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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

13 January 2024

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, mobilising Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. Miriam has been working with vulnerable women struggling in the sex trade, bringing them practical support and sharing the gospel with them. Praise God for the two women who gave their lives to Jesus with Miriam and her teammate one night and who were baptised on Boxing Day! Pray for Miriam and her teammates as they disciple these women and try to connect them to a more local church in their area. Pray that God will provide the means for them to support themselves and their families without having to go back to prostitution. 

24 November 2023

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving Antananarivo, Madagascar, mobilising Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. Pray that God will break down the barriers that are stopping people from directly reaching the vulnerable, trafficked, and trapped women working in the sex industry in Antananarivo. Despite there being many charities willing to help children or other vulnerable groups, there is low enthusiasm to partner with Miriam and their local church to support these women. Pray for God to give compassion to those in positions to help and for the Lord to lead Miriam as she befriends each woman and tells them of how God sees them, loves them, and has a future for them. 

24 September 2023

Simon and Miriam are serving Antananarivo, Madagascar. They have taken over the gospel discipleship of some local Malagasy men and women from an AIM colleague who has moved on. Pray for Simon as he explores the Old Testament with a Malagasy man who is new in his faith in Christ and pray for Miriam as she mentors a young Malagasy woman in studying women of faith in the Bible. Pray for spiritual growth for this man and woman and for the Holy Spirit to give Simon and Miriam wisdom in their mentoring. 

16 May 2023

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar and will be working to mobilize Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. Give thanks for their progression in their language learning since their arrival in February, they have now learned 1100 Malagasy words! Please pray for them as they enter Phase Two of their language learning, and for God to give them wisdom in knowing when to begin ministry and what this will look like. 

3 April 2023

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving Antananarivo, Madagascar working to mobilize Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. Give thanks for their time in Nairobi for their Africa Based Orientation which proved a real encouragement ahead of moving on to Madagascar. Praise God for His provision of a house for them to rent and for their supporters at home whose prayers they say, have made the transition easier. Pray for them as they navigate culture shock in Antananarivo, from lizards to language learning. Pray that they and their one-year-old daughter, Sienna, would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to embrace change and they would lean on Christ as they begin their ministry. 

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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