First Week of Training

Hello again everyone, I hope that you have had great week as my has definetaly been interesting.

Monday: We took it kind of slow so that Elder Munanira could pack for Tamatave.

Tuesday we were able to go work for a tiny bit with another elder named Elder Wootan because he was also getting trasfered and would just go with us that evening to the office. It went ok and we got everything and everyone to the office on time. The dinner for departing missionaries was still going on so we got to talk with Elders Herring, Stringfellow, Tiu, and Kelsch who were being transfered from Tamatave (aside from Elder Kelsch), it was great to just talk for a bit. I also got to see Elder Connault for a bit before he left which really made my evening. Then Elder Glazier (from my group and is also training) took me to his house to do a split until Wednesday evening.

Well the split went very well; we taught a person from the Gendermie(?) who seemed to be super interested, taught english, and went to the AP's that evening. I had a great time with Elder Glazier, just love the guy. That night we got to meet all of the trainees, there were four in total, and the were all super cool, it was a bit weird to think that I was gong to take one of them home and that I was responsible for getting him ready and knowing how to be a missionary, there is a lot of weight on your shoulders when you get a trainee.

Thursday we had the training meeting, delicious breakfast and lunck from Sister Adams and I found out who my trainee is... Elder Tshuma from Johannesburg South Africa. He is a really cool guy and just loves serving and wants to be the best missionary possible.

The rest of the week was full of helping Elder Tshuma into the rhythm of being in the field, teaching, and on Sunday Elder Tshuma bore his testimony in church and it was pretty good, just glad to have him here.

That is about it for this week, hope you all have a great one,

Elder Nelson

Elder Tshuma from Johannesburg South Africa

What is going on here?! Big news

Is it really another week? Well lets get on it, I have a LOT of news to share.

On Tuesday we had another visit with Remy, I can just see that he loves to learn. He is always very attentive as we teach and asks questions (which I love) when he doesn't understand. He still hasn't come to church but when we stopped by his house quickly he said "ya I didn't come to church but I know I should but I had stuff to do". At least he recognizes that he needed to come to church so that is a step in the right direction.

Wednesday we had a day just filled with an amazing Zone Conference, the last with President Adams. We discussed on that we should not blame our areas but find the things that we are doing that are preventing us from reaching our goals. We also discussed something called the "4th Missionary"; it is a talk from 2002 that discusses four levels of missionaries which just is ment to inspire and propel each missionary to reach that fourth level (also we got lunch from Sister Adams which may have made the day a lot better).

So story time. One time there was a young missionary named Elder Nelson. He had just finished work for the day and had gotten on the taxi be home. Only the aisle seats were open which usually is not a problem but that day was different. As this young elder sat down he sees that he is right in the middle of four semi drunk and  progressively getting drunker friends. Usually when this happens and they notice a semi large white person on a taxi be they can't help but talk to him, not because they are interested in the message he carries but to try and get a good laugh. As this goes on, them asking questions and Elder Nelson respectively answering he thinks "I really do want to talk to you, I really do, but anything I say to you now will not help you. I want to talk and share but the way you are now is preventing me from doing so". Stangly during this Elder Nelson realizes that this is how the Holy Ghost must be like; he wants to testify to us so bad yet the way we are, whether it being hard headed, engrossed in some for of sin, ect. prevents the Spirit from performing its job. So spiritual thought for the day is let us all try a little better to create and environment in our own ways to enable the Spirit to testify and teach. It is always there and willing but it is up to us to be ready to recieve it.

So a little news for us all. Last night (Sunday) was transfer night and as such we were all waiting for transfer news. When it arrived I got a little, amazing but very nerve wracking, piece of news. Not only am I staying in Ampefiloha (thats not weird I already knew that) but I will also be "drum roll" TRAINING! So for the next three months I will be teaching and helping a new missionary learn the ropes, the rules, the language, everything. I am so excited to be training but like I said before, very nervous. Also in case you were all wondering Elder Munanira is being transfered to Tamatave, he is going to have a great time and I am so happy for him.

