is a big Island nation, in the western part of the Indian Ocean, near Mauritius and La .

One of the biggest islands in the world, it's as wide as France and Benelux combined altogether.

Though already known to some people since many centuries , it has only been put on maps in the first part of the 16th century, by portuguese sailors, who discovered it by accident - thanks to a strong storm -  which deviated their way to .

It's inhabited by a mixture of people, coming from all over the , sharing the same language "the " , an interesting  , , national  , way of  , .

Grouped in 18 , people there are hospitable and adopt high values, such as the "fihavanana" (brotherhood).

Though geographically close to Africa, - at 400 km east of Mozambique - Madagascar is very different from this continent by its unique wildlife, that makes it a highly advised  destination.

Christian Model : What should Christians do, to be the light of this world

CHRISTIAN MODEL : 

According to that name, derived from "Christ", the Christians are representatives of Christ in this world, to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world, according to Christ Jesus' word written in Matthew : 5 : 13-16. 
 
That's really necessary at this moment, because the corruption is really reigning: excessive evil doing, lack of discipline,  religion decline, and the destruction of the environment in many aspects...
 
 
So, the world expects ardently the Christians to play their role, and to provide life for a dying planet.
That life sharing act should start at home, then go out and spread in the society, the nation, and finally toward the uttermost parts of the globe.
 
In order to accomplish that, the Christians ought to stand up, as a living branch and in communion with Christ Himself,  in all of their life's aspects (speech, attitude, faith, work, behaviour, even clothing, ... ) -  as written in details in 1Timothy : 6 : 11 and  1Timothy : 4 : 12 .
 
 
 
 
One day, in the year 1955, there was a cattle keeper, living in the country. While feeding someone else's cattle in the fields, he heard part of a song, brought by the air from far away.
The people who were singing that song were out of sight, so he didn't even see them; and likewise, those singers ( evangelists ) didn't even know that there was someone listening somewhere, the song which says "Save because your friend".
However, it's was definitely that "listening of a song" that was used by the Holy Spirit to cause this cattle keeper to come to the nearest Church, to worship God, and get saved. And later, he entered the Seminary to become Pastor, and finally he became teacher of the Pastors; and at this moment he has retired (2001).
 
 
We can find here how effective it may be, even though the fruits of our witnessing might not be immediately visible by our human eyes.
Also, it's worth noting here that, what made a roman Emperor ( Caesar ) christian weren't arguments, nor any other verbal means of persuasion, but his observation of the christians' behavior instead. That's the actual cause of his conversion into christianity. 
 
So, I exhort you, fellow christians, to "stand up, let your face shine, for your light has come" ( Isaiah : 60 : 1 ).
 
 
 
 
 THE NAME "CHRISTIAN"   ( Acts : 11 : 26; Acts : 26 : 28; 1Peter : 4 : 16 ) 
 
Historically, it was at Antioch that this name was used for the first time, and it was somewhat used by mockery,  to name the followers of Christ.
In fact, at that time, the fact about a Christ ( King ) but was seized and nailed on the cross, made ashamed some followers of Jesus ( Mar : 8 : 38, 2Tim : 1 : 8, 1Cor : 1 : 18 ).
Compare also to the three denials made by the Apostle Peter, at the time the Lord was arrested ( Matthew : 26 : 69-72 ).
 
However, later  - and until now - , that name became a glorious name taken by the Church to call the believers ; because it's fully able to describe Jesus' followers.
 
 
In fact, according to Biblical philosophy, a name defines the owner of that name .
 
For example:
 
- The name : "Jesus"  which means "Jehovah is the Savior"  was really accomplished, because He is the God that saved the world;
- Likewise, the name "Abraham" : which means  "father of the believers",  etc ... 
 
So, the name Christian isn't only a calling name. It actually defines those who are called so.
Indeed, that name clearly describes the fact of being "believer of Christ". It's owned by the person that wears it, due to the fact of being in Christ.
 
In fact, a believer of Christ was unified, or grafted, in Christ through the Baptism. And that name isn't simply a name, but is also telling about his/her new identity (new being in Christ).
So his/her whole life - behavior, speech, works, ... -  is fully described by that name.
 
