Hey Fambly,
The work is going well--especially with the help of members! This last week we split up with 3 teenagers to stop by and invite investigator families to church on Sunday morning. And as a result, the Mechanic Family, Dino and Rosie, who have kept all their commitments and already planned on getting married soon, came alongside the Basketball Family, Sitraka and Justine, who play basketball with us after every lesson. Seven new investigators to church! Also, it is so relieving to finally be in a ward where you can count on nothing too apostate happening; it's definitely the opposite of how Mahajanga was, where you can't guess when a fistfight might break out in the Relief Society. Thank gosh for the awesome member helps in this area!
Baptism last Saturday! I baptized the guy on the left; I don't have the other pictures on my camera, sorry!
Two of our best member helps: Eric and Zo. They are also slightly famous rappers.
Elder Beeson literally jumped into mud thinking it was another path. It looked like he randomly decided to hop into the rice paddy without thinking twice, haha! He's cool, so we kept working.
A tree.
Drunk Men Boboka:
Oh Hendrick, the chubby, drunk guy who dons a dashing, brown leather jacket! He always rabidly wants to politely debate, doesn't matter what and doesn't matter with whom. But every time we pass by, he yells, "Oh, Soper! Get over here!" Usually, the debates never get heated, as the subject is usually whether adding coconut to a sauce makes it tastier or actually just ruins the taste.
Yet one time, he asked me--the expression on his face looked as if he was about to cry--if America found nuclear weapons in Iraq. I claimed we only found chemical weapons, that Iraq still doesn't know the nuclear secrets. But Hendrick staunchly denied by stamping his foot on the ground and whining, "Nooooo! I promise you! Obama found nuclear weapons! I know it!" It then degenerated into the following back and forth argument: "We found chemical!" "No, NUCLEAR!" "Chemical!" "Nuclear! Be quiet!" After it died down, I pretended to admit we found nuclear weapons. Hendrick responded, "Really?!" in amazement. What a funny guy.
Blaring Music on a Sunday:
Every Sunday, we teach the same awesome, progressing family. And every Sunday, we endure the same horrible, fratboy music. About 7 college students have a party every Sunday from afternoon to the dead of night, drinking and singing away their kidneys, causing everyone in the community to wish they lived 100m further away. Since the spirit doesn't often enter the same room Shakira is in, I went down to request they turn it down. Kindly, they obliged saying, "Sorry pastor." Right as we got back up to the lesson, they cranked the music back up to 11. Meh, we ended the lesson early.
Malagasy Morsel of the Week - Gaboraraka vs. Manara-penitra
First one means 'work done with lack of care,' or in other words, "The house you built is gaboraraka and looks like crud, guy." Then, the second one means the opposite, like saying, "Dang, I would totally party in your manara-penitra house, guy."
"Vision without effort is daydreaming; effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize." -President Monson
Love you all!
Elder Soper
