July 15
Well. From the
subject of this email one might question me and say... What ever does this
mean. Well my dear zanaka... I shall tell you. You see in
Madagascar people are kind of a bit silly sometimes and try to take all of your
money. Well Wedensday our power and our water were cut off because
apparently we didn't pay the bill... WELL thats a gosh darn lie! We most
definitely did! Well the church did. I mean come one... We're the
freaking LDS Church! We're the most trustworthy people on this whole
planet! Haha grr.. So yeah no power or water for me since Wednesday...
Yeah... So luckily I was on a split with the DL thursday so I showered Friday
morning and Saturday night a the landlady was super nice and gave us a big
bucket full of water to wash oursleves with haha. Saturday... Great
Day! But i felt so nasty so i didn't care. I used a water bottle
and bathed myslef by filling it up and splashing the FREEZING cold water all
over my body.. Quite refreshing haha let me tell ya! SO the second part
of the Madagascar experience. Right now i itch. SO. BAD. At
first it was just mosquito bites i thought but.. I have come to realize that my
bed has fleas hahaha... YES! haha all over my legs and arms... I'll itch
it and i'll be like NOOO it hurts sooo good but i regret it sooo much!
Kay!!! (pronounced kai) So hopefully today we get our water back so I can
1. wash my sheets and 2. spray my bed with permethrin to get rid of the
fleas. But people. Don't worry. It's all part of the journey
that is: MISSION MADAGASCAR! Haha like the power was out but we've
been walking around via candlelight the past couple of nights! so thats
cool! And i wrote in my journal via candlelight! all i needed was a
quill and i would have been kicking it Ben Franklin style! Haha so
yeah... It's been frustrating but. It's gonna be a great story to tell in
a couple of years! Geez. You people are so bezesta (good looking)
all of your emails just made me sooo faly be! pronounced fall-y bay and
means so happy. Haha. Dang it. I itched my leg again..
kay. Well where to start. This week. Haha it was weird.
it felt super short. But super long. And i felt like we didn't do
much and times. But we did do alot. It was just darn confusing!
Well. My struggle this week has just been my faith in Elder
Rakotonjanahary. It's like there are a lot of things where i'm like...
hmm. That doesnt seem right. OR hmm. I don't think id do that in
that way. But sometimes I say something and it works out well and other
times he is right! So. Trust the trainer. Because he is the
TRAINER. He knows. haha i'm soo conflicted. E. Dickson the DL
says he thinks that i'll get an american mom in august because he thinks pres
adams will have mercy on my soul with this whole malagasy trainer in tanjombato
thing.. Which seems great, but i can already tell that i'm learning soo much
from Elder Rakoto. So we'll see. I don't want to get my hopes up
for anythign because it seems like whatever i dont want to happen happens
haha. Oh and just so you know I'm already a legend here in
Madagascar. Because 1. I am the youngest missionary in Mada and the
only 18 year old right now and 2. I'm being trained in Tanjombato with a
malagasy comp. Tanjombato is great but it is the only area in tana that
is just a two man house.. I heard i'lll be here for quite a while though...
So.. Yeah. haha. It's fine. This week I was delighted to go on a
split with my DL Elder Dickson from Washington. He's been out here like a
year and 3 months or something like that. OH MY LANTA it was soooooooo
nice to be able to mosey around Madagscar and 1. have a normal conversation
about LIFE! and 2. not be the only white guy in a 10 mile
radius. Hah we talked about life... Movies, girls-mainly him talking
about his girl courtney who sounds like a huge headache... She's broken up and
then came back twice to him... WHile he's been in Madagscar hah. But most
importantly we talked about the mission. It was super nice to get advice
about the mission that related to me! An American. I found out that
it is completely okay to not be lovign it right now haha. One thing about Elder
Dickson is that he is a bit pessimistic. I feel like he is more just
enduring his mission. I wantto be an elder that loved my mission and
didn't just endure it. so thats a goal of mine. haha. One thing ive
done is ive kept a daily tender mercies notebook. It's just a pocket
notebook and i write the great things that happened in that day. I'm
happy to tell you all that i've done it everyday since my first sunday here and
the list each day seems to get bigger and bigger each day! Always just
rememberthe little things people. Haha man... 2 months... I have done
1/12 of my mission! woot. haha. Man. Crazy! Shoot
all of your emails made me soo happy today! ESPECIALLY the email from the
one and only jacob neuenswander. :) hehe. First one! He's a
good guy. And i got an email from my buddy zach! Crazy thing!
