TIMO team members recently traveled with a group of men to a nearby island (north of Nosy Mitsio), to chop logs to make repairs on the local school. It’s an island with many exceptional taboos, due to ancient ancestors buried there. The team members wanted to share a Bible story with that group of men there, but were told it was taboo to speak of Jesus/God on that island. Breaking the taboo was said to result in getting deathly ill and unable to leave the island. It provided the team members a good opportunity to share more about Jesus/God and how he’s more powerful than any dead ancestor, taboo, or possessing spirit and that when we trust in him we have nothing to fear. No curse or illness followed and the work trip was completed smoothly… something for the men of Nosy Mitsio to think about. Please keep praying that the Antakarana people will have an opportunity to see God’s power in action, that they will be able to relate the Bible stories they’re hearing to the life-changing realities of Jesus that will free them from fear/oppression.

Follow this link to read a short story about the work of the TIMO team among the Antakarana of Nosy Mitsio, and how they’re responding to some of the traditional ancestral customs with the truth of Jesus:

Firm Foundations

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide the team in their responses to the ancestral culture of the Antakarana people.

Please pray for the Antakarana people during Ramadan. Pray that those fasting would discover that their works won’t truly “clean” them, but that Jesus can. Pray that the many who’ve chosen not to fast would still have a desire to know God and be known by him, and that they would discover that fulfillment in Jesus. Pray for the many Antakarana hearing and discussing Bible stories on Nosy Mitsio during this time: that they would find real truth in God’s story, and that the Holy Spirit would convict them to follow him.

Several villages in northern Nosy Mitsio will begin Discovery Bible Studies within the next week or two. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would open hearts and minds to understand his message and that he would draw the Antakarana people into a renewed relationship with him!

Several villages in northern Nosy Mitsio will begin Discovery Bible Studies within the next week or two. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would open hearts and minds to understand his message and that he would draw the Antakarana people into a renewed relationship with him!

Please pray for the community meeting being held in northern Nosy Mitsio tomorrow (Tuesday). They’ll be discussing how to continue the basic healthcare training and provision begun by the TIMO team. They’ll also receive the opportunity to begin gathering in each of their villages and discuss Bible stories (in Discovery Bible Study format). Please pray that the Holy Spirit opens their hearts and minds to embrace these opportunities as a whole community, particularly in the face of recent spiritual warfare.

Please pray for the community meeting being held in northern Nosy Mitsio tomorrow (Tuesday). They’ll be discussing how to continue the basic healthcare training and provision begun by the TIMO team. They’ll also receive the opportunity to begin gathering in each of their villages and discuss Bible stories (in Discovery Bible Study format). Please pray that the Holy Spirit opens their hearts and minds to embrace these opportunities as a whole community, particularly in the face of recent spiritual warfare.

A big ancestral spirit possession ceremony (attempting to find relief for one possessed woman’s sickness) was held during the last couple days in the team leaders’ village on Nosy Mitsio. As a result, several more people, including the “king” of Nosy Mitsio and a headwoman in a team member’s village, are now also possessed by spirits. The headwoman went into a wild trance that severely frightened many others in her village. Some asked team members for prayer but one woman, attempting to care for the possessed lady, vehemently refused any prayers to Jesus, as the spirit claimed to be frightened by the team members and demanded they leave. Please pray for a power encounter with the spirits of Nosy Mitsio, that the Holy Spirit would demonstrate his presence in power and love for the Antakarana people. Please pray that the TIMO team members would have wisdom and discernment to know when and how to speak up for God and when to challenge the local spirits that torment the Antakarana people, even if it might be in opposition to some local people (and the spirits which possess them).

Pray for Vazaha, a seeker from one of the villages of Nosy Mitsio. He came and spoke for several hours today to a team member about the story of Jesus, about protection from ancestral spirits, release from taboos, and how to trust in God who is unseen. He said he wants to trust and is seeking more. I believe the Holy Spirit is revealing his truths to Vazaha, beyond the ability of the words of the TIMO team member. Pray that the Holy Spirit would come as Vazaha invites him to come and reveal his truths and give understanding, strength, and faith.

Please pray for a young man in the village of Marimbehely on Nosy Mitsio. Yesterday while working with cows in the ricefield, he seriously injured his leg: either dislocated at the knee or torn muscles/ligaments. The local communities are very concerned for this young man. The TIMO team was able to provide boat transport to a nearby village where they are attempting special massages and other traditional remedies. Team members have also prayed with him and with other villagers present. Please pray that God would answer these prayers, heal this young man, and make himself known in love and power to the Antakarana people.

Several people in northern Nosy Mitsio have been possessed by spirits in the last month, causing them to experience violent sickness and forcing them to submit to ever-more-restrictive taboos. Many people acknowledge how the common practice of ancestral spirit possession “bothers” them and “disarrays” their lives. But they’re usually afraid to resist the spirits because of potential harmful consequences. Please pray that the TIMO team’s witness of a life lived without fear of evil spirits, because of our trust in and protection from God, would open up new possibilities for the Antakarana people. Pray that they would have faith and courage to accept the Holy Spirit who can protect them from any evil spirit that would attempt to possess them, and who has the power to expel those already possessing them.

