Tim, Anna, & Judah Norton Update September 2010

In the past months we have had many changes in our lives; however, there will be many more to
come in the near future. We want to thank everyone for their prayers in regard to our move to the rain
forest, which went relatively smooth. Our new home is located in the beautiful mountains of Ifandiana.
Since moving, we have been busy handling the logistic needs of the new house. Tim has definitely
improved his Malagasy skills by working with the local plumbers. Our water system depends on the
rain, thus we are thankful when it does rain as it is now the dry season. We use a water filter provided by the WMU to clean our drinking water. There have been adjustments to our life here, we no longer take for granted running water, electricity, Internet, and easy trash disposal. We have also found that living in a remote area does take planning. For example, before the move we planned and stocked a three months supply of basic needs and groceries such as meat and cheese to freeze. Our nearest town to restock and refuel is about two hours away. Although living in our new home has presented some challenges, it has taught our family to further trust on the Lord and his provisions.

Another way that the Lord is answering prayer is through the work and unity of our team. Our
team has been working to further reach the villages of the Tanala. We are thankful for our national Malagasy partners as they are key in bringing the gospel to their own unreached peoples. The team has made several trips to the Tanala villages to conduct surveys about their culture and knowledge of the gospel. They have found that there are many who have never heard of Jesus Christ. The team discovered that these villages are often very remote. Thus the people have inadequate health care, and they are unreached by the gospel. The team has presented the gospel on each trip and left bibles with designated literate members of the village. The team is working on plans to effectively bring the gospel to the villages in a method that is reproducible by the Tanala. Tim and the journey girls have developed links on our new website, nortons2mada.com , where you can learn more about each of the villages.

August was an eventful month with hosting the IMB media team and attending prayer retreat.
We were excited to have the media team from South Africa to come and feature a story on the Tanala people and the work being done among them. The team shot video of the villages and interviewed team members about their work. We are prayerful that the story will produce more awareness of the Tanala and their need for the gospel. Soon after the media team left we traveled to the capital for prayer retreat. Prayer retreat was a time of spiritual refreshment spent with other missionaries on the island.
We were thankful for Southbridge Fellowship Church from Raleigh, NC who volunteered their time to come and lead us in worship.

Of course we have to update on Judah and “baby girl”. Judah has transitioned well to his new
home in the rain forest. He enjoys the big yard and playing with area children. Judah is continuing to become more verbal. Judah had fun at prayer retreat playing with other MK's and petting his first Lemur. Judah is very interested in his mommy's growing belly. He likes to give his baby sister hugs.
After prayer retreat, we had another ultrasound which showed baby girl as healthy and growing. Her estimated arrival is around October 17th. Anna and Judah will fly to Johannesburg, South Africa September 16th. Tim will arrive closer to the due date. Anna's parents will also be joining them for the birth in South Africa.
Please continue to pray for our team as they connect with the Tanala villages. Pray that the
Tanala would be receptive to gospel. Also, please pray for our families' safety as we travel to South Africa for the delivery of our new daughter.

Please pray for the health of mom and baby. Please pray for the time apart from Tim as he will continue work in the rain forest and travel to South Africa closer to the baby's due date. Again, we thank you for your continued prayers. Please stay in touch with us at timandannanorton@gmail.com and our new website nortons2mada.com.

In Christ Love,
Tim, Anna, Judah, and Baby Girl Norton