9.24.12

Hey,

Great week, tons of success woohoo! There was one lesson that was the coolest for me. I have been studying chapter 6 in P.M.G. and working on diligence because I have been way tired lately and I just want to crash. So Sunday afternoon I was out with my mini all day running to people's houses and going door to door in between lessons and it just felt like nothing was happening. So I started To wander a bit down some paths I hadn't seen before and I found myself in front of this one guys house that I had already tried 5 times. Something just kept taking me back to this house and finally this time the father was home. At first he gave us the hand and waved us away but I kept talking ha. He started to get really mad and told us to leave and I said do you know who we are? So blah blah blah we were sitting on his porch and chatting a bit. We busted out a first lesson in 5 minutes and he was asking questions with a tone of "well what about this? hmmm?" By the time we finished and he couldn't find any faults we tried to fix a return appointment and he gave us the usual, "I work all day everyday," well right back at ya punk so do we. When we told him we worked from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. something hit him hard and he just couldn't believe it. Apparently it clicked in his head that we weren't going around stealing money from people and that we actually are called of God. It was nuts how he changed and suddenly had respect for what we were doing. He kind of freaked out and busted open his front and sat us down in his front room. He is a way solid guy and we will be teaching him next week! When we left I stopped and reflected for a bit about what had just happened because I was so blown away by his change of heart. His heart was softened because of how diligently we labor and it was a total answer to my prayers when I asked for strength and motivation to be more diligent as a missionary. For you guys it probably is a dumb little experience, but as I have been out here I have realized that those small things are the most powerful moments in life. Once I realize and accept that something is an answer to prayer for me or someone else, the spirit lays into me and it is an indescribable experience. You feel so close to God out here sometimes it's nuts. As for other news... there isn't much, just work as usual. Today we have a 5 on 5 basketball game lined up against the the Gendarmes (military police) because they saw Cusick, Tree, and I walking the other day and challenged us. I'm worried that if we win they'll throw us in jail so we might have to throw the game haha. I'll let you know how it goes next week! Have a great week friends. 

Love Jeffrey

    

Bonjourrra!

Great week. Lots happened but I am just going to tell you guys about a new family we are teaching. The Dad's name is Jean-Baptiste and he is married with three kids. The kids are 18, 22, and 9 years old and the older two are in college. We found them at their house on Tuesday and taught them the first lesson and set up a time for Sunday night. Last night was one of the most powerful lessons of my mission. So We start to review the Joseph Smith stuff and I have them read the definition of Apostasy in the pamphlet and they all start to figure out what we're trying to teach them. Then once they figured out how important it all was they started asking tons of questions. Then they kind of started to freak out because they realized that if they make the wrong choice then they'll be in trouble. So we answer all their questions and just make everything crystal clear and then teach them about the Book of Mormon. I being an IDIOT didn't take a Book of Mormon when I left the house so I had them reading stuff out of my personal triple and taught them that way. I had never had any person figure out for themselves that if our message was true they better make the right choice or else haha. I have had people just take our word for it off the bat and others think mhmm sure that sounds nice and come along that way, but never had I seen people be somewhat stricken with fear from realizing the gravity of our message. It was sick because the spirit was practically lighting the room and our testimonies were unshakable! It was awesome. So as soon as the lesson was over we sprinted to our house and ran back to their house with the book. I wouldn't be surprised if they read the whole thing that night. Woohoo!

We fixed some bap dates this week as well. November 3rd will be a big day if everyone follows through!

Go Aggies.

Elder Barclay

Hi everybody,

What a great week! We started things off with a bang and took my buddy Elder Allred to the hospital to get his appendix taken out on Tuesday. Yep he is the third missionary in 2 months to have his appendix taken out. By now i'm wondering if thats what the real problem has been with these guys or if the doctors here were taught that if someone has a sideache to cut them open and pull something out. Just kidding, the doctor is really good and he helps us out a ton. So I was up until 3 a.m. at the hospital while Elder Allred was getting taken care of. Of course I recorded him when he came out of surgery, now I have three 30 minute films of blackmail  for Elder Cusick, Elder Abney, and Elder Allred. I got to call his mom and tell her what was going on which was cool. Way nice lady.

Wednesday night I was back at the hospital switching out missionaries to stray with Elder Allred when President Adams called and told me the transfer news. I will be working in Anjanahary with Elder Tregeagle who is Elder Cusick's companion now. Elder Cusick is going to Mauritius (lucky turd) and I will replace him. I managed to get out of being an office elder but still haven't escaped the office. 

Thursday was a definite black eye on the week. I woke up on the hospital floor in Elder Allred's hospital room after staying the night with him with an usual feeling in my stomach/bowels. Apparently my lunch from Wednesday wasn't too great for my body. I was in the bathroom all morning and finally got to go home around noon where I took some medicine and went to bed. Five minutes after falling asleep I woke up and ran to the bathroom and threw up so hard that I pulled a muscle in my neck and shoulder haha woohoo! I don't know if any of you are familiar with the term "double-dragon" but that is what happened. 

