This week, I don't have all that much time to email, due to power outages over all of the city due to the power company rioting, so I'll keep it shorter and simpler (maybe).
Quick little story to tell that I think you all might enjoy. Last Thursday we were heading to a less active member's house, and Elder Leo had been saying that he needed to use the restroom, so we were hoping that the less active had a decent bathroom and not a hole in the ground. Turns out they did, but we would not be able to stay for our time because our member help hadn't showed up and the less actives were just a mother and two daughters. But, Elder Leo said his bathroom need had turned into an emergency, so we decided to let him use their bathroom and then we would go. After we left the house, Elder Leo said to me "Those were some demons in my digestive system that I had to get out." This comment, in and of itself, made me crack up pretty hard. But then he told me that when he reached to flush the toilet, to his dismay, the water was cut. He couldn't flush the toilet. And so he had to leave his "demons" in our less active's toilet, as we quickly and promptly left their house. Needless to say, I was dying of laughter as we walked away.
But anyway, as far as questions go for this week, my mom (being a mom) asked me if I ever feel unsafe in this new area. And honestly, I have NEVER felt unsafe or scared on my entire mission. I always have felt comforted and protected from on high, even in the more dangerous situations I've been in. (Note from Mom: I am sure I will not hear about the "dangerous situations" he has been in until he returns home. :) He is so funny! I love details, but I guess generalities are better right now. On a serious note, I am so grateful that he has ALWAYS felt safe. I want to publicly express how thankful I am for the Lord's loving care of our son while he is a world away. I am so appreciative that has been "protected from on high.")
Secondly, our main mode of transportation would be taxi be, which are big buses (mostly Mercedes Sprinters) that can carry about fifteen to twenty people. But, other than that, we do a lot of walking. On of these days I'll take out my iPod and use the Nike+ feature to try and calculate how much we walk in a single day on average.
Thirdly, this area actually is the dialect called Merina, which is the "official" Malagasy. It is also the easiest to understand, so I'm happy to say that I very rarely have problems understanding what people say (thanks to the gift of tongues). I honestly couldn't have gotten to this point without God's help, and I know that I will continue to get better due to the help of God's Spirit that I have.
Fourthly, our investigators Patrick and Julie are awesome. They came to church again last week, and we now have a solid program with them every Wednesday at the coiffure (hair salon) Julie owns. Hery and Isabell, as of late, have been a bit frustrating. They showed great signs of progression by first accepting a baptismal date and then Hery also came to a baptism we had last Saturday (just a child of record, not an investigator). But then they did not come to church yesterday, even though they said that they would. So, needless to say, that was a bit frustrating. But we will continue to work with them and help them progress and come closer to God.
For the fifth question and final question, the importance of being able to "Be still and know that [God] is God." I'll be honest that I have had many of these moments on my mission, and I didn't always react in the best way. There were times when tears were shed, or when voices were raised, or other things of the like. But the biggest and most recent experience that I have seen with regards to this is my training. It is hard for me to see my companion Elder Leo trying so hard to talk with Malagasies and learn the language, but he just can't say what he wants to. I can see the struggle in his eyes. He is dying to say something, anything! But he can hardly manage a word sometimes. But what he doesn't see is the fact that I was exactly like that about ten months ago. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't teach. I couldn't even tract. But Elder Leo doesn't see that. He doesn't see the process. All he sees is right now, where I can go off and talk about anything from the rioting power company to our investigator's textile business, and he struggles bearing his testimony. It is a serious testimony builder for me and for any missionary learning a language to go from that point to the point of fluency. But no missionary can do it without God's help. It's just not possible. And I think Elder Leo is just starting to figure that out. In order to become good at the language, one must "stand still and know that [God] is God." One must completely and absolutely rely on His help, because that is the only way. Any other way is not possible. It just doesn't work. One cannot progress without giving it all to God. It's interesting how it works, but I have seen that many times out here in the mission field; when investigators depend upon God and rely on Him, they progress. When they don't, then they don't. It's really quite simple. But it's also very hard. We, as people, tend to have a very hard time giving up our will and our power to God. But, if we do, the blessings that come from that giving up of our will are immense and incomprehensible. If we "stand still" take a deep breath, and depend upon God in all that we do, then He will bless us. With regards to learning the language; I depended upon God for everything I did, both then and now, regarding my learning of the Malagasy language. And now I have seen where that has taken me, and the incredible blessings I have seen because of it. The scripture "be still and know that I am God" does not mean that we just wait around for God to figure everything out, but we follow another wonderful quote; "Pray like it all depends on God, then work like it all depends on you." And that is the way we are blessed, helped, and strengthened through all of our trials, struggles, and afflictions. I know this to be true.
Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful week, and that, if you are faced with trials and troubles, that you will all "stand still" and give a small yet sincere prayer, and then go out and work on overcoming that. Thank you all again for everything that you do! You are all so wonderful. That is one of the biggest blessings I have in life here on earth: my family and my friends.
Mazotoa anareo!
Am-pitiavana,
Elder Snell
NOTE: Because of the power outages, Elder Snell only had time to upload pictures and no time to write captions. I asked Elder Snell about the power outages and he replied, "It's mostly been just this last week. Apparently America bought out part of Jirama (the company) and has been laying the law down on some of the corruption that has been present in the company, and they didn't like that. So what do they do? Stop working and cut the power." Thus, the candles in the picture below.
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