Therefore, s/he no longer have a personality on his/her own, but what commands and rules the life of a Christian is the fact of being christian instead.
The Christian is a new person in Christ, and "has the light", due to his/her wearing again of the "image of God". And that light should also illuminate those who are still dwelling in the darkness.
 
So the Christians should not be ashamed to show that at all, because "being Christian" is something very important (brothers and sisters of Christ Himself : the King of kings,  President of presidents).
 
Their brightness should glow, and be visible by their surrounding, as a reflection of the glory of God, something that shouldn't be concealed.
If there is something being done in common with the sons of this world, the Christians should be easily distinguishable by their faith, speech, commitment, ... They should plainly show their heavenly nature.
 
Though actually still living in this world, Christians are no longer friends of this world, as plainly said in John : 17 : 13-19 .
And with this word in the Gospel written by the Apostle John, Jesus didn't make a request to drive away the Christians from this world, but only to protect them from the evil.
 
And that's why the Christians on this earth need to stand fast indeed, especially in front of this phenomenon named "globalization".
In fact this globalization is like the fruits in a forest: some are good indeed to eat, but some are toxic, as described in details below :
 
 
 
 THE GLOBALIZATION :
 
The globalization is the air that all human beings briethe in this 21st century, and no one can effectively flee away from it.
It's a very complex topic, but said in a few words, it can be defined as :
 
The integration of the economic structures and all existing cultures in this world into a single big City, by reducing the distance between populations, to allow free moving of merchandises, knowledges and technologies.
 
It has two opposite sides, that we examine one by one below. 
 
 
 1 - The positive side of the globalization :
 
In this Earth, there are both poor and rich nations. It's divided into two main economical groups, depending on the development level of each country.
For example : some countries have car-manufacturing plants, while others are still at the bullock-cart manufacturing stage.
 
Therefore, a free worldwide circulation of the know-how and technology would be a very good thing. And this is one of the positive sides of the globalization.
 
It helped to reduce the difference of development that divides the world.
For instance, the recent breakthroughs in the field of telecommunication, had contributed to make life easier and more enjoyable than never before. And that's available almost worldwide, not only in developed countries.
 
Thanks to modern means of communication like television sets, mobile phones, computers and satellites, ... we can now be in instant and direct communication with friends and relatives worldwide, at any time.
Also, we can now search, get updates, shop, meet, study, work, ... online, - to and from everywhere in the globe, -   without even having to leave home, thanks to the internet.
 
These are only part of the many possibilities offered by idea of the "one big city" in the globalization; and they are largely exploited by the sons of this world.
 
So the question is :
What if the Christians make also further use of these fruits of the modern technologies, for the development of the kingdom of God on this world instead, especially to achieve the big challenge made by Christ, that is "to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world".
 
In addition to christian magazines and leaflets, the Church and each branch inside it should also have their own websites, along with several social media profiles, in which every member (and non-yet-members too) should be able to post their opinions and ask/provide help.
 
Then, those web pages should be heavily used to praise God, share the Good News, help, advise and convince the visitors about the Truth.
 
These online platforms have the advantage of being reachable on a daily basis, at any time, from anywhere in the world - unlike Sunday services in Church  ( a sample facebook group can be seen here : http://www.facebook.com/groups/christian.religion.group/ ).
 
This availability feature is very important at this time, because it's a fact that it becomes more and more difficult to gather people in one place, and many christians no longer go to church on Sundays for various reasons.
 
And for those people indeed - those who aren't seen in the Church - that another method should be used to reach and take care of them, wherever they are in the world.
That new system should also allow them to take part in the Church affairs, although they can't go there in person.
 
And for those who aren't yet christians, there should be a means to talk to them online, because Jesus wants them to be saved too (online evangelization).
 
That is something feasible, and it's not expensive at all. Moreover, there are already many children of christians who are expert in that field; however they bring their skills somewhere else, because the Church doesn't know how to use them.
In other words, it's the children of christians also  who actively contribute to spread the corruption of the world, because they don't find a means to use their skills for the development of God's kingdom.
 
