Letter from Morondova

30 June 2016

Each time a new country opened its doors to them, the MIC Sisters had to adapt to new customs to a new way of life and learn the language. Thus they gradually discovered the soul of the people.

 

(MIC Mission News, Spring 2010, p. 16)

My first impression upon arriving in Morondava was that I had stumbled into topsy-turvydom. Here, summer corresponds to winter back home, the noonday sun glares down from the north, the quarters of the moon tilt upward. Open doors we the right closed and we the left, while hinges and doorknobs are screwed on upside down. Family names are unknown in these parts and many among the Malagasy have no. idea of the date on which they were born. (…) The most lovable related of the Malagasy character is bighearted generosity. The people may be poor, but you will always find them ready to share with someone poorer than themselves. Is anyone in trouble, all gather around to give practical help or at least to show some sympathetic interest. Yes, theirs is a golden heart.

(The Precursor, Vol. XX, January-February 1955: 369-370)