Monday, September 24, 2012

September 24, 2012


hey dad
 
sounds like you ahve had a full week. i am doing incredibly well. i love the mission. my companion is extremely good at the organ. as in world renound. he is the best organist at byu and stuff. i guess hes a big deal in that stream. haha. but the penny wistle is like a miniature recorder. but tiny and cool sounding haha. and i was a little sick last week but nothing serious. we do take care of our health and try our best. i just had a little cold. its unavoidable here to get sick and such. you just get used to it. i am not going to die. dont worry hahaha. i am healthy. and i could have sworn that theo was in one of those pictures... hahahha oh well. i only recognized one young man out of all those pictures and that was cameron orr. lol.
 
sounds like that scout camp food worked out great! and its good that nobody has gotten food poissoning as of yet hahahah. seeing as how you seem to think someone might. lol. but that food sounded delicious. especially that 65 lbs of bacon mom mentioned!!! hahaha thats alot of bacon. and the hardicks are pretty picky about who they let hunt and so on and so forth hahaha. i remember talking to jordan about it. but thats alright. they can have there land. my deer was bigger than jordans last year anyways ;) hahahaha. and while we are on the subject that is way cool that justin shot himself a bear. its got a tsara tareha. its a good looking animal. it'll make a great mount. nice looking coat. i wanna get a second chance up in cherry grove with my bow if i can. that was really fun. and just my luck we get a cabelas in edmonton while i am in madagascar!!!! hahaha is it a fully stocked one or just limited?
 
and i am sure that is was nice to go out to nannie and grampis for dinner sunday night. and i am sure they appreciate your help on the tractor. i think nannie will be a great librairian!! that is a perfect call for her and i am glad she is taking it in full stride!! man robyn and bevan must be getting in shape with all the bike rides they are doing!!! i wish i could join them! i have done a little cycling in my day..... hahahah
 
the church is incredibley new in madagascar. and it is shown by how the people still look so much to the missionaries for instruction and guidence. for instance i was asked to give a talk in sacramet on eternal marriage...... wich i presented this past sunday. because nobody in the branch could do it really. they didnt know much about it. i would send you a copy of my talk but its all writen in malagasy. but i based it on the family, a proclamation to the world and i think it helped a lot of people. so you can read that and pretty much know my talk. i just think that off all people to speak about marriage they ask a 20 year old missionary who has scarecly even thought about marriage.... hahahhaha but i tried my best. i lvoe the work here and we have been seeing many blessings. we taught over 40 times this week and all while doing the training program for 3 hours each morning... its been hard work but it has really payed off and i have learned so much. i have many different varieties of investigators. and we teach a ton of people but the ones we are focusing on are merance and christian who are a couple who recently had a baby die. he works on a ship and she works in the market. they are awesome. also dona who is a 21 year old with a 5 year old son. she didnt like my talk in sacrament because it ment she had to get married and she has sworn off men.... hahaha and a boy named zeze who is a stud. he is 16 years old and very mature and responsible; he is awesome. thanks for all your emails and love. and thanks mom for the scriptures. i know so many people appreciated your cooking work for the scout camp. have fun playing with the family all week!!!
 
be fitiavana mandrakizay
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 me and elder steele build a beach front sand castle complete with a mote, a door, three towers, and sand.  

 these big fruits are all over madagascar... i have now resolved to eat one.
 me and spongebob god in a heated scriptual discusion. but he folded like a sponge. 


Monday, September 17, 2012

September 17, 2012

hello father

hahah i am glad that you got the cance to speak spanish so much today. i am sure it brought back so many memories from your mission and such. i am sure mitch would have loved to be there as well!

i am possitive sister banting apreciated so much you all going out there and helping her with her proberty and such. i didnt realize she was that old and living there all by herself must be hard. if i were me now back in the day i would have spent more time out ther maybe trying to help her more. but it makes me happy that you guys are out there helping her now. maybe just dont forget to go plow her driveway every once and a while. i did get those last pictures you sent me but the ones from that google plus thing never got to me. and the cart we were sititng in is called a pousse pousse and it is a bycicle one. its is like a trycicle just big boy sized and a seat attached to it. its how we get far places here cause its cheap and quickish. haha. but yes he did look like a deer in the headlights in that picture. lol. i didnt even recognize the one guy on the left helping bishop gibb move that log but theo looks really good! he looks taller haha. and cameron orr looks like he is getting big! i still imagine him as that little 4 year old who learned how to drive a quad.... by using my leg as a stop board hahaha. good memories.