Three men died yesterday in Ambilobe when a building they were working on collapsed on top of them. Please pray for those grieving and for those asking “why”, that they would turn to Jesus and find their answers in him. (Luke 13:1-9)

Please pray for the Antakarana of Nosy Mitsio. A sickness is spreading quickly right now (high fevers and lung congestion) and some are turning to their ancestors to try to remove the sickness. Please pray that the Antakarana people would experience the personal love and power of the Creator, that he would bring healing from this widespread sickness, and that they would know him as revealed in Jesus.

Please pray for the communities of northern Nosy Mitsio. The ministry team has recently held a successful community meeting with them to initiate a basic healthcare ministry using principles of transformational development. Please pray that future meetings and efforts will be successful, and that the Antakarana can learn to trust in the power of God for healing, as revealed in Jesus, rather than in their ancestors.

A migrant fisherman from a team member’s village just recently died in an offshore diving accident. Please pray for the fisherman’s family and for our neighbors on Nosy Mitsio, that this would be an occasion for them to seek renewed relationships with the Creator and access to the only spiritual power which can truly save; that as our team begins to share God’s story with them, they would find Jesus is the answer to their questions.

The team has just finished developing a multi-part strategy to reach out to the people with the good news of Jesus. Whether working in the rice fields, sitting on our porches or fishing, we will speak of the God of creation and boast of him in all that we do, lifting up prayers and thanks to him as our friends watch and see that he is a part of every aspect of our lives. We will begin crafting Bible stories in the Antakarana language that they will hear, discuss, and be able to retell and share with their families. And we will work with our communities to provide much needed basic medical care and train them in the process, showing that the God of Creation is also concerned with every aspect of their lives. Please pray for us as we begin tis bold endeavour.

Ramadan Day 18
A lot of the “Mu$lim” Antakarana do not follow through on Ramadan. Pray that this would lead to conversations about why fasting does not meet their spiritual needs. There is a lot of potential for spiritual conversations at this time. Pray the team reaching out to them would be wise and bold to share the Truth.

Ramadan Day 2
The Antakarana do not know a lot of details about the Mu$lim practices they follow. I$lam is only a thin veneer over their traditional animistic beliefs. Pray that as they seek outside their ancestral ways, that they would experience the Holy Spirit working in them and that their searching souls would find Christ.

We did a survey of Bobaomby on the north tip of Madagascar. The Evangelical Baptist Church of Madagascar would like to partner with AIM in a church planting strategy for that area. We’re waiting for the denomination to present their strategy to us. Pray that we can work together. There are 12 known believers.

The TIMO Team arrived last week and just completed their orientation. They are now on Nosy Mitsio and have begun their homestays. Praise that they’re finally here and pray that they adjust well and start into some good relationships.

The TIMO Antakarana team is in the air and on their way to Madagascar! Please pray for their safe travels and especially for their smooth adjustment to life and language on Nosy Mitsio. Also pray especially for their communities and host families during these first few weeks – that they will begin to sense the Holy Spirit bringing something new in their lives.

Nosy Mitsio has had strong east winds for over 2 weeks now that are causing trouble for transport and everyone’s livelihood. The people believe it’s the result of a broken ancestral taboo (hanging an octopus wrongly while drying it) and they will meet next Tuesday to discuss the perpetrator and try to appease the ancestors. Please pray for the winds to let up and people’s lives to resume. Pray for God to reveal himself to the Antakarana people, freeing them from fear of ancestral taboos and the social discord of placing blame. Pray that they would know the Creator who revealed himself to our eyes: Jesus.

The Antakarana people believe their ancestors will be “opening the door” again in August. They will have a big ceremony and sacrifice at an important site on mainland Madagascar Aug 14-16. Please pray that God would reveal himself to the Antakarana, that they would know the one who has made himself a sacrifice for them and who never “closes the door” on them, but always draws near.

Ramadan Day 23: More Muslims are coming to Christ than ever before. Praise God that ‘the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.’ (Luke 19:10) Keep praying! God is answering your prayers.

Ramadan Day 12: In Matthew 11:27-28 Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me…” Jesus wants Muslims to know Him! Pray Jesus would reveal the Father to Muslims, and they would come to Jesus.

Those following the Ramadan fast on Nosy Mitsio believe it will make them “clean” before God and grant them his favor. Pray that they would know the God who made us clean in Jesus and who gave us his favor before we even asked for it.

Ramadan Day 1: As Muslims begin their month of fasting, pray that they would find it spiritually empty and ask God, “Why have we fasted and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” (Isaiah 58:3)

June and July are the months of “closing the door” for the Antakarana people; a time when they’re unable to have any significant communication with their ancestors, whether it’s for receiving requests, healing sicknesses, or mediating spirit possessions – all of their normal interactions with their ancestors. Please pray that during this time of silence from their ancestors, that the Antakarana people would be able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit leading them to Jesus.