August 3, 2015

Another week in paradise. I was sick earlier this week, but I feel much better now. It's raining in Tana. It's very cold, which feels strange since it's August. I realized that it was August last year that I arrived in Madagascar. I really love my ward here in Betongolo. Sometimes it's hard that we have to share time with the office. I'm kind of inclined to neglect the office - ha ha. I love our area. We have a bunch of new people that we're teaching. I changed my tracting approach this week. It has really helped with finding people. Instead of introducing myself as a missionary and kind of making conversation with people, I'm trying to be really direct. I think it's important for people to see the significance of what we're talking about. I like to say we are servants of Jesus Christ, and we have a very important message for you that will bless your life. It feels weird to say, but it shows clearly what we're about. It's really important for people to feel the spirit because that's ultimately what will change their lives. Yesterday we had a lesson that fell through so we started tracting. It was late at night and raining. Usually at night people won't let us in, but we decided to pray, try to stay focused on the work, and not get discouraged. We found three new people to teach in just 40 minutes of tracting. In fact every door that we knocked on let us in. Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged in Madagascar. People are nice, but some are unkind to members of the church. Members sometimes get evicted or are refused jobs. Progressing in the work can be difficult. This email has been all over the place, but I hope you are all doing well.

Elder Ahlstrom