Elder Hyrum Snell~ Called to Serve in Madagascar: 12/21/15- What Christ Means to Me

Hello everyone! As usual, this week has been pretty crazy, to be honest. I'll just start off by saying that I have officially worked in over FOUR areas in this single transfer alone. It's very weird getting bounced around so much, and it's hard to really put down some roots and work, but I'm doing my best.

Like last week, I'm still here in Tamatave, but things have changed up a bit. At the beginning of last week from about Tuesday to Friday, I worked with Elders Hammer and Nolan in their area of Morarano. But we got a surprise last Friday in the form of a new Malagasy Elder being sent in from South Africa. And since that made the number of missionaries even again here in Tamatave, I get to open a new area with a new companion. So now I will be working with Elder Randrianavalona, who was sent in from South Africa last Friday. Also, fun little fact: I am also working in my first area of Andranomadio. Again. Yeah, it's way weird seeing all the same people again, but it's fun now being able to communicate more effectively with them.

But anyway, I'll go ahead and start answering questions now. First off, I am pretty nice and settled into this area, seeing as I already know where almost everything is. Also, I have enjoyed working with a Malagasy Elder for a bit, as I get to speak Malagasy a lot more and have to explain lots of things differently than I normally would in English. So that's interesting and fun.

Second question kind of ties in with that as well, as those are some of the things I've experienced this week. Things like working with a Malagasy companion and working in my same area as I was in the training program, and other things that go along with that.

Thirdly, with regards to how church went: it was pretty good, as we had a lot of people show up, compared to how many people usually come to church. We had a whopping 118 people at church (don't judge, those of you in massive wards back in America who get many times that each week). It was also nice not having to really do a whole lot with regards to participation in lessons and talks and whatnot.

Now for the last question: what Christ means to me and to all of us. As far as that goes, this is how I would put it: for all of us, Christ is life. Christ is an opportunity for second chances. Christ, for us, means change. And that is what we remember at Christmastime. Christ didn't come into this world simply to erase our sins, but to change us and to make us better, and help us become worthy and willing to live in the presence of God our Father. Christ is called our Savior for a reason; He saves us from a fallen state and, if we are willing, He will bring us to a higher state of perfection, little by little, until we can become like Him. For me, I feel like Christmas is the time where we renew our willingness and desire to give our hearts and wills to Him, to allow Him to change us. Christmas is the time where we can remember what he did for us, and what that truly means for us. Because Christmas, for us, means that we can change, and become better, and overcome all challenges that we face, no matter how hard. And we are not consigned to be imperfect people for eternity, but rather, we have an eternal and unlimited potential for growth and progression. And that is all because of Jesus Christ, because He chose to come to this earth, be born, live, and then suffer and die for each and every one of us. And because He, of His own free will and choice, decided to go through all of that for you and me, we all are free to choose. We are now free to choose perfection, life, and progression, or choose the other path that leads to the opposite result. Like it says in 2 Nephi 2:26-27, man is free according to the flesh, to choose eternal life through the Great Mediator, or choose death and damnation according to the captivity of the devil. All of that, because of Him.

So, this Christmas, let us all give eternal thanks and show our gratitude for Him and for what He did for all of us, and commit ourselves once again to be more diligent in giving our hearts and wills to Him, so He can make us new. I know that He lives. I know that He loves each and every one of us, and I know that because of Him, we all can live again, have second chances, start over, change, grow, and fulfill our eternal potential.

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come." Let us rejoice, and all give thanks for the incredible gift we all have be given. 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."

Until next week,
Am-pitiavana ho anareo sy ho an'ilay Kristy Velona (with love for you all and for the Living Christ),
Elder Snell

A nice view of the beach in Morarano where I worked for a few days this week. Also, in the one sideways picture, see all those little brown spots in the sand? Yeah, that's...well...a bunch of feces. Not animal, but human. Yeah, the nickname for that beach is called "Poop Beach". Very fitting.