Oh Malagasys!! - June 11,2012

Just another normal amazing week in the mission field. We got new investigators, new investigators to church and three people baptized. And amazing food!

We are still working on our progressing investigators, because they are a little low. We are still trying to fill our schedule all the way. I think the stat is that every 7 investigators 1 is baptized. So if we just find a lot, we are bound to get a lot of baptisms, right? Hopefully! This place needs to grow a lot. I know it's a long shot but I want to come back in about five or ten years to see how much it has progressed. It is just crazy to see the progression from five years ago. talking with members and old missionaries. It is just amazing. It really is a marvelous work and a wonder.

 As we have gone through the week we have really been focusing on getting Father Led Families (FLF's). They are the key to growing the quickest. Being down here I have gotten a little more up front with people. Sometimes they start talking, thinking we don't understand them or they try to talk too fast so we can't understand them but then I just respond in a normal way. I say, hi, how are they and then ask them where they go to church. The culture is a little different here because going to church is a big part of their life but it is still funny to see their attitude from the first time they talk, trying to make fun of us, go to amazed when we respond perfectly, go to a little scared when we bring up the gospel. We have gotten used to it and have made it kind of a game to let people know we speak their own language. Sometimes we talk to someone and the conversation stops and then another person walks up and starts to talk about us and everyone else doesn't say anything but knows that we understand. It is so fun to know two languages! I don't know how I got by before my mission. Anyway, we are still looking to fill our shedule. 

On Saturday, we had three women get baptzied. A mom and her daughter and another girl. It was a little stressful because the baptism was supposed to start at 2:30. A lot of members showed up before or at that time but none of the people getting baptized were there yet. All three of them showed up about 15 min late. That's Malagasy time for ya. I bapized the little girl and Smith baptized the other two. It went really well. We used string with the duct tape to hold the baptismal font together and it did well. Even though the water over flowed a little bit so the ground was all muddy in front of the church, it went really well.  Later that day we went to a investigator family's house. The dad is really open-minded but the mom and the daughter are a little hard headed. We got to teaching about the New Jerusalem and how Joseph Smith got revelation that it is going to be in  America. The dad was a little unsure but warmed up to the idea and actually saw that it made sense. He cracks me up because the time always starts out with him a little hesitant and then him helping us convince the mom and daughter. 

 



Sauline, Fa, Noro

On Sunday, the three baptizees were late again! We have been trying to start church on time despite how many people are not there, but we are kind of forced to wait when these three people need to receive the Holy Ghost. Anyway, they showed up 15 min late again. We started, everything was good. I gave the Holy Ghost to the one mom. It is really cool to be led by the Spirit like that. I hope I can get better at it later on. In Sunday School we had a question arise, who is Jehovah and who is Jesus Christ and who is God? which is which? We had a fairly recent convert stand up and supposedly recite the first vision. It wasn't even close. He was just throwing in Jehovah left and right. Proving that God was Jehovah. Then a past branch president corrected him very nicely on the matter. That recent convert just really likes to throw in his two cents even if he doesn't know anything about it. He will be a great member once he knows his stuff but for right now, I just hope he can restrain himself. 

I would say a little lesson I learned this week is that we need to stay humble. No matter how you good you are at the language or teaching you can't do anything without the help from above. So just remember to constantly ask for help and be grateful for everything. I love all of you and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Walker

Questions:

1. Do you get the New Era magazines ever or just Ensign? Or do you just get conference issues? We get it every month. If we live outside of Tana we get a couple every couple months.

2. Any other great stories to tell us? We made delicious banana smoothies. We used bananas with pineapple juice and sugar with ice. Very simple but Jamba Juice quality! Very very very good!!!

3. Any luck finding a church building or have you stopped looking? No we have stopped. No good enough place.

4, How are you and your companion getting along? Great! no problems whatsoever. i can't wait to talk to him after the mission. 

Soccer warm up.