Salama O!

Salama O!

This week contained some very encouraging, very crazy and very painful experiences, hoo my goth. Ndao isika handeha!

A video post from the mission president's wife on Instagram: Elder Soper and other missionaries participating in a pday ping-pong tournament

-Double-Dragon: This experience was pretty graphic. By this week, I had already eaten a ton of street food, from bugs to disgusting candy to odd kebabs to sandwiches with unidentifiable chunks in them. But, I ate at the supposedly safe 'Red Hotely' which served basic rice and laoka. Once again, I basically had digestive problems on the spot. That night, I slept 0.2 hrs. The hours I wasn't sleeping, I was double-dragoning (a nice way of saying you're having problems at both ends).  I even had some trouble at one point in the middle of the night making it from my bed to the bathroom successfully, but I won't go into that...  I missed one day of proselyting, which was incredibly frustrating because it was a few new investigators, but luckily Elder Hammer was able to get a hold of them, and they still wanted to meet with us. I recovered pretty quickly, and I'm back to eating street food. I think it was the juice they served at the restaurant because other Elders got sick from it.

-Our families are still doing awesome! I need to get pictures with them sometime so I can show what they look like. The three families that are most mazoto (diligent) are H1s, H2s and the Gs. [Names removed for the privacy of the investigators.]  H1 is a professional rugby player who can run wicked fast. He and I had a sprinting competition, and he smoked me, whew. His traps are the size of my legs I think. He has a family of 3. H2 is a translator for French and Malagasy TV networks (a little bit more wealthy), and he has little use of his legs, so he walks 3 miles to work on crutches. He has a ridiculously smart family of 4. G is a juice maker who has a family of 5. His wife is super buff because she washes clothes a lot for some of the families around her. Washing clothes by hand makes your biceps huge I guess. G has a few teeth and a very high voice, but he retains the most information about what we teach compared to any of our investigators. That's a little bio of our strongest investigators. A couple of them struggle with smoking, coffee and coming to church on time. But, they trying their hardest and are incredibly passionate about the Gospel. I'm very thankful for the missionaries before us for the work they've done to find some of these families.

-Elder Hammer is a great companion and we are starting to get along great.   He is a hard worker, but I can tell that this is a tough area to end your mission. The area where we work each day is honestly a bit rough and dirty compared to some of the other prettier provinces.  When Elder Lake's trainee came in, everything changed. Our whole dorm is great friends. We end each night telling stories to each other. It's not the same closeness I felt at the MTC with the other Elders, but it's improving. The new trainee in our house is from South Africa. He's pretty quiet, but he's way dope. He wants me to learn Afrikaanz, and I've learned a couple phrases. That language feels like Pigeon English and is actually pretty easy!

-The Malagasy is coming along great! I got in a little rut for a couple days while I was sick because I didn't want to say anything. Plus, it's scary to teach sections of lessons that you know your companion could do so much better. It's tough not to be really neurotic about these things, but Elder Hammer has been very patient with me. He pushes me to learn the area, new nuances to the language and the logistics of the mission very hard. Sometimes I wish we could prepare more during companionship study, but he doesn't like to roleplay. So, I feel like I'm in the dark when I'm teaching a new topic. I'm progressing well, I think! The thing I've gotten good at is understanding what Malagasies are trying to say through their body language. They use a ton of body language, and it's nice being able to know how to respond to them when I don't understand everything they say. That's probably the hardest part of Malagasy though, understanding them. Speaking it is a wee bit easier.

-I still love the kids. I need to get a couple pictures from Elder Hammer for you to put on the blog because there's these neighborhood kids that play soccer with us every morning for about 5 minutes. They all go crazy and destroy my legs.

-Kids also love fistbumps (dona). And the bebes (grandma) do too! We can say, "Dahoana bebe!" Then, the bebe goes crazy haha. There's some very weird bebes in our area that are pretty much gangsters. 

-We took in a little chameleon named Jack Sparrow, pretty sure his parents named him that. He always acts a little drunk, hence the name. Sometimes, we ask him if he wants to go proselyting, but he's pretty maditra. Whatever.