That is about it for this week, keep up the good work everyone. See you all next week,

Elder Nelson

Random little parade while at work, they even had some band instruments and I have to say I broke down a little; asked and recieved one of the guys trumpets for a quick sec, it felt so good

Wohoo it finally happened!

Well another good week in Ampefiloha and today (Monday) something historic happened. After being in Madagascar for 8 months I finally, Finally saw lemurs, yep it finally happened.

But on the rest of the week we did many a thing such as on Tuesday. On Tuesday we had a visit with a pretty new investigator named Haga and his wife Pierret (if I'm not mistaken that's her name) and we reviewed some things with them. They listen well but haven't yet come to church. Then we taught another newish investigator named Remy, we haven't gotten very far in the lessons but I think that he is very interested in learning but still doesn't fully understand what we are doing.

Wednesday we taught this family named Vincent, Claudia, and Toky. They are a very great family and I like them alot. Right now Toky (he is the son) is progressing the most and actually comes to church but I think that it won't be long until his dad, Vincent, begins coming to; in lessons he listens and is very attentive to what we are sharing with them. Then there is Claudia who is doing ok but I have to give her the benefit of the doubt here as she has had a rough couple of weeks. She got sick for a while so it was difficult for her to learn then in our last meeting with them she had a huge burn all along the underside of her fore arm from two saturdays ago so obviously she had a difficult time being attentive. I just hope that she is soon able to have a normal time and will recover quickly.

Thursday was a great day in the fact that we got to finally have a lesson with a less active named Sharline and the man that we needed to teach just happened to be another less active which had moved into the same little living complex as her, small world! We ended up merely reading out of the Book of Mormon with them which if nothing else will invite the spirit into that little room and begin helping them decide to return to church.

Joseph and his family are still going strong, they are progressing so well that I love every second with them. They are getting really close to baptism which, if all goes well, will be on June 20; we just need to help them prepare for the covenant and change that may soon be taking place in there lives.

That is pretty much it for this week (also today we went to a place called the "Croc Farm" and that is where I finally got to enjoy the lemurs). Have a great week everyone!

Elder Nelson

A fosa, a pretty big cat, super long, and apparently the biggest animal native to Madagascar

Elder Walker feeding it a pinecone

Also there were crocs, just so you know

This guy right here is HUGE! probably twice my length and maybe double my girth

Who knew that Pentacost was such a big deal in Mada?

Salama ianao ireo , niasa mafy tamin'ny izao herinandro lasa izao izahay, tena mafinaritra be ny asanay teo. Hey everyone this week has gone really well for us, President Adams had set a goal for our zone on stats and we got all of them aside for the lesson goal; we were short by two but we will try again this week to catch it.

Now quick shout out to my brother Joseph who just graduated highschool, congradulations bro I am super happy for you!

Starting onTuesday we had a good first lesson with a young man named Haga and his wife. It was a good first lesson, we spent most of our time learning about who God is, the family, and the importance of the prophet. After that we trackted for a tiny bit and ended up in a small lesson with all of these cousins that live together (there were some eight people in that room and they all said that they were cousins and lived in the same little area). We didn't get to do a large amount of teaching there mainly because one guy had a lot of questions about what our church did and what it taught.

Wednesday we had a lot of trackting yet again but we ended it well with a lesson with some new investgators that we had found last week and having a visit with the wife of a recent convert who has gone very less active, apparently because he needs to work all the time, so we will try to get both of them going.

As we have been doing more and more tracting and contacting we have been seeing a lot more people that 1.) are willing to listen and 2.) Listen but have a hard time accepting if that makes sense. We have a new investigator named Fancois that we found on Friday. He is Catholic and many of the things that we teach do not fit in what he believes. As we taught he listened but I could see that the things that we were teaching sorta grated against him. I think that is one of the hardest things that we do in our work: to teach a person that is willing to listen yet helping them to come to the realization that our message has real weight and that they need to make a change in their lives. It is hard but the rewards at the end are some of the greatest things that anyone can enjoy.