Friday morning we were back at it and taught Revenaldo about the Plan of Salvation and committed him to be baptized on the 6th of October. He accepted and told us how he is planning on serving a mission too. He's a stud and man... hearing that made us happy. Friday night was really cool. Elder Carl B. Cook of the seventy arrived for his mission tour and Elder Tregeagle, Elder Cusick, and I got to meet with him and President Adams about the tour for a few hours. It was awesome. Great guy ha. 

Saturday was Zone Conference. Hallelujah! It was just the kick in the rear that I needed to get me back in line. It's crazy how we slack off little by little after a big zone conference and then get slapped in the face again a few months later. The best part is that I never feel bad but just pumped to get work done. I'm sure that is because these general authorities teach by the spirit and do things the Lord's way and not their own. Elder Cook told us a story about the end of David A. Bednar's mission. A few months before he was going home his mission president asked him if there was anything he could do for him and Elder Bednar said, "Just don't tell my companion when I'm going home." So one morning during companion study when Elder Bednar and his companion were planning for the day Elder Bednar brought up the point that he needed to be to the airport at 2 because he would be going home. I think I'm going to attempt that same trick So I really do work up until the very last day. The zone conference was awesome. That's all for this week folks. Love y'all!

Elder Barclay 

Yo,

Had a nice relaxing week. Monday night Abney and I were leaving the office when his appendix blew up like a balloon. He was hurting pretty bad so I drove him to the hospital and started calling Dr's and we got his surgery organized. It was about 8 p.m. when this all started. So the Dr. sent us to some places to get scans and ultrasounds and it turned out to be a mess because every place we went to either didn't have working equipment or the Dr. wasn't there. So Elder and Sister Grey, President Adams, Abney, and I were cruisin around Antananarivo trying to get this stuff done. Sister Grey is over the hospital issues and she couldn't remember where one of the places was so sweet, innocent, old, elder and sister Grey decide to stop and ask people for directions haha. Well at 1 in the morning in Madagascar the only people out on the streets are usually prostitutes and their customers ha. The hoochies weren't much help. Yikes, at the time I was bugged because Abney was dying and we were just humbuggin around town taking in the sights and trying to figure out where the place was by asking prostitutes for directions. So finally by 2 a.m. it was all sorted out and Abney was in a hospital bed. The next day he had surgery and that was pretty much my week. When he came out of surgery he was saying some pretty funny stuff and I got a good 30 minute movie. Even President Adams was laughing. So finally on Sunday I was able to get a malagasy member to be my companion and we went and taught. We caught four of our people at home and taught some solid times. Joshua and Nirina are my new favorite people. They're a young couple about 22 years old and just married. It's like teaching my friends. I love it! Saturday was the highlight of the week. Hery and Yarisoa were baptized. The branch President baptized Hery and I baptized Yarisoa. It was awesome. Super solid people and I get to be the guy who was a part of their conversion. Their baptism was probably the most solid success I have had so far. He'll be a stake president for sure. Other than that just a boring old regular week ha until next time friends.

Jeff  

Hey there,

Great week. Straight up miracles this last week. So El Bakri is home and Abney is my new companion. We laugh too much for our own good. Transfers got taken care of again and I hope next time transfers come I'm the one getting transferred ha. Well, I hope me and Abney work together for a while, but get me out of the office. So he has been in country for 4 months, hey what do ya know, me too! So we are about the same when it comes to the language haha woohoo! We have been going for it and you wouldn't believe the lessons we have been dropping on fools. The greatest was our lesson with Hery and Yarisoa. We taught them about temples and genealogy and of course I have never studied any of that vocabulary. During the lesson words just kept coming into my mind so I would just say them and they were getting so excited because they could perform the ordinances for their family. Powerful. We got their baptismal interviews taken care of and they are getting baptized on Saturday night at 5. I can't wait! One funny story from the week happened while Elder Abney and I were walking down the street to a lesson. A big plastic bag came rolling between Abney's feet from behind us, then the bag ran up onto Abney's foot and it turned out to be a giant black and white rat about the size of a cat and not just a plastic bag rolling by in the wind. We both started screaming and jumped up into the air and the rat scurried down into the sewer haha. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Another funny sya took place one night after we had gotten home. Abney was in the bathroom doing work and reading the Liahona while I was in the kitchen making some dinner. So there is window in the bathroom that is right above the toilet and it was open while he was in there. I grabbed a piece of paper, crumpled it up, lit it on fire, and dropped it in the bathroom hahaha. It landed on his arm and he started screaming and jumped up with his pants around his ankles and kept screaming for a good 4 seconds after I had dropped the paper. I'm waiting for the payback anyday now. This week has been one of the greatest weeks of my mission and I hope it stays this way. Be sure to let me know the games go this week. Hopefully Riley Nelson doesn't CHOKE like the last two BYU all star QB's :) I also heard Jordan Wynn is on Heisman watch? That can't be for real.