-I think I missed a few experiences, so I'll consult with my journal (left it at home) and tell all of you next week.

Gospel's great! Love you all so much! I love reading the letters too! 

Love, Elder Soper

Mada-flippin-gascar!! I'm here!

Salama O!

I'm just going to describe the best and craziest experiences I have had just to keep it interesting!

-It was hard to leave the MTC. I made a couple of my best friends there. Elder Schnoor and I had to bring two extra bags full of President Foote's personal affects. So, we had three bags each. It was

pretty stressful to go everywhere with them because every airport wanted to search through our bags because we had so much luggage. It made it hard to make some of the connecting flights. The nice thing is that we arrived as heroes for the Footes haha! It would have cost $7000 in comparison to the $400 we were charged to have the bags shipped. South Africa's airport workers ask for tips for anything and everything haha. They kept asking for $50 when they helped me put my bags on a cart. Two seconds of work=$50 for South African airlines I guess. I paid them a dollar each time so they would leave me alone.

-Elder Schnoor and I had some crazy experiences on the way to Madagascar, holy cow. First, we met Austin "The Wind" on the frontrunner. He was time traveler/witch doctor/leader of the Drumcircle religion. He had devil horns taped to his hat. "The Wind" has been in jail 6 times already, but he was actually really kind to us and wanted to know about our message. When he was leaving, he said

he was really sorry, but because he was a devil worshiper, he was obligated to curse us. He cursed us very softly with a awkward dance for about 2 minutes. I couldn't stop laughing, wow.

-Then, we met the IncrediblePoems.com man. He recited 10 of his poems at the top of his lungs to us on the Trax. They were actually really good, and some of them were on topics of the Gospel. Utah might be weirder than a lot of the world apparently.

-It was tough to sleep on the planes because my sleeping schedule got turned up on its head. Plus, the planes are riduculously cramped now. My knees were touching the seat in front of me no matter what, very uncomfortable for about 30 hours of flying.

-Bazzle's Near Death: I was on the plane from London to Johannesburg sitting next to a 63 year-old man named Bazzle from South Africa. He had never met missionaries, and he wanted to hear more about our church. So, I felt we were great friends by the time we were sleeping lol. In the middle of the night, I woke up to a whistling sound. I heard it coming from Bazzle. I turned on a light and saw that he was extremely purple and not breathing well. I called an attendant, and they had to do CPR after he wouldn't respond to oxygen or other procedures. He came back after about 10 minutes. Apparently, he had gotten brain tumors taken out of his head 5 years prior and always had trouble sleeping well. Scary. I got the opportunity to pray with his wife while they were doing CPR, and she really appreciated that.

-I have yet to come very close to the other Elders in my apartment. They're quite a bit different than I am, but I'm sure we just need time. There's Elder Knight, Elder Bowen and Elder Lake. They are great though! The apartment is actaully pretty decent. There's a couple luxury problems with a leak in the toilet, so it's a pain to go to the bathroom.

-I had my first rice and laoka (the staple Malagasy food) for the first time at a hotely. All the nurses tell us to stay away from the hotely's/street food, but it saves so much time. I know why now though

haha. I ate some rice with a tasty beef and vegetable mix. Then, I basically pooped on the spot. I guess that's what the extra pages in my planner are for haha! I haven't felt very sick yet though. They

also have this stuff called Jus Naturale that all the missionaries drink and get sick from. We'll see how long I wait to drink some heehee.

Now for a couple actual Madagascar missionary experiences: -Ivandry is starting to boom! Parts of Antananarivo are slower, but Ivandry is great to work in. We really focus on Father-Led Families

here because the wards here need Priesthood really bad. The women in Madagascar are more open to the Gospel and less problems with Word of Wisdom. Our ward is pretty good. The ratio is about 30 Melchizedek Priesthood holders, 15 Aaronic and 75 women and kidsm which is actually a decent ratio.

