Picture the scene below...
It’s early in the morning at the airport in Madagascar, ahead of a hot and humid day.
People are loading a quad bike and trailer into the MAF plane.
Two women board the plane, Leoni and Joanne. They are leaving the city to begin a three-day voyage overcoming mountains, jungles and swamps to visit three of the remotest villages on the island. Their mission is of eternal significance.
You join the flight.
Josh the pilot starts the engine and the plane takes off towards the west coast. After a successful landing at Tambohorano, Josh unloads the quad bike and trailer. You, Josh and the women hop on; two on the bike and two in the trailer.
Swamp
Driving across the bumpy terrain for a couple of miles, you come across a huge swamp. To avoid getting stuck in the mud, the trailer is detached and the quad shuttles each passenger across the swamp. It was a challenging drive and we were muddy. But without the quad, we would have never reached our destination – the pastor’s home at a small remote village.
The pastor and his wife are enthusiastic about their project and are pleased to meet the women – who are co-ordinating the project. They are revision translators for the Gospel of Luke and the Jesus Film. The pastor shows us a cassette recorder, powered by a car battery. On the tape is the spoken version of Luke in the local language. Since 2002, they have voluntarily worked on various translation projects.
There are still people in the area who haven’t heard anything from the Bible. All that is available is one translation in an unfamiliar language. The pastor runs the one small church in the region and has the right network and spirit to share the Gospel in this area.
There is no phone network here.
Visiting them is the only way to monitor and encourage the translation work, and to discuss any issues.
After some meetings and a nice lunch, you all return back through the mud to the airstrip. Heavy thunderstorms were growing rapidly in the sky, so you are in a hurry.
Josh flies you all to Mahajanga, a town on the west coast, where you stay overnight and pick up a Malagasy translation team member.
It’s an early start the next morning. The plane takes off, destination Antsohihy. Project co-ordinator Leoni and consultant Joanne went to the village for different important meetings, and spoke with the head of the synod to ensure that the new translation is accepted and will be used by the churches. Meanwhile, the plane needed to be refuelled and extra seats installed for other translation team members to join our next flight.
Paradise and poverty
Back in the air, you fly towards Analalava. The very and worn-out tarmac airstrip is a 45-minute walk away from the village, situated on a beautiful palm beach. Beautiful, although very poor and undeveloped, as you cannot reach this place by road.
Here, the team was looking to recruit additional volunteer translators and to meet other members of the team.
You stay in basic accommodation but enjoy your lunch – fresh seafood. After lunch, the translation team members met with potential new translators.
Evening arrives, and you notice a poor looking lady coming to Leonie and speaking together in Malagasy. Leoni later tells you that the lady had heard of the translation work and looks forward to reading this new translation of the Gospel of Luke. What an encouragement and confirmation of the spiritual needs in these remote villages.
Film translation
The next day is exciting: as copies of the Jesus film in the local language are distributed – the work of the local translation team.
It’s 11.30am, and its hot and very humid as you walk uphill back to the airstrip. You are tired, but happy. It is clear that Leoni has a God-given specialism to find people with the right skills for translation, and support them.
On the way back to the city, Josh has to refuel the plane, then drops off team members back in their respective villages.
It is clear that these trips are a crucial part of Wycliffe’s translation work. With the plane, MAF is able to establish this important link.
Back at the hangar, piles of boxes of vaccinations were waiting to be loaded for MAF's next life-saving flight...