That's something that should be deeply examined by Church leaders.
Please read what Jesus spoke about that in the Gospel written by Luke : 16 : 8
 
 
 
2 - The negative side of the globalization :
 
Though the globalization had several good targets, - such as of the reduction of the distance - , in the economical domain, it was quite the contrary which took place. Because the globe was considered as a one huge global market, it's the nations who can produce a lot of merchandises and have the power to compete well that obtained more benefits of that system.
For instance, how can a developing country that can't make anything more than a bullock-cart,  compete against  Germany or Japan or the US,  which are very advanced in the car manufacturing industry.
 
At the end, the globalization contributed to increase both the wealthiness of developed nations, and the poverty and dependance level of developing ones.
 
And in developing countries, that economy failure caused many social vices such as bribery, theft,...  . At this time for example, it's very difficult to find someone dependable; even the descendants of the same parents don't trust one another when talking about money, because life is hard.
 
 
On the other side, the mixing of various cultures worldwide inside the "big single city" of the globalization, aggravated that problem as well. In fact, the communication between various countries improved indeed, however, the system promoted the spread of bad manners too. Those desecrate things found in bad societies, had been also exported by the globalization toward good ones.
 
This has been aggravated by the mentality of praising foreign things and way of life to be superior, to be a model to imitate ( imported, luxury, fashion, sexy,... ). So at the time they're said  fashionable, people just imitate recklessly, without  judgement.
Do you know the origine of the pictures of black star printed on many sorts of materials, the black and white tiles, the earrings worn by men, ...
 
Another bad culture which had been largely promoted by the globalization is "the excessive love of pleasure". This attempt to satisfy human greeds without limits provoked bad things.
For example : some men were no longer satisfied with women, but it's other men like them that sexually attract them instead; hence doing the very thing which provoked the anger of God, Who then decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim narrated in Genesis : 19 : 1-8 .
 
Others prefer to have sex with children (pedophilia), or even with a beast (bestiality), in their limitless search for pleasure  - ( cf Leviticus : 18 : 1-9 ).
And because the people doing that increase in number everyday, several churches worldwide were tempted, and finally accepted such gay and lesbian mariage, to help survive the church which was hit by a strong decline at them.
 
 
Another culture, - and probably the most dangerous one, being promoted by the globalization, - is the so called "secularization".
Simply said, this is "self-worshipping",  not God. The followers of that ideology don't want to be ruled by God's laws, so they make every effort to destroy the religion and the existence of God in their life.
And they want to replace God by some humanity values, what is beneficial for them, without any morality.
 
Because that kind of "freedom" attracts many people, in Europe for instance, the number of christians who are still going to Church to worhip God dimunishes dramatically. Recently in England, for example, a cathedral had to be closed , because of the lack of church-goers; then it was transformed into a night club, every night full of dancers.
 
 
 
Those, and still many more,  are the problems of the world, into which  God sends the Christians to stand as the light .
 
So stand up, let your face shine, be bold, don't be defeated by fear, nor shame, nor laziness, because the darkness seeks to invade the world ( cf. Isaiah : 60 : 1-3 ).
 
Don't await for the former missionary societies, like  LMS, NMS, ELCA, ... because, nowadays they are hit by a strong decline.
 
But every christian, who obeys Jesus' commandment written in Matt. 28:18-20, you should do something. Just start
around you; tell all your friends and relatives, create some kind of community using the internet, or something similar to that.
Do not hide but show the glory of God which you have been worn with.
 
 
For the sole Glory of God, the Father of Jesus Christ ! Amen
 
 
 
Melchi Razato,
 
web designer and writer,
talking about christian religion 
and electronic money : 
[email protected]
 

 

 
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Présentation de Morombe (région Ouest de Madagascar)

 

Madagascar dispose de nombreux atouts pour être une destination touristique originale : 
 
- un patrimoine historique , culturel et écologique exceptionnel, 
- une diversité remarquable de sites et de paysages naturels. 
 
 
Le tourisme représente l’une des composantes clés de Madagascar.
 
La région de Morombe présente des potentialités touristiques non négligeables car son environnement constitue une ressource de base de l’activité touristique, à la fois matière première et cadre de vie.
 
Au point de vue administratif, Morombe est une Commune Urbaine située dans l'ancienne Province Autonome de Toliara. 
 
