Salama daholo!
Inona vaovao aminareo?! I hope you all had a great week! I sure did! This week
was awesome. My favorite part was seeing Andry, his wife Sarah, and daughter
Valery walk into church on Sunday. Andry is an inactive member and his
wife and daughter aren't members. We have been trying to visit them and this
week we finally caught them! We were supposed to have a lesson with them Saturday night
also but they had something come up. We just stopped by at like 9 and dropped
off a white shirt and tie for Andry, as a member assumed he didn't have one and
told us that. Man, seeing them walk in was so cool. Andry was all smiles! They
walked in late and Andry was shaking everyone's hand as he was coming in. It
was awesome! Everyone welcomed them so great and Andry was so pumped to get his
daughter to primary and man that's just what its all about! I hope and pray
that we will be seeing Andry baptize his wife and daughter in the coming
weeks.
Besides that, we had
lots of great lessons and experiences this week also! This week I also read a
great talk from the last conference. Its titled "Its All About The
People" by Gerald Causse. This is a quote I loved: "President
M. Russell Ballard taught, 'What is most important in our Church
responsibilities is not the statistics that are reported or the meetings that
are held but whether or not individual people—ministered to one at a time just
as the Savior did—have been lifted and encouraged and ultimately changed.'
My dear brothers and
sisters, are we active in the gospel, or are we merely busy in the Church? The
key is to follow the example of the Savior in all things. If we do that, we
will naturally focus on saving individuals rather than performing tasks and
implementing programs. Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like
if the Savior visited your ward or branch next Sunday? What would He do?
Would He be worried to know if the visual aids were good enough or if the
chairs were positioned properly in the classroom? Or would He find someone He
could love, teach, and bless? Perhaps He would seek out a new member or a
friend to welcome, a sick brother or sister in need of comfort, or a wavering
young person who needed to be lifted and encouraged.I promise you that as you
strive to be on the Lord’s agenda, nothing will become more important than
finding those people you can help and bless. At church you will focus on
teaching individuals and touching their hearts. Your concern will be to foster
a spiritual experience rather than organize a perfect activity, to minister to
your fellow members rather than check a box for the number of visits you have
made. It will not be about you but about them whom we call our
brothers and our sisters."
I really love that. We
had a great lesson in Elders Quorum about Ministering. Just imagine if everyone
loved and treated others and served them like the Savior did. I know that there
is nothing more powerful than a friend who reaches out in sincere love and care
for someone else. There is nothing that can change a life more than that. I am
so grateful for my mission and all the wonderful people I get to serve and
love. I hope we can all see the greater purpose of this church and our life
here on earth. I hope you have a great week! Mazotoa!
Some views from Ambohimanarina last P-day!
Some rice fields and people working away.
These kids were following us around and so we took a pic of them. I hid behind a wall and grabbed a kid as he chased after us and he saw his life flash before his eyes haha. He thought the jokes that white people steal kids was true for a second it was hilarious.
