March 27 - pokanell (?) fruit

So we have an office couple again, named Elder and Sister Smith. They got here this week, they have been in reunion for about a year. They came here because, well, we are basically out of senior couples. 

This week has been a good week. I finished the Book of Mormon, I love that book as much as ever.

I had a fruit this week that was very strange. I have no idea what it is in English, I never saw it in America - that is for sure. Its called a pokanell (at least that is how it sounds, I don't actually know how to write it.) Its fun serving somewhere with different kinds of fruit. People are often surprised when I tell them that Apples are the cheapest fruit in America, because here it is one of the most expensive. 

A funny thing happened yesterday during Sacrament meeting. I was sitting with a part member family. The guy has been coming back to church and the wife is preparing for her baptism, hopefully in May. They have 3 little kids. The youngest was born in December. I was sitting next to their oldest who is around and 5 and she started pointing to all my freckles on my arms ( I don't have very many, but I've got a couple) She started saying "mbola marary Elder smithson" which translates to either Elder Smithson is hurt (or sick, they are the same in Malagasy). I think it might have been the first time she ever saw a freckle.

Well that is about it, The word of the week is vatomamy which means candy, literally it means sweet rock, however that is rarely used, most the time people just say bonbon which is candy in French.

I love you!!

P.S. A chick climbed on my foot during a lesson this week.

March 20 - Family History Work, Tic-Tac-Boom!

Yesterday our ward had a fireside about family history work. Most members are pretty impressed when I show them mine is full back 7 generations. I think that might have been why I was asked to give a little spiritual thought at the beginning. It was a really good fireside. It is somewhat difficult to do family history in Madagascar and Africa in general due to the lack of records and difficulty of finding them. However, there is one Malagasy that has been able to get 14 generations back on one line. To make life easier on Malagasies, they don't have to find exact dates or birthplaces, the thing they have to have is the full name, which in and of itself can be difficult. I've met some people who don't know the names of their parents because they were separated when they are young. Lucky for us, everything will be able to get figured out when Christ comes again! For now all we have to do is try. 

Last night was awesome too! We taught a part member family about Family Home Evening (FHE) and did it with them. It was lots of fun! They have 2 little kids and a newborn baby. We played a game called tic tac boom! Its similar to musical chairs. You have an object which you pass around. One person closes their eyes and  says tic tac, tic tac, over and over again and whenever they feel like it they say Boom! Whoever has the object has to dance! We got everyone to dance, but I had to dance twice. 


That is cool Orson got to speak at Stake Conference, but I hope that doesn't happen to me!  Well that's about it. Sorry I don't have any pictures. 

The word of the week is takarivan'ny mpianakavy which means family home evening, granted most members still use the French way which is something like soiree famille (ask Tana or Eric, I don't know French)

March 13

Baptisms!!!! That is definitely the highlight of this week! A couple named Haingo and Haingo (Yes, they have the same name) got baptized that I've been teaching. They have been waiting for this for months! Also a 10yr old girl named Fara was baptized. We started teaching her about 6 weeks ago. She used to live with her Grandma but now her Aunt and Uncle who are members are looking after her. It has been sweet being a part of their progression in the gospel. I got to baptize Haingo (the husband , not the wife) and it was really neat!

Also a cyclone hit Madagascar this week! Though it wasn't very strong, at least it wasn't by the time it got here, really just a lot of rain. By that I mean A LOT OF RAIN!!!!!!!!!!! We got completely soaked making our way to an investigator's house. We then helped empty out their yard because it was full of water and was about to start flooding their house. That was fun! Elder Jordan has a waterproof camera so I got some pictures for ya.

Word of the week is loza voanjanahary which means natural disaster. It literally means danger from the creator, or something similar - sometimes I don't know how to explain certain words in English.

I love you! Tell Orson hi for me!

March 6

Good news!! Three of our investigators passed their baptismal interviews this week!

We had a mission tour this week. Elder Stanley G Ellis of the seventy (he is also the 1st counselor in the Southeast Africa Area Presidency) did a zone conference with us. It was neat, He is a cool guy and taught us a lot. One thing I really like that he said was "Our message is true, and it is worth any sacrifice." I've seen a lot of good people sacrifice a lot for the gospel. I realize it has been pretty easy for me to live the gospel, but I've often wondered if I would be willing to sacrifice as much as I know others do. I think I would, though only Heavenly Father really knows. I've made a firm decision though that I'll serve wherever the Lord asks me to throughout my life. 

Word of the week is fitopolo which means seventy, when talking about church leaders you say fitopololahy.

I love you all!

It sounds like you are rather busy Dad. Good Luck with all of that travel. I'll be home for the General Conference in October.