Want to see what the countryside and plants in Madagascar looks like?

 I thought I would share some more photos I took in Madagascar. These first pictures come from an arboretum I visited. I also wanted to give you an idea of what Western Madagascar looks like. So I have a variety of pictures from the country side.

This is a map of the arboretum. One of the features of the park I did not capture are a number of huts, that model different styles from different parts of the island.

 The walkway through the park. Many of the plants are suited to survive longs dry spells. Western Madagascar is more desert like, as opposed to the more lush Eastern regions.

 This picture is sideways, this plant was around 25-30 ft tall.

 A closer look at the branches of this arid tree.

 This is a seed pod, the tree it was on was covered with these pods. The pod is about two and half inches wide.

 Here is one of the houses or huts that are common in part of Madagascar. I apologize since I can't remember from which part.

 Here is a friendly spider. Maybe not so much, this thing was big. It had a web ten feet wide and the spider was as big as a tarantula. It was probably around 5 or six inches long. I was scared just looking at the thing from ten feet away. Happily it did not move, because if it had jumped at me. . . .

 This is called an elephants foot. Supposedly it bears a resemblance. It kind of looks like a big white carrot.

The arboretum had a number of tortoises.  This big ones can be over 100 years old I hear. I got to see a number of baby ones too. I was surprised when the guide let us hold one for a few seconds.

 At the end of the arboretum was a small museum. Here are a few shots from there.

Ok, the next series of shots are from around the costal and mountainous regions in the southwest of Madagascar. This is to give you an idea of the environment.

 I did not take this picture, it is from Russ Perry. This comes from the Eastern part of Madagascar. I included it to give you some contrast to the other pictures you see from the West. I did not see a lemur on my visit.

This is a really deep sink hole. I could not see the bottom of it while flying over, we even circled it to get a better view. I was told tests where being done to look at the difference in the environment and air at the bottom of the hole.

I was not expecting to see a turkey.

 

To finish off,  here is a picture of a lunch I had. It consisted of naan and curry.

Some Questions to Ponder

In this post I would like to invite you to ponder a few questions. Why do we want to know anything? Do we want a right understanding of the world, of truth? Do we simply want to be successful and or contented? Our world view describes how we see the world and how we see truth. I won't get far into that concept at the moment. I would like to suggest that the only way to achieve any of the goals above is to have a right relationship with God. How we view God and our relationship with God impacts everything about us.
Think with me for a moment about some of the ways our relationship with God impacts us. Try to answer these questions.
1. How does your view of God impact your view of human worth?
2. "" impact the way you treat others?
3. "" impact the way you go about doing your work?
4. "" impact why you work?
5. "" impact what you think is worthwhile?
6. "" impact your purpose in life?
7. "" impact how you use your time?

I am sure you can come up with more questions than these. Our relationship with God impacts everything about us whether or not we believe in Him. If our relationship with God is so important, how do we go about having a right relationship with God? Glad you asked. We know God rightly by knowing Him through His Word, the Bible.
Lets take what we have thought about here and cast our thought in a different direction. How important is it for others, who do not have the Bible, to have it? Is it possible for them to be truly happy, successful, and have a right understanding of the world without it?
The answer to these questions is part of the reason I have wanted to work with an organization who translates the Bible into languages that don't have it. The Bible is not just another book of wisdom to help people out. We can learn about God through creation and from God himself. These sources are called natural revelation and divine revelation. I doubt we can exhaust what natural revelation can teach us about God. However, natural revelation cannot replace divine revelation. God has communicated directly with us through the Bible.
So tell me what you think? Do you have a response or question, go ahead and leave a comment.

Romans 10:14

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?^[a] And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

1 John 2: 1-6

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

P.S.

My next trip is almost here. I will be heading out to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help set up some BTAK's (Bible Translation Acceleration Kits). Please keep me in your prayers for a safe and successful trip.