A week of success!

Dear Fam and Friends!

A week of success! Brownie points earned and invested! Still in Manakambahiny! I've been here for a long time. But, I requested President Foote to keep me here longer because it's here I've found out how to be a real Preach My Gospel missionary. It's here I've really fallen in love with a ward and wanted to work hard to help it prosper. I'm still not bored of the area, so I might as well keep enjoying it!

My companion, after falling in the mud pit 

One of our best buds, Arabo. We made a deal with him. If he reads the pamphlets, he can pretend to speak English with us on the path, and as every girl passes by, we have to laugh like he said some great joke. Haha! Once he reacted, "That's too over-the-top you guys! Just chuckle next time and give me a pat on the back or something next time!" 

Cesaire, my favorite investigator of all time

Scary stairs

Rodrick's cute lil' girls. Way naughty at church though.

Henry's baptism!

Sifu Desire--our karate master investigator

Drunk Lady Wrestling Me 

You know what's not fun? Being latched onto and then tackled to a wall by the drunk and obese Richard's mom 3 times in one week. I say tackle because she always surprises me around the corner, literally sprints towards me and wraps her arms around my chest and smashes me into the wall with her hefty, CAT Machine-sized body. It's a surreal nightmare being pressed up against the wall by a stinky Woman with a capital 'W,' crying to you with tobacco-destroyed teeth, and then me--filled to the brim with the feeling of "Oh, gosh no!"--trying to squirm and pop out of the chubb trap with all my might. Just imagine the fight scene between Paul Blart and the obese lady in the mall.  She's mad at me for not coming back to teach her about "prayer". Welp, I would if I didn't feel like my life was in danger!

Open Your Mouth

Slowly but surely, we're getting more and more investigators to church. Right now, we're hovering around 10-13 each week. Yet yesterday, we had 17! I made this lil' green puppet thing with a brown head, white eyes and orange buttons that slides onto one's pointer finger--or any finger of choice--and whoever it's passed to each week has ward mission slogan hanging over the heads: "open your mouth" (sokafy ny vavanao." It's been a fun activity recently, and it resulted in two new investigators coming to church!

*I'll send a picture of the puppet some time

Piano Fiasco

To add to the drama on Sunday, I experienced this mini-fiasco while playing the piano during sacrament meeting. What happened is these two lil' rascals are running around in the stands causing a ton of ruckus. I jump up from my piano bench and throw them my planner to draw in and calm them down. It works like a dime...Wait, charm! They are quiet right up to the 3rd hymn. As I'm playing "Count Your Many Blessings" (Isao ireo Fitahiana), I hear them scuffle up right behind me. They start to shout, "Soper! Soper! Here's your book! Soper!!" I can't react at all because I need to focus on not blubbing up the hymn and the spirit. As all kids are, they get mad that I didn't respond immediately and begin banging on the keyboard keys to my left and right. At this point, my eyes are wide-open, I'm sweating and everybody's nervously laughing. I whisper loudly to them, "Stop! Naughty! Stop!" Finally, after two more verses, the hymn finishes. Nobody had the guts to come grab the kids. Stinkers.

One by One Once Again

Bishop Theodore wants me to do the One by One solo again, and he got permission from our stake president to film it in the chapel. I declined, but they still have it planned... I'd rather just film on another day, or after church. 

Malagasy Morsel of the Week - Risoriso

Bribery

Love you all!

Elder Soper