for each of us, and a bowl of topping. We ate what was in front of us from the bowl of rice, taking a tiny spoonful of topping with eat bite. It was definitely an experience. Nothing I'd look forward to if I were to live among the Bara. It's no wonder Marc was sick so much during TIMO.
Stacy and I shared our "love stories" with each other tonight. I really enjoyed sharing and listening to our experiences. She's kind of like a big sister to me.
After doing dishes and putting the kids to bed, Stacy, Marc, and I sat around the kitchen table talking. They told me really sad stories of events that took place in the village- children being neglected and abused by their parents, babies dying, people starving to death because they had no food or money and were too proud to beg...
I kind of feel removed from the suffering that I'm sure takes place around me in Betroka... When I walk through the streets I notice people who look more desperate and dirty than others, but I'm not sure if they compare to the desperate poverty I observed in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. A lot of people here live with extended family so they can help support each other. But in the slums you had nobody else to depend upon. But what is most striking about the Niles' stories of village life is the obvious spiritual poverty of the Bara and other people groups. So much could and would change if they surrendered their lives to Christ...
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