Saturday went on a split with my district leader; Elder Ralaivao. We had a good day lined up but part way through it got a little interrupted. While we were contacting we got a call from the elders in Ambohipo (am-boo-he-poo) except it wasn't Ambohipo at the other end. No it was some random lady who had happened to find Ambohipo's lost phone and was trying to get it back to the owners. So we took some time to try to find this lady to get back the phone. In the end after about an hour of calling and recalling we finally found the lady and graciously took back the phone. Now this woman is an exceptionally nice person, if any random person in a taxi in Mada finds a decent phone they just take it but this good natured lady tried to find the owner, seriously she needs a medal or something.

That is prety much it for this week every one and for those of you who sent personaly letters sorry but I will have to write you back next week, sorta don't have much time this week and our normal cyber is closed for Pentacost. But have a good week everyone and see you next week,

Elder Nelson

So much contacting

Hello everyone, this week has been great and hard but I loved it!

On Tuesday we did a lot of tracting and contacting. After that we had a great meeting with our ward mission leader, Bro. Nambina. He is a returned missionary and is probably the most diligent DMP(ward mission leader) that I have ever had. After that we again had some contacting to do (you will see that this will be a recurring theme for this week). Our last lesson for the day was with a recent convert named Sis. Lala. She is doing wonderfully, a bit shy but her family is helping her get adjusted and it turns out that she had not yet received a triple combination (Book of Mormon, D&C, and Pearl of Great Price) so we need to get that fixed.

Wednesday we got our meeting with the Bishop and he is just a great guy. I brought him questions such as, who is going to the temple, getting ready for a mission, ect ect and he had very good answers for every single one, it's very nice being in a ward where we don't have to worry about anything. Right after that we had a visit with a recent convert family and then they are doing fine. Then tracting for the rest of the day, like I said we did a lot of contacting this week.

Thursday we got to visit a less active lady named Sis. Sharline(?) and she is gradually making a come around, she even made it to Sacrament meeting this past week which was amazing to see. That evening we went to visit Voanghy and Ory, we reviewed with them a bit on the Plan of Salvation, which turned into a review of Apostacy and Joseph Smith and I tried so hard to get them to see the importance of coming to church. These people have apparently been learning from missionaries for just under a year (for those of you who know Elder Mumford he taught them when he worked here so its been a while). At the end I just bore the biggest witness that I could, hoping that they would feel something. At the end they said they would pray about coming to church which is all we can really ask of them.

Saturday was again a day full of contacting until we finally got into a lesson with this man named Naina who explained to us all of the things that he didn't understand the reasons for doing certain things. For example he doesn't see the reason that he needs conformation with his Catholic baptism, why he needs to pay money to the church ect. and now he doesn't really go to any church. He will be a hard one but I think that if we are careful and explain to him the importance and the reasons of doing things then I believe that he will grow to be a great person.

The only thing that I want to write about Sunday is that I just enjoy teaching Joseph and his family, mainly the reason is that they ask questions if they don't understand the teaching. So often there will be people that just sit there and learn passively and end up not changing but J and his family are progressing so well it is incredible. They are just an awesome family to teach.

That is about it for this week, work hard everyone, next week!

Elder Nelson

My zone leader Elder Cartmill

We did a zone activity today of hiking a mountain, it was great and the view was amazing.

This is everyone heading to the hike.

Astro Mountain

Elder Ralaivao and a member from Tanjambato

The mountain in the distance is close to where I work, to the left on the flat part

Elder Razafimandimby

Elder Delbar

Some of the elders brought a football

Elder Ralaivao being goofy

Happy Mothers Day!

