Sept. 5, 2011

Brad when he first sees the Hartmans



Brad being Brad!




The Hartmans were kind enough to take Brad and his district out to eat.

 Nothing really exciting happened this week. But we have been getting tons of help from our branch missionary, which is called a DMB. It's more like the DMB's wife because he is always working, but she has given us 9 referrals in the past week and a half! And we teach all of them at the DMB's house (separate times though). She helps us out so much and I hope she doesn't get sick of us. I'll have to give her a present for giving so much of her time. Any ideas?

Elder Southwick, El-bakri's new comp., has been really sick these past 4 days and couldn't go out and work so anytime everyone was home he would want to play games. We played a lot of Monoply deal(card game) and just other card games. Turns out he knows the game Nerts, and is really good! Don't ask me why but he plays with a lot of Koreans and they have some crazy rules and restrictions! You can only use one hand for everything, you can't even hold the deck in one hand you have to set it on the ground. And the Nerts pile is minus two for every card left. It's mostly not being able to hold the deck in your hand thing that bugged me the most but it was still way fun!





Jean assures me that the missionaries are told NOT to eat meat from the open air markets. Whew!




Isn't he cute?



I hope the Hartmans' pictures were sufficient for you because I forgot to take my camera... woops :) But I'll be sure to get some really good, proffesional pictures of my apartment and of everyone for you next week. Dani, you better be the best 2nd counselor you can be [in Young Women's], and continue to do your homework before you hangout or go to sleep! Nat and Adam, continue to be an awsome couple and an example to everyone else. Melissa and Brian, I can't wait for your baby to get here! I'm praying for him/her everyday. Don't be discouraged with getting a job. The right job will come along. Phil, after reading inspirational stuff and talking with Elder Hartman, I've learned that you can get anything you want sooner or later if you have enough desire. So whatever you desire right now, great job or pay, nicer stuff in your house, a hot wife, you can get it. That goes for everyone reading this, if you have enough desire and ambition you can get it. Step by step, move by move... anyways, I know you can get what you want if you put enough effort and sacrifice into it, along with prayer and keeping the commandments it will happen. I 100% believe and know that to be true.

 

• Where did Elder Evans get transferred to? He got transfered to Antsirabe. It is three hours south of Tana and has eight missionaries there.

•  Who is the other new elder in your apartment? Elder Southwick, who has been sick for four days.

• Where did you go for your conference with the Hartmans? We went to one of the churches in Tamatave. Did you have to travel? We traveled about a mile or so in a pouse, which took approximately ten minutes.
• When you play the hymns do you use the simple hymnbook or the regular one? I just use the regular one.
• Do you ever use that bug solution stuff that is supposed to last for 6 washings or something? Yes

• Have you lost weight - can you tell in your clothes? I can't tell if I've lost any weight, my clothes seem to fit the same. I haven't found a scale in this country yet, no one really cares about their weight here because they are either skinny and fit or they are fat, which just means your rich and people here think it is more attractive to have a little extra meat on your bones. :)

• Can you buy stuff like: sour cream, potatoes, canned mushroom soup, green onions? Yes, I can buy all that stuff here. If you're thinking about potato casserole I would love the recipe! Could you also send yourself in the email so you can make it?

 Well I guess I'll close this because I can't think of anything else to say. I love you all and I'll try to start writing letters to people. Oh, and thank you everyone who writes me letters and DearElders, it really means a lot to me and I get the biggest smile when I read your letters! Sorry Dad, I'll answer your questions more. I think you should also do Madagascar style food too. Rice and steak with chunks of fat in it as well. Make sure to add tons of oil and seasonings of any sort you can find. And have Coke or orange Fanta for the drinks. I'm tellin ya, it grows on you. Gyoza is pretty good too if you want to do that instead. I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Walker