Willards in Madagascar - www.madmissions.com

07/09/2021

Sorry it's been so long since we've shared an update! We finally feel like we're getting started with "new beginnings" here in the US - I'm starting a new job on Monday, and we've finally found a long-term house to rent (in Northwest Arkansas) starting at the end of the month. Read here for more news and photos.

Now the old is finished. We’re in a new beginning in a new place, and we eagerly look forward to see what God has in store for us!

05/24/2021

It's been some time since we've had an opportunity to speak with Nuckiline on the phone, but we were able to do that this morning. She shared some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that she's continued to translate some new Bible stories into Antakarana language and to share them with the discipleship group in Antanamazava. The Holy Spirit has led her to select stories based on the specific needs and circumstances of the members of the discipleship group there. As a result of translating and sharing the Jonah story with them, they've has taken a greater interest in sharing the Bible stories they've received with others they believe need to hear them - and now they have two men who've joined the discipleship group as regular members! Praise God for that, as it's long been a challenge to have men show consistent interest, and hopefully this will be an opportunity to have a broader impact in the local community and in villages further away (because in Antakarana culture, men are the ones who more often do the most frequent traveling).

The bad news is that a coronavirus variant has spread in Madagascar in the last few months and this "second wave" was worse than the first one. As a result the government has created much stricter travel and meeting lockdowns than previously. Not only that, but several people died as a result of covid in villages not far from Antanamazava (and several more from Ambilobe also). So Nuckiline wasn't able to visit them for the last few months, because of the risk of spreading this deadly disease during the time that it was spreading rapidly. However, the second wave of covid seems to have passed in their area by now, and the rainy season is also ending there (meaning the country roads and paths are easier to travel again), so Nuckiline is planning to go there and start visiting regularly again beginning next week.

Please pray that the group has been doing well and continuing to meet regularly amongst themselves over the last few months, even while Nuckiline was unable to visit and be with them. Pray that the stories they've received will have by now been passed to many more people in the area, and that many others will be feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, drawing them to follow Jesus and commit themselves to him. Please pray for continued good health for Nuckiline and her family, for her to have continued motivation and perseverance in this work, and for continued wisdom and discernment by the Holy Spirit to know how to lead these disciples into greater knowledge of and obedience to God - that they will multiply far beyond themselves and that it will result in many generations of Antakarana people (and beyond) following Jesus.

04/04/2021

This last year has been pretty tough on most people I know. We've had some tough times in our family too, including right now - trying to determine new careers and new lives here in the US (something we never planned on) and even by this point still being not at all sure how that's going to end up.

But that's one thing that's so amazing about this holiday today, Easter. It's the declaration that one man's defiance of the natural order of things: accepting a punishment he didn't deserve, submitting to a death he could've easily avoided, and demonstrating that death itself has no lasting hold over him - that this declaration applies not just to him but to *all* of us who find life and identity in him. Jesus did these things as a foretaste of what *all* of us can have in him.

Life is tough. Even the best of us are brought low by the natural decay inherent in this creation, and by the combined apathy and antipathy of others - no matter how hard we might struggle against it. The story of Jesus acknowledges that fully - there is no denial there. But Jesus has a different response than most of us would - instead of fighting against all this as if it's a struggle he could possibly win, he chooses to let it go, and let God his Father take the reigns and take the glory, and in so doing he defeats death and decay itself - not just for himself, but once and for all, and for all of us.

So in this tough life, and in this tough year that so many of us have experienced (and so many have had it harder than my family has), I take comfort that we're living with the continual hope of Easter. That Jesus's resurrection is a foretaste of what's to come. That death and decay has its moment (and so many of us are living in that moment right now), but it's only momentary. If we choose to be in Jesus, we can release our struggles to him, knowing that in him resurrection has the final say.

I hope that Easter this year can be a transition point to a gentler year, one with a renewed and more realized hope in each of our lives. I think we have at least a few reasons to expect that might happen. But even if that doesn't happen for all of us, or for any of us... at least let Easter remind us that these trials and these challenges will not have the final say; it's neither our responsibility nor in our strength to fully overcome these things ourselves. But in Jesus we *will* have resurrection. That much, at least, is already determined.

01/27/2021

We've been back in the US for just over 2 months now, and it's been a bit of a rough start. Thank God though that we are currently in good health and have all of our immediate needs met. Here we share what's been happening, how we're doing right now, and what we're looking forward to.

So many have faced some of the biggest challenges of their lives during this season, but even this time is not wasted. God is using these challenges to shape and form us

12/08/2020

We spoke briefly with Nuckiline this morning and she said things are still going well there with the discipleship group in Antanamazava! She said that tomorrow they'll be starting a new Bible story set, one that Nuckiline will be starting the translation for (into the Antakarana language) herself. We're excited to hear Nuckiline taking the initiative to move forward into the next stage of ongoing discipleship with the people there! We were also able to connect her with colleagues of ours that are doing similar work in eastern Madagascar, so they can visit and encourage one another.

