MADAGASCAR

SUNDAY 7 Praise God for being with our pilots, passengers and planes in Madagascar for more than three decades. His faithfulness makes it possible for us to do what we do, and the fruit of His Spirit can be seen in the thousands of lives physically and spiritually transformed by His love.

MONDAY 8 Please pray for the people of Madagascar who live in poverty despite the country’s wealth of natural resources and unique ecological beauty. Keep them in your hearts and minds as they seek to keep body and soul together in a land where cyclones, floods and droughts are commonplace.

TUESDAY 9 The catastrophic effects of the country’s 2020 drought led to a famine that continues to dominate people’s existence. Pray for the men, women and children we serve who cry out for bread and water.

WEDNESDAY 10 Madagascar gained full independence from France in 1960. Contemplate the glacial pace of change for a population longing to see the dreams of their forebears come true in this lifetime, then pray that God will grant their legitimate wishes.

THURSDAY 11 The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM) flies regularly with MAF to fulfil its mission of distributing Bibles to thousands of isolated people so they can read Scripture in their own language. Pray without ceasing for the continuous delivery of God’s glorious Word to remote communities that eagerly await its arrival.

FRIDAY 12 'Even on a good day,’ says Bible translator and former hospital worker Debbie Simpson, ‘it takes at least 24 hours to get from the capital Antananarivo to Mandritsara by bush taxi.’ Please pray that our aircraft will always be there to save precious time for our passengers and, as a result, improve even more lives.

SATURDAY 13 Give thanks for the Malagasy Lutheran Church, a bright light of evangelism and development since 1950. Pray for everyone there who cherishes the safety and speed that only our aircraft can provide on this, the world’s fourth largest island.

TOP RIGHT Medical equipment and supplies are protected from the rain

ABOVE Bible translator Debbie Simpson (left), with Catherine Grierson, visiting Madagascar as a volunteer radiologist

RIGHT Two-year-old Rafale is given an infusion

BELOW Ampasinambo, Madagascar

The prayer points on these pages relate to a story featured in Flying for Life, pages 10-12.

(We hope this will help inform your prayers for MAF and those we serve.)

SUNDAY 14 Praise God that tiny coastal villages such as Ampasinambo are no longer completely isolated. Give thanks too for the airstrip we opened in 2009 which is now used for medical safaris and medevacs

MONDAY 15 Pray for MAF partner HoverAid. The organisation sends medical equipment and teams of professionals to those in dire need of healthcare. The valued MAF passengers volunteer their time as well as their expertise for the good of people who may never be able to receive treatment in a hospital.

TUESDAY 16 ‘Since July last year, the villagers have begun to suffer the consequences of Cyclone Batsirai,’ says HoverAid Project Co-ordinator Maholinirinaharijaona Sidonie Tatiana. Please pray for the men, women and children in remote communities who don’t have any rice because all their fields were destroyed by this latest natural disaster.

WEDNESDAY 17 In the relative calm and security of our lives, let’s thank our Lord Jesus Christ that He is always there for those of us who believe in Him. Ponder too how His grace has moved inexorably over the island of Madagascar, turning darkness to light during 34 years of MAF’s programme there

THURSDAY 18 Pray for the full recovery of Lambert, who was suffering greatly before surgeons and nurses reached him by MAF aircraft and drained seven pints of fluid from his abdomen. Praise the Lord that Lambert received the medical attention he needed before it was too late.

FRIDAY 19 Two-year-old Rafale was severely malnourished when her mother and grandmother brought her to the visiting medical team flown by MAF. Now that Rafale’s condition has improved, please pray that she will never again experience the life-threatening effects of starvation.

SATURDAY 20 The MAF Madagascar team thanks you for the prayer support which has sustained their mission for such a long, hard and fruitful period of time. Pray that the people in this programme will be strengthened by the power of the Spirit to carry on reaching the thousands who, without MAF, wouldn't receive help, hope and healing.