But in all reality, things are still going pretty well here in Ambositra. We recently moved houses this past week, which was an adventure, seeing as the house we are now living in is not exactly--how should I put it?--finished. And also, the kitchen is currently infested with cockroaches, which we did not know beforehand, and so we are working on taking care of that. Because the past few days people have been working on our house, and we can't let people be alone in our house in case they get ideas of stealing a lot of money and nice stuff that we vazahas tend to have, we have been stuck in our house for the past few days, so the work has not gone at all. So that's disappointing, and I am getting really antsy, itching to get back out and hit our investigators who we haven't seen for a while. But, the house still isn't done, so we are still waiting on that. But, other than that, this past week has been pretty uneventful, which is to say that this past week has been VERY eventful, but that ONE event of moving houses has taken up all the "eventfulness" that I can handle at the moment.
ANYWAY, we've got some good questions from my mom that I should continue on to and stop ranting on about our new house and whatnot. I am sorry for that though, as I'm sure you all would love to hear me go on for pages and pages about our new house. But I need to answer my amazing Mom's questions. So, the first questions is--of course--health-wise about me personally. I am doing great, and the sores that I used to have are now almost completely gone. So, Mom, no need to worry yourself over that. :)
Second question, which is about our investigators Nahary and Mirana. As far as they go, it was an AWESOME moment when Nahary came into church last week carrying his cute little daughter Princia all dressed up. But, sadly, Mirana did not come but instead chose to go to an activity put on by her Adventist church... Frustrating? Yes. But are we giving up? Uh, no. So, as far as that goes, Nahary has been quite diligent, and has still been reading the Book of Mormon, but Mirana has been avoiding reading it as much as possible. When we assign them homework in the Bible, she reads it like three times through. When we assign them homework in the Book of Mormon, she says she has no time. It's very frustrating, but we are already doing all that we can, and will continue to do so until she either chooses to change or not learn anymore. But also, little update, neither Nahary nor Mirana came to church yesterday, but when we talked to Nahary's brother Ary the member, he said that Nahary was pretty sick and wasn't able to even leave bed, so I'd say he had a decent excuse. But we will continue working hard with them and praying for Mirana to have a change of heart. Also, Nahary said he will continue to try and "mandresy lahatra" (convince) her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, so that's helpful.
And now, lastly, the third and final fanontaniana, about how having an eternal perspective helps with the day-to-day struggles. As far as that goes, eternal perspective has EVERYTHING to do with overcoming the daily challenges that we face. If there was nothing at the end of our struggle, how in the world would it ever be worth it? The best thing to do would be to "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" because that is all that there is. If there was nothingness waiting for us at the end of our life, why in the world would we try to overcome our problems, if the biggest problem ever--death--would never be overcome? There is the saying that goes "begin with the end in mind." And that is true, but we must also keep the end in mind during the easiest and the hardest parts of the journey. If we don't, it is like the example that President Uchtdorf gave about airplanes. If an airplane starts its journey off course by just a single degree, it will end up hundreds, or even thousands, of miles from its destination. But, if we ALWAYS keep the end in mind, that is to say, always have an eternal perspective, then we will continue to make those choices that will be of most worth to us, and will bring us to the destination we are all seeking to find: eternal life with the ones we love. When we have troubles, struggles, frustrations, and trials, then we must keep the end in mind. We must keep an eternal perspective, for if we do not, then we will get lost, and not end up at the destination that we are looking for. Again, if we don't have a destination in mind, it's like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. If you don't know where you want to go, then it doesn't matter what path you take. But, if we do have the end in mind, then we know what path we must take. We need to follow God's path, and His words, because that is the way we will end up where we want to go. So let us follow the prophet, follow God's plan, and keep in mind the goal that we want to obtain, which is eternal life. I know that if we do that, then we will have the energy to overcome the problems and the challenges that we all face on a day to day basis. I've seen that in my personal life here on the mission, so that is how I know that it is true. Believe it or not, the mission is hard. Keeping an eternal perspective, and the help God has given me when I am on the right path, are the only reasons that I have stayed strong thus far. This has helped me, and I know that it will help you all. So, keep the faith, and keep the eternal perspective, and we will all come to the destination that we are seeking; that is to say, eternal life and salvation.
But, that is a pretty long email, so that is all for today. Thank you all so much for everything you do, and all the help that I receive from your prayers. You are the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for.
Until next week!
Amim-pitiavana,
Elder Snell
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| Here we've got our pharmacy here in Ambositra, which consists of little bottles and syringes sitting on the side of the road. Just kidding, that's not where we get medication. Usually. ;) |
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| This is a shot of the clothing shop here in Ambositra, complete with posiposy transportation. |
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| This is a taxi brousse for ducks, which consists of a push-cart and a wicker-like basket. |
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| This is the outside look of our new house, which is quite big, and three stories tall. But, the inside, like I said, isn't exactly finished... So we'll see how the next while works out here. |
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| This is a selfie of me in our new house with the landlady in the background overseeing the reparations being made. And yes, she is holding a first pamphlet. Kudos for being a good missionary? ;P |