After being in the US for several weeks now, it was so great to hear her voice and hear that things are going well!

11/26/2020

We're wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This is our first thanksgiving in the US in 10 years!

We're thankful most of all for our God who takes care of us in all things, the big and the small. He doesn't always promise that the paths he leads us on are easy, but he promises to be with us and take care of us along the way, and we've seen that to be so very true in our lives!

We're so thankful that God has directed us these last months, and he's opened the doors for us to leave Madagascar and to return safely and relatively smoothly to here in the US, and he's taken care of all of our needs along the way.

We're very thankful for incredibly generous friends and relatives who helped us get here and who've provided hospitality and transport for us (both transport along the way and also a great long-term vehicle for our family).

We're thankful for friends of family (people who don't even know us personally) who've provided a great place for us to quarantine as a family here in the US - right next door to Lora's parents. They've even offered for us to stay in this home for the next few months until we discern our next steps and get our own place. What great generosity to come from those who are strangers to us!

We're thankful that though our personal plans for life sometimes change suddenly and drastically, none of this catches God by surprise... he knows what we've been through, he knows where we're at now, and he knows what's ahead. He's with us through it all and he graciously offers us one opportunity after the next to participate with him in the advancement of his Kingdom here on earth, in all things to draw us and those around us closer to him in Jesus and to empower us for his good works by the love and strengthening of his Holy Spirit.

11/13/2020

We heard again from Nuckiline - in Antanamazava they shared the Jesus film in Antakarana language this week. A *whole* lot of people were there to watch it, and they will finish the last bit of the film and do follow-up next week.

Nuckiline also had the opportunity to coach the regular discipleship group members into how to share their testimonies (big or small) with lots of people on a regular basis. And she'll be preparing them for leading new simple discipleship groups of those interested in joining once the Jesus film is finished.

Praise God for all the great testimonies coming from northern Madagascar, even after we left! God knows the right timing and the right methods in all things! And while we would love to still be there participating directly with Nuckiline in all of this, and to be able to see firsthand all these great results that we worked towards for so many years, but we know that God's ways are better than ours, and this is a situation where "it's better that we should go" because the works God wants to do through them there in our absence are greater than he could do with our presence. We simply praise God that his Kingdom is coming to the Antakarana people, and the foundation for his Church, a strong and multiplying one, is being built among them!

We fly out of Madagascar tomorrow (Saturday) and arrive in the US on Sunday. We don't know what the future holds for us, nor even if it's in God's plans for us ever to return to Madagascar in the future (though it's still very much in our hearts to do that). But we praise God for the time he gave us here, and for the small pioneering part he privileged us to play in seeing many future generations of Antakarana people have the opportunity to know Jesus and to serve him and his Kingdom!

Please pray for us as we transition to the next season God has for us: that God would protect us and our loved ones as we return to the US during the height of the covid-19 spread; that God would make it clear to us what our next steps are - whether a season of waiting or active pursuit of whatever task/role he has for us next; and pray for our two boys as they leave the country of their childhood to go live in a new country and new culture that they're almost totally unfamiliar with.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support for many years now. Once we leave Madagascar, I will probably only provide infrequent updates in the future. But please always keep in your prayers the Antakarana people, Nuckiline in her leadership role in the work, and the future generations of disciples being made there - that they would have the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to persevere and grow, and multiply the reach of God's Kingdom until everyone in northern Madagascar has an opportunity to know Jesus and be discipled together in following him.

11/03/2020

We just spoke with Nuckiline about the ongoing ministry in Antanamazava. She said they're very motivated and it's still going well. Tomorrow night in Antanamazava they'll share the "Jesus" film in Antakarana language. Please pray that all the equipment works well, that the people God is leading to himself show up and are attentive, and that more disciples would be made in Antanamazava and beyond.

In the following weeks, Nuckiline plans to share more stories about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the early Church. She also plans to train some of the discipleship group members to start leading other discipleship groups regularly (the same way we've done for them). Possibly some who come to see the Jesus film tomorrow night will join new discipleship groups led by those that Nuckiline and we have discipled. Please pray for Nuckiline as she leads this work on her own right now, and please pray for more fruit and multiplication of disciple-making that spreads far and wide through the work in Antanamazava!

10/21/2020

Here's our latest news from Madagascar, and it's BIG news. It turns out that our time in Madagascar is now finished, and soon we'll be heading back to the US to begin an entirely new season of our lives there. Read our story below to find out how God communicated all of this to us.

This is what God was telling us: that our time here is finished. Now we enter into a new season in life, both unanticipated and unknown...

10/06/2020

Today was our last day with the discipleship group in Antanamazava, so we finally got some group photos! It was a really nice time today but also bittersweet. After our regular time of sharing a Bible story and discussing it, we had time to lay our hands on each member of the group and to pray for them personally. Afterwards they prayed for us.

