Hannah is currently part of a team reaching the unreached Bara people in Madagascar. Here she explains why she was willing to serve ‘anywhere’.
‘…children’s educational needs bring to an end the field ministry of countless missionary families…’
This statement stared at me from the page in Operation World. Furthered by a conversation with a missionary mum about her struggles in educating her children in a more remote location, the need for teachers in hard-to-reach places became increasingly apparent.
“Teaching the team’s children frees their parents to focus on language study and preparing for ministry to the unreached Bara people.”
Through prayer and time in his Word, God asked me if I was willing to help a family (or families) in their goal to reach the unreached with the gospel by teaching their children. Openness about where to serve is directly related to the nature of my calling. Local schools, International schools and home-schooling enable many children to thrive on the mission field. I needed to be open to go to a place where these options were not available. So, ‘anywhere’ basically covered that and, as I went through the AIM application process, ‘anywhere’ became Betroka, Madagascar.
Teaching the team’s children frees their parents to focus on language study and preparing for ministry to the unreached Bara people. My prayer is that having a teacher dedicated not only to their education, but also their emotional and spiritual needs, will help these children to find their place in God’s plan for their family.
I hope that by supporting missionaries who come here, as well as investing in language-learning and local friendships, the Bara people will see that they have value. Not only do we as a team value them but, far more significantly, God loves them and wants them to come to a saving knowledge of him.
