Elder Hyrum Snell~ Called to Serve in Madagascar: 02/01/16- Thoughts on Tithing

Hey everyone! It was a pretty great week this last week, and the work is going well. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means the world to me. Anyway, I'll go ahead and start in on answering questions. :)

First off, when I felt happiest this last week. Honest answer: this last week. How could I not be happy when I'm preaching the gospel and living a miracle every day? That doesn't mean that something incredible and awe-inspiring happens to me every day, but I get to help people come closer to God. And that's the miracle.

Second: news with Elder Smithson. He is back in Madagascar and healthy as ever. There are no problems in his heart, so he will keep working as normal. But, he is now working in Tana. And I'm still in Tamatave. Result? Still no companion. Wooooooo! Members splits for dayzzzz. But really, I am so grateful for the awesome members here and their willingness to help me for so long, day in and day out. And that, in and of itself, is also a miracle.

Third: transfer news. Nothing really thus far. Two weeks from now I'll let you now probably, because that's when we get the official news on transfers. I may be staying, may be leaving. It's all just up in the air. So, should be fun!

Fourth thing: something I would like to share from this past week. For me, on my mission, I haven't have a lot of those incredible, stereotypical missionary experiences that other missionaries have. But for me, just the small, simple experiences I have have truly made the difference. Like this week: I haven't had a single day where I haven't worked in my area due to the willingness of the members to help me. That is a miracle. It's not an amazingly massive miracle, or something like people getting healed or having dreams or whatnot. But it's still a miracle to me. I know that God is watching over me, and is willing to help me with His work that I'm doing.

Lastly, my thoughts on tithing here in Madagascar. I have seen that that is a massive problem here. I will go ahead and say that if tithing was paid more often here in Madagascar, there might already be a temple in the works. The thing is that here in Madagascar, money is a big problem. I have said that the people are very humble here, and they are! But even the members and Malagasy people will admit and be very willing to tell you, that money is the biggest problem here in Madagascar. Not the lack of money, that is, but the love of it. I have seen multiple times examples of that, like little kids who will scream at their parents, asking for money. Then, once they get the money, they immediately stop crying and start smiling, hold the bill up to their nose, and smell it and then just walk around holding the bill. They don't even want to buy anything, but just want to have money in their hand. I've seen kids as young as four or five do that. At a very young age, they already have a sense of desiring money and just look for ways to have it in their hand, whether they use it or not. And there are many adults here in Madagascar who have that same mindset. They have money in their hand and they are not willing to give it up, whether it's for God or not. So it's not so much that they are struggling for their basic needs and "can't afford" to pay tithing, but they are simply not willing to pay the tithing and give up that money. I know several very well-off Malagasies who don't, simply because they can't let it out of their hands. And yet, I have seen some people who are so converted that will always pay, no matter what.

There was a man in Fianarantsoa who always payed his tithing. His job was a street sweeper. He rolls around a wheelbarrow and shovel all day and shovels junk and trash into the wheelbarrow. Then there was another man and his family who also payed tithing consistently. This second man worked as a boss for a local bank, and was very well off. His wife also worked and taught French for a very nice school. The street sweeper's wife did not work and had actually just given birth to their third or fourth child (can't quite remember). And yet, their tithing donations were almost the same amount every time as the bankers. Do street sweepers and bank managers get the same amount of pay? Uh, no. And yet this humble man, who shovels trash and sewage for his living, was willing to sacrifice the same amount of money as a bank manager.

So really, my answer for the tithing problem here is conversion. If someone is truly converted to the gospel, and know that God requires their tithing, they WILL pay it. No matter what that means for them. If we are struggling with paying tithing, then we just need to trust God and pay it. He will "open the windows of heaven" and give us blessings beyond what we need. I've seen it here. That street sweeper, despite his situation, always has enough to support his family. God blesses those who follow Him. That doesn't mean they have no trials, but it does mean that we will come off conqueror and be able to bear up our burdens.

Anyway, thank you all for everything you do, and for your prayers and encouragement that is always sent my way. I love you all!

Am-pitiavana,
Elder Snell