Week 44 - Happy 19th Birthday!

So thanks for the birthday wishes. They were very nice. It was also way nice to get my birthday package... wait for it... on my birthday! How nice! So thanks everybody! Now I'm just waiting to have an egg cracked on my head and then be covered in flour. I'm not a big fan of that particular tradition, but it's still Madagascar, so it's all good!

This week has been stellar! And that was even with one day that we only worked half of because my companion got sick. We got to a bunch of people and had some great investigators at church, which was fantastic! Other than that, not much really happened. We had some fantastic lessons and we got a little bit of good member help there at the end of the week.

Oh, and then yesterday we made Cafe Rio salad for dinner! It was way good! And it was also very filling, which just made it even better! For those of you who are thinking, "Wow. I didn't know there was Cafe Rio in Madagascar..." OF COURSE THERE'S NOT! We just made it on our own. From scratch. And when I say "we" I mean Elder Johnson because he's a saint and a way good cook. But that was way way way way good.

Malagasy Morsel is mivoky. it means to feast, and that is what we did last night. It is also the word that Nephi says when he says we need to feast on the words of Christ. It just changes a little to Mivokisa which is about as direct of a command as it gets. And so we need to do that! Feast on the words of Christ and they will tell us all things what we should do.
Love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Veloma daholo!

Week 43 - Mother's Day

Skyping was way good! I loved every minute of it and had a blast! I did notice that of all of my brothers who promised to email me, none of them did... But I'm sure they still love me... But really, it was way good to see everybody! Go family!!!

Other than skyping, this week was alright. We didn't get a whole ton of work done because we had a small zone conference kind of thing that wasn't really zone conference, but all the zone came to it. It was at the office and we got to listen to Elder Snow, of the seventy, who is also the church historian. His two assistants also came with him, as well as Elder Ellis of the area presidency. It was way cool. The only downside is that the office is kind of far away from our area, so we didn't get a completely full day of work in. However, it was a great experience, and definitely worth it!

We had some cool things happen though, on Saturday we got to be part of a pretty miraculous priesthood blessing, and SHE CAME TO CHURCH!!! She wasn't even sick at all. So that was a very neat chance to see God's power in action.

This week, our church attendance was way low, though. It dipped all the way back down to 125, which was pretty standard for when I first got here, which is a bummer. We also had a lot of investigators who totally should have come to church, but didn't. I swear, just the church attendance is one of the biggest obstacles out here. But, despite that, this week was one of my favorite sessions of church!

We had some great talks by return missionaries about the word of wisdom and about the law of chastity and families, then a killer talk by our RM second counselor in the bishopric about how we, as saints, should be living our religion. It was fantastic. Then our second counselor in the bishopric (him again!) taught the investigator class about faith. Also way good. Then our elders quorum president taught about the Book of Mormon. It was just great, because these are all the things that we teach, and it was just great to see how well our recent converts were doing and how much some of our investigators were loving it!

I'm not going to lie, one of my favorite feelings in the world comes from coming in to a time and asking how their Book of Mormon reading has been going, and they brighten up and start sharing what they read and how they felt. It just gives me the best feeling because they're building a very strong foundation. The Book of Mormon is irreplaceable in missionary work. It is irreplaceable in our own conversions, and it is irreplaceable in God's work here on the earth.

Tsisy famonjena afa tsy amin'ny alalan'ny famakiana ny Bokin'i Mormona sy ny fankatoavana ny fitsipika ao anatiny. There is no salvation, except through the reading of the Book of Mormon and the obedience to the principles within it.

So read it. You'll see that it's good. And if it's been a while since you've read it, or if you've forgotten its goodness, now is a good time to discover it again.

I love you all.

Week 42 - This Is Way Big, Guys!

It's the first week of the transfer and it's been so good! Just kidding. We've had a kind of poopy week because all the going back and forth to drop off old companions and pick up new ones and stuff like that. We still did alright for ourselves, but it was definitely poopier than usual. But the transfer has happened and now I'm with Elder Hull, and Elder Johnson moved into my house and is with Elder Cooley. It's a party. In a very obedient, missionary way, of course.

