The Church is Changing Peoples Lives

Hello,

It is going good here in Tamatava. The days have gone by so fast here. We have to push our baptism back one or two weeks so we can finish all of the lessons with him first. The Investigators here are way cool because they all do the work themselves. They come to church and read the Book of Mormon. It is the greatest thing when the people convert themselves.

We have a couple of way awesome families that we love right now. One is a really old man named Setapierre and his daughter Jaselle. They are some of the happiest people I have ever met and they make me smile every time we go teach them. Setapierre is always smiling when he sees us because he is so taken away that we speak his language. But he can't say much because when he talks his teeth almost fall out of his mouth. So he just smiles and laughs. His daughter is the same way but she can talk and usually talks for him.

The other family is way mazotoa. But because Elder Wilson and I are awful with names we just call them the Catholic Cats. They used to be Catholic and their house is full of cats... They come to church every week together and the wife even goes to the activities at the church on Saturdays. The lessons with them are great.

Funny Story: In one of the lessons with the Catholic Cats a chicken jumped onto my shoulder and just took a seat. The wife took it off and threw it outside, but within about one minute that same chicken came up behind me and jumped onto my shoulder again. After that, the wife just grabbed it and held it under the table. At the end of that lesson the husband said something and pointed at Elder Wilson's pants. We told him we did not understand so he put his finger on the zipper of Elder Wilson's pants. That made him sweat a little bit until he realized his fly was just down. He thought he was trying to get a little frisky with him.

The work here is going good. The church is changing peoples lives. I am grateful to be a part of it.
Love,
Elder Allen

A Sweet Message of Gratitude

"The accomplishment of my baptism is a pure moment of great joy to my Heavenly Father and to me.  Today, I thank you all for your support and your effective and lovely attendance during that precious moment. I don't forget to give thanks to Elder Allen, Elder Keyes, Elder Smith, Elder Tambula and especially Elder Choulamani who performed my baptism of water..."Great will be your rewards in heaven guys."  My dearest brethren Nambinina who honorably and worthily conferred me the Holy Ghost.  But above all those, I'm so grateful to my husband and my two children who have been supporting and praying for me from the beginning. "I LOVE YOU."  Finally, my greatest thanks is addressed to the GREAT ELOHIM and His son JESUS CHRIST for their Love and blessings."

The Gospel is Not a Bunch of Rules, It is a Life Style

Hello,

This week was good. We fixed the bed bug situation. My companion and I decided to not use bed frames anymore. We have our two mattresses on the floor. That seemed to fix the problem, except, the other day I woke up to a giant cock roach crawling on my neck. I slapped it instinctively as it woke me up.

The missionary work here is going great. The members in our branch are awesome and our investigators are very humble. We should have a baptism coming on the first of April.

The picture of the Scorpion was taken in our house. That was right next to one of the missionary's desks in our home.


Funny Story: The other day after English class we all walked home and found that everyone had forgotten their keys. There is a big barbed wired wall that surrounds our whole house except for one spiky metal door in front. We all thought we were screwed. But then I pulled myself up, did a front flip over the door, and then ran around back where there was an unlocked door for me to get in. It was funny because my belt got stuck on one of the spikes, so it forced me to just swing my feet over my head and do a front flip. Everyone was laughing during it because they thought I was going to do a face plant on the other side. Madagascar is also a crowded place so there were lots of Malagasies outside watching a Vazaha trying to break into a house like a gymnast.

I also heard that 2 investigators that I found and taught are getting baptized back in my last area. I am very grateful when I find and teach some one that is willing to listen and act upon our message. Every time they do, I can see how it changes their life and brings them joy and blessings. The Gospel is Not a Bunch of Rules, It is a Life Style that God has told us to live because he knows it will bring us the most happiness in our lives.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen

breakfast burritos with homemade tortillas

Riding in a Pous Pous after Cyclone Enawo hit.

I Feel Privileged to Serve Them

Hello,

I guess all of you heard about the Cyclone. Everything is good here.  Nothing really bad happened to the people in our area except for a couple of fences fell over and houses are tilted and a little flooding.  During the Cyclone, the missionaries were not allowed to leave the house, so we stayed inside for about 2 days. We watched it from our front window. It got pretty crazy at some points. It was pretty cool to watch. The only thing that sucked was there was no power or water for those 2 days. We had to eat all the food that was in the fridge and drink from our emergency stash of water bottles. It also got pretty hot in the house which made us sweat a lot. The second day I needed a shower so I stripped down, covered my whole body in soap and then stood outside in the cyclone to wash it off.

