As for me, this past week has been pretty good, but it went by fairly slowly. The work has really slowed down here in Ambositra for whatever reason, and a lot of our times with our investigators are falling through. It's a little disappointing to see that some people just aren't that interested, but izay ny fiainana (that's life).
Anyway, I will begin with addressing my mother's questions, araka ny maha-zatra (according to the usual pattern). First question, yes, I have been using my sweaters a bit, because it does sometimes get pretty chilly here. It's not actually very cold, but the humidity and the mist-like rain that is almost always falling makes it feel a lot colder than it really is. I'm not really sure the actual temperature that it hits, but it's really not too bad. The sweaters just take the edge off of it.
Secondly, as far as the appointments we teach a week, it kind of depends, but usually somewhere around twenty to twenty-five lessons a week, and that seems to be the usual amount. A little less than what we usually had in Tamatave, but that's not a big deal.
For the next question, the investigator whose story I know the most about would be Jean Paul. He's a student at the local university, is either eighteen or nineteen years old (I can't remember which), and is actually an orphan. His father died while his mother was pregnant with him, and his mother died when he was only three or four years old. Since then he has been living with his older cousin, who is currently keeping him fed, sheltered, and fully funded for his schooling. But, the problem is, his cousin isn't that great of a guy. His cousin won't let him come to church, discourages him from taking our lessons, and says that if Jean gets baptized, then he will kick him out onto the street, and he'll have nowhere to go. But Jean Paul actually might be able to come to church this next week because his (married) cousin is currently in prison awaiting trial for committing adultery with a sixteen or seventeen year old minor. Soooo yeah... His cousin is not the best guy. Hopefully some prison time will do him some good. But anyway, Jean Paul is probably our best progressing investigator, especially because he wrote us a note the other day saying that he knows the church is true, loves reading the Book of Mormon every day, and hopes to join the church some day. So that is Jean Paul's story. As you can plainly see, he can use some help from on high, so please pray for him, and pray for his cousin's heart to be softened towards the church, allowing him to be baptized.
Next question: cooking without Shoprite can sometimes be a little difficult without having a whole lot of specific things, like certain spices and whatnot, but we make do. We can actually get most of what we need (such as flour, produce, meat, things along those lines) from the tsena (marketplace) a little ways away from our house. We make sure to cook the food thoroughly so we don't get sick, and it actually ends up turning out pretty well. We made burritos last night with homemade tortillas and everything, and they were way good. I am not able to eat an apple a day, but I do try to eat other things--such as vegetables and such--that are just as healthy in order to keep myself in good health. The tsena is the main place we get most of the bigger things, but there are many little epiceries (roadside shops) that we stop by to get things, like yoghurt cups to start our homemade yoghurt, and fresh bread for breakfast.
And as for the last question hoe (a Malagasy word placed before any quotation and such) "When did [I] see the Lord's hand in [my] life...this week?" I have a fairly good experience for that. This last Saturday, we went to Anjoma for my first time. I think I already explained about Anjoma, but it's a small rural town in the middle of nowhere that has a very flourishing branch of the church, and we go and visit it every Saturday morning through four in the afternoon or so. FYI pictures of Anjoma will be included, so don't worry. It is absolutely gorgeous. But anyway, it's an hour taxi brousse ride one way, so two hours round trip. The ride there was pretty uneventful, and we got there safely and I didn't get carsick or anything. But then, the ride back turned out to be more interesting. This was the last taxi brousse heading back to Ambositra from Anjoma, so we had to either get on it or walk home (which would've taken until at least midnight or so), so we got on. The row that I sat on was already quite full, but then we added a six foot three vazaha to the mix (ME!), and it just got PACKED in the taxi brousse. There were three seats on my row, but five people, and I was packed in between one guy and a lady with a baby, who was breast-feeding the entire one-hour ride. So I was pretty much on the lap of this guy next to me to make sure that the breast-feeding lady next to me wasn't on mine. I felt bad for the five foot nothing guy, but hey, it was a good reason. Also, it was raining outside, so it got extremely stuffy in the car, and I started to get fairly carsick. So, about halfway through the ride, things came to kind of a culmination. I was feeling sick, I was cramped, I was uncomfortable, it was smelly, the taxi brousse driver was blaring really loud Malagasy music over the stereo system, and then to top it all off, the baby decides it's had enough to eat and starts wailing. As this all was going on, I felt like I should be angry or something. And yet, rather than anger, a calm, peaceful, joyful feeling came over me and seemed to wrap all around me. Instead of becoming angry, I just started to laugh and sing to myself the first song that came to mind, and happened to be the song "On My Way" from the movie Brother Bear. The lyrics go like this: "Tell everybody I'm on my way: new friends and new places to see. With blue skies ahead, I'm on my way, and there's no place that I'd rather be." And, as crazy as it may sound, those lyrics were true. I was happy, there were figurative blue skies ahead, and there really was no place I'd rather be than here in Madagascar, doing the work of the Lord, whether that's teaching a lesson or riding in a crowded taxi brousse with all those crazy things going on. And that, in and of itself, was a kind of miracle. I was able to remain peaceful, calm, and happy in one of the most crazy situations of my life. And that was the Lord's blessing; His Spirit is what made the difference for me. I know that I couldn't have done that without having the Lord's help. I truly felt the Lord's influence and blessing through that experience, and I know that He is there, watching over me.
I love you all very much, and hope that this week is a wonderful one!
Am-pitiavana,
Elder Hyrum Snell
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| "There's no place I'd rather be!" |
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| Gifts for my sisters |
