Richard & Ruth Jertberg Family
Madagascar
Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples
November 2020
Somehow, time has flown by! We were hoping that we would have some news
about our return to Madagascar by the time we wrote this letter, but Madagascar
remains closed to travel. Some countries do quarantine or limited travelers;
however, Madagascar is completely locked down. We continue to wait for the
country to open for travel. We pray that it will be soon!
Hadassah celebrated her first birthday on July 25th. Time has gone by so fast,
and she has grown so much! She walks around and has a mouth full of teeth (16)!
We are so thankful that God gave her to us! Our prayer is that she along with
each of the kids will grow up to love and serve God with their lives! As of now, our
kids are planning to attend Ambassador Baptist College in preparation for serving
God. We are so excited that our kids have a desire to live for God! What better
thing could a person do with his or her life than to spend it serving God?!
My desire for the past several months has been to begin to learn the Malagasy
language on-line in preparation for witnessing and planting churches in
Madagascar. Progress on that front is slow! Honestly, sometimes the thought of
adding another thing to do overwhelms me and discourages me. It has been
difficult to find the time (and mental energy) amidst taking care of homeschooling
4 kids (grades 9th, 7th, 5th, and 3rd), 1 in preschool, and a baby on the run (who
is confirmed to be our school bully – she steals pencils and papers, makes noise,
crumples papers, and distracts the other students). Richard has been able to work
with the kids in the morning, so that I have been able to do some self-study.
Please pray that 1) I would have time, 2) I would learn quickly, 3) I would stay
motivated and encouraged to learn! If I could get a foundation in the Malagasy
language before we left, the time we spend learning the language would be cut
shorter!
While we have been stuck in the states waiting for Madagascar to open up, we
have been doing many things: visiting a few supporting churches, starting
homeschooling, getting involved in the church we are attending, trying to learn the
Malagasy language, packing and moving, and working to clear the property and
fix the house that we bought. Though we continue to stay busy, sometimes it is
hard to wait. I would like to get to Madagascar, learn the language, and start
working to plant a church in the Sakalava tribe; but I know there is a reason God
still has us in America. Nothing catches God by surprise – not the covid-19 virus,
not our health or physical condition, not us being stuck out of Madagascar, and
not the election results. We must work wherever we are while we have the
opportunity! There is work to do in Madagascar, but there is work to do here in
America also. There are people here who need to realize that they are sinners;
there are people here who need to hear the gospel; and there are people here
who need to be saved! As the days grow short till the return of Jesus, we must all
work in His harvest fields! Thank you so much for your support and especially
your prayers for us! May God bless you in your harvest fields!