Elle a 8 communes rurales : 
 
- Morombe I, 
- Befandefa, 
- Ambahikily, 
- Antongovaovao, 
- Antanimieva, 
- Nosy Ambositra, 
- Basibasy, 
- Befandriana Sud.
 
La superficie totale de Morombe est de 7919 km2. 
La longueur des côtes de Morombe à Tuléar est de 500 km.
 
 
 
Le Climat à Morombe:
 
Le climat est de type semi-aride avec des précipitations très faibles ( 455 mm par an ), "le soleil est presque toujours là toute l'année". 
 
Pourtant, la proximité de la mer entretient une humidité atmosphérique relative supérieure à 65% en moyenne. 
 
Par leur condensation, ces phénomènes corrigent le déficit pluviométrique du début de saison et constituent pour la végétation un apport hydrique important.
 
La température moyenne annuelle de Morombe est de 24°7 C, 
- le mois le plus chaud est le mois de mars (28° C) 
- et le mois le plus froid est le mois de juin (21°2 C.)
 
 
 
La Flore :
 
De Morombe jusqu’au Cap Sainte Marie s’observe un type de paysage particulier. 
La nature du sol influence la composition de la flore et la physionomie de la végétation. 
Les sols sont ferrugineux associés à des sols roux sableux.
 
La végétation appartient à une seule formation :    le fourré à Didieraceae et à Euphorbia ». 
Un fourré est une formation non-stratifiée dont la hauteur des espèces ligneuses varie de 1à 4 m et le tapis graminéen est absent.
 
Il y a 2 espèces dominantes : le fantsilotra Alluaudia procera ( Didiaeraceae) et le famata Euphorbia stenoclada (Euphorbiaceae). 
 
On y trouve aussi des kily Tamarindus indîca ( Leguminoseae), satrana Bismarckia nobilis (Palmae) , laro Euphorbia laro (Euphorbiaceae) et quelques pieds de baobab Adansonia fony ( Bombacaceae) .
 
En plus de la présence de ce fourré, on observe aussi des mangroves : la mangrove d’Ambatolopaka et celle d’Amboboka.
 
La mangrove est une forêt littorale de palétuviers sur vase saumâtre. 
Les arbres appartiennent à des familles variées. Partageant le même habitat , ces arbres présentent des caractères physiologiques semblables et une certaine convergence de forme et de structure.
 
Les conditions caractérisant le milieu où se développe la mangrove sont: sédiment fin , vaseux ou sablo – vaseux, riche en matière organique et pauvre en oxygène, eau calme de température moyenne à la surface 23° C
 
Il y a 3 espèces dominantes: 
 
- tangadahy, Rhizophora mucronata (Rhizophoraceae) avec des racines adventives ou rhizophores servant à la respiration ;
 
- tangambavy Ceriops tagal avec des racines aérifères ou pneumatophores. 
 
- Et l’afiafy Avicennia marina (Verbenaceae) présentant, elle aussi, des racines à pneumatophores servant à la respiration.
 
 
 
La Faune
 
Le fourré à Didieraceae et à Euphorbia est une des zones d’oiseaux endémiques malgaches (ZOE). 
 
La limite septentrionale de la ZOE s’étend à partir de Morombe le long de la bande côtière jusqu’à l’ouest de Fort-Dauphin.
 
Les mangroves servent de zone de nourrisserie, de dortoir, de lieu d’hivernage régulier pour l’avifaune. 
 
C’est aussi un écosystème favorable à la reproduction des crabes et crevettes.
 
Les plans d’eau, les milieux humides de Morombe, d’Andavadoaka constituent des sites d’accueil pour de nombreuses espèces d’oiseaux migrateurs venant d ‘Afrique : 
- le flamant rose Phoenicoepterus ruber 
- et le flamant nain Phoeniconaias minor (Phoenicopteridae).
 
 
Des rassemblements significatifs de Phoenicopterus sp y ont été observés .
 
D’autres espèces, telles que Ardea sp (vano) , Bubulcus ibis (vorompotsy ) présentent des effectifs importants, Turnix nigricollis (tapakaly). 
 
Il y a aussi Meliagris numida (akanga) qui ne tardera pas à être en voie de disparition, vu le braconnage et la chasse abusive qui l’affectent .
 
 
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