-The days are long, but incredible. It's burning hot, about 85-100 degrees every day. Every kid that sees us says, "Vazaha!!" That means foreign'. All we have have to do is talk to them for 2 seconds, and their mouth drops haha! Everybody, even the bebe's and dadabe's (grandmas and grandpas) loving giving us dona's, or fistbumps. It's super fun to walk down some streets. For some reason, some missionaries hate getting called out constantly, but it's fun to have conversations with people that think we're just French guys here to get girlfriends. They are flabberghasted that we're not pervs.

-We have awesome investigators. Baptisms are coming up soon, and the families are very ready. The only problem is that it's expensive to get married legally here Madagascar, and they can't have a problem with the WofW for at least 2 weeks. So sometimes, baptismal dates have to be pushed back.

-I sang for one of the families we teach because they thought I looked like Frank Sinatra, which I don't, but I guess I am white haha. I sang "Be Still My Soul" in Malagasy.

-A guy was working on his roof to fix some leaks. He started to slip and fell off the side. Even though the drop was only like 7 feet, I was in the exact right spot to catch him. I awkwardly caught him and

brought him down slowly. He was laughing so loud haha. Malagasies have amazing, high-pitched laughs too. Ironically, we're teaching him and his wife now! He's actually a pretty golden investigator because Elder Hammer knew him previously, and he said he loved the idea of being able to communicate with God still.

-The members are amazing here. We had a couple appointments with us and gave us 6 FLF referrals. We haven't contacted all 6 yet, but the 3 we've gotten to are great!

-I gave my testimony during church this last Sunday, and I did pretty well surprisingly! All the members came up to me to tell me how good I was at Malagasy already. It really helped to have good teachers in the MTC, and I worked really hard on pronunciation. I think that's the biggest thing Malagasies look for. I made a joke about being the same age as Elder Hammer and that I had a babyface while he was a huge cow. It was kind of rude, but they laughed really hard. And Elder Hammer was okay with it jajaja.

-It's incredibly tiring to try to actively listen and understand the Malagasies. It requires so much focus for the whole day, and I go to bed feeling like my head is burning. It helps a lot, and I'm starting to understand more and more.

-There are these buses called taxibe's that we take all the time, and they get packed to the brim, way fun. We had to ride while hanging on to the back during the rain. They were driving ridiculously fast.

Sorry Mom. The raindrops are huge here, and I got soaked in about 4 seconds. It was super fun.

-The people are wonderful! I'm literally the tallest person that some of the Malagasies have ever seen at about 6'. The average height here is about 5' 4". It's tough to fit into some of the houses.

-There's a good amount of more ridiculous experiences that have been very spiritual and extremely foreign to me, but I don't have time to say everything. It's good I've got a journal! The work is very hard and very rewarding.

Efa fantatro fa mahafinaritra Madagascar! Tsotra ny filizantsara. Raha matoky sy manaiky ny fampianaran'i Jesoa Kristy isika dia afaka mandray ny fiainana mandrakizay amin'ny fianakiaviantsika eo anatrehan Andriamanitra. Amin'ny alalan'ny Sorompanavotan'i Jesoa Kristy dia ho lasa madio isika. Tsapako fa marina ny filizantsara amin'ny alalan'ny Fanahy Masina.

Love,

Elder Soper

My last week at the MTC has been a good one...

Inona no vaovao!

     My last week at the MTC has been a good one. I'm going to miss all the people I've met here. I've made lifelong friends with a couple of the Elders here. Welp, time for Madagascar! 

