11/09/2015

   This week was sort of quiet. Unlike other missions, the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission is sort of quiet from day to day. I guess I will give a summary of what occured this past week.

Tuesday, my companion and I were at the mission office most of the day. Usually we have two meetings, two lessons, and English class on Tuesdays. Rain.  It rained on Tuesday while we were at the church the whole day, so that was not too much of a problem. On Wednesday, I was on an exchange with another elder and we were teaching an investigator. At the end of the lesson, rain starts to fall and we quickly try to end the lesson. I say to the person something like, "We will close the lesson, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." and he says, "Huh?" because there was so much rain and it was really loud.  The investigator prayed, but I could not really hear. After that, we walked out the house to an absolute downpour. There was thunder and lightning  as we are about to leave the yard, I looked back for a second, and a door from a nearby place crashed in front of me and scared me. Then we ran across the street and I started sprinting for my life to the next appointment, with rain and lightning everywhere. It was sort of scary, I am not going to lie. After that, we went to teach some investigators in Ambohipo. The day was going okay, until it rained a ton. That sort of ruined the day.

   Thursday, I went on an exchange with a different missionary. Friday and Saturday were both fairly quiet.Sunday, there was sacrament meeting as usual. I felt sort of weak yesterday, yet I was able to make it through the day. Today, my companion and I went to the mission office and played basketball for a time. Afterwards we went to another place in Tana for lunch. 

   Sorry if that sounds like a boring week. We did commit more people to baptism and now we have 8 people committed to be baptized? Since the meeting with Hallstrom and Conference, there has not been much to mention. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks and, although it will not be an American Thanksgiving, I am planning on cooking a good dinner for that day. The missionaries in the Manakambahiny Zone at least have also talked about having a Turkey Bowl two weeks from now. I will be looking forward to the Christmas package and, if I am able to have the Kodak fixed, then I will try to start taking more pictures of Madagascar. 

   I ponderized Mosiah 2:22 this week:
"And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."

Anyway, this is a fairly detail-free email (I apologize), so I will just go ahead and share the Malagasy Lesson of the Week

mianatra                to learn

manontany            to ask a question

mitady                   to search

mamangy              to visit

mitandrina             to keep (like commandments)

mandika teny        to translate

mivoatra                to progress

mamantatra          to determine

misafidy                to make choices

misaintsaina          to ponder

Okay. I hope to have more to talk about next week. Have a great week, everyone

       Elder Pinson