January 2025 Update from Turks in Madagascar

Dear Friends at Peace River Presbytery,

We hope that you all have had a joyful Christmas and are off to a good start in the new year.

Thank you very much for your support for us and our ministries with the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM). Your prayers and support have made a big difference in the life of the FJKM and the lives of many people here in Madagascar.

We want to share about anticipated change in PC(USA) World Mission that may affect us.

As many of you know, the PC(USA) decided to unify the Office of General Assembly with the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) which includes World Mission. These entities were officially united in October 2024; the new entity is being called the Interim Unified Agency. Rev. Jihyun Oh, PC(USA)’s Stated Clerk, was named Executive Director of the new agency. On November 5, 2024, in reference to World Mission, Rev. Oh announced that “we anticipate significant changes in how we engage our partners in the future” and “(w)e anticipate that there will also be reductions in 2025”. This announcement was made in the PNS article titled “Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – New Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA) takes next step in reimagining work going forward”.

We do not know what exactly the anticipated changes will be and whether or not we will be part of the “reductions.”  We want you to know that we continue to feel called to serve with the FJKM. Whatever happens to us and within World Mission, we encourage you to continue supporting the FJKM and its ministries. The Madagascar Mission Network is a Presbyterian network of churches and others who support the ministries of the FJKM. Being a part of the Madagascar Mission Network is a wonderful way to support the FJKM and keep up to date on its ministries.

The past few months have been busy as we continue our exciting and challenging work with the FJKM. Both of us have been teaching at FJKM’s seminaries since the new school year started in October. Elizabeth and her colleagues in the FJKM HIV/AIDS and Epidemics Committee (KPMSV) have been addressing the rapidly rising rate of HIV and low childhood vaccination rates. Unfortunately, polio, measles, and neonatal tetanus outbreaks are increasing. KPMSV has been doing a lot of free health screenings and education sessions.  The HIV/AIDS and Epidemics Committee will hold its annual strategic meeting January 21st -23rd.  Elizabeth has also been working with the FJKM in its special teacher training program to get trained teachers for remote regions of Madagascar as well as helping FJKM schools get access to water in the far south.

Dan and his colleagues in the Fruits, Vegetables, and Environmental Education Program (FVEE) have been doing trainings on growing fruits and vegetables and getting ready for the tree planting season when the rains come.  (The rainy season should have started in December but has yet to begin). In coming months, Dan is looking forward to teaching a course in Arboriculture at the FJKM university at Moramanga; getting lots of native trees and fruit trees planted at churches, schools, and communities; and continuing FJKM’s collaboration with Missouri Botanical Garden to help protect some of Madagascar’s amazing biodiversity by assisting people to grow fruits and vegetables in the vicinity of protected areas.

Please pray for World Mission, us, and the ministries of the FJKM.

We thank you very much for your commitment to partnership with the FJKM. We and the FJKM greatly appreciate your support.  Please let us know if you have any questions or need clarification. We look forward to hearing from you in coming days and months.

Grace and Peace,

Dan & Elizabeth Turk

PC(USA) Mission Co-workers serving in Madagascar