The Past Two Weeks

Howdy. Sorry for the lack of an email the past week. Got caught up in traffic and couldnt get to a computer fast enough. 

Well all you need to know about two weeks ago was that Elder Babb was sick…all week. It was pretty rough so I bet the email wouldn't have been that great hahah. 

Elder Babb's health is back and he is just on the brink of committing to BYU. Lots of my personal prayers have gone into this hahahaha. 

The Flood

All of Tana right now is a big lake. All the rice fields are being harvested and the water is about 4 feet deep. So there are some areas here in Tana that are just completely flooded. Some charities have provided tents for people to stay in as the water has flooded neighborhoods.I had the grand opportunity of walking through crotch deep water this past Thursday for about 1 km. The water was pretty cold, but around the overflown bathrooms....the water got a little hot...hahahah;  

Well, let me tell you, on a mission, sometimes nothing goes right. This past week has been rough. We couldnt catch anyone. We had 7 lessons planned on Saturday, only 1 was there....it was that kind of week. Our baptismal dates continue to be pushed back. Norbert is insistent on getting baptized in that new building so we are still waiting. God's gift of agency is a little annoying sometimes hahaha. Newest news on the building is, they are receiving the key to the church this week. Ive heard that a million times ever since I got to this area, but I think this is the one. Yanta and Flavien are still having problems with their papers. The government messed up Flavien's ID. Put the wrong age on there....Satan is working pretty hard against this couple. We have a couple other investigators though that are really progressing and there should be some baptisms in February and March. 

From a couple weeks ago

Went on a couple "surprise splits" this week. Just showing up at the Elders house and saying, "ITS YOUR LUCKY DAY!!" Hahah. I got to go with one of my favorite missionaries in the mission in his area this past Thursday. His name is Elder Davis and he is from Scotland. He is the biggest Celtic FC fan I have ever seen in my life. He is probably the biggest fan of any sport team I have ever seen in my life haha. You mention Celtic's rival team, Rangers, and you're getting thrown into the rice fields haha. The whole day we just talked about the great game of soccer. Loved it. 

Transfers are next week and I have no idea if Im staying or leaving. Either way, ive learned a lot in this past 4 months. One thing I've really learned here is PATIENCE haha. Patience is a big character trait that everyone has here in Mada. Everything is in God's hands and it is going on His schedule. He's got this master clock that aint gunna change, no matter how hard you try. And Ive noticed it has been in  the times where we endure, that we learn the most. Its when we are frustrated that we finally suck up our pride and get on our knees and ask for help from our Father in Heaven. It shouldnt take frustration to do that. Instead of asking "Why?", we need to ask Him to show us what we need to learn at this specific time. Once we open our spiritual eyes and take a good hard look, we begin to see the ways we have grown. Thats what I have seen over my mission. The goal is perfection. It takes eternity to reach and eternity starts today. Its the little things we dont even think about that over time, will help us reach that goal. I testify of that. 

Have a great week. And God bless, 

Elder Hein

Tana is an ocean!

Tana is a flood right now

Babb is sick

Howdy

A pretty slow week here due to my comp getting sick on Friday night. He might have the black plague....hahaha just kidding, but in case yall didnt know, that disease is not dead. It is still alive and well here in Madagascar. I think Elder Babb just ate something funky. Thats usually what sicknesses come from here. And it kinda sucks because Babb turns 20 today!! Sick on his birthday woohoo!!

So we didn't get to go to church, but we had 13 investigators with a new one coming for his first time. The Branch leaders decided they needed to get closer with the investigators(after months of begging hahha) and had a little "get to know your Branch leaders" thing after church. I heard it went great and Im sure we will have great success from it. It is incredible how much help we need from the members. I dont care if you can preach as great as the Apostle Paul. WE NEED MEMBER HELP.

I had one of the most heart warming experiences of my mission on Tuesday. I almost burst into tears. We have been teaching this family of 9 who live in a one room "oven." No water, no power. Which isnt too uncommon in this country, but they are very very very very poor. They are farmers and look at life with the most incredible outlook I have ever seen. We showed up late to the lesson so we werent going to be able to teach them. But, we brought a Book of Mormon for them to drop off. When they saw the Book of Mormon, it was as if Jesus Christ had given it to them himself. I have never seen nor felt that incredible of a reaction on my mission. The whole family crowded around Babb and I as we showed them the pictures. To top it all off, they would not let us leave without them giving us something in return. They had just harvested rice that day and insisted on giving us some. We didnt have a plastic bag, so they took us down the street to a shop and bought us a plastic bag so they could give us the 2 kilos of rice as a gift. I could not believe the unselfishness and love demonstrated by them. It is moments like that, that make the whole mission worth it. It puts into perspective how far I still have to go, to become like my Savior, Jesus Christ. Those people, are really close.

In the season of goal setting, read this talk: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1819

One of my all time favorites. Look forward to the future. Remember Lots's wife.

God bless.
Elder Hein

Doing some farm work baby!  We eating rice tonight!

Harvesting Time!

Tratra ny Taona Vaovao!!

Happy New Year to all!!

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!! Hahaha

The work this week just went. Even dealing with New Years Day and no one inviting us, or being sober enough, to learn, we had an outstanding week. We found ten new investigators this week that are ALL solid potentials. It is easy to find people that want to let a white person into their house, but someone that actually WANTS to learn, thats a little different. Found a couple more families. One of them, another wealthy family who are the Presidents of a big Protestant Church just outside of Tana. We also teach now, an Elder at another Christian denomination. I really dont know why we are teaching all these highly influential church leaders haha, but everything happens for a reason and I am loving it!

Might be a little short this week, but man it is great to get to a New Year. You get toturn a page. Become better. Set goals. And look to the future. Something that Ive always loved: DREAMS. We all have dreams. No matter what it is, we can accomplish it. Its how hard we want it. The way we reach those dreams is through goals. They just help us on the way. I have seen each and every day on my mission the importance of written goals. We all have them at this new year. Write them down. Put them in a place where you can see it. Then, DO IT.

Most importantly, lets set goals that really mean something. Lets set goals for the stuff that matters. How we can be a better person, mother, father, sibling, etc. And most of all, how can I be a better disciple of Christ each and every day? Through prayer and desire, I know we all can become better disciples in this coming year. He has done everything for us. Lets try and give some back to him.

I love this story: http://www.christinyou.net/pages/pushups.html

Have a great week. God bless.

Elder Hein