04/11/2016

  Hello everyone! The past week in Madagascar was great!

  So, last week was basically average until I found out that I had two packages waiting at the office!! On Friday, I got the packages and opened them. There were so many good American snacks and foods in those two boxes, one from my parents and siblings and one from my two Aunts. I was so glad to see something other than rice and beans. In all honesty though, there was so much food  in the boxes that I am not sure when I can eat them all, but I will give it great effort.

  We found an investigator named Liva who was ready to listen to our message. We tracted into his house and we set up a return appointment. He has already prayed about the message to know if it is true and he says he will keep praying until he receives an answer.  We are going to try to invite him to church. Hopefully, there will be baptisms at the end of the month. One of our investigators who was out of town is back and should be baptized soon along with some other investigators. 
  On Saturday and Sunday, all of the missionaries in the Tana area watched Conference at the mission office. It was really exciting, because we normally have to wait at least, until the end of the month for it to be translated into the Malagasy language. This time the translation was really quick. 

I really thought that all of the talks shared throughout conference were great and inspiring. I hope that I can apply what I have learned from conference to my remaining time here as a missionary. 

  This week, I also had what was probably my last interview with President Foote before my exit interview. We talked about transitioning to life as a returned missionary. He said that he could not believe that my mission is almost over. It is especially unbelievable to me that my mission is almost over. I asked him for suggestions about what I should do over the summer in preparation for college. He suggested that I keep studying the scriptures daily and have some purpose with every day life. Not just only playing video games or watching TV. He said that I should use the mission to propel me to greater heights as a child of God. I appreciated the advice.

  And today is my birthday! I am no longer a teenager. Today, I went and played soccer with some missionaries around Antananarivo. We lost which was not cool, but later we went and bought cheeseburgers and fries, which were sort of expensive, but way good. I am expecting to go eat at a restaurant for dinner later today. It has been a good birthday. Much better than last year.

Well that is it for this week. Have a great week, everyone.

Elder Pinson