They told us that since we've begun to meet regularly with them in their village, that God has really transformed their lives and empowered them to seek him personally. They also said they'll really miss us and asked if there's some way we could contact them in the future, but unfortunately still none of them have cell phones. But we'll definitely stay in touch through Nuckiline, who will be continuing the work in our absence.

Nuckiline is also committed to training some of the group members to take a stronger leadership role just like hers and to find ways to be more personally involved in their lives and thus disciple them at a deeper level as well. Earlier this morning when we prayed together with Nuckiline, she prayed that there would be an opportunity in the future for us to pass by again, or even just to call her on the phone, and that she'd have the privilege of sharing with us the news of so much fruitfulness that God has done through her and the people of Antanamazava. Please join us in prayer for this to come true one day! And please pray that God would continue to strengthen and encourage Nuckiline, that she would grow stronger, more passionate, and more committed to this work even in our absence than she has in our presence. And pray that God would give her wisdom and insight for any new efforts (in the Ambilobe area or in other places) that she should begin in the future.

Jean-Luc (on the far right - the man who's been driving us to and from the village for several months now) is going to visit his family this weekend in Nosy Be, and he's very excited to gather all of them together and share with them all of the Bible stories that he's been learning in our discipleship group for months now. We made sure to provide him with a full copy of our Antakarana story set before he left.

We plan to share a fuller update soon with more details on the transition time ahead of us. But for now we can say that our leaving is definitely God's leading and we're excited to see what lies ahead!

09/29/2020

We were able to go back to Antanamazava today after being away for several weeks! We had a good time with the group there, though several regular members of our discipleship group had traveled to another village for a local meeting.

One thing that was very exciting was hearing how a couple of the group members have already begun leading others in discipleship group meetings on their own over the last month! This is a huge answer to prayer and the sort of "reproduction" (that can lead to multiplication) that we've been hoping to see for a very long time now! It was funny because these two ladies were very nonchalant about it, like of course they were leading others in discipleship groups (the same kind we've been modeling for them), since it's simple and effective for helping them know God better and draw closer in relationship with him. They took it as a matter of fact that they could and should be doing that. So we then encouraged them to encourage those in their new group that they can also start sharing with others and leading others in discipleship groups as well. We hope and pray that God will bring multiplication through these new and faithful disciples of his in Antanamazava! Thank you to all of you who've also been praying for this with us for many months now!

Also, one of the ladies was able to share a praise report that her home life has become very peaceful now. Another lady in the group wanted to clarify that before they've always been fighting constantly and struggling very significantly in their home. But after praying together in our last meeting together, and after being convicted to work on that area of her life based on the last Bible story we shared, she said that since then they've smoothed things out and she's now had a very peaceful home life thanks to God's help. It was exciting to hear that!

We also discussed with the group some of the things that's happened in our life recently, and told them it's possible that Lora and I will be moving somewhere else very soon. They were all very sad about that possibility, but we pledged to be together with them at least one more time, next week. Nuckiline also pledged to continue to visit them regularly and to continue the work with them going forward.

It's been so exciting to see what God has done through this small group of faithful disciples over the last five months or so. He's answered many of our prayers in regards to them! And though God seems to have reduced our own direct involvement significantly, nonetheless, I believe he's been happy to use us as a catalyst to begin what we trust will be a very fruitful group of disciples that will multiply the work even further and reach more people than we ever could.

This picture is from near sunset time on the main bridge over the Mahavavy River on the way back to Ambilobe this evening. There was a nice (though short-lived) rainbow, and people went about their normal business washing clothes and bathing in the river.

09/19/2020

Sorry about the silence we've had here for a few weeks! We were away from town for one week, and upon returning we were immediately in a safety/security crisis for our living situation here, that has targeted our family. All week we've been dealing with it, talking to the relevant people, praying, trying to get to the bottom of it and figuring out what decision to make about what will happen.

So far God has not resolved the threat to our family and we believe he's not asking us to stay in this place and endure that threat. There are also no other local means or authority that can reliably remove those making this threat in a way that is peaceful and righteous. So, we need to leave our house here in a very short time period.

We have no idea where we will go next nor what the future holds for us in this area nor regarding our direct involvement in the ministry here. The thing Jesus has been most clear with us about during this time is that no matter the outcome and no matter where we go from here, he is with us and we are with him. God has made it clear to us that this is his burden to bear, it's his work to continue and to bring to completion.

So, we will spend the next couple of weeks praying and seeking God for direction, and looking for another place to go, whether here in this same area or elsewhere. Please pray with us, for our family's continued safety, and for God to give us clarity about the next steps, so we can make the necessary decisions with boldness and confidence. We thank God that he's already filled us with peace about what's to come! Once we've arrived at any decisions we'll let you all know here.