Monday, August 10, 2015
August 10, 2015
This week has been full. I'm doing well. I love Madagascar. I feel a special affinity for this place. It's hard. I can't say that I always like it, but I love it. One difficult thing for our ward this week was the passing of a pioneer. The wife of one of the high counselors passed away unexpectedly on Monday afternoon after a massive heart attack. It was really sad. She and her husband have been members for years and have done a lot to build the church here. She actually bore her testimony on Sunday and taught Relief Society. The family was sad, but mostly they were very thankful that only a few months before they had gone to the temple. Her husband kept saying that he felt they needed to go. She passed away just four months later. Her husband was very thankful for the temple. It made me think about how blessed we are that we don't have to sacrifice six months worth of all expenses above food and housing (the usual temple sacrifice) to go to the temple. The Lord places pioneers in places like Madagascar. I just want to learn to be like them and to bring that back with me. I always find it interesting that the Lord sends such great people to the church here. Smart, skilled people who have lots of potential, and they are willing to sacrifice wealth, time, and prestige to build the church. To be a stake president or bishop here is essentially a full time job. We (our family and those similarly situated) only get to go to the temple because others before us made the difficult sacrifices, thinking about our day and wanting their children to have the blessings of the gospel. They paid their tithing, sacrificed their time, and dedicated everything for God. I would like to dedicate, but most importantly consecrate, more.
A cool thing that happened this week was Mormona manome tanana - Mormon helping hands. It was really cool. We had 50 people show from just our ward, which was especially insane because people in Madagascar don't really have a concept of charity and service. Anyway, we built an incinerator (in this case it was a cement garbage can with pipes at the bottom for water to run out), a chalk board, and cleaned a school. It was a very good experience. Also mixing concrete with a shovel is hard. Also carrying 50 lbs of bricks, sand, etc was tough. They were going to carry something like 350 bricks and 200 lbs two miles, but the senior missionary couple offered to let the members use their truck so that made it a whole lot easier - ha ha.
I'm doing well and hope everyone there is too. Please say hello to everyone for me.
Elder Ahlstrom
This week has been full. I'm doing well. I love Madagascar. I feel a special affinity for this place. It's hard. I can't say that I always like it, but I love it. One difficult thing for our ward this week was the passing of a pioneer. The wife of one of the high counselors passed away unexpectedly on Monday afternoon after a massive heart attack. It was really sad. She and her husband have been members for years and have done a lot to build the church here. She actually bore her testimony on Sunday and taught Relief Society. The family was sad, but mostly they were very thankful that only a few months before they had gone to the temple. Her husband kept saying that he felt they needed to go. She passed away just four months later. Her husband was very thankful for the temple. It made me think about how blessed we are that we don't have to sacrifice six months worth of all expenses above food and housing (the usual temple sacrifice) to go to the temple. The Lord places pioneers in places like Madagascar. I just want to learn to be like them and to bring that back with me. I always find it interesting that the Lord sends such great people to the church here. Smart, skilled people who have lots of potential, and they are willing to sacrifice wealth, time, and prestige to build the church. To be a stake president or bishop here is essentially a full time job. We (our family and those similarly situated) only get to go to the temple because others before us made the difficult sacrifices, thinking about our day and wanting their children to have the blessings of the gospel. They paid their tithing, sacrificed their time, and dedicated everything for God. I would like to dedicate, but most importantly consecrate, more.
A cool thing that happened this week was Mormona manome tanana - Mormon helping hands. It was really cool. We had 50 people show from just our ward, which was especially insane because people in Madagascar don't really have a concept of charity and service. Anyway, we built an incinerator (in this case it was a cement garbage can with pipes at the bottom for water to run out), a chalk board, and cleaned a school. It was a very good experience. Also mixing concrete with a shovel is hard. Also carrying 50 lbs of bricks, sand, etc was tough. They were going to carry something like 350 bricks and 200 lbs two miles, but the senior missionary couple offered to let the members use their truck so that made it a whole lot easier - ha ha.
I'm doing well and hope everyone there is too. Please say hello to everyone for me.
