As if it had Nothing Else in the Universe to Do."

Hello,

I have been blessed with the opportunity to go to Fort D.  Last week while Elder Modisakeng and I were working, we get a call from the APs who said, "Elder Allen go home, pack your bags, and wait for president there. He will pick you up and take you to the airport tomorrow. You are going to Fort D."  I am way stoked. I just feel bad about leaving my area of Ambohibio.  This is the second time just bouncing  without telling them or saying goodbye.

I have been here for a couple of days now and it is a beautiful place. The people are super nice and cool. The beach and mountains are breath taking. However, the language they speak sounds foreign and the house we live in is the worst. I am starting to learn a little bit of their dialect. I can still talk to people just fine, but sometimes i just can't understand what they say. We are looking for a new house to move into because this one just sucks.

My new companion is Elder Shelby from American Fork Utah. He is a lovely companion, great guy. He used to work in this area we are in which is called Tanambao before the evacuation. We live in the house with 4 other missionaries.  More areas are opening up this week.  We have almost half of the missionaries back.  There are 36 in the country now and there should be 8-10 more arriving this week.

Here is a quote that I love from Galileo, "The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
Why then should I doubt God's power? The universe with all that order is a testimony to me that it is governed by an all knowing and all loving Father in Heaven.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen

Elder Allen, Shelby, Jakins, Monson.

 

New Comp Elder Shelby

Ft. Dauphin House with US Ambassador Robert t. Yamate.  

Elders Allem, Wolfgram, Jackson, Monson, Hunter, Shelby.

With US ambassador Robert T. Yamate

Sam in beautiful Ft. Dauphin.  

He says the house is old and everything is broken, but he lives right on the beach so he is "stoked"!

It has been very rainy in Ft. Dauphin

Ft. Dauphin

Indian Ocean

Elder Lebresko

This Week has been Sweet

Hello,

This week has been sweet. We made it into our new/old area Ambohibao.  Elder Modisakeng and I are new companions. My new comp is from South Africa and he also used to work in Ambohibao. The first day we were back we visited a member named Fetra who used to go around and work with us. He actually was leaving on his mission that night to somewhere in Africa. We were excited to catch him before he left.

We have been trying to build up a schedule and decided to visit old investigators. I wanted to stop by Tsizanaka and Lalao who before I left were both on date to be baptized, and came to church every week, and had finished learning all of the lessons. When we visited them they were happy to see us and invited us into their home. I began to ask them what had been going on while I was gone and if they still went to church. They told us that their old pastor stopped by after we left and told them to go back to where they used to pray and then they told us that they could not go to our church anymore because their Pastor forbid it. What they told me broke my heart. For some reason at that moment I could not hold back tears. I started crying right in front of them and asked to see their Book of Mormon. I began to testify to them how important that Book is and how they were just deciding not to receive all the blessings that it offered. I was so disappointed in the lack of conversing with the Lord that they had done when making the decision to drop everything I had taught them. Before I left I committed them to read the Book of Mormon and to ask God sincerely the things he would have them do. We will be returning next week.

Speaking Malagasy has been great. At first I stumbled a little with it because of lack of practice but I am quickly remembering the things I used to say before I left. I have definitely been blessed with the gift of tongues this past week. I started to stop thinking about how to say things and just spoke. It always turned out perfectly clear. I am thankful to be back in Madagascar.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen

Sam got to help pick up 17 more missionaries last week from the airport.  There are now a total of 25 missionaries in Madagascar.  There will be more missionaries arriving this week.  

"Hard is Good"

Hello,

This was an interesting week. I am taking lead in a new area for me and also training a new missionary. My companions name is Elder Peters. He is from Layton, Utah and is waiting for his visa to India. We are both in a weird situation at the moment, but we are just trying to do our best and build a good program for the area we are in.

Last Sunday, was a little crazy because we both gave a talk in first hour, then taught the Gospel Principles class in second hour, and then I was asked to sub for the lesson in Elders Quorum. We had to do something for each hour at church. It all went well though. My talk was about how my mission has strengthened my faith. At the end of it, I bore my testimony in Malagasy.  It almost felt like I was giving my homecoming talk. I hope my Malagasy does not get worse before I have the chance to bare my testimony in Malagasy for the real last time.

My mission feels a little hard at the moment. Whenever I have hard times or selfish thoughts I am reminded of things I have read or heard before. Today it is a talk from the latest General Conference entitled "Hard is Good". Hard things happen in our lives to strengthen us and make us better. We do not want to have hard times because they suck. But when they are over you are grateful for it and you are better for it. Our Heavenly Father loves us enough to cut us down, or "prune us when we are flourishing", so that we can grow stronger. I know that i will become a better person from the hard things I experience.  Thanks for your prayers.

Sincerely,
Elder Allen

parking lot transfers.

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 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.

"That is How it Should be Done."

Hello,

The new transfer has come. I am with Elder Wilson who is a transfer ahead of me on the mission. We get along very well, he is a way cool guy. I love him. My new area is called Ambolomadinka. It is full of the nicest people I have ever met. The area at night looks and sounds like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. It is really chill and aesthetic. I love it!!!

The drive up here was a really long curvy road with lots of turns in a packed van. The driver drove as fast as he could just before the right or left axles lifted up off the ground. I was way car sick for the first 4 hours. But then we stopped somewhere in the jungle to get something to eat and then the next 4 hours, I felt pretty good. It was nice. Here in Tamatave, one of the mainstream jobs here is a pous driver who is a guy on a bike pulling a small two man throne with wheels. They are every where. You barter with the guys for the price too.

There is a different dialect here but I actually have not noticed a difference yet, other than a couple of words that you pick up in the first week. So it is pretty cool. The people here do sound cooler though which is fun.

