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Meet the 'Madagascar Kid'
ORU honors fellow Adam Willard is Mad about Missions in Madagascar
By Eva-Marie Gooden
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Oral Roberts University honors fellows and non-honors fellows alike who've had classes with the dual missions and French major from Van Buren, Ark., surely have noticed his fascination with Madagascar.
"...Actually, my second semester here I was in Seminar of Theological Research; I was in Philosophy of Science, which was, you know, one of the fellows classes; I was in Oral Communications," Willard said. "...and I geared all my speeches and projects and reports that I could take--I geared them all toward Madagascar in some sense."
...In Oral Com, there was an informative speech on Madagascar.
...In Seminar of Theological Research, there was a project on contextualization (the process of putting the gospel message into forms someone from a different culture can understand) for Southern Africa.
...In Philosophy of Science, there was a research paper about animism (a belief system prevalent in Madagascar in which individual spirits are thought to inhabit objects and phenomena).
So, what's up with an American-born student's obsession with this remote African island? Read on as we chat with ORU's Adam Willard, a.k.a. "The Madagascar Kid."
Alumni Web: Adam, the obvious question: Why Madagascar?
Willard: "I just, one night, all of a sudden, had a huge desire to know what God wanted with my life. ...I asked him what He wanted me to do and I told Him to make it obvious so I couldn't doubt it, so I was expectin' somethin' big... He gave me a vision, and it was to go to Madagascar. Didn't actually say what to do, didn't even say how long or when or anything like that, but I asked, you know, "What do you want me to do with my life?" and He said 'Go to Madagascar,' so..."
Alumni Web: Give the geographically challenged among us a break here. Where is Madagascar?
Willard: "It's off the southeast coast of Africa, about 250 miles south. I think it's called the Mozambique Channel, just a little strip of the Indian Ocean that runs in between there..."
Alumni Web: Your first trip to Africa took place in high school, not too long after hearing God's call to minister there. How did that come to pass?
Willard: "...I went to 'Acquire the Fire' here in Mabee Center and they were talking about their global expeditions. I saw South Africa as the closest to Madagascar that I could go, so I went there for two weeks to kinda get my feet wet and see what missions was all about..."
Alumni Web: ...And then, you actually spent two-and-a-half months ministering there last summer. Sounds like ground- breaking work you're doing, and as if there really aren't a lot of folks who've gone before you.
Willard: "There's not. I mean, it was kind of funny in History of Missions last semester--they had mentioned about how when the missionary movement first got underway in Madagascar, it just didn't get anywhere because all the missionaries died in the first few months (through tribal warfare or from disease).
... I'd say maybe about 15 percent of the population attended church [when I was there]. And, maybe about 10 percent of the people who attend church actually believe in Christ. They'll say the prayer if you ask 'em to and they say they believe in Jesus, but then it's totally different than their day-to-day lives, which have to do with their normal [animistic] beliefs. I preached about how they couldn't have two masters--and that is a very offensive topic to them, because it means they can't follow both sets of beliefs. The message that Christ is your Savior, that He can relieve you from fear of the gods and the spirits that are around you and that He is supreme over them, is not a message that's being widely preached. And so, I mean, that's what I wanna do."
Alumni Web: Since you've entered college and started serious preparations to do missions work in Madagascar, have you found any way to do formal training in Malagasy culture?
Willard: "No, there's no formal training. ...You can't just ask people about their culture. I mean, I asked a lot of questions, but you really have to learn how to ask the right kind of questions, because you can't just say, 'How do you view the world?', the same way you couldn't ask us that. Only if an outsider asks the right kind of questions can we explain to them, you know, what we really believe, what we really assume about the way the world works."
Alumni Web: You're part of the first honors class at ORU. How does the honors program figure into your passion for Madagascar, do you think?
Willard: "The classes I've been in have been supportive of it because they kind of go on a deeper level...and a lot of what we've been learning so far in the honors program has been new ways of thinking about this or that...you know, especially in the fellows seminars."
Alumni Web: Part of your overall plan is to study in France for a semester. When do you plan to go?
Willard: "I'm still working on a proposal for that. I'm looking at different universities [there}.... In Madagascar, you speak French and Malagasi, and so French would be a very important language to learn. I'm majoring in missions and in French--and if God perchance ever calls me anywhere beyond Madagascar, I'm sure French'll probably in some way help, or at least it has the ability to. More tools in the belt's always a good idea."
Alumni Web: And when do you anticipate returning to Madagascar?
Willard: "Well, I'm not goin' this summer. This summer I'm planning on doing an internship in Rome with Dr. (Raymond) Smith, the professor of undergraduate missions. That was a really hard choice for me, to be honest, because logically, it made sense: He knows what he's doin', he teaches us some amazing things in class. But it took me several months of prayer before I could pick somethin' like that over Madagascar, just because that's where God's put my heart, y'know? But...this is what God wants me to do for further training. It's gonna teach me a lot about...learning about how to contextualize the gospel, which is the missions task. Hopefully, if God allows, I'll be able to return to Madagascar the following summer."
Alumni Web: ...Any final thoughts to share about your plans for missions work in Madagascar?
Willard: "Well, I mean, I've always been hopin' to get there as soon as I can, but I understand that God needs to train me in a lot of areas first, and He's got to prepare me with my character and with my understanding. If there was a way to just get the word out--for people to just pray for the nation, to pray for the people, to support missionaries that are there. ...If other people are gonna be missionaries and they don't know where they're going, maybe they should go to Madagascar. I think it would be amazing! I just pray that God would send workers into the harvest field... people are ripe for freedom from fear.
