Hello,
This last week was the end of the Transfer. Elder Olsen left to Tana last Saturday, so I was on splits going around with the other Elders in my house for the weekend. My new companion is Elder Beeson. He was in my MTC group so it should be fun. He is from Missouri. I am still the district leader for this area.
It was Madagascar's Independence Day yesterday so for the past three days we have had a curfew to be home before 6 every night. The Malagasies go crazy on holidays. Yesterday there was not much we could do because every business was closed, so we just played soccer all morning on the beach, and then played games at the other missionaries' house until 6. There have been big festivals, concerts, and fairs here so we walked through those and then ate at a good restaurant too. It was a fun/chill P-day.
There have been a lot of holidays during this last transfer, so a lot of people did not come to church every week, especially investigators, which sucked. We plan on working pretty hard this transfer to turn things around. We are going to have to do a lot of finding at the moment.
I will hit my year mark this transfer. August 3 is when I went into the MTC. But Sept. 14th was when I first came to Madagascar. But I will most likely be coming home next year in the middle of July. So no matter how you look at it, I have one year left!
This mission is still going great!!
Next Week,
Elder Allen
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
Q&A with Elder Allen
Sam didn't send a group email today. But he chatted with Scott and I for a second and then sent some pictures.Here are some highlights of our conversation:
What did you do today for P-day?
"We played soccer again with the same kids, we had ice cream, we made banana bread for a soiree, and now we are cybering."
Is the weather cooling off now?
"I do not think it could ever be cold in Madagascar. But I am used to the weather now so it is not hot, just warm all the time."
Are you finding new investigators?
"I am finding new people to teach every week here, but they are not always the most diligent."
That was about it from Sam today.
Sounds like he had a busy P-day and not much time to cyber!
Monday, June 12, 2017
A Gifted Tie
Hello,
This week all the AP (Assistants to the President) missionaries are staying up here in Tamatave with us. We have been going on splits with them a lot. We have four APs in our mission and they are all up here. Two of them are going to stay until the end of the transfer when they actually die (go home). They are in my companion's same group.
Last Sunday was the District Meeting for all of the Branches here in Tamatave. President gave a really great talk to strengthen the Branches. His Translator did not fully understand his thought and humor so none of the Malagasies would laugh when he made a joke. It is pretty hard to transfer English thoughts into Malagasy. I cant even think of the English translation for some things I say in Malagasy, because sometimes there is not one. Malagasy thought is completely different. It has actually made my English sound a little weird sometimes because I think of things to say the way a Malagasy would say them.
On Saturday we all played soccer behind the church with some kids in our Branch. We basically played soccer in a cyclone. It rained so hard on us during the game. It was really fun though so no problem. We played more soccer this morning and I am so sore. It's all good.
Have a good week.
Sincerely,
Elder Allen
This week all the AP (Assistants to the President) missionaries are staying up here in Tamatave with us. We have been going on splits with them a lot. We have four APs in our mission and they are all up here. Two of them are going to stay until the end of the transfer when they actually die (go home). They are in my companion's same group.
Last Sunday was the District Meeting for all of the Branches here in Tamatave. President gave a really great talk to strengthen the Branches. His Translator did not fully understand his thought and humor so none of the Malagasies would laugh when he made a joke. It is pretty hard to transfer English thoughts into Malagasy. I cant even think of the English translation for some things I say in Malagasy, because sometimes there is not one. Malagasy thought is completely different. It has actually made my English sound a little weird sometimes because I think of things to say the way a Malagasy would say them.
On Saturday we all played soccer behind the church with some kids in our Branch. We basically played soccer in a cyclone. It rained so hard on us during the game. It was really fun though so no problem. We played more soccer this morning and I am so sore. It's all good.
Have a good week.
Sincerely,
Elder Allen
This is Dmb Stephane. He is a member of the branch in Tamatave and he works with the missionaries and is in charge of the branch and district missionaries too. Sam gave him that tie.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Building relationships
Hello,
This week we have been doing a lot of work with the members and getting to know them better. It has made it so we eat at their houses every week. Building relationships with them gives you free food and referrals for new investigators.
Yesterday we went to the beach and played soccer there with a bunch of Malagasy kids. I have not run in a long time... they wrecked us.
A lot of weird things happened last Thursday. During a lesson, I was giving the opening prayer when the little boy of the investigator started to choke on something and then throw it up. For some reason at that moment I thought it was the funniest thing ever so I burst out laughing and could not even finish my prayer it was so bad. Every one started laughing with me though so it was okay. I thought it was funny because no one stopped praying to help him during my prayer, they just sat waiting until Iwas done. So we all just listened to this kid dying together.
That was the last lesson of that night so we got a Puss (bike taxi) home. We fought for the price of 500 Ar home and he accepted it. He was way drunk and it was really funny talking to him as he drove us home. When we arrived I gave him 500 Ar and he was like, "hey man this is not okay where is the rest?" He would not let us just walk away so we had to explain to him that he already accepted that price. Also other Malagasies feel obligated to stop and ask what the problem is. My comp. Just said a word that means, he is trying to take advantage of us. They all laughed when they heard it. They chatted with the Puss driver and we just walked away. It was such a weird night.
That was my week.
Sincerely,
Elder Allen
This week we have been doing a lot of work with the members and getting to know them better. It has made it so we eat at their houses every week. Building relationships with them gives you free food and referrals for new investigators.
Yesterday we went to the beach and played soccer there with a bunch of Malagasy kids. I have not run in a long time... they wrecked us.
A lot of weird things happened last Thursday. During a lesson, I was giving the opening prayer when the little boy of the investigator started to choke on something and then throw it up. For some reason at that moment I thought it was the funniest thing ever so I burst out laughing and could not even finish my prayer it was so bad. Every one started laughing with me though so it was okay. I thought it was funny because no one stopped praying to help him during my prayer, they just sat waiting until Iwas done. So we all just listened to this kid dying together.
That was the last lesson of that night so we got a Puss (bike taxi) home. We fought for the price of 500 Ar home and he accepted it. He was way drunk and it was really funny talking to him as he drove us home. When we arrived I gave him 500 Ar and he was like, "hey man this is not okay where is the rest?" He would not let us just walk away so we had to explain to him that he already accepted that price. Also other Malagasies feel obligated to stop and ask what the problem is. My comp. Just said a word that means, he is trying to take advantage of us. They all laughed when they heard it. They chatted with the Puss driver and we just walked away. It was such a weird night.
That was my week.
Sincerely,
Elder Allen
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