so did i read correctly that you and mom went to cabela's!? do you mean outdoor outfitters or what. cause when i left there was no such cabelas in edmonton........ and if that has somehow changed then if you feel like getting me anything when i get home from my mission look no further... hahaha but seriously is ther a cabela's in edmonton? im sure you and mom will have a good time and that little day camp and feel fullfilled after filling all the little tummies of the 11-13 year old boys.

thats good that your employees are working out so well. makes me feel a little bit better. there are times where i wish i could be here and there so that i could help you and the lord. but its not that way and the lord comes first hahaha. then your second. sorry.

that will be way fun to have colter and karmyn and there family up for a visit. and it was way nice of you to buy those horse tickets for them. payton and karmyn and emily will love that!!!! and hey. if i have time can i come hunting with you kevin and george?? lol just kidding. but you need to make sure to tell me all about it.

me i am doing really well. i have seen so many blessings in the past couple weeks its incredible. in my life and in others. truely the lords hand is in evertyhing. we had a visit from a seventy named carl b cook. he is an incredible man. he gave the talk in confrence about how he was in the elevator and president monson told him "its better to look up" and we got personal instruction from him and i was even lucky enough to get a personal interview with him. it was incredible. very inspiring. i hope one day you and mom can go on a mission together. you should plan for it. it is incredible and truely the most important thing. but back to my life. we just had 2 baptisms on saturday and they went really well. elder ludwig did them both and had already memorized the prayer in malagasy and everyhting. he only had to do both of them once. wich is way good. he is an incredible elder with ver yhard work ethics. in our confrence we talked alot about the natural man and conversion to a saint. read a lot of scriptures and had alot of disscussion. it is the best learning enviornment when it is a disscussion and not just a listen session. malagasies have a hard time understanding that because they are used to just listening to a guy stand at a puplip yellin halalulia!!!! amen!!!! avoreno!!!! hahahahahaha but its fun to see them change. thank you for all your support and prayers. i love you with all my heart and cant wait to get home and work with you! thank you for teaching me to always look to the lord and have faith.

be fitiavana mandrakizay
elder bates






the little boy is wearing a skirt because it hurts to much to wear pants. it is tradition here to circumsise kids at the age of about 8.........












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Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10, 2012


hey!

well good for amiee orr! haha i hope the guy is great! so many people getting married! james too huh!? haha when did that happen. i hope he is happy. thats good. so five mexicans at church huh!? that must have been eventfull. and i am sure nice for you to refresh your spanish! and you get to eat dinner with them thats way cool! do thy live out on the tree farm by oldacs or something? i would assume thats where jack payne would but a couple trailers for them. i thing deanna was working ther for him for a while as a cashier or something. haha but thats nice of you guys to give them a nice meal!

and work keeps going... hahahah sounds like a fun time. i hope both of them are hard workers who appriciate a good job. it is really hard to find that these days. but they are both older men so it might be diffrent. even here in madagascar where money is very short men are very lazy and use what litle money they have to buy a little beer. because beer is cheeper than water here. sad right. oh but hey. remember that day i told you i wasnt so sure i wanted to take over your business after i got home? well i have been thinking quite a bit about that and i think i might reconsider. but that isnt important right now. just a thought. and a nother thought i had was about the school situation. again not important and i really dont think aboutit to much but i really do want to go to byu. i dont know if you all are still looking into that for me or not but if you could that would be awesome! maybe to get a degree in business and biolagy. if you could look into that again.   that would be awesome!

ya for school and seminary!! haha i wish i would have paid more attention in seminary and really got full of enlightenment. so you can make sure to tell emily i said that. its worth it. and i am sure you are happy mom is home. she said something about eating at costco everynight?? hahahaa i kinda guessed it.

