Akory aby o! Manao ahoana ianareo? Enga anie ka ianareo dia salama tsara daholo, ary ny fiainanareo dia mandeha ho azy amin'izao fotoana tena mahafinaritra izao. It was really good to hear from you all, and see how you all are doing. Keep up the good work that you're all doing back in the states. I'll do my best to keep it up here on my end!
This past week has been pretty good, and things are still going as they normally do. Investigators are still learning well, but won't come to church. Nothing much has changed there. If any of you incredibly smart people have ideas of what I can do to help change that, please let me know. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, Elder Anderson has been sick this past week, so we took one day off from work so he could get better, but he's still a little under the weather. So we'll see if he gets better soon.
But anyway, I will now get on to my wonderful mother's questions. Firstly, just a normal question, is about bugs and spiders I have seen in Ambositra. As to the answer to that, I haven't really seen anything special or out of the ordinary here in Ambositra. There's a certain type of spider that is very common and we see them in our house all the time, that are very flat, dark brown, about the size of a silver dollar (if not a bit bigger) and are very fast. But don't worry, I have yet to get bitten by one. That is, as far as I know... :P But yeah, the answer is not really. Nothing too special here in Ambositra (little comment: it is pronounced Ahhm-boo-see-cha. This is for you Mom ;P). NOTE FROM MOM: I don't even come close to pronoucing all the cities and villages in Madagascar correctly. That became evident in our last skype call at Mother's Day. We had a good laugh! I am glad Elder Snell is helping me out with a pronunciation guide. ;)
Secondly, I will answer the third question, which asks about an experience where I have seen an answer to a prayer. As far as that goes, the answer is more personal than anything. I have yet to see a time when we pray to find someone and then they jump out of a bush after the prayer and yell "teach me!" or anything like that, though we do get a lot of drunk people asking for bibles, because that's apparently what missionaries do here in Madagascar: they don't teach, but simply hand out free bibles (which makes since, as most people think we are Jehovah's Witnesses, and that's what they do). But no, the answer to prayers that I have really seen have just been the small, quiet, comforting moments where I realize that God has answered my prayer for strength, for the will to keep pushing forward, even when it feels like I have no strength left. Also, my prayers for help with the language have most assuredly been answered time and time again. I have only been here in country for about seven and a half months, but I have yet to have a problem understanding a question, comment, or concern that our investigators or less-actives have. And I have also yet to see a situation where I cannot express the thought that I am trying to convey, and not be understood by the investigator. That's simply never happened. I am nowhere near where I would like to be in my skill at the language, and yet I still am able to effectively and completely convey my thoughts, as well as understand the thoughts of the investigator. Seeing as I have prayed every morning and night for the past seven months for the gift of tongues, I would most definitely consider this an answer to my prayers. God has truly blessed me, and answered my prayers for help with the language, as well as a simple blessing of strength and endurance in general. I know God has my back, because I have seen Him time and time again answer my simple prayers for help and strength. He always blesses me in my times of need.
Now, lastly, my mom asked about someone whose attributes and actions have inspired me to be better. Now, I will talk about two people. First, in my studies, I have been studying more about Jesus Christ, and so He is definitely my number one pick. But, since I know that's not what my mom was asking, I will talk about one of our investigators. Our investigator Nahary has been a perfect example to me of diligently seeking the truth. No, he has not really come to church yet, and no, he is not baptized, but he is still an example to me, because of his diligence in seeking to find out if what we teach him is true. His situation is hard, and is made even harder as of late by his wife who used to learn with us but lately has been going back to her old church, which happens to be the Adventist church, and she has not learned with us for about three weeks now. But even though all of that has been going on, Nahary has still been reading the Book of Mormon every day, and praying about it after he reads it. I have seen big changes in him, and in his entire person. The Book of Mormon is changing him for the better, and I can tell he is starting to know that it is true. The other day, we asked him if he was ready for baptism, and he said that the only thing holding him back at this point is his lack of church attendance (which he promises to change), and the fact that he wants to get baptized with his wife, because he knows that they must work together in order to make it to the Celestial Kingdom. He doesn't want to have eternal life alone. He told us that he has been teaching his wife on their own time, and been trying to convince her of the truth. That in and of itself is a miracle, as just a few months ago he was seeing the Book of Mormon for the first time. That book can change lives, if people will just follow the guide set out for them: read it, ponder it, and pray to God, the source of all truth and knowledge, to find out if it is true. Nahary has been the perfect example of following that guidance. He reads it, ponders it, and prays about it every day, and I am a personal witness of the changes I have seen in his life because of that. This experience has strengthened my testimony with regards to following the counsel we receive, especially from prophets of God. If we follow their counsel, then we will receive the promises that they extend to us. Nahary has followed their counsel, and his life is changing for the better. So let us follow the counsel we already have, and I know that we will receive the promises that are extended to us by those who are called of God. I add my witness to theirs, that God is just waiting to extend to us the promises and blessings that He can give, and all we need to do is follow His counsel. I truly have seen "the windows of heaven open" and have blessings poured out upon those people who will follow the counsel and guidance God has given us. I personally want to be better and being obedient because of this, as I know that I will be blessed of God if I do so. So, ask yourself: do you want God to bless you beyond what you can comprehend, and with blessings more than you have room to receive? If you're not absolutely out of your mind, then the answer is yes. :) So, if that is the case, then what do we need to do? Follow His directions. So, I guess that is my lohahevitra androany (topic today); let us all follow Him, and if we do so, I promise each and every one of you that He will bless you, and you will be happy because of it. So, obey Him and be blessed.
In closing, I will just thank you all again for everything that you do for me, the prayers, fasting, and encouraging words that you send constantly this way. I may be on the other side of the world, but I feel it. I feel the love, help, and strength that you all send this way, and my words cannot truly express how grateful I am to all of you for everything. It does not suffice to just say "thank you" but that's all I can do. So, thank you. Truly. I appreciate everything you all do, and the encouragement and strength that is sent my way because of you all.
Mahereza ary mazotoa! Be strong and be diligent!
Amim-pitiavana tsisy fetra,
Elder Snell
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| All of the following pictures were taken on our P-Day in Antsirabe. We went to Lake Tritriva (pronounced chee chee vuh) with some other Elders after emailing time. :) All very pretty pictures. |
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| My poor Malagasy food that I made while Elder Anderson was sick, so I used what we had. Yes, it is simply rice with cooked eggs on top. |
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| Your classic Malagasy sidewalk, including trash and litter. |
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| The next three pictures are of adorable little kids, included in which is Stephanie (the pink shirt who is our investigator Nahary's daughter) and also our member Ary's daughter in the white shirt with a blue-ish vest, who is actually Nahary's brother. |
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| A pretty picture in Anjoma of the rice paddies. |
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| Another Anjoma picture |