Elder Ahlstrom
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
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
July 27, 2015
Well, another week. I apologize for not emailing last week. Let me quickly explain why. We had a really special opportunity to go to a place called Andasibe. So at 2:55am, we had to get up and pick up some Elders coming in for transfers. After that Elder Stokes, Elder Rice, and I went to Andasibe. We got permission from President Foote due to the special circumstances that we had been working really hard in the office and it was Elder Stokes' last P-day before returning home. So, to explain Andasibe... it's outside of Tana on the road to Toamasina. It was actually really cool to be able to drive back along that road again (especially because it wasn't in a taxi be). You go down that road and then drive like an hour into the jungle. You know how people usually envision Madagascar, well that view closely reflects what we got to see. We got to walk through the rain forest and see tons of lemurs. We brought bananas and the lemurs would just come to us from all over the place. They would jump on us to take the bananas. Part of Andasibe is a national park. The other part is like a wildlife preserve. I really enjoyed it.
After Andasibe I came back and got my new companion. Actually, fun fact, companions. Yes, I'm in a trio now! Elder Liao is from Minnesota and Elder Anderson is from Logan, UT. We're doing really well and getting along. It's hard to get a new companion because you have to learn one another's quirks. And now I've got two. But we're doing well and working hard.
President Foote is very different from President Adams. I love to see the differences between them because they're both such awesome men. President Foote likes to talk and explain things a lot. President Adams was much more reserved. This week President Foote took me with him to listen in on a meeting between him and the Stake President. He just teaches all the time. His wife is super nice. Again, very different from Sister Adams. I'm so thankful I got to see both of them in the office and had the opportunity to get to know them.
Two more things I'd like to mention quickly. First, Brother Morin is awesome. He often sends me emails, and I really appreciate them. He asks me not to write back so that I can focus on family, but I couldn't help but give him a shout out. I really appreciate his spiritual thoughts and insight, and I hope he is doing well. Lastly, Elder Stokes went home on Wednesday. I definitely miss him. I have had some really great companions. It was weird to see a picture of him in America without his tag. That's about all that is happening here. Please say 'hi' to everyone.
Elder Ahlstrom
Well, another week. I apologize for not emailing last week. Let me quickly explain why. We had a really special opportunity to go to a place called Andasibe. So at 2:55am, we had to get up and pick up some Elders coming in for transfers. After that Elder Stokes, Elder Rice, and I went to Andasibe. We got permission from President Foote due to the special circumstances that we had been working really hard in the office and it was Elder Stokes' last P-day before returning home. So, to explain Andasibe... it's outside of Tana on the road to Toamasina. It was actually really cool to be able to drive back along that road again (especially because it wasn't in a taxi be). You go down that road and then drive like an hour into the jungle. You know how people usually envision Madagascar, well that view closely reflects what we got to see. We got to walk through the rain forest and see tons of lemurs. We brought bananas and the lemurs would just come to us from all over the place. They would jump on us to take the bananas. Part of Andasibe is a national park. The other part is like a wildlife preserve. I really enjoyed it.
After Andasibe I came back and got my new companion. Actually, fun fact, companions. Yes, I'm in a trio now! Elder Liao is from Minnesota and Elder Anderson is from Logan, UT. We're doing really well and getting along. It's hard to get a new companion because you have to learn one another's quirks. And now I've got two. But we're doing well and working hard.
President Foote is very different from President Adams. I love to see the differences between them because they're both such awesome men. President Foote likes to talk and explain things a lot. President Adams was much more reserved. This week President Foote took me with him to listen in on a meeting between him and the Stake President. He just teaches all the time. His wife is super nice. Again, very different from Sister Adams. I'm so thankful I got to see both of them in the office and had the opportunity to get to know them.
Two more things I'd like to mention quickly. First, Brother Morin is awesome. He often sends me emails, and I really appreciate them. He asks me not to write back so that I can focus on family, but I couldn't help but give him a shout out. I really appreciate his spiritual thoughts and insight, and I hope he is doing well. Lastly, Elder Stokes went home on Wednesday. I definitely miss him. I have had some really great companions. It was weird to see a picture of him in America without his tag. That's about all that is happening here. Please say 'hi' to everyone.
Elder Ahlstrom
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