And I have been wearing my glasses pretty often, so you'll get a couple pictures of those maybe.
This week has been pretty fantastic! On Friday we had our first SYL day (speak your language) and it was pretty tough! We all wore red ties to help remind each other, and then we stopped at dinner time. Class was crazy hard though! The teachers rarely speak in English already, but we couldn't ask any clarifying questions, so we were all pretty lost. The Malagasy is improving though, one of our assignments has been to bear testimony to so many people we don't know each day in Malagasy. Now they aren't giving us a quota, and it's just up to us to decide. It is lots of fun though! Especially because we could just be counting backwards from twenty and they would never know, but we don't, and the Spirit still testifies, and that's why we keep doing it. Yesterday for part of my language study time I went on the Malagasy version of LDS.org and listened to general conference talks in Malagasy while I read along. Comprehension is by far the toughest part of Malagasy. Most of our Malagasy is understandable at this point, but it's super hard to keep up with a native speaking. Our teachers had one on one language time with us yesterday, and I was at the end of the list and didn't get a turn at all. Brother Aldous told me that it was because I didn't really need any help, which isn't exactly true. I understand pretty much everything that we have learned so far, and I think that's why he said that, but I still wish that I could get a little more help because I am far from being mahay (fluent).
The lesson teaching is coming along pretty well. Today is our first Teaching Resource Center time, last Thursday was supposed to be our first TRC, which is just when you teach a return missionary/member who speaks Malagasy as themselves, but they didn't get anybody for us to teach! Our teachers were pretty irritated about that, but today there will be people there for us for sure.
Saturday was Soccer Saturday for our zone, or Foty Sabotsy in Malagasy, which is super fun to say becuase it rhymes. Our district represented well. We took on the rest of the zone and beat them pretty bad, like 5-1 bad. Basketball has been lots of fun, until I ripped the toe of my shoe, so no more basketball! All of the stops and direction changes will rip it up more, but soccer and running has been alright so far.
Speaking of my fitness time, our district has been having some hardcore workouts, yesterday I did crossfit with Elders Reich, Johnson, Covey, and Coleman. And I'VE GAINED 10 POUNDS! So that's pretty neat. All of the chocolate milk has been helping, I guess. And most of it isn't fat, so I still have some work to do with the donuts and ice cream.
On Sunday Elder Ahlstrom and I taught about the sacrament in priesthood meeting, and that went pretty well. Then our devotional was the managing director of the mission department and he was very entertaining. He called President Nally, the MTC President up during his talk and interviewed him, it was great. Then on Monday we went to class for 11 hours, and I ripped my shoe in basketball, on Tuesday we had service, class, and a devotional at night with Elder Groberg. It was probably my favorite devotional so far at the MTC. On Wednesday we had class for 11 hours again, and all the new missionaries came in. I didn't see Elder Bezzant though, my district was trying to be the host missionaries this week, but we got next week instead. Which is a bummer becuase the rest of our zone hosted this week. However, on Wednesdays the ice cream bar is open, so I managed to get by.
I still haven't told you about all the elders in my district, and that might have to wait a little longer because I don't have pictures of all of them yet, but I will get them!
At "the map"
Today in the temple, after the session Elder Ahlstrom andI were asked to help in the laundry room, so we got to use some pretty sweet laundry machines in the temple! I'm super jealous. Now the MTC laundry room is pretty disappointing.
This Tuesday was our halfway mark at the MTC and we celebrated by doing the same stuff we do every Tuesday! We have decided that our week is all messed up at the MTC because our "weekend" is Thursday, which makes Friday our Monday and Wednesday our Friday. Some of the districts in our zone celebrate "P-Day Eve" each Wednesday night, it's pretty funny stuff.
I found Elder Lund! Actually I see him just about every day, but I took a picture of him!
I've decided that I'm going to start doing a word of the week in my emails home, just to give you a little taste of what I'm up to. This week's word is Sorompanavotana. Soo-room-pah-nah-voo-tahn, the last vowel is usually just mouthed and not really pronounced, it's almost whispered, so there is something there, it's like you say it with a subtle Italian accent, and the r's are rolled. It means Atonement and it's one of the words I learned my first week. The Atonement is very important, and because of it we are able to grow and improve and become more like our Father. I am very thankful for my Savior who made it possible for me to become perfect.
I know the church is true. Jesus is our Savior. And Joseph Smith say God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Fantatro fa marina ny fiangonana. Mpamonjinay i Jesoa Krist. Ary nahita Andriamanitra rainay sy i Jesoa Kristy i Joseph Smith.
Tiako ianareo.
Elder Rasmussen
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