Hey everyone, quick shout out to my mom; Happy Mothers Day, love you !
Ok, now on to the rest of the week,

On Wednesday we had a great lesson with one of our recent convert
families which is doing very well right now; there names are Rado and
Hanitra. We talked abit and had a lesson about faith, honestly a very
good lesson. Then the rest of the day was spent contacting and having
no one letting us in or wanting to set up a return appointment, it
turned out to be quite a rough day.

On Thursday we had another lesson with one of our rencent converts
named Tata, he is doing well and is loving his time in the church. We
spent some more time trying to contact and again no one wanted to
listen. Honestly this is a bit of a culture shock compared to how it
was in Tamatave; everyone wanted to listen and invite us in. We then
had a lesson with Ory and his wife Voanghy on the Plan of Salvation.
The still haven't come to church but they listen and learn very well
on the things that we teach.

Friday we had a combined Zone Meeting where we heared from Elder Snow
the Church Historian along with his fellow historians Brothers Turley
and Nielson. I thought that we were going to learn about church
history but instead we learned about the way church history is run;
the things they are doing right now, things they have done, where
buildings are located and a whole bunch of different things. One thing
that Brother Turley has worked on that I am sure most of you have
heard about is "Family Search". It was really amazing to hear about
his work. Somethings that stuck out to me are 1.) We need to have the
right perspective on the work we are doing, 2.) The Temple is very
important and 3.) When the work of God begins moving along faster,
Satan increases trials and hard times; that I think is something that
we all need to remember.

On Saturday there was... Skype call! It was very nice to see my family
again and to hear their voices. It was a very special time and one
that was enjoyed by all of us. That evening we taught this young man
named T and his family about the Plan of Salvation. It was honestly
one of the best lessons on the PoS that I have ever had the pleasure
of being a part of. They listened well and had some very good
insights/ questions.

That is about it for this week everyone, good luck to you all that are
going on missions soon!

Elder Nelson

Part of the house

Elder Cyusa studying

These kids in this picture were just carrying a board on top of their

heads, just having the time of their lives

Ampefiloha!

Hey everyone, this has been a great week! I have been transfered, got my new companion, am learning the area, had great lessons, and had the opportunity to bear my testimony at church.

So Monday I said goodbye to a lot of the great people that I love in Tamatave, they are all so awesome.

Tuesday I travelled to Tana, got there in the afternoon, met my companion Elder Munanira and got to work. We spent most of the time visiting people so that Elder Ahlstrom (the elder I am replacing) could say good bye and take some pictures.

On Thursday we went to this area called Anosipatrina (?) where we ended up doing a bit a tracting which is fine with me right now, it helps me see more of the area. But our last lesson of the evening is what really made the day special. We teach these people named Voanghy and Ory; they have been learning for a while and Elder Munanira tells me that they may be dropped soon (which would be a shame I think, they seem like very cool people) but we get into the lesson and we teach about the Plan of Salvation. The thing was that this lesson just flowed, you could feel the Spirit. We taught them things according to their needs and they were actually listening, not the usual blank stare but actively listening and learning, intriged (?) by our lesson. At the end we invited them again to church and apparently in the past when ever they were invited the just said no because they have their own church. But this time, after what I believe was a Spirit led lesson they said they would come in two weeks because of prior plans. It was just such a good lesson.

Friday I got sick, so we went home and I slept for a couple of hours. After that and some medicine I felt much better.

On Sunday I had the wonderful opportunity (honestly it is great) to bear my testimony to the congregation here in Ampefiloha, I believe that it went well and everyone enjoyed it. Our last lesson was with some recent converts that we stopped at for a short visit but we got interupted by this random drunk guy who wasn't really etting anything that we were saying but at least I got to meet the recent converts and get a relationship going with them.

That is about all for this week I think, have an awesome week ianao ireo tsirairay (every single one of you)

Elder Nelson

Elder Munanira, camera randomly decided to work for a bit