Elder Wilson and I are teaching a guy named Seth from Kansas America who has been living here in Mada for about 2 years with his wife who is also from America. He is a way interesting guy.  He says he is a missionary here too, but he is not part of any faith. He used to be Catholic but now he just reads the bible and lives for God and helping people. He had a lot of questions about Mormonism as he put it. He felt as if all the religions are somewhat confusing. We cleared up some weird things he thought we did, like eat soap, and then we shared our beliefs. Everything we said, he agreed with. And all of the stuff about religion he did not like, we explained how we do things and why.  His response to everything we said was,  "that is how it should be done."  I just kept saying, that is the way it is and was. Teaching him has been a really awesome experience and I'm teaching him in English. He has helped me build my own testimony through all of the questions he asks.  I realize how much more I know it is true and he also realizes how true it is.

Funny Story: One of the days we went to the Shoprite to get some food. As I was walking out, one of the worker ladies looks at me and says, "why do you have that?"  I did not understand what she was talking about exactly and then she pointed at her neck and says, "You are naughty in a sassy way."  I realized she was talking about my birthmark on my neck that looks like a hickey. I tried to explain but she didn't believe me. So i just left.

Funny Story: Elder Wilson and I were in a lesson teaching a guy about the Word of Wisdom. When the neighbors little girl kept looking in through the door and was weirded out by the two white guys. She kept walking in and giggling at us and then leaving. One of the times, she comes in and starts doing a weird little chest shake at us and dancing weird. The guy we were teaching looks at her and just shouts to the neighbors house, "Your child is being Gay, get her out of my house!" Elder Wilson and I started laughing because of what he said while the mother of this little girl comes in and takes her daughter. The little girl was just crying for the rest of the lesson in the other house.  Ha, ha, good times in Mada!

Today for P-day we are going to the beach and then we have a soiree tonight with some members and some good food.  This is the greatest place and Elder Wilson and I work way well together and our sense of humor is the same.   I can tell this transfer is going to be way enjoyable.

Love,
Elder Allen

Genuine Godly Discussions about a Perfect Plan

Hello,

One more week in Ampefiloha. It is a little weird leaving my birth area but I am excited for a new place, and new paths. 

The baptisms this Saturday might be turned into just one, a girl named Tsiory. There are about 8 people that I know will be baptized within two months for sure. I was hoping to be here when they did but things happen,  especially here. 

Those last photos I sent (see last post) of that big family on the couch is one of my favorites. Every one is a member in it except the wife in the stripped shirt and the kids. We visit them every week to teach the wife. She used to be very stubborn and did not want to even talk to the missionaries but now she is the greatest investigator. The family feeds us all the time and yesterday Elder Keyes and I gave her a date to be baptized. She heard I was leaving and was concerned that I would not be here for the baptism but I told her that if I am still in Tana then I will definitely come to her baptism. She is way cool. She asks really deep questions that remind me of me before I came on my mission. I kept telling her I had had the exact same questions before and would tell her my thoughts. She is a really fun investigator of the church to have discussions about eternal things with. 

As the language gets easier and more clear it becomes more fun and genuine to talk about the gospel and have Godly discussions with random people in their homes. I am starting to become more and more passionate about this perfect plan of salvation, which includes the gospel, this world, relationships with other people, joy, science, history, the importance of families, everything.

The mission is good.

Love,

Elder Allen

Teaching English and Sleeping through Earthquakes

Dear Home,

The mission is going good, this week is transfer week for us. I am staying in Ampefiloha for one more transfer. My new companion is Elder Keyes from South Africa. We are also getting two other new guys in my house.

Apparently there was an Earthquake the other day. I slept through it. That morning Elder Bingham told me that he had like a weird dream or something where he woke up and the room was shaking. I told him that I didn't feel anything or wake up so maybe it was just a dream, then we went out to work. Every house we went to the families wanted to talk about the Earthquake that I had no idea happened.

Last Sunday at church there weren't  a lot of priesthood holders that showed up so Elder Smith and I had to bless the Sacrament in Malagasy. Thankfully they had one of those little help cards up there for us to just read from.

The language is getting better but I still have a hard time understanding the things people say to me. I can sometimes understand every word in a sentence but not the sentence because Malagasies think different than English. For Example: If a kid was about to put something in his mouth and a mother would say in English, don't eat that or don't put that in your mouth. That does not make sense to Malagasies, you have to say, don't receive that in your mouth. It makes it hard to just translate your thought. First, you have to change it to a way that is understandable for them, then translate it to English. Also, their sentences are opposite of English, V.O.S. It is all fun though, if someone does not understand then you just keep trying until they do.

The other day in the English Class that we teach I had all of the students teach me Malagasy. I am going to start doing that every time. They love it, and we both benefit. I will say things in Malagasy and they will translate it into English and they will also correct my Malagasy, its great.

Malagasy Proverb I learned from the kids in English Class: Ny Adala tsy adala, fa ny adala izay mahadala adala no Adala.  

(Insert from mom:  I tried to translate this proverb into English and I came up with this..."The fool is not a fool, but the foolish are mad over that the fool is a fool."  ????)

Love,
Elder Allen

Dear Parents,

Some of you may have heard about an earthquake in Madagascar this morning.  It was actually in the town of Ambatomifanongoa near Antsirabe.  Some of us even felt it here in Antananarivo.  We want you to know we have checked with all of our missionaries and they are all fine.  The  Antsirabe elders noticed some cracks in their walls and ceiling—we will look into all of that.

Once again, the Lord takes care of his missionaries.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Sister Woolley

Madagascar Antananarivo Mission Secretary