• Horrible Haircut: I got a haircut last week, and I felt the barber left my hair too long for Madagascar. So, I went in again today and asked for a "pretty short haircut." She got the 'short', but she forgot the 'pretty'. She gave me a great haircut expect one side was twice as long as the other side

• Elder Moala and Elder Emor: Elder Emor is this legitimately intimidating 5' 4" Elder from Chuuk who speaks . He had a gang back home on his island (he even has a tattoo of the gang name on his arm), and he revived here at the MTC. Elder Moala--who the opposite of Elder Emor in size--became his right-hand man. Elder Moala would follow Elder Emor around everywhere, scheming their next prank. For some reason, they decided to target me and "eliminate" me first. Every time Elder Schnoor and I came home after planning, glowsticks and pennies would be flying at us from all sides in the dorms! I sometimes had to come out with 6 pillows strapped to my body so I could get to another room! It was a little crazy probably, but it was way fun. Elder Emor actually hid under my bed one night, and at 10:45, when our lights were out, and I was drifting off to sleepysnooze, he jumped up, screamed and grabbed me. It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life! But I couldn't stop laughing for about 10 minutes haha! Elder Emor left to the Marshall Islands just barely too.

• Elder Palmer: I can't even explain how fun Elder Palmer is to have in our district. He's very earnest and has strong opinions, and it makes it ridiculously entertaining to have him in our district. He said that back home, he would get made fun of a lot, but here, he feels appreciated. I wish I videoed some of the things he did...

• Elder De Moors: This Elder can tell stories like nobody's business. He's this big black Elder from Atlanta, and he's got the best laugh in the world. Every time he laughs, it's this hearty, "Heeheheheheoioioioiooi!" He laughs at every single one of his jokes, and it makes everybody else laugh so much.

• Our District: This is what I'm gonna miss the most. Our district seems to have the perfect composition. If one person were gone, it wouldn't be the same. We all are such great friends and laugh so much. It's gonna be hard to say goodbye to Elder Duvinston (the black Elder) the most though. Him and I clicked quick, and we're gonna be buds at BYU when we get back. He's a super committed, spiritual missionary that jokes around and laughs a ton! Plus, he's way cooler than me, so I'm going out of my league in a friendship sense. I'll be able to see Elder Schnoor a lot, so I don't really have to say goodbye to him luckily.

• Released: It was kinda ironic how we were only zone leaders for 5 days, but it was a growing experience too! Some of the new quieter Elders in our zone (the new ASL and Fijian districts) really latched on to us (literally, we gave them piggyback rides a lot), and it was great to get them to open up. It also made me learn that I have improving to do. I'm not the best missionary I can be sometimes. There are missionaries in our zone that are exactly obedient and responsible. They clearly reap the blessings. 

• Leaving: Elder Schnoor and I leave at 10:30 AM on Monday! Then, we're getting on and off planes for the next 54 hoursssss....... guh. It's about 34 hours on a plane, hoo boy, numb bum. I'll just be studying and talking to people the whole time prolly! Maybe I can teach the person sitting next to me!

     I'm sure there's stories I've missed describing, but at least I've got 'em in my journal. Thanks for all the packages and letters everybody! I have way too many snacks, but that's been awesome because we have all the Elders hanging out in our room every night. I'm gonna miss the MTC. It hasn't felt like 6 weeks. The first week felt like 6 weeks and so did every week after that. But now, it felt like it went too fast. I've grown a lot here, spiritually and mentally. I've had the best teachers, friends and leaders guide me here. Love you all so much!

Here's the first vision in Malagasy!

"Nahita andrim-pahazavana aho teo ambonin'ny lohako indrindra, nihoatra ny famirapiratan'ny masoandro, nidina tsikelikely teo amboniko...

Rehefa nijanona teo amboniko ilay hazavana, dia nahita Olona roa aho, izay mihoatra ny famaritana rehetra ny famiripiratany sy ny voninahiny, nijoro nitsingevaheva teo amboniko. Niteny temiko ny anankiray Taminy, niantso ahy tamin'ny anarako sady nanondro ilay anankiray no nanao hoe: 'Ity no Zanako Malalako. Henoy Izy!'"

Tiako ianareo,

Elder Soper

This week was full of great experiences...

Salamo O!

      This week was full of great experiences, couple o' lows, but a lot of highs! I don't have too much time this week to email, but I'll make sure to cover everything either today or next week.

