Salama e! Inona vaovao aminareo?! Efa lehilahy lehibe aho izao satria mandray 21 taona aho androany. Hafahafa izany e! I hope you have all had a great week! Man, I don't even know what to start off with this week..I'll start off with the good news and update on our investigators! We have 7 awesome people locked in for the baptism on the 14th. This last week we visited Paula and her kids, Noela and Henintsoa. I love them. They are the best! But it was really sad as Paula told us her kids would be baptized but her husband doesn't want her to be baptized. We bore testimony to her that her husband will one day have a desire to live the Gospel as she sets a good example for him. I left that lesson heartbroken, man. That family has changed so much the last 6 months or so we have taught them and I was so excited to see all of them baptized. But Paula spoke to our bishop yesterday at church and he basically told her the same thing we did. She then said she felt and knew that she needed to be baptized too and she is locked in for the 14th with her kids! She told us that after church and I picked up little Henintsoa and jumped around and shook him til his eyes about fell out haha. It's gonna be a great day! Also Sarah and Valery are still ready for their baptism and it is gonna be so cool to see Andry baptize them! Nirina who is the 20 yr old guy that runs with us Saturday mornings is gettin' dunked too! And also Vola who is an awesome mom that has a daughter who is a member in another ward will be getting baptized! Wow, its gonna be a special day! Yesterday we also had a family, Solofo and Vivians family, accept to be baptized. Sadly they can't on the 14th because they have a family wedding out of town that Saturday that they need to go to but they are an amazing family too! It's hard not to extend a few weeks so I can see them baptized. They are such a cool family and I can't wait to get the baptism picture! The sad news from this week is that President and Sister Foote are no longer here. We are excited to have President and Sister Duckworth but it was sad seeing President and Sister Foote go. We spent a lot of time with them those last two days and it felt like we were adopted into their family almost haha. We had the opportunity to take them to the airport and drop them off one last time. Man, it was a car ride I don't think I will forget. It was just crazy to think about all the things I have learned from the Footes and how much they have done for the church and the people here in Madagascar. Not to mention the sunset on the ride to the airport was one of the coolest sunsets I have seen yet. Just driving through the rice fields seeing the people head home from a long day's work and the zebu and a dark orange sky and it being President and Sister Footes' last day was surreal. I was thinking a ton on that drive as we talked with the Footes and such and seeing tears in President's eyes through the rearview mirror. I just had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude come over me. Gratitude for so many things I can't list them all. I am so grateful for my mission, President and Sister Foote, the Malagasy people, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. I know this church is true. I know it with everything that I have. It is because of this church that I had the opportunity to come here and learn so much. I thought about the Prophet Joseph Smith and how if he didn't do the work and the things he did I would never be here. You can not convince me or try and say to me that all of this is a lie, that it's all made up or evil. The experiences I have had have changed my life forever and I know no evil church or false prophet could have brought that about. And I of course thought of my Savior and Heavenly Father and their love for all their children no matter where they come from or what they do. I wish that all people would come unto Christ and feel of His love and the power of His Atonement. These last two years have been the greatest times of my life and it's because my life has been centered 100% on the Gospel. President's last night he took us up to a view point over all of Antananarivo. It was late at night and we just sat and talked about life and the Gospel and everything. One thing he said at the end really stood out to me. He said, "Good luck and make us proud. If I call you ten years from now and I ask you have you read your scriptures everyday and you answer yes and that you haven't missed a day, I will already know that you will then say how great life is and how everything is going well." I know and bear testimony of God's promised blessings. Its so sad that so many people struggle so much in this life. All we need to do is live the Gospel and we will live lives full of happiness and peace. I cannot bear a stronger testimony of that as I have felt it in my life and I have seen it in the lives of many others. At the first of my mission it was hard to see these great Malagasy people struggle and have some of the trials and hardships they do and not give them money or build them a better house or plumbing or something anything that might help their living conditions. I now know that there is no greater thing they could be given than the Gospel. There is no greater blessing than the knowledge of our Savior's Atonement and the Restored Gospel. I know that is what truly brings blessings into our lives. Not the wor'dly things but that which lasts for eternity. Giving people money or a new home will satisfy them and make them happy for a period of time but helping them live the Gospel gives them a source of never ending happiness and hope that will be received throughout their whole life after obedience and showing of faith. I know that to be true and am so grateful for that knowledge. I hope you all have a great week! Mazotoa!
Some views of Mada.
A pic of our running group Saturday morning!
Some views of Mada.
Pics of me with Rachel and her family and Taminah!
Pics of goodbye lunches and dinners with President Foote.
A welcome dinner with the Millers and President and Sister Duckworth!
