Ry Fianakaviako,
I've got a great companion; I'm in a great area; Tamatave is filled to the brim with amazing people; and, I haven't gotten stabbed. Every day is blazing hot, and it feels like I'm in a hot tub when it's raining! Also, The work is going way quick, a ton of success, much different than in Antsirabe definitely. Elder Price is going home soon, and it's clear he doesn't want to die lazy; we're working like there's no tomorrow. I'm outta gas today and dog-tired today, but this last week has been very satisfying. It's a weird experience waking up each day excited to work--good feeling I want to keep for the rest of my mission.
- Baptisms: Last Saturday, we had 5 baptisms, which was awesome because I just barely got here to Tamatave. Elder Price baptized a rich, genius kid named Chantony (I'll probably write a story about him later), an awesome family. This is one of the most converted families I've met here in Madagascar. Giovanny, the oldest son (17 years-old), was in a bad place before he met the missionaries. Involved in everything you can imagine, he said that he hit rock bottom the day before the missionaries knocked on his door. When they first taught him, he's never done any of the stuff he did since, crazy, 180 degree turn. I already love him like a... cousin maybe. Since Elder Price did their baptisms, they asked me to do their confirmations for the Holy Ghost during sacrament meeting. Angaha! Initially, I was sweating bullets beforehand, but it went smoothly, and I think it's definitely my number 1 experience so far. The spirit pretty dang palpable. Afterwards, Giovanny gave an amazing testimony on the power of repentance. My eyes got a bit sweaty.
- Whoops: On Wednesday, we tracted in a very rich area. Normally, tracting in the wealthy areas yields a lot of creepy French guys, but we found one Malagasy guy who owned a luxury Porsche sports car. He gave us 5 minutes to 'impress' him, but he just talked the whole time about how to get rich here in Madagascar selling emeralds. Whatevs. Next, we tracted into a rich Malagasy grandma. No matter how many times we told her we spoke Malagasy and not French, she would not stop babbling in French. I think she said she was interested, but we said we couldn't enter unless her husband was there. She said, "Il est la," or "He's there," and then pointed across this street at little condo complex looking thingy. We walked inside looking around for him. But, little by little, as a series of obvious, awkward hints occurred, it dawned on us that we were in a brothel. Immediately, we sprinted out, through the group of nice women with not-so-good standards, back onto the main path. The French-speaking lady was doubled over laughing and said, "Whoops."
- That Price Thang: Elder Price has a severely duck-footed gait, almost as if his legs are sideways sweeping forwards as walks. To add on, he rolled his ankle on Thursday, so for the past few days, he's been walking around like a literal zombie. Every once in a while, he lift his arms up and forward, and he walks towards kids making zombie noises. He then gives the most satisfied sounding chuckle when the kids run away.
Weekly Price Quotes:
"Rolling in, in a Lambo, looking fresh, like a pig...yo."
"When somebody's angry with me, I combat it by just raising my eyebrow and laughing. Then, I feel really bad because they're mad with me."
- Malagasy Morself of the Week - Mihomehy/Mimohy
Mihomehy (Merina--Official) and mimohy (Betsimisaraka--Tamatave) mean 'to laugh.' One of my favorite parts of Madagascar is how anybody will trust you as soon as you can make them laugh. As missionaries, we don't have time to bring the gospel to everybody we see obviously; however, saying hello and making jokes with people on the side of the road is something I love doing. Laughing just makes people happier, and it gives them a good opinion of the white foreigners wearing fancy clothes.
Stories for Next Week:
-Saving a Puppy (still not done, sorry, heh)
-The Betsimisaraka Tribe
-Price's Coconut Endeavor
-Price's Girlfriend
Love you all so much! Have a great week!
Elder Soper
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