Simon and Miriam Desborough

Sienna

Sent from Gateway Church, York

Simon and Miriam are serving Antananarivo, Madagascar, after having studied Biblical and Intercultural Studies at All Nations Christian College. Before this, Simon was a secondary school teacher, and Miriam was a nurse.

Before moving to serve in Antananarivo, Simon worked with AIM’s Diaspora ministry in the East Midlands, and Miriam volunteered alongside him. Taking the good news of Jesus to Africa’s hardest-to-reach people does not always mean a move to Africa. Today, millions of Africans live outside Africa. Reaching out to these populations is called diaspora ministry. AIM’s Diaspora workers serve in strategic communities where significant populations of ethnic Africans live, and we seek partnerships with Christ-centred, biblically-based churches. 

Now in Madagascar, as of January 2023, the Desboroughs’ primary role involves mobilizing Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. They are convicted of the need to invest in Malagasy churches in the capital and encourage them to send missionaries to preach the holistic gospel of Christ in other areas of the country and overseas. By developing partnerships with a range of churches and organisations, they aim to raise awareness of the need for mission. It is then vital to ensure that churches and prospective missionaries have high quality mission training, and that their deployment is well facilitated.

A core tenet of AIM is to minister among Africa’s least reached peoples, therefore they are resolved to engage the unreached Gujarati people that reside in Madagascar. Through business, the Gujarati have amassed a large proportion of the wealth in Madagascar. The Desboroughs hope initially to network with existing Christian businesses in order to connect and develop relationships with the Gujarati, seeking creative ways to proclaim the gospel.

With her healthcare expertise as a nurse, Miriam aims to serve vulnerable women in Madagascar. Working with existing charities, she intends to offer the hope and restoration found only in Jesus to the many trafficked and trapped women working in the sex industry.

Could you partner with Simon and Miriam in this work?

Latest Prayer News

Hervé and Nathalia Ramangalahy serve in a ministry team working with the Antakarana and Sakalava people on the island of Nosy Be, Madagascar. Pray for them as they grieve the death of Nathalia’s father. Pray that God would comfort them and that their hope in Christ in the dark seasons of life would be a light to those around them both at home in Switzerland and in Nosy Be. 

Cyclone Batsirai hit Madagascar late last Saturday (6th), the second cyclone to hit the island in two weeks. With at least 10 people dead and more than 43,000 people displaced, the storm has caused much destruction to roads, bridges, fields and crops and buildings. Pray for the relief efforts, and for those affected by the cyclone.

Pray for more local and foreign Christian workers, church planters and children’s workers to serve God’s kingdom in Madagascar. Many current missionaries plan to return to their home countries in the next two years. Join us in praying for many more to come and sustain the ministry.

Give thanks that we have a united team of local and foreign missionaries serving in Madagascar. Give thanks for training opportunities allowing more local missionaries to get involved in the wider ministry. Pray for local churches as they send and equip their people for outreach.

Pray for Rosina Ferdinand, AIM’s Unit Leader for Madagascar. A member of the Sakalava people, Rosina is seeking to reach more Malagasy with the gospel. Pray for God to sustain her in her work, and for wisdom and energy as she leads.

Madagascar

Madagascar. The world’s fourth biggest island boasting flora and fauna that exist nowhere else on earth. 92% of the population exist on less than £2 per day. 41% of the population identify with Christianity, 7% with Islam, the majority follow Traditional African Religions. LEARN MORE

Church Development

We hope that our church development work with local African churches will lead them to be centres of hope and love that draw more people to Jesus. LEARN MORE
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