When we arrived in Madagascar, a three-day celebration was underway in the large town of Antsirabe.
It is a banner year, this year of 2017, when the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, and the founding and faithfulness of Lutheran medical and church organizations--SEFAM, SALFA and GHM (Global Health Ministries) -- are being feted. We who had just arrived from the USA--along with Malagasy students, teachers, pastors, family members, and friends--were celebrating together the graduation of 28 young people who will spread out over the country to serve God's people as nurses, medical techs, and midwives.
What a glorious celebration for us, fresh from the States! Chairs were covered with creamy white satin and gold fabric. We were served dish after dish of Malagasy cuisine, dear to many of us. The music, alone, was a great gift of God.
What a glorious beginning to our Madagascar pilgrimage!
Speeches were made. Singing and dancing groups performed. On the spur of the moment, we Americans, connected to GHM, were asked to do something. I suggested a musical tribute, since jet lag, little sleep, and heat were tempting my face to fall forward into one of the many plates of food.
Singing, after all, especially Gasy style, can enliven even the comatose. Mindful that we had at least two St. Olaf College graduates of distinction in our midst, I suggested we sing BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR. I figured that most of us could sing it, more or less, by heart.
This photo is from Lorna Larson, the youngest member of our group, and the daughter of former medical missionaries to Madagascar, Dr. Paul & Connie Larson. She is the one standing at the far right in the photo. The rest of the "GHM singers" are: Nurse Pat B.; Doctor L. (fluent in English, so he offered to help); Carolyn A.; Yours Truly; Kim D.; and Jeannie I.
You will hear more about these women, later.