October 31, 2011 - A letter to Dallin

hey bro! so its called a taxi be bicause its not a car and its not a bus... its like a hybrid between a bus and a van. like one of those rv vans! but with benches.... and they pack as many people on the things as possible! seriously it is probably as wide as the old huderight van we had and a little longer and they fit about 35-45 people on it. welcome to a 3rd world country haha. its crazy here. i fell off as i stepped off the taxi and into a gutter and roled my ankle and fell int a gutter full of poop. hahahahaha it was interesting. then the rice patty. search up rice patty images on google and look for the little trails between each pool and you will understand. i walk through rice patties every day at work and the trail is very slim and rice patties can get very deep. but i slipped on the trail and my leg went into the water hahahaha. fun times. 

it is so exciting to me and brings me so much joy to hear about all you are doing in the church! seriously i will regret the stupid things i didnt before my mission for the rest of my life. but that is how we learn and grow. you are going to be 50 times the missionary i am because you will be prepared. i prepared myself in the mtc. not fun. i even talked to my branch president about some past sins. i was scared i was gunna be sent home. i hate that feeling. you will be so incredibly blessed for your decisions you are making now to be so involed with church. seriously. i look up to you and your great examle. ive learned on my mission even in this short time how small i am. (i know ironic seeing as how i am bigger than every single malagasy in this country) but i was reading in mosiah chapter 4 verse 9-11( probable some of my favorite scripture) and it really made life alot clearer for me. that and my patriarticle blessing. charish that and let it guide your life in worthiness. haha. charish this gospel with all your heart. it really is gods plan for us. but it seems like you already know that :P im so incredibly proud to call you my brother and i miss hanging out with you. i wish we would have spent more time together. 

itis a very very poor place here. hard to see all off the beggers and the starving people but it makes them an extremely humble people. but it causes problems to. its so sad. but i will tell you that it is very hard to be hendry(good) on this mission because there are very few missionaries who follow all the rules. nobody can understand you when you speak in english and so you can say whatever you want, it is a very open culture here so nobody really cares what happens. ive seen boobs every day since ive been in country because girls just whip them out to feen there kids and dont cover up. haha that is pretty weird. but you get used to it quick... missionaries here are just a different breed. i think god really did send me here to test me haha. i bet he though hmmmm lets send him to a place where girls tough you and where nobody cares what you do and see how good he is... haha its difficult litter bro. its bad but i can handle that. its hard to stay spiritual on your mission though. as weird as that sounds but its true. satan doesnt leave you alone on your mission. he doesnt say oh hes and apostle of god cant really do anything to him.... he is on your heals every day. him personally not just his miniuns. haha. dont forget that. now that you are so hendry (wich i am so proud of) satan will work incredibly hard on you. i feel like you are an emissary in gods work. you will do great things in your life. but we have to be worriors. its a constent fight with evil. the world is a disgusting vulger place and we are in the generation where there is more corruption in every minute of our life than ever before. we must be in the worl but not of the world. what an incredibly difficult task. during my teenage years i failed big time at that..... i was of the world in mind. now i pay for it everyday. but i know that through having a pure love for christ and god and there plan and gospel i can still do good things and be strong. i just have to fight my past in ways i wish i never had to do. im sorry im getting so heavy on you bro hahaha lately i just write whats on my mind. cause being set apart as a missionary many thoughts on life and past words from prophets come to my mind and i feel they are there to be shared hahaha. i hope ot was all good advice. 

so i work in an area where not many people at all are interested in the gospel. its super difficult. but we have this one super mazoto (dilligent) investigator who is super excited to get baptised and stuff. i finally feel the joy of bringing a soul unto christ. ive i only bring one my two years will be worth it. haha. i do need to strive more to learn the language and stuff. i cant understand a word said to me usually hahah. i can talk about the gospel ok but its super hard. but there is a reason im here and god knows that reason. thats all i need. i pray for you every day. stay strong and dont let the devil getcha down. take care of emily for me. i miss her and worry about her. she is in a difficult time in her life. help her with her fight. thank you so much for your example to me in missionary work

tiako ianao