Love Jeff     

Transfers,

El Bakri is on his death bed. We got the news last night about transfers and I will stay in the office with my new comp Elder Abney. He came up to Tana a while ago for some medical stuff and he worked with Seifert and I and he is awesome. We got along way good and I'm pumped to be comps with him. He has been in country for 4 months, so still young but hey we'll get stuff done whether or not people can understand our jibberish haha. Apparently there will be transfers in 2 weeks again... pray that I don't go back to knocking doors all day in Reunion. Well i don't mind where I am, it's just a lot easier to teach here. So for this weeks news! Hery and Yarisoa are ready for their baptism on the 1st of September. Super golden. So we had to take 3 malagasies to the airport for them to go to the temple and then MTC in Ghana. There was ridiculous traffic and it took us 2 and a half hours to get out there and I had to pee before we even left the house. So by the time we got to the airport i was numb between my belly button and knees and we were a bit pressed for time. So I go running into the airport to relieve myself ha and of course the families of the missionaries are all standing there waiting for us and they all jump me to say, "You're late! Where are the visa's?! Are they going to make it?!" I ignored them and went to the bathroom and started to go. So as I'm standing there a little kid comes up next to me and starts peeing up into the urinal because he is too short. So I'm just getting soaked by this kid because he is splashin and spraying everywhere. I had to pee sooo much that I couldn't stop and I just had to stand there and take it. So I took a bath and in the sink and went back out to get the missionaries through line and stuff and deal with their families. They came back at me as soon as I left the bathroom and I showed them the passports, told them that we were exactly 1 hour and a half early which is what is required for international flights and told them to get out of the way. So then I had to go get some cash converted for them for when they landed in South Africa. The first guy I went to wanted my passport, flight plans, and left arm to do the exchange so I went to the next guy and he only had 60 bucks on him and I needed 90. Then I went to the next guy and they wouldn't do it for who knows what reason, probably because I'm white. So I go back to the first guy with my passport and some flight plans and he makes me sit and wait for 20 minutes, so by this time I was getting a little aggressive. He asked if I was in a hurry... Hooray for patience. It all worked out though. Woohoo there's your story for the week. I gotta go haha Have a good one!

Elder Barclay    

Yeah!

Hey homies :) Another solid week. My trip to Reunion was amazing. So after I emailed you last Monday I went out on splits with Elder Fennell and Elder T. They said we were going to visit a less active that lived above the Gonthier's (my favorite people on reunion island) so I asked if I could just stop and say hi and they said sure... So I rang the doorbell and turns out that they had set up a dinner with them just for me. Melanie (Soeur Gonthier's nonmember friend that we used to teach) was there and she was pumped to see me as well. It was awesome. I didn't think anyone would remember who I was. We had a way good meal and had a way fun time talking about all the good times we had when I worked with them. After we taught the lesson Soeur Gonthier went and got a present that they had bought for me. I almost shed some tears! Man I love those people, they bought a sweet book about Reunion that wasn't very cheap. I was touched ha seriously it was hard not to hug them all. So after that we went to visit all the recent converts that I had taught as investigators. We saw my boy Mason Juldas first and he is still his kreole gangsta self, but now he's a kreole latter day saint gangsta reppin the Mormons out in the streets. He was way fun to visit and teach. So that was all Monday night. On Tuesday We went to Onja's house. She was out on her deck waiting for us to get there when we showed up. She made a huge lunch for us. The food was soooo good. She is as solid as ever. I taught her a spiritual thought in Malagasy and it was sick! I can't explain the feelings I have for all these people. Man... We took some fun pics that you guys will like haha. So that was pretty much it. I got to see Elder Twitchell and Elder Long as well as the sisters. It was hard to leave back to Mada. I had the time of my life and got to see the fruits of my labors. I also got my french visa renewed just in case a transfer comes up and I need to get bounced back over there. Only President and the AP's know what the future holds haha. I just want to get good at whatever stinking language I'm speaking. Malagasy is coming quick now Elder El-Bakri is helping me sooo much, mostly because he just stops talking during the lessons and doesn't start teaching again until he thinks I have tried enough haha. I just go for it and sometimes I do way good and other times people are like, "Ohh cute... he's trying to speak Malagasy..." The other day I taught the majority of the 2nd lesson. I was proud of myself. The rest of the week was routine. This morning we went souvenir hunting. If you have any requests or ideas, let me know because I'm going to be blowing some cash here at the end of my mission for you guys. The only problem I really have in my life right now is that my companion is going home to America next week. Lucky piece of poop haha. It takes every ounce of energy in me to not get trunky... Church is the worst, I have had some pretty graphic daydreams of me coming down that escalator in the SLC airport during sacrament meeting the last couple of weeks. Don't worry though I'm still scared of my mission ending. Well That's about it for me talk to y'all next week!

Elder Barclay