After a while we got pretty bored as missionaries that are not allowed to do much. So we made up our Characters for if there was a Zombie Apocalypse. We drew everyone, gave them weapons, and stats. We also made up six different versions of Zombies, drew them and gave them stats as well. Then we made up stories using all of our work.

Funny Story: One morning I woke up covered in bug bites. My entire body was destroyed by Bed Bugs. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I was so itchy. My comp. and I got our wood bed frames that were infested with them and threw them around the back of the house. We chipped off all the crappy paint on the walls that we  found had Bed Bugs in them as well. We then soaked our mattresses in Bug Poison, sprayed all the walls, and our bedding with it. I slept on the floor for 2 days because I was too paranoid to use anything that had the slightest chance of having bed bugs.

One tender mercy that I experienced from last week was during the cyclone one of my favorite families called us to see if we were okay. And, they live in a grass hut. The people here are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I feel privileged to go out and do all I can to serve them.

Love,
Elder Allen

Beach Day P-Day

Cyclone Update

Dear Parents,

The tropical storm is subsiding at the moment, and should be clear of Madagascar by Friday evening. We are still expecting light rain and winds throughout the rest of the week.

The missionaries are all safe and dry and are being careful.

We are grateful that not too much damage was caused by the storm and that all the missionaries are safe.

If there are any queries let us know.

Sister Foote & The Office Elders
Madagascar Antananarivo (Temporary) Mission Secretary

Cyclone Update

Dear Parents,

As of early this morning, the cyclone ENAWO hit Madagascar with strong winds and heavy rain. The missionaries are all okay and have plenty of food and water supplies. There has been no flooding yet.

The storm’s intensity is forecasted to gradually decrease by tomorrow evening, although there will still be a lot of rain. The missionaries are being very cautious and will be safe.

We will continue to send updates throughout the rest of the week and if you have any concerns please don’t hesitate to email.

Sister Foote & The Office Elders
Madagascar Antananarivo (Temporary) Mission Secretary

Tropical Cyclone in Madagascar

Click HERE to read article. 

Madagascar to face life-threatening impacts from powerful Tropical Cyclone Enawo through midweek

By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather meteorologist

March 08, 2017, 3:27:02 AM EST

Enawo will continue to pose a severe risk to lives and property as it lashes Madagascar through midweek.

Enawo made landfall between Farahalana and Antalaha late on Tuesday morning local time as an intense tropical cyclone with winds equal to that of a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific oceans.

"Northern Madagascar will experience damaging winds and heavy rainfall into Wednesday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.

Even though significant weakening is expected as the cyclone moves farther inland, the provinces of Antsiranana and Toamasina will remain at risk for life-threatening flooding rain and destructive wind gusts in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph) into Wednesday.

Heavy rain and wild winds swept across the island nation of Madagascar on Tuesday, March 7, as Tropical Cyclone Enawo made landfall. 

Residents of Sambava, Antalaha, Andapa and Ambalabe could face days to even weeks without power or other utilities as streets become littered with downed trees and branches. Flooding could wash out roadways across the region, potentially isolating some communities.

RELATED: 
AccuWeather tropical cyclone center 
Madagascar weather center 
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Poorly constructed signs and buildings may be destroyed. Major damage to well-built homes and businesses is not out of the question. Anyone venturing outside during the height of the cyclone would face bodily harm or death due to flying debris.

A life-threatening storm surge will occur near and to the south of where Enawo made landfall. Water funneling into Helodrano Antongila Bay could especially put lives and property in danger from Mananara to Maroantsetra.

Enawo will turn southward across Madagascar from Wednesday through Friday morning, bringing heavy rainfall and locally damaging winds to Antananarivo, Fianarantsoa and eastern Toliara provinces, while conditions begin to improve across northern Madagascar.

Total rainfall of 150-300 mm (6-12 inches) threatens to cause severe flooding and mudslides from northeastern Madagascar to the Ankaratra Mountains and points southward. The provinces of Toamasina, Fianarantsoa, eastern Antananarivo and southeastern Toliara will have the greatest flooding risk as Enawo tracks southward. Hardest-hit locations could receive 400 mm (16 inches) of rain.

The rugged terrain of Madagascar will cause Enawo to significantly weaken as it moves southward limiting the threat for widespread damaging winds in southern Madagascar.

Enawo will depart the southern coast of Madagascar on Friday bringing an end to any flooding rainfall across the country.