Shelter Mada

Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world by GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. Many people have electricity for only a few hours a day, and water often runs only between midnight and dawn. Corruption is common, and children suffer the most. Yet they are open, eager to learn, and ready to listen about God.

Sometimes I think about why I was born in this poor country, and I realize that God had a mission for me. If I had been born somewhere else, I might never have understood the needs of poor people and their daily struggles. I went through hardships myself. Many times during my childhood and youth I had to work two or three part-time jobs to finish my studies. I walked four hours to get to school.

After I got married, I moved to America. My husband, Wilbert, and I always wanted to do something to help people, especially children, because they are often the ones paying the price for what they did not choose. They cannot defend or advocate for themselves. Even after leaving my homeland, I carried its people in my heart and prayed that God would one day show us how to serve them.

God Provides a Place

A few years ago we started looking for a place where we could have a small school or clinic, something that could reach the community in Madagascar, because we knew people there needed help so badly. We planned to rent a place, but after months of searching, we could find nothing. We finally concluded that we needed our own place to do ministry.

The problem was that we did not have the means to buy a house. But we put our wish in God’s hands, convinced that it was God Himself who had put that desire in our hearts to be His tools, representing Him to others. God knew that we were willing to serve Him, and He owns everything.

A few years later God provided a property in Madagascar. We hesitated to buy it because the price would take all our savings. But we said to ourselves, “It is not our money; it is God’s.” So we bought the property.

Opening the Gates

When we arrived in Madagascar, we began contacting the neighbors around our new house. We put a sign on the gate that read “English Class on Wednesday and Worship on Saturday.” About 40 children came that Wednesday. Then on Sabbath we opened our gates and started worshipping in English. We invited the young people, but many children came as well.

It was fun to see their little faces under the gate, eager for the program to begin.

We named the place Shelter Mada.

In the beginning there were about 40 children. The next Sabbath there were 70. They waited by the gate before it opened. It was fun to see their little faces under the gate, eager for the program to begin. There were so many of them that we recruited some Adventist friends to help. The children were between 6 months and 12 years old. We organized a worship program just for them. They loved singing and learning about God.

A Growing Ministry

These children live difficult lives. Their parents struggle to make a living, so we started feeding them. A little 3-year-old girl named Tsoa, which means blessing, called Wilbert “Papa.”

Many of the children were barefoot, so we bought them shoes. On Independence Day we gave them lanterns (their parents could not afford them) so they could participate in the customary parade. We distributed warm clothes in winter and school supplies before classes began.

On Sunday afternoons we also offer health and cooking classes for adults. We teach computer and English classes to young people who cannot afford to study these subjects, though they are essential for their future. Some friends donated tables and chairs so we could accommodate more and more young people.

We now have a regular attendance of about 70 children and 20 young adults worshipping and learning about God every Sabbath. We feed them spiritually and help relieve their physical hunger. By God’s grace and through the Holy Spirit, we have baptized nine this year.

Our dream is to start an orphanage where children can be loved, and have a bed, warm food, and caring parents. We praise God for what He has done. What began as a small wish to help others has become a ministry that shows God’s love in action.