Anywho, to start and answer my mom's questions, the best part of my week will probably be today, actually, because first off I have hung out with other missionary friends, and secondly, I will be gong to Carnivore tonight with Elder Mack and some other Elders to celebrate my birthday and theirs, so that will be way fun. Don't worry, I will definitely send pictures next week!
That also leads into the next question, which is about what I did to celebrate my birthday, and honestly, all I did was make the cake my mom sent me, and then had some roman for dinner since that's all we could find at the local epicerie, and all the restaurants were closed. So my actual birthday was pretty normal, but today should be more fun and more of a celebration.
Thirdly, my mom asked about President Foote and how my interview with him went. All in all, I really like President Foote. He is awesome, very hard working, and very motivated to have an impact and make a difference here in Madagascar. He is very ambitious as well, and is driven to do lots here in Madagascar with regards to service and helping people out. I am very, very excited to see where the next few months go with regards to the work and everything. President Foote is also a very personable person and very easy to talk to. My interview with him went great, and I feel I will get along great with him in the future.
Now, lastly, my mom asked me about what it means to be "unspotted from the world." I'll admit, that that is a hard question to answer, as it's not just black and white, but the grey zone with relation to being unspotted from the world is quite large. If we look at this saying literally, then none of us qualify. All of us sin, and all of us fall short of perfection. None of us measure up to a perfect standard, and so that should never be the standard we judge ourselves by. Instead, I feel that the true meaning of being unspotted from the world means that, instead of being perfect and literally "unspotted," we are in a constant and consistent relationship with Jesus Christ through a continuous use of His Atonement. Our constant, daily usage of Christ's Atonement and an honest, complete repentance will combine to bring us to the point where we can be called "unspotted from the world." It is not a lack of sin, nor the quality of perfection that would classify us as unspotted from the world, but rather diligence and humility in constant and complete repentance, through a usage of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If we do so, in humility, patience, and long-suffering, then "though [our] sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." That is the real meaning of being unspotted. It is not the fact that we were never spotted in the first place, but rather the fact that through diligence, prayer, fasting, tears, and endurance, we have BECOME unspotted and BECOME clean and pure THROUGH the cleansing power of the ATONEMENT. Yes, it's hard, and yes, it will probably take some time. But is it worth it? To quote every General Authority ever, "To this I answer with an unequivocal yes." It is absolutely worth it, especially since I have seen bits and pieces of that peace, comfort, and feeling of complete freedom that comes from repentance.
Anyway, that's about it for this week. I'm sorry my email is shorter than usual, but we don't have a whole ton of time, and this keyboard is Japanese and way mahasositra be (annoying).
So that is it for my email this week. But I would just like to thank everyone for being so great and diligent in writing me and sending their encouragement. It really means so much to me, and helps me so much out here. The mission isn't easy, but just like repentance, it is most definitely worth it.
Thank you everyone, love you and miss you lots, and we'll talk more next week!
Am-pitiavana,
Elder Snell
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| Pictures of me with some of our investigator's kids |
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| The birthday cake I made. |
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| View of Tana |
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| This is the Rova, which is where the old king of Madagascar used to live, and has also been burned down about three times, and just finished being rebuilt last year from the last burning. |
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| View of Tana |
