Salama o!!! Inona vaovao o!!! Hello everyone :) Hope all is well in your neck of the woods, where ever that may be. Had another great week here. Time just keeps a flying so I'm just soaking it in and getting the most of everything. Loving the work. I don't really know how to explain it, life is just good.
The week started off by doing a split with the zone leader, Elder Christiansen. And for once I got to see another area! Wohoo! Haha :) He works in a place called Mahamasina. We had a really good time. He's from Vegas and he went to school at BYU. That part didn't thrill me, but he said he almost went to USU, so close enough. Haha. We had an interesting experience with this guy that stopped us on the way to an appointment and he said he had a devoly in him and he was really worried. So we went to his house, talked a little. His brother was there and said that the guy had smoked some rongony (drugs), so that may have had something to do with it. Haha. He had lots of questions like, "what do I do if it comes back" and so on and our answer to almost everyone of them was, "manam-pinoana ihany" just have faith, that's what it all comes down to. So we gave him a blessing and he said he would come to church on Sunday, which I'll have to ask if he actually did because now I'm curious. Haha. But yeah, kindof a weird experience there. Oh and we also taught a lesson all in English to a guy because he was good enough and he was trying to speak as much english as he could so he could maybe get a job at the U.S. Embassy. It was the weirdest thing teaching in English. I kept wanting to go off in Malagasy, but I kept having to hold back and translate everything in my mind. Haha. But it went well. That was pretty much the split, interesting and fun!
Ampitatafika is still going well. Still having lots of progress with the investigators with bap dates and now we're up to 16 total that have committed to a date. We still have 12 for April 19th, so hopefully everything will go smoothly and we'll have a solid turnout for that. I don't really know what else to talk about as far as the work, just still going. Haha. Itaosy is still fun too. Oh and I received my "malagasy name" this week. It's Rapeto! Apparently he's this malagasy legend that was so tall that he could touch the moon and walk across fields and fields of rice paddies in just a few strides. People get a pretty big kick when I introduce myself as Elder Rapeto. Of course I clear it up with Mumford and that's what they call me, but it's still kindof fun to have another name tucked behind.
The teny gasy is still a work in progress, but things are still clicking and I'm thinking less about it and it's becoming more natural. I kindof have a new obsession, and they're called ohabolana gasy, or Malagasy proverbs. They're so fun to learn! And I've found that a well placed ohabolana scores big points with people. Here's your ohabolana for the week: "Tantely tapa-bata ka ny fo no mameno azy." Though it's a half-pot of honey, the heart fills the rest. Yeah... You don't really get the meaning when it's translated arabakiteny, but it basically means it's the thought that counts. I'm weird, but I love things like that! And the people do too. So I'm planning to learn lots of them and try to put some in lessons so that people have familiar things they know to go along with new things to learn.
One more cool experience of the week! So me and Elder Connault had some times dog us so we had some time to do some more porte a porte. Things were going pretty good, we got a few return appointments and some church invitations out and we just went to the next house which looked like an ordinary house. A guy with a neatly ironed green shirt came out, we introduced ourselves as missionaries and he immediately invited us in. So we walk in and it turns out it was way more than just a house. There was a big chappel. So when the guy told us to have a seat we were kinda like, "Uhhhh, what do we do?" So we just went ahead and sat down. Turns out the guy is a pastor for the pentacostal church he runs there. Mazava ho azy, we didn't teach him, but we just had a nice little chat with him for 5 minutes about life. He was also preparing a sermon about fasting, so we through out a couple Bible verses to him. So we helped a pentacostal pastor prepare a sermon, how do you like that? Haha. So after that tiny little visit we just became friends and next week he'll be baptized in our church. Haha vazivazy ihany, just joking. So that was a fun little thing.
Overall things are still going well. Me and Conoober have become pretty good friends and we have a good time here with the work. Uhm. Trying to think. But I think that'll do it for the week. Everything is still going well, adventures er' day out here. I'll get some pics up and call it an email. Love you all a ton! Don't forget your tall vazaha that's out here in Madagascar ah'ight? Haha okay, tiako ianareo!!! Mba hendry daholo!
-eLdEr MuMf
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