Fitsapana Sarotra

• Elder Schnoor and I have learned to love our progressing investigators so much. It's honestly kind of odd because it's our teachers acting as the investigators. That's been my favorite part about the training in the MTC. Our teachers have really helped us learn to love our investigators through praying for them earnestly and creating thoughtful lesson plans. As a result of this, Elder Schnoor and I want very specific lesson plans for each investigator because we want them to progress as fast as possible, but we have different ideas very often. I like asking more questions, but his methods work well too. It takes a while to come to an agreement every time. Still, our lessons have worked out great this week!

Zavatra Tsara dia Tsara

• To be completely honest, I thought Elder Schnoor and I were way behind in the language this whole time. Our teacher finally evaluated us to give us an idea of where we're at yesterday. And to our surprise, he said that we were progressing faster than most Malagasy missionaries! Wut. It's definitely because we're in a class of two rather than the usual 4-6 for Malagasy. Still, it was extremely relieving to hear.
• The MTC gave us an opportunity to teach a lesson over Skype with a native member in Madagascar. It was amazing! We actually could sort of barely understand her! Her name was Navofaly, and she was about 35 years old. She had the whitest teeth I have ever seen and kept laughing while saying, "Wooooh." Our lesson was basically asking her what her favorite BoM story was and giving her a commitment to find one really valuable referral for a missionary there, kinda disjointed, but it worked out! That was great experience that makes me even more excited to get out there and teach!
• This next story is the result of the MTC food and my inability to process it correctly. During our most recent TRC (Teaching Resource Center) lesson with RM's that went to Madagascar, I made an odd mistake... I was talking about the importance of testimony with them when I involuntarily let out a lil' toot. For some reason, the RM's didn't notice, but Elder Schnoor definitely did (he held in a laugh). So, I kept going on about testimony, but I turned towards Elder Schnoor and winked. He burst out laughing and had to leave the room. I pretended like I didn't know what was going on, and the RM's seemed really confused. Eventually, he came back and explained the whole thing, and we had a good laugh.
• 'Twas my birthday last Sunday. It actually turned out to be a great birthday! First, all the packages and letters from you guys were amazing! Packages are really fun to get at the MTC. Later, after a great devotional, we had President Burgess come to our devotional review, whoa. He fell asleep haha! Last, someone told everybody it was my birthday, and everybody broke the rules and started singing Happy Birthday to me. This was actually one of my favorite experiences because I've grown so close to some of the Tongans, and their voices are so rich and smooth. It's ear-candy, holy cow.
• Elder Schnoor and I were made the zone leaders for this last week, not too much we can do in only one week, but it's a fun opportunity! We were mostly called because we're the oldest district, but I really feel we can still magnify our calling in such a short amount of time. In addition, it helped to motivate us to be much more exactly obedient and to be good examples to the rest of the zone. It's actually easier than being a district leader for some reason, heheheh.

     Sorry, we got out of the Temple late, so we don't have as much time to finish off our emails. I'm not able to respond to everybody individually, but I read 'em all! I really love all the information everyone sends me! but I'll give my future self some work. Here are the stories I missed:

• Elder Palmer German Song feat. Elder Moala and Toupou*
• Elder Palmer Dancing*
• Haitian Elder Snoring
• First Mission Haircut
• Many Small and Big Spiritual Experiences
• Elder Moala and Our Funny Arguments
•    "         "        "      "       "     Scenarios We Act Out*

*=especially funny

Fantatro fa amin'ny alalan'ny fanakaikiana an'i Jesoa Kristy sy Andriamanitra dia afaka faly isika. Nanome antsika Andriamanitra ny fomba no ianaranantsika momba ny fampiananaran'i Jesoa Kristy amin'ny soratra masina, ny Baiboly sy ny Bokin'i Mormona. Fantatro fa raha hamaky ireo soratra masina ireo isan'andro isika dia hitahy antsika Andriamanitra. Koa, rehefa mivavaka aho, tsapako ny fahatsapana fohy sy ny fahamarinana amin'ny alalan'ny Fanahy Masina. 

Love you lots!

Elder Soper