kensey and her husband are up there huh?? thats fun. that would be way cool to catch a sturgeon out of the northsaskatchewan and see a real live dinasour. hahaha but i am glad she didnt fall in lol. tell them i say hey if they are still up there. that will be way fun to go on the week trip to fox creek with kevin and george and colter. i really enjoyed that trip alot. even though i was with a bunch of old farts hahahahahaha. be sure to buy a bear tag. we could of had one. lol

ok so i will tell you about myself. sorry if my emails havent been up to par lately..... i havent been taking alot of pictures and things just seem the same to me so i dont have alot to write about.... but i am doing really good. we have 2 baptisms for saturday and alot planned for november. i thing 9. wich is great. my companion elder ludwig is from saltlake city and is the prodagy for organ players. he has already finished 2 years at byu and he is incredible with any kind of instrument with white and black keys. and the penny wistle hahahah. he is a great guy great heart. i got in trouble for killing a spider hahahah. so i cant talk about huntin much with him but thats alright. we talk about music instead. this week wasnt to eventfull. i stayed home tuesday with a sick missionary and elder ludwig went out and worked with a boy from our ward. he did awesome. he is already way good at malagasy and it helped with his confidence. then we went through the schedual all week teaching and trying to help people come closer too and really understand christ and god our heavenly father. it has come to my attention in the past couple weeks that desire is something lacking in the lives of many people. and then the second thing lacking is knowlage. in this day and age people dont really have a desire to truely know god. they are content with what they have. to be content is to be lazy i feel. in one definition. and it is really weighing on my mind lately. but i do love the work and i love it when you see people gain that disire and that knowlage. and i will continue to work hard! love you all!

be fitiavana mandrakizay
elder bates






Monday, September 3, 2012

September 3, 2012


already september huh!? crazy. soon it will be christmas time and we will be speaking once again. things really are going by fast. and after that chrismas we will only talk once more and then 3 more months and i will be home! thats pretty weird to think about. it feels like just a few weeks ago i was sweating away in a little brick box in utah...... now i have been here in madagascar for 11 months. its definatly been an experience. hahah. who did aimee orr get married to? thats way cool. didnt nathan orr just graduate this past year as well?? thats way weird. why the heck isnt he working for you!? that guy is solid! haha but he is probably already in school again till his mission huh? 

welcome to the family little elsa jacoba hamon!! haha it brings so much joy to my heart to hear that she has been born and is healthy! i always tell peole here when they havea new born child that it is like having an angel in your home. because they are still so incredibly close to god and our heavenly father. not tainted by the world and all its downfalls. they really do bring such and incredible spirit to them. and so many blessings. i am excited for the time when i can have that same blessing and experience. of bringing something so precious in the eyes of god into this world. and i am excited to meet both elsa and madison when i get home. i hear madison is walking now! thats crazy. 

its good that you are finding some employees. its unfortunate that he smokes. especially for his sake. those things are discusting. i dont understand them whatsoever. you cant justify them. it is in complete ignorance that someone would start smoking. complete lack of care for life and god. alcahol as well. it destroys everything we live for. and everything god gave us to be successfull. and i hope that anybody who reads this would take it with an open mind and not as an attack on them. but as a humble plea to stop. cause i know this go's on my blog. and where the heck is gordan when you need him huh!? hahhaa hes probabmy up in northern saskatchewan loving life and shootin stuff hahaha. 

haha ya the hot days have started back up here. i am sweating like a dog! haha. but hey. ambany lanitra tsy maintsy lena. wich means it must be wet under heaven. haha i am prayin for rain! wich comes in abundence here. its always wet. 

that was way nice of lamberts to invite you all for dinner! are you guys gunna go huntin again up in fox creek. i would love to do that when i get back home. just sayin haha. i would also like to go horse back up at ram falls again for a while. i freakin loved that haha. but i really need to just work or go to school when i get home. haha so i  know that you havent had any male influence in the house for a long time now dad but useually we dont say things like "in your face sista..." hahahhahaah i love you! 

so i am doing very well here in madagascar. i definatly cant complain. i love it all. training is an incredible experience teaching me so very much. my companion elder ludwig is an amazing person. and very good at malagasy.  we are having a great time together and have been very blessed with some very spiritual experiences. there is no better feeling or experience than to see someone so against hearing us change in the amount of one hour to telling us that they believe there is a prophet today and that there is something weighing very heavy on there brain. it is conversion to the the truth through the light of chirst and i have the privalage and blessing of wittnessing it time and time again. there is nothing better on this earth. 

be fitiavana mandrakizay
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