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It is 25 years since my late wife Sheila and I visited Madagascar to assist in the foundations of a new hospital building in the village of Mandritsara. My original intention was to make brief notes each day as a personal reminder of all that happened and of any amusing incidents during our brief stay in Madagascar at the end of 1996. Once I started, however, it was easier just to let the words flow and tell the stories as they happened, and it quickly became a daily journal. I kept thinking that soon I would be able to stop because there would be nothing new or different to write about. Some hope! Every day was different, often full of funny goings-on (ha-ha and peculiar), a few of which I have left out to protect other people's feelings.
Each day Sheila would look forward to reading the instalment, and I knew our hosts were itching to find out what I had written, especially when they realised there was a chance of publication to a wider audience.
If you are one of the "stars" of the journal, please do not take offence at anything I have said. It has been done in love and with great gratitude for the life-changing experiences we both had in our short time on the magical island of Madagascar.
Much of this book is my impression of what I have seen and heard. I sincerely hope you will enjoy it as much as I have had and that all readers will be better informed about life on the mission field, as seen by an outsider.
About the author
Brian Rawlings is a retired Chartered Civil Engineer, having spent a career building on three continents. The countries he has lived in and built on include the United Kingdom, St Kitts & Nevis, Madagascar and Bermuda. Some of the projects he has worked on range from St Kitts Deepwater Harbour, Jubilee Line Extension, The Waterfront Project Bermuda and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.Brian lives in Bournemouth in the UK, and can usually be found in his garden, down the beach or at his church.
