Hmmm... What to say, what to say. Well, first off, it's super exciting how close things are to Christmas. I'm anxiously awaiting our talk on Christmas!

As far as how things are going in Madagascar, we're doing great as always. Things are going really well with the work here, and it's super exciting to be a part of it. We have been having a lot of success getting people to church. This Sunday we had 12, which was a pretty good amount.

I'm glad to hear you are all doing well. It was funny to see pictures of you guys wearing long sleeves. I can't even imagine that because it is always so hot here. This week was particularly bad because the power was out almost constantly. That meant washing clothes by hand and taking cold showers to stave off overheating. Summer is in full swing here and Toamasina is one of the hotter places. It's also one of the most humid places because the eastern half of Mada is more humid then the western half. The humidity has just been kind of sitting. It doesn't rain that often it just is hot and sticky. I think I'm getting used to it though. At first I couldn't sleep at all if the power was out. Now I just don't like it. Before when the power came on I would sprint to shut the doors and turn on the AC. Now I don't really care... as much... hahaha!

This p-day did have a sad tinge to it. Almost all the Elders that I've been with since I got here moved to a new area. Our house went from a six man to a four man house. I actually prefer that because it's much calmer. Last p-day, our house had a Christmas meal, which was pretty fun. I made a roast. I decided that it was my Christmas present to myself.

Elder Razandetsetra and I are also doing well. My Malagasy has become much more communicative, which makes it easier to talk to him. It's also fun because in companion study I get to teach him a lot about the gospel. He's only been a member for three years, and there are some holes in his knowledge. We have a good time. He's helping me with my pronunciation, which is the thing that I think I struggle with most right now. He says our investigators have to get used to how I talk before they can understand me. But the goal is to get over that so that I can just talk. Also, I'm still working on comprehension, but as you know with languages, you learn little by little.

Elder Gaul got home this week and killed me with stories of his adventures - mostly centered on food! Thankfully, I got to call him right before he left. That was really awesome. I already miss him a lot. He was a super studly missionary!

Elder Ahlstrom