Week 82 - Tsy Taitra, Tsy Maika, Nefa Tsy Tara

Salama e! I hope you all are doing great! This was a great week for us! More and more missionaries are getting here every week. We have a group of 14 coming tomorrow from Zambia and the U.S. It will be great to see them again! The mission is the best and even better when you are in Madagascar. We have a lot to do with everyone returning from the evacuation but we still get plenty of time to teach and find and it is the best. This week we drove back from Tamatave. That drive is the best. I don't know why but I love it so much. It is crazy seeing people live out in the middle of nowhere and wonder what their lives must be like. We were driving by a group of young boys and they were pushing this cart up a huge hill in the middle of the bush, saw guys hauling these huge things of bananas (there's a pic I sent of it), and people working in the tons of rice fields. While we were driving by all these little villages people were doing their daily "chores", you could call it. Not really chores, I guess more like things they do to survive. The things I saw people doing is a lot harder than doing the dishes :) haha. But while I was watching these many hard working people, I just thought a lot about the Gospel and our life here on earth. Man, its hard for me to believe that there isn't something more for us. You can't tell me we are just supposed to be born, find a way to survive, and die. And that's it, that's life. I love and am so grateful for our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Especially our knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am reading a book called The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister. He says this quote or something along the lines of it in one of the chapters, "Without the Atonement every rising sun is a reminder that it will one day rise no more. Every death a tragedy, and every birth but a tragedy in embryo." Man I thought about that a lot. How blessed we are to have a Savior that suffered and died and rose again for us. I know because of this, all of us, even those kids pushing the carts, guys hauling bananas, and hard working rice farmers, have a bigger purpose here in life. And we can achieve more than we can ever imagine as we turn our lives over to the Lord. I am so grateful for this Gospel. And I know as we live by the principles and teachings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we can receive all the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to share this message each and every day. I hope you all have a great week! Mazotoa! Aza maditra!

A pic of us at lunch on P-day in Tamatave last week.

 Here are some pics from the drive to Tamatave.

And a sunset and afternoon pic here in Tana!

This is a pic of what I had for dinner the other day. I say what it is on the voice recording. That's all I am gonna say. 

Pic of kids before our soccer game today. 

Pics of where we get our haircut. 

The guy had a pic of Christ in his little haircutting place. I love getting haircuts in places like this..always reminds me I am in Mada. And I have no Idea how he has electricity to use the clippers. ha

Week 81 - Miaina am'izay Misy

Akory aby! Inona vaovao? Enga anie mbola salama tsara ianareo! I am doing great and had a great week! This week we got to come to Tamatave on Saturday with President and the other missionaries that will be working here. Tamatave was the first place I served and also the first place that missionaries had to evacuate because of the plague. Its been about 6 months of no missionaries in Tamatave so the members and everyone were very happy to see us again. It was so cool seeing many people I taught over a year ago at church and active and some preparing for missions and temple. No better feeling than that. I was lucky enough to visit many of them and share a little thought with them. Crazy how fast time flies, man. This week we also had zone conference in Tana and it was great. There were lots of things talked about and I learned a lot. My thought this week came from an investigator we visited this week. He was talking about how it's great that people read scriptures and go to church but for lots of people its just a "habit." I thought a lot about that. At first I was thinking hmm that's kind of a weird comment but as I thought about it I think I understand where he is coming from a little. Sometimes we get in the routine of church and daily prayer and even scripture study. Almost like its a checklist and we have to do it. But we should do those things with a full heart striving to come closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior. It shouldn't just be a way of life, like we go to church on Sunday cuz that's what we always do. We should go each Sunday striving to be better and renew our baptismal covenants. We should pray and talk to our Heavenly Father like he really is there, not just to check it off our to-do list. We should read and ponder scriptures as if it really is the word of God, not just some homework assignment. These small simple things should be habits in our life but they should be a little more important than the other things we do each day. I know as we strive to feel the Spirit and seek His guidance as we do these things we will notice a difference in our lives and all that we do. I hope you all have a great week! Mazotoa!

 A few pics of our area in Tana. Our area is called Anjanahary. 

 Pics of lemur park we stopped at on our way to Tamatave. 

 Some pics of Tamatave. 

 Elder Bariniana wanted his picture with the ocean haha. He is from Antananrivo and is a new elder in our mission. 

 A pic of how we slept in Tamatave house with no power or water and no missionaries in it the last 7 months haha. Pretty hot night. 

 Pic with President Honore and his wife and kid. He was my first branch president here in Tamatave.

 Pic with Joseph and his family. Their two boys are preparing for Missions right now. Only one boy is in photo. His wife ,Soa, is in other photo in orange. I didn't catch them at the same time ha. 

 And pics of dinner at Thalia's last night. She is a really good cook!

Week 80 - Boribory Ny Tany

Salama daholo! Inona vaovao? I hope you all are doing well and had a great week! I had a good week and a week I was definitely not expecting. I was transferred to Antananarivo this last week. It was hard saying bye to the amazing people of Fort Dauphin that I have grown to love so much. I already am excited for the day I will get to see them again. But I am here in Tana and companions with Elder Mshweshwe from South Africa. He is a great guy and I am looking forward to working with him. This week, before I left Fort Dauphin, I had one last lesson with Ronaldin who is an investigator I grew to love a lot there. He is a father and husband. He has two kids and is an awesome guy. He really wants to change his life and live the Gospel and I hope so bad one day he will be baptized! In this last lesson with Ronaldin, it was just him. We didn't catch his wife or kids but it was good. He had just read 8 chapters out of the Book of Mormon when we got to his house. We talked a lot about that. One thing we talked about is how our decisions now can not only affect and change our lives but also those of generations after us. When we talked about this, Ronaldin kinda just sat and thought for awhile. He said he believes that is true and how he wants to do better. That was a very spiritual lesson for me. I looked at this father of two young kids and just thought how much not only his life will change if he accepts this and decides to work as hard as he can to live the gospel, but also his children's lives and his grandchildren and on and on. What decisions would we change if we could see the affect it has on those around us and those to come after us? I love the primary song "If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?" I think it goes like that at least ha. Only when we follow the Savior and live the restored Gospel can we assure ourselves and those around us pure and everlasting happiness. I know that not only Ronaldin and his family but all people no matter where they live will receive true and eternal happiness and peace if they follow the Savior. I know this church is the way we can do that. I hope you all have a great week! Veloma! 

 Pics from our hike/truck ride/tour to Lokaro down in Fort Dauphin last P-day..man it was a great last P-day there!!  

 Some more pics of our group at Lokaro.

 We bought an octopus and a fish off of some of the local people there and our investigator/guide cooked it up for us! It was great.

 More pics of Lokaro. 

 The fish and octopus all cooked up too. 

 And Ronaldin who is our investigator! He's a stud who plays rugby and guitar. I need to get him a broncos jersey though. 

 Goodbye pics with people in Fort Dauphin. Man I miss these people already..

 Be careful with the one I am holding the kid upside down haha. I don't need any people freaking out at me cuz I am a missionary doing that ha.

 Some pics of tana and lemur park we went to. That is me and my comp Elder Mshweshwe from South Africa!