Hello everyone! (Just mixing things up and writing my header in English, keeping it real, ya know) It was good to hear from all of you again on this past week and hear how all of your winter breaks and vacations went, and I am very glad to say that pretty much all of them went well, according to you all.
As for questions this week, the first question from my mom is asking for a list of all the names of my investigators. Problem with that is that it is quite hard to write down all of them because they're constantly shifting out and we have like thirty different people/families that we teach every week, so sometimes it gets hard to remember them all, and I don't have a list of their names right in front of me. So, I will write down a list of our best progressing investigators instead, and they are as follows: Aldo, Jean Pierre (please pray for his work schedule to clear up so he can come to church), Franco, Angel, Piro and co. (they are less-actives who need a lot of help), Edward, and Mamitiana-squared (we have two good investigators, both named Mamitiana, who both work on the Mercy Ship. Yes, it's quite confusing). But anyway, those are our best investigators right now.
As for the second question, about what I have seen with regards to poverty and how my perspective has changed with regards to material things and what is really important. Honestly, I think my response to that will be a bit different than what my mom was really expecting it to be. Because the situation with poverty here is actually quite similar to the situation that I have seen in America. There are two kinds of people that I have come to know here, and it all depends upon what you make of your situation. The first type of person I've seen is the one who takes a negative perspective on their poverty. They focus their entire mind, body, spirit, and energy on the fact that they are poor, and do all they can to get out of it. I'm not saying that trying to improve ones standard of living is bad, but it is the fact that that is the ONLY thing they focus on. For instance, there is a former investigator who (for whatever reason) always comes to church, but when she comes, she does nothing but complain about everything and try to guilt trip the missionaries into giving her money, calling them rude names and saying that they hate single, poor women (like her) and we should give her money to make up for it. It's very frustrating to see that, and to see how cold and hardened some people have become due to their poverty. I have run into some of the greediest people I have ever met here in Madagascar, and it's not due to excessive riches; on the contrary, it's due to their poverty. It is extremely sad to see. But, I have also seen some of the most amazing, kind-hearted, selfless, and rich ara-panahy (
spiritually) people I have ever had the opportunity of meeting. Rather than wallow in self-pity, they have instead chosen to focus on what is most important to them, namely; praying (going to church) and their family. And these people are honestly the most amazing people I have ever met. And this brings us to the heart of the matter about material and worldly things: it all depends on you. You can harden your heart and devote all of your time, efforts, and resources to obtaining the things of this world, and then lose all you have once you die... OR you can choose to open up to the Spirit and instead chase after those things that bring most happiness in this life, as well as in the life to come. So that is my personal challenge to all of you this week: make your choice. What are you going to devote your time to? Ny zavatra ara-batana, izay hamarana amin'ny fahafatesana, na ny zavatra ara-panahy, izay mitohy mitondra fahasambarana mandrakizay? (The physical things, which end at death, or the spiritual things, which continue to bring happiness for eternity) The choice is yours. :)
So, that's all for questions. There's not really any stories for this week, except for a couple of events that happened. Elder Bowler, being the Zone Leader, went on splits with all of the other missionary companionships here in Toamasina, so Elder Godfrey and I worked together by ourselves for most of the week. And that honestly went surprisingly well, as both of us are still not fluent at the language. But we were able to do well enough considering our situation. Also, we had our first baptismal service on this last Saturday. But, sadly, it was not one of my previous investigators, so I didn't know her too well. She is the newly wedded wife of a returned missionary, but we will still continue to teach her though. Also, we had interviews with President Adams on this last Saturday. Those went well, and I received some really inspirational and encouraging direction from him. But as for things that happened this week, that is it.
Thank you all again for everything you do, as I really appreciate the encouraging words, the prayers, and the help (speaking of which, I recently received some letters and packages from friends and family, so a SPECIAL thanks to those who sent those out). I love you all!
Until next week,
Elder Hyrum Snell
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| Cute kids we met on the path to an appointment. |
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| This is picture of my newest souvenir: a crocodile skin wallet! I also bought a matching women's one for the person who sends me the best package! Just kidding, it's actually for you Mom. Love you, and a late happy birthday. :) |
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| This picture is of us playing Uno with a member family. And yes, my smile is supposed to be that cheesy. :) |
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| More kids we ran into... |
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| Playing tennis on our P-day |
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| Some cow tongue and beans I ate the other day. Quite good actually! |
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| I've been reassigned to
the newly opened Saudi Arabia mission! Just kidding, it's actually a
massive concrete soccer stadium in our area with lots of sand around it. |
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| An ADORABLE little kid in our area. |
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| Elder Godfrey in a lambahoany. |
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| Baptismal Service |
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| This is me and the most adorable little girl in the world. You just look at her and fall in love with her. :) |