I wrote in my planner... Get zach and some other BYU guys emails..
Amazingly... He emailed me and sent a massive group email to all the guys i
wanted to email! HAA! church is true! Marina ny fiangonana!
Fun Fact: I saw a man slaughter an omby (cow) this week! then today
i saw another guy peeling flesh off an omby head... #madagscar haha.
So. With the power and water being out this week i've eaten/made creative
things. Last night at a members house we had rice and loka but the loka
was chicken, peas and tomato... so. good. MMM. Then we've eaten out
a lot this week haha . We went to this Hotely called snack tigro by our apt
like 3 times in 3 days hahah. So yeah. Malagasy food is pretty dang
good.. and i went through a whole can of peanut butter haha... Oh by the
way. NO KNIVES here. We eat with a fork and a spoon... You cut meat
with the spoon! I'm startingto get a hang of it! So.. This
week. I was a misionary ahha. Obviously. But. Get ready
to be wowed. So. theres this man named Anissy. and he's been
taught for a while... And nobody has baptized him because he wants PROOF ofthe
bookof mormon. Hah well obviously i cnat give him proof. Only the
holy ghost. so i studied a lot about the book of mormon and we went into
it! Funny thing was before the lesson we were contacting and these ladies
were beign soooo freakign rude and disrespectful. They kept trying to
speak french to me and i'd say "tsy miteny francais aho" I
don't speak french. They'd laugh so finally i said Avy any America!
And I'm an american! Then they were like oooh hhh hiiii! Like think
of stitch from lilo and stich saying hi... and it sounded like that hah.
so yeah they kept saying all this stuff in malgasy like vaza and fat and all
this mean stuff! And i was pissed. so were going to teach anissy
and i was like. hey. i shouldn't be mad. so i said a quick prayer and put
on a happy face. well the lesson went pretty well. He seemed okay
but hten i asked rakoto if i could close it out. i read to him Mosiah
10:3-5. providing emphasis on real intent and stuff like that. then i
started just testifying. The words were flowing and i was promising him
he could recieve an answer! Now he's a religious man and knows soem stuf about
religion and stuff haha. NAyways i said. "I haven't been in
madagascar very long, i haven't taught you very long, and im not very mahay at
malagasy, but (the spirit literally told me to say this) i said. I love
you, and i KNOW this book is true with out a doubt. Because i love you i
promise you if you will pray with real intent and wait for an answer. You
WILL recieve an answer that this book and this church is true through the holy
ghost... Then I said with that. If you recieve your answer.
Will you be baptized on Aug. 10..." First he started
laughing... Then he said. Wow. That made COMPLETE sense!!!
WHAT!!!! He said. I KNOW that the holy ghost is talking through you
right now, because i know exactly what you were trying to say. So YES i
will be baptized if i get that answer." AHHHHHHHHHH!!! WHAT?!
POP-POP!! Haha he siad yes! Now all i have to do isleave itup to
him and the holy ghost.. But dang. That felt pretty dang cool.
After Rakotonjanahary and i were walking away. first thing he says... The
spirit was soooo good! haha then... You're malagasy.. It was so
clear! Geez. Haha the gift of tongues is real. No i am not
fluent, and i still understand like. nobody. but i testified to anissy
through the holy ghost and it made perfect sense. people. I'm in MadaFREAKINGgascar.
No it is not beautiful and amazing. BUT. THere are people here that
need the gospel and i get to bring it to them. I just gotto keep pushing
forward with faith and PATIENCE and one day i'll be mahay out of my mind.
Church is true. Marina ny Fiangonana. Red white and blue.
Couch crew till i die. Go Cubs, go cougars, team max, 'merica, for
Dartanion, vegan powers, fleas4days, #madagascar. Mazotoa. Be
diligent.
Tiako Ianareo,
Elder Roush
2 Tim 4:7
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