Fun stories for this week... Well, we did missionary work in Madagascar and it's way neat. But nothing terribly exciting comes to mind...Except that we walked soooo much! Elder Hull is coming from Tamatave, where they use bikes all of the time, so it was a nice little transition for him! We were both pretty exhausted when we got home at night.  And I saw Elder Delbar! He's one of my favorite missionaries and he I saw him on Saturday (we teach English together) and it's been like forever! He's a very big stud.

So this week I just want to share a spiritual thought mixed with a Morsel of Malagasy. The word is fahasoavana and it means grace. It comes from a word that means to benefit, and that's exactly what grace is. It's Christ's way of providing a very big benefit to us. I know that Easter time has passed, but it's never too late to celebrate our Savior. He lives, He loves us, and He has given us the way to be exalted and recieve all that our Father hath. THIS IS WAY BIG GUYS!!! I'm so blessed that I get to work out here and be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring His children into his life! My favorite part of this great work is the love that I'm getting for my brothers and sisters. I find so much satisfaction just in serving my fellow man and my Lord and all I need to feel that is some clothes and some scriptures and a desire to go out and work! It's so simple! I feel so blessed that the Lord has given this great chance to work to a bunch of his young children who are definitely not up to the task on their own, but that doesn't matter, because it's really not our job to get things happening. After all the Lord has said that he will hasten his work in his own time. We just need to show up and be ready to harvest that which he has prepared! What a blessing that is! Especially because I get to help others obtain this gospel gift that has blessed my life so much and given me so much joy and happiness. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us, and because of that we can dwell in the presence of our Father in celestial glories with our own eternal families! I love my Savior and his work that he has given to me to do! And I love you all too! Have a fantastic week and let your lights shine forth a little more!

Mandrapihaona ry mpianakaviko!

Week 41 - Sticking Around

Transfer week! You have to read everything else first though.

We had a baptism today so that Elder Hardy could see it before he leaves. There's a transfer hint for you all... And that was way cool. It's a guy named B. and he is just a stud! He got all choked up and bore a powerful testimony. He learned way fast and he's already set his goals on going on a mission and he has a lot of member support, so I hope to see him heading out in about a year or so.
Then we finally watched General Conference! So I know you are probably all aware and have been for a while, but General Conference was sooo goood!!!! I also got to see Elder Glazier at conference and we finally snapped a picture. It's way good to see him!

Conference was way good though. I loved all of the talks, and it was fun to hear them in Malagasy too! There were a couple vazaha ex-missionaries doing the translation and it was fun hear that. There weren't too many translators using French r's this time, so that was a refreshing change!
Other than conference, and slightly because of conference, we didn't have too great of a week this week. Good news is that some of our returning less actives are settling down into the church and getting really active and coming to crazy activities like a baptisms at ten in the morning on a Monday... It's way good! We did have some very powerful experiences this week, and some of our investigators are just spiritual powerhouses, which is such a blessing to both them and us!
Malagasy Morsel for the week is mamingana. And that's when you kick someone's leg and trip them. So... don't do that too much, it's annoying. I get accused of it all the time because short people don't stop to think that tall people have long strides so you shouldn't just cut in front of them while they're walking, but we do what we can!

Alrighty, transfers! Elder Hardy, for starters is going to Fort Dauphin, a beautiful city on the southern coast with sweet dialects and some crazy balling missionaries! He is way pumped. I am way jealous, but he's going to have such a blast! Elder Tavo/Richard is going to Antsirabe!!! He's going to Mahazoarivo, which is a waaaay cool area and he will live in the same house that I was in right before I came here to Tana! Then I am staying here in Ankorondrano, and I will be with Elder Hull, who is coming from Tamatave on Tuesday. I haven't met him yet, but I'm super excited! Anyway, all of you have a great week! Thanks for your email, James, it's very true! Don't do dumb things, family.

Mozotoa e!

Week 40 - No Prayers Are Wasted

NORBERT GOT BAPTIZED!!! He is still a stud among studs and his wife finally came to church for his baptism and his confirmation the next day and... drumroll please... she loved it!!! We are going to get the rest of that family! Ah, he's just such an awesome man!

Then what happens on this Saturday and Sunday? GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Sorry for all of the caps and exclamation points, but that is really good stuff! So you could say that I'm way pumped for that to happen.

