Missions in Madagascar and Kenya
Todd,
Patsy, Corby, and Charese McGregor, under the auspices of
the Episcopal Church of America ,
have been serving in Madagascar since 1991 with the
Archbishop of the Indian Ocean in the Diocese of
Antananarivo. Todd and Patsy have served in a number
of different capacities: teaching at St. Paul's Theological
College, implementing, developing and construction nine
health clinics; founding, administering, and constructing
the School for Lay Ministry, and church-planting the
Ravinala Community; an international, ecumenical, English
speaking church.
Beginning
in January 2003, they began a new assignment in
Kenya. Patsy is the Manger/Director of St.
Julian's Center (for conferences and retreats) located 30
miles northwest of Nairobi. Todd is a non-resident
missionary to Madagascar and continue his evangelism and
lay-ministry efforts.
At Home In Africa by Patsy McGregor
It was
not my intent that only five days after arriving in Kenya,
and just recovering from jet-lag, that I would be spending
so many hours with the Tigoni police! Although much shorter
than our usual flights to Madagascar, the trip to Kenya was
long. Flying straight through from Montreal, Canada, we had
a 15 hour lay-over in London, and were thankfully met by
dear friends who picked Corbi, Charese and I up from the
airport for a lovely, although cool, day in London.
Only
five nights later, in the late night hours of Saturday,
January 11th, 2003, my first night of being in my new role
as manager of St. Julian's Centre, there was a theft in the
main house. It certainly appeared to be an inside job. I
spent the next several days not only as the new manager, but
also as private investigator, defense attorney and judge,
all at the same time. If I learned anything during my first
ten days in Africa, it was that there were some very
knowledgeable and fine Tigoni Policeman. However, unless
they were pushed to continue the investigation, time would
have slipped by and the culprit would have gone free.
Time
will tell. Will they ever catch the thief? Will they ever
put the hours of interrogation and investigation needed into
this case so that justice could actually be known? God only
knows.
I was
involved in presenting the case to the police and gathering
evidence at the scene.
Much like the game of CLUE, I had to evaluate the
suspects and the evidence to draw conclusions about the
theft. The only difference in this case was that it was not
a board game with plastic pieces representing Miss Scarlet
in the library with the wrench! No, this was the game of
life - making it all the more important that the evidence be
clear and concise. Like Nancy Drew in a mystery novel, I had
to organize pieces of evidence and question all eighteen
staff members at St Julian’s. I even drove three hours
(across the equator!) to question a suspect.
At 7:20
a.m. on that Saturday morning, the Tigoni Police were called
by our head guard and I received hands on training on how to
use the security system. With one button in the main house
and two in the manager's house, a person may push the red
button, turn the key and it snaps back, causing a silent
alarm alerting Securicor, our security company. Within five
minutes, sirens were blaring and the blue Securicor truck
bumped into the grounds of St. Julian's. Three large men,
wearing helmets like an American football player, jumped out
of their car and saluted at me like a sergeant salutes a
superior officer. "There was no time for a
handshake," the guard explained later. When the three
men saw me waiving hello with a clipboard in hand, they must
have realized there was not still an intruder on the
grounds. "Relax", I thought, stepping closer to
introduce myself. After congenial introductions, we entered
into the main house, walking from room to room, looking over
the evidence left behind.
Like an
actress in CSI, I played a new part in the movie of life. It
wasn't much longer until the Tigoni
Police came. I teamed up with the police like Sherlock
Holmes and Watson and together we began to draw conclusions.
"Definitely, this was an inside job", said the
tall, husky Kenyan Police officer. People came out of the
woodwork to help, including a private investigator. However,
four days passed before the special crime scene services
come for fingerprints.
The
investigation has been a long and drawn out process. As it
continues to unfold, it is important that hasty conclusions
not be drawn. Therefore, I will save the details of the
investigation for a book that I am in the process of
writing.
But one
fact is sure. My God, the God of the Universe, was with me
each step of the way. Proverbs 2:1-7 became very real to me
during this time of challenge in Kenya. And, even in spite
of the testing and trials, I am still glad to be here. I
truly am, "at home in Africa!". Proverbs 2:1-7
"My son (and daughter!), if you accept my words and
store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding, and if you cry out
for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look
for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden
treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and
find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom and
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds
victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those
whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the
just and protects the way of his faithful ones.”
Kids
Korner by Charese
and Corbi :
By
Charese: "RVA (Rift Valley Academy boarding school) is
really a blast! I have made several friends, especially
those girls who live in my dorm. My roommates are Priscilla
and Jin-Sal who are from South Korea. Their parents are
missionaries. Priscilla's parents are in Yemen and she has
been at RVA for three years. Jin-Sal was new last August and
her parents are in Dar Salaam, Tanzania. I like most
everything about RVA, so its hard for me to pick one
favorite thing, But, I guess I would say my friends and the
other people on campus because everybody is friendly, smiles
and says 'hello'. My dorm parents are really cool and sweet
like sugar. They understand a lot of stuff that's happening
in my life, like my transition and the theft at St.
Julian's. If I ever get worried or scared, I always ask them
to pray for me and my mom, and sometimes we pray.”
By Corbi:
“The Rift Valley Academy campus is located on a
mountainside where students can look down and see the
beautiful view over looking the lower Rift Valley. Sunsets
are beautiful and two nights ago I saw a full moon rise when
friends and I were playing soccer until it was so dark we
couldn't even see the ball in front of us. I am playing the
flute in band and playing soccer. My extracurricular class
is art, taught by a very cool male teacher. My 8th grade
girl’s dorm is in the middle of campus so I don't have to
walk too far to any of my classes. My roommates are Sarah,
Chris and Esther. Esther is Kenyan, Sarah and Chris are
American missionary children living in Africa. Linda,
another friend of mine, has a father who is a carpenter and
a mother who works with in the financing department for
their mission. Her parents live twelve hours away from RVA.
I am so thankful that my parents only live 35 minutes away!
My mom tries to come to RVA once a week and some weekends we
get to go home. Although I am still going through a somewhat
difficult transition, RVA is not a bad place to be!
DID
YOU KNOW?
..over
500 Kenyans die daily from HIV Aids.
.. over
3,000,000 Anglicans live in Kenya.
.. Over
4,000,000 Sudanese have been displaced due to the civil war
in Sudan
.. over
100,000 Sudanese refugees live in northern Kenya
..
McGregor’s visited some 40 churches while on furlough and
deputation
..Madagascar
has a new president, Mark Ravalomanana.
The former dictator has left the country. Madagascar
is slowing recovering from 7 months of political unrest and
economic shut down attributable to the struggle between the
prior government and the new President.
McGregor’s e-mail
McGregor’s Website: peoplereaching.org
More Info: Diocese of Southeast Florida Resources
New
Mailing address:
McGregor’s
PO Box 408
Ankilifaly
601 Toliara
MADAGASCAR
When in Kenya:
St. Julian’s Center
PO Box 574
Village Market, 00621
KENYA
www.ackenya.org/st_julians_centre.htm
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