Work's going great!

Ry Fianakaviana,

It's flippin' hot. Yesterday, Elder Kruger and I were completely soaked in sweat, and we couldn't even write in our planners without getting them wet or warped from the humidity. The trails flood a lot due to the surprise rainstorms every 2 hours, so I take a lot of piggyback rides from Elder Kruger drudging through the mud with his heavy duty boots. He has to be careful to not squish a Malagasy with them. I'm still loving Mahajanga. Work's going great! We were blessed to get 16 people to church yesterday!

Fr. Ralaibary:

Our Elders Quorum President may look old, but he'll take you down. He's about 70+ years-old and has an intimidating amount of neck hair sprouting from his adam's apple. During third hour, he always takes a couple minutes in order to chastise all the men of the ward and rain down hellfire. 

Last week, he ranted, "Where are the stats?! We're lazy!!" x4

He continues, "Where are the stats... Hometeaching is commandment from who? Yes, God Almighty. Nobody has the love for God to give their stats to me? What would God think if he was leading this branch?"

This week, he kept saying, "Wake up! Stop sleeping!" x4

"We have work to do! Still, every time I look, you're all sleeping... Wake up!! Will you all be asleep when the Second Coming, or will I have to pour a bucket of water on your head to wake you up?!"

Ralaibary is also the piano player, but he's a bit deaf, causing him to turn the volume of the piano all the way up. I can't hear myself sing.

Teaching the President of Mahajanga:

So, we tracted into this guy named Jean Pierre my first day here. When we taught the first, the power was out and the conditions weren't desirable, but he ate it up like a missionary who hasn't eaten flavorful food for two years would eat a Little Caesar's pizza. 

Jean Pierre looks like a French man with Malagasy skin being as his dad is French and abandoned Jean Pierre's mom in poverty. But it turns out, this guy is the President of the region, Ambato-Boeny, surrounding Mahajanga. What's great is that he's a humble guy who loves to pray, has no church and is frustrated by how embellished and over-exaggerated most the churches are here in Madagascar. He said, "If you read the Bible, Jesus didn't walk down the street doing miracles left and right, shooting lightning and calling down the Power of God every moment of the day. He taught by example." He's a bit hard to teach, just because he's more skeptical than the average Malagasy, but he's progressing really well: reads the Book of Mormon consistently and asks sincerely every night.

Malagasy Morsel of the Week - Gne or Ia or Ma:

These words have no meaning, but they are voice improvers (fanatsaram-peo). Malagasies randomly and subconsciously add these words at the end of phrases to sound more interesting. It's especially tough and unnatural for me to mimic because I wouldn't ever do it with English.

Stories for Next Week:

-Police Hold-up

-Dallyas

-Smarties

Love you all so much!

Elder Soper