Also on next Sunday is the transfer news, so by next pday we'll know what's going on down here. I know things are happening because in my interview with President he thanked me for "enduring" the trio for two transfers and he told me that there will be no more trio in this next transfer. So stuff's going down. What exactly though? I haven't the slightest idea. But Elder Hardy is probably heading out because he's been here for three transfers and I wouldn't be at all surprised if either Elder Richard/Tavo (he changed his mission name a while back) or me head out. But I will miss the trio. It's been a party and we've done a lot of good work here, even if teaching got pretty awkward sometimes.

Good news: I finally got new batteries that should be reliable, so I will be uploading pictures this week if I can get on a computer that can do it because this one right now cannot.

I got a request to write a little bit more about some of the young men that we've been teaching that started coming back to church and it's really just pretty simple, but miraculous. There's this one guy, we will call him by the very Malagasy name of Alberto. That's a joke, by the way. Anyway, we've been working on Alberto for a very long time. Elder Hardy has been working on him for an even longer time. And he wouldn't have a thing to do with the church. But we always visited him and encouraged him and tried to get him to come, but he wouldn't have it. Then he got very sick. And our ward mission leader, who is his very good friend, visited and told him that his sickness might be a result of  his disobedience. Then along came the missionaries and gave him a blessing. He got better the next day and decided his life needed to change. So he started coming to church and brought his friend who has also been very less active for the last little while. And then they came again this last Sunday, and we've got them helping us teach and we have times set up with them and it's just going way better. They're getting friends at church and they don't run away from the missionaries anymore, it just makes us way happy! He has just changed so much, especially because I was about ready to give up on him. No prayers are wasted, people. No prayers are wasted.

So we'll go from there and use one of the very first Malagasy words I learned in the MTC for my Malagasy Morsel of the day: mivavaka. It means to pray. Or we can also use mivavaha which means "PRAY!" So mivavaha all y'all and you will see miracles if you want to. I promise that.
I love you all, and I send a good amount of prayers upstairs in your behalf.
Mozotoa e daholo!

Week 39 - Ankorondrano - Nine Months Now

So I've been here the equivalent of one term back in high school. Hah, that feels so long ago, but I still don't feel like I've really graduated yet either.

Fun facts for the week, I've been wearing a tag that says, "Elder Rasmussen" on it for more than 9 months now. That's neat. The weather is also starting to get a little bit nippier, we might have to start closing the windows at night here in the next month or so... I actually found some leaves that have just turned yellow this morning, so that's exciting. Time flies.

This week has been great! It was kind of slow, not going to lie, but we managed to get to a bunch of people anyway, and we had 19 investigators at church! We were a little bummed that we didn't hit 20, but our goal for the week was 18, so we still have to be at least a little bit happy! Then we had 167 at church! It felt way full! Especially because the chapel isn't exactly huge, but it was way neat to see some great future missionaries who have started their journey back to full activity! There's a way cool story with that, but I'll just have to send that later.

Malagasy Morsel this week is zafimpaladia. It means great great great great grandkid. Sweet, huh? Anyway, keep up the good work back there in America (or wherever else you may be) and have a great week!

Week 38 - Ankorondrano - Easter Monday

So this one's a short and sweet one because yesterday (the real p-day) all of the cybers were closed because it was Easter Monday!!! One of the biggest... holidays... Anyway, it's huge here, so we're writing today (Tuesday). But we don't want to waste too much non p-day time so it's pretty short...
This week has been great though!!! We taught a lot of lessons and we've been improving the quality of those lessons and the other proselyting stuff we do too. It's great!

Our investigators are moving along well, there's another baptism a week from this Saturday. Norbert's getting baptized baby!!! Ah, he's just such a studly future Melchizedek priesthood holder! He's who I'm most excited for, but we have other baptisms too. Right now, lots of our investigators are progressing thanks to some great help in the ward. There's always those few, but hopefully they will turn around.

I got a fantastic package this last week and enjoyed eating my american candy and wearing my new socks. Pictures will be forthcoming.

Malagasy morsel of the day is fanantenana. It means hope. It literally means to have one's self. So that's a neat little treasure there, yes, it's used all of the time.

Anyway, that's all for this week. I hope you all loved conference!!! I'm dying of envy right now, but it's all good. It should be here in a monthish. Still a bummer that no temple is announced for Madagascar, but Ivory Coast got one and they're over here too, so it can't be too long!

Tratry ny fihaonambe! Samy ho tratry ny ho avy!