February 25, 2013

hey dad!

great email this week! they are all good but i seemed to really enjoy this one. i loved your comments and opinion on the small gate on the wall of the cities. and i have heard that before but weather it is real or not it is a great example for all of us. and as dallin h oaks says in preach my gospel. "we invite all to come unto christ" not just a select few. and that is something we are trying to focus hard on here in madagascar. because the lazaruses in this life willingly and readily accept because they see the many blessings but the rich men are a little more hessitant because of all the blessings they already have. so missionaries tend to focus on the lazaruses and dont even try for the others. and that is the problem. we NEED better leadership here in madagascar. and there is only one way to find that. tracting! dun dun dun! hahaha a lost consept here for most. but now its a push. we are being told to tract. weird right. usually that is the last resort in preach my gospel. but it has been neglected and now it must be reserrected. and i to believe that with god all things are possible. that is what i live for. for if it were not for that god i would have no future in eternity. we to are learning from the teachings of lorenzo snow in priesthood. unfortunatly all the books are in french and not malagasy so i dont get that much out of it sometimes but i try. my french is picking up as well. i think i will study it when i get home. but i promise you that i in no way turn away those less fortunate in this life. but that i also make an effort to find the one man who can lead those who need him.  this gospel message truely is for EVERYBODY. and WE must share it with them so that they might have the opportunity to recieve it. there is no one else coming to there door. its us. now. we cant be affraid to bear testimony and invite others to find that testimony.

thankyou so much for the pictures! they were great! and i find it funny that both you and colter fell of the ski doo and in karmyns picture she is the highest in the air and doesnt fall once! hahaha but i wont lie i cant wait to drive a ski doo again. lol especially if it will float through the snow now and not stop dead! and colter getting stuck sounds pretty humorous although unfortunate he got his knee hurt i would like to see him try and crawl out and then try and hold onto the winch hahahaha. and i like the way mom discribes the happenings. she is a funny women. i hope your shoulder feels better ;) ha. but i cant wait to be back with you all and enjoy the presence of family. i dont plan on going far away from the fam after this is all done. haha i love y'all to much.

so my but cheek is all heeled up! haha and no infection thanks for asking lol. and you will actually find out my actually release date first and then you tell me. that is how the mission does it. as soon as they have set flight plans they send you and email of those flight plans. but doing the math (as lyndi so kindly asked) my excit date here in madagascar should be the 3rd of august. one week before the day. so yall can plan on that. and my and elder rakotonjanahary are still together having a blast but our area just got split this week because it is so big! haha so now we will have sisters working with us here in manakambahiny. that will be interesting seeing as there are only 4 sisters in mada and i haveonly talked to them like twice.... hahhaa sister missionaries. a rarity here. but i am excited to be able to focus more on an area of regular size. big areas are hard to work and most all of mine have been big so far so it will be a nice change. and about the pictures..... you might be a little upset about this next news. but as you say things are things and they all have an end. hahaha last monday we were in the market place because my companion needed a scribbler. so as we were looking i took some pictures and then put my camera into my backpack. then what most likely happened was some hard off boys followed my and opened my backpack in a crowed place and stole my camera. it is sad but i did get to send many many home before this and i will buy a cheep camera here that will last the rest of the 5 months but for now nothin. but my comp took some so i will send you those. i am sorry but its done and nothing can be done about it. the really sad part is they cant take advantage of there choices because i have the charger. so nobody wins hahaha. well i kinda win because i am not that upset about it. haha. its just a thing. but on p days we clean the house study a little and then go email. after that we usually find a nice place to eat and go to the jumbo where we buy clean food and then by that time its about 4 oclock so we head home and then go eat dinner at a members house at about 7. we always squeeze a time in before that dinner appointment.  and that is my mondays. cool right.

so other than that i am doing incredibly well. tired but well haha. its funny because as tired as i am at night i wake up and feel exactly the same as when i fell asleep. but always seems to go out and work my hardest serving god. promises fullfilled. though that king sized bed will be a nice brake from the 6x6 i have been sleeping on for so long haha. the baptisms havent happened yet. sorry if i wasnt clear but they are on the 9th of march. and we are working hard. there is one guy who is really cool who i will tell you about. his name is feno. one day we were walking along those railroad tracts in the pictures i sent you and we walked passed a young man about 19 years old. my companion motored by but i felt like i should talk to him. and so i did. not for long because as soon as i talked to him he acted like he was high on something. but i invited him to change his life through the fullness of the gospel and come to church. not really excpecting much we went to church on sunday and to our suprise there was feno. in a nice white shirt. so we started to teach him. now he works with us everyday so that he can get away from the friends that dont influence him to do good and is almost quite sigaretts. he wants to serve a mission and change his life. he is amazing. god does know us and what we need. even a 19 year old boy who was lost in life. god blessed him and the difference is extraordinary. i know god lives and that he restored the keys of heaven here on earth through the prophet joseph smith. wich keys are they greatest blessing anyone could ever possibly have. i will strive my whole life to give that to all.

be fitiavana mandrakizay
elder bates