July 8 2013

July 8

First things first.  Yes I'm covered in dirt right now... Haha we played soccer with a bunch of missionaries and members at the University and well... The soccer field was all dirt... Literally. Just. Dirt.  That is Madagascar haha.  So I'm realizing that my email last week was super depressing... My bad... The email cut out like 5 times and I was depressed that P-Day was over... But an amazing thing happened.  We had one lesson that night to a family... The two daughters are recent converts and the parents are hopefully getting baptized at the end of this month (fingers crossed.)  So I walk in all being in a bad mood and stuff and before the lesson I look at my notes and I see the word "endure" on my notes... Earlier I just felt like writing it cause it was something I learned in the MTC.  So I looked at this word and thought... You know.  I can FREAKING do this!  So I felt good, we taught a lesson about following the prophet... For some reason I felt the prompting to sing "follow the prophet" the primary song... I sang it in english then translated it very simply in Malagasy and their faces lit up!  Yeah.  WHATS UP.  Anywyas after we were talkign baout baptism hten the temple was brought up.  I bore a short testimony about the temple, how it's THE goal, how I had the chance to go to the temple with my parents, the spirit felt there, then I started bawling when I somehow in Malagasy got out that through the temple I can live with my family forever.  That's why I'm here.  I get to help families start the journey towards eternity.  I felt the spirit soo strongly and it helped me realize that it's okay, i can do it.  Now this week has not been amazing haha and I haven't had a great mood all throughout.. But hey i got through it!  We had ourfirst baptism saturday haha no i'm not counting it as MY first because well I didn't do anything.  It's a 9 year old boy named Nomena... His Dad is Lala and the dude is a freaking rockstar.  Such a good guy and he's so ready to be baptized but... 1. he's still workign out divorce papers because they take forever and a day and 2. he's not legally married to his wife right now.  Now thatsounds super messed up but it's totally normal in Madagascar.  It's really hard to get legally married here because you have to go to your birthplace and get your birth certificate and all that.  We have like 6 investigators that all need to get "vita soratra" they're awesome but they're not freaking married!  This guy named Alain is a total stud, and does more than most of the members, super diligent but not legally married.  Super frustrating.  haha.  Anywyas its been alot better and i'm not nearly stressed out of my mind.  Yesterday I was struggling with my confidence in the language and I read Dad's letter and he gave me a scripture about patience... It was a godsend.  It helped me realize that hey... All the elders that are here can speak it.. granted some of them really crappy.  But.  If i'm diligent, and patient it WILL come.  So.  Elder Rakotonjanahary.  He's good guys.  I was a little dramatic and this week has been a lot better.  His english is pretty good... Not great but good enough.  We can communicate it's just really frustrating because it's just us in our house (only 4 other houses like that in the entire mission.... of course it's me haha) and sometimes when we're at home i just want to sit andtalk about life and stuff like that but we cant really.  Or I want to get advice... But he's had a totally different mission experience.  But you know what.  Everybody I've talked to said it's such a blessing... And I will be totally Mahay (skilled) when it's all over with.  So I just need to be PATIENT and have COURAGE.  We have a Liahona with the conference talks from october when the mission announcement was made.  I've read a lot of the talks and president monsons in priesthood was great.  It's honestly like everday I read or hear small things that keep me going.  I just need to focus on one day at a time.  Thats something i struggle with is i look forward to being home alot... Which makes me feel bad but hey i'm just human!  But 2 years is a long time away... Haha i need to look forward to lessons!  and teaching poeple! Whcih is what its about.  I LOVE teaching but it's hard when i'm only mahay kely and i don't understand much.  My comp has been having me teach alot more so I'm actually alright at teachign but it's just hard because I want to understand all the people soooo bad haha.  But hey.  patience.  One day at a time!  Haha this week I had the biggest blisters of my entire existence on both feet... Safe to say the shoes that i brought that werent echo's are crap... Hahaha they are already coming apart... so yeah.  thats fun.  Every night our shoes are just covered in dirt.. I'll send a picture to mom and she can forward it to everyone.  I've been here for who knows how long and i've only uploaded one picture... Haha yeah.  Mada is just soo dirty.  When they say its a developing country they mean it.  Honestly when I'm walking around i feel like i'm hiking!  DREW!  You would love it!  There are hills EVERYWHERE, we walk on dirt paths, the streets are mostly dirt and cobblestone, there is the constant smell of smoke and... POOP.  and nasty Chickens.  Whenever we're home i feel like old mcdonald.  With a quack quack and a chicken noise all night.  So many animals running around.  The 4th of july was... special.  I wore my most patriotic tie... which wasn't too red white and blue and we had district meeting that day.  There are 3 companionships and each one is an american and a malagasy.  The other two companionships live in the same house.  Anywyas at district meeting we put up a small american flag, sang the national anthem for the opening prayer, and sang america the beautiful for the closing song.  THen we ate PBandJ's because the pizza place we were going to go to was closed.  Thats right I said PBandJ... THey actually found peanut butter!  I've been looking since I got here.. couldn't find it but htey showed me!  I bought 3 bottles today and it costed like 15 thou

... haha which is a lot.  But hey.  I need somehting other than rice.  Yesterday we fasted all day and I was soooo hungry so i made spaghetti with tomato paste for sauce... haha... So yeah.  Well lets see.  Madagascar.  We teach about 4-5 lessons a day... We have 10 progressing investigators.. We got two baptismal commits last night haha.  Geez I don't know.  It's super hard but i'm pushing through and doing it.  I looove talking to the other Elders and they tell me that it does get better.  My district leader is Elder Dickson and he's helped alot... He just lets me know that it's okay that i'm struggling, everyone does.  Today was obviously PDay and I got to hang out with a bunch of the other elders.. Some who were in the MTC with me.  Ha it was soo nice and it helped me a lot.  They were all speakign malagasy and they all seemed like they're loving it!  So I know it's going to come!  I know that I won't want to strangle every little kid that says "bonjour miseour" and VAZA!  Haha it's soo annoying... But that's they're culture.  Just gotta deal with it!  Anyways.  That's all I got..Dad I am sleeping actually quiet well... Haha since we come home so early i'm in bed at like 10 every night... Kind of wish we stayed out later but I guess it's not safe.. WE'll see.  Anywyas yeah.  I'm doing it.  Gotta keep pushing forward.  love all the emails.  They definitely help me alllooooot.  Keep em coming.  I love you guys so dang much.