Grant and Elder Anderson

Ny Taom-baovao

How was everyones Christmas? I didnt get many pics from people (besides my father) so you all didnt celebrate it? apostate. haha i hope all was well and everyone enjoys the new year and they realized its still not till the next till i am even close to coming home. oh and aza maditra! haha time is flying and i love it! cant believe i went in half way through this year and this year is now over. how crazy is time? soon i will be at a year then my chick-mish haha i just really wanted to say that term. 

so we didnt do much this week, besides skype and have a couple Christmas parties (zone conference and branch party) it was a good time! haha i especially enjoyed skyping my wonderful fam and i hope they put pics on the blog cause i look good...haha really because i love them! i miss them but it almost feels like i have never left. Tantely tapa-bata fa ny fo mameno azy. So that is an ohabolana or a proverb in malagasy. i love this one, it means "Half a pot of honey, but the heart will fill the rest." some other ones are like "Lasa ny mamba dia misosaka ny voay" or "Ny biby manan-doha tsy mandeha" they are fun to remember and say to people. I use this one all the time when teaching about the Book of Mormon or the Church- "Toko telo mahamasa-nahandro" which literally means "Three bricks will make ripe the food." which basically states the simplicity three things which rely on a bigger thing. maybe its the other way around, but read the last paragraph of the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and youll understand.

SO! Crazy story of the week! We tract into this guy, totally random and he lets us in. Although the gate interaction went something like this - 

Me (malagasy) - Hello we are missionaries from the Chruch...(long) have you seen our church?

Thompson - Yes i have, there are a lot. But just a sec, i have my own faith. yall are the Mormons right?

Me - Yes, where do you pray?

T - Im evangelist, but see here. I dont wanna become Mormon, but can i just learn from you guys?

T (english) - If i learn from you, do i have to be baptised?

Me (malagasy) - no but its part of our purpose but you dont HAVE to be. it depends on the person and how they feel.

T (malagasy) - okay come in...

turns out this guy is way mahay (to be good at) at english and he is probably the smartest malagasy i know. he let us(me haha) teach and i did all in malagasy with a few english words here and there, but he asked a ton of questions. he told me an experience and his theory on the creation and it was beautiful (he started off by saying, i will tell you in english so your friend can understand) haha and it was beautifully retold in English. I dont have time enough to tell the story but know that it was amazing. he is the smartest and most concerned person i have seen when it comes to religion and scripture. we go again to his house on tuesday and i am way excited. remind me to tell you the story!

well i have a few pics and a video for everyone! i love you all and have a great week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

love,

Elder Schroedter

Tratra ny Krismasy

Manahaona Namako,

 

Tena mahafinaritra ity herinandro lasa teo ity. Za nandray ny namako vaovao tamin'ny Alakamisy. Antsoiny hoe Elder Anderson. Elder Anderson ny anarany. Avy any Utah izy. Fa mangingina izy. Tsy miresaka laotra izy. Mampalahelo izany indraindray fa tsy maninona. Mila maharitra hatramin'ny farany. hahaha 

 

Well hello again this week. "Elder Schroedter, youre so maditra, what the mess!?" i know i know, but lemme explain the circumstance and the P-day yesterday. It all started when i woke up that morning (thats usually how a day starts). we got ready and left the house at 8 to cyber. cyberred a lil bit then took a 2 and a half hour bus ride to Manakambihimby, to play football with all the tana elders. took forever to get there...we tied btw. i played qb and you can pretty much call me Peyton Manning in his prime hahaha then we went to analakely the place where it really feels like Mexico in Mada haha its markets and sellers and this and that and whatnot. TONS of people indrindrindra because of Christmas. so we eat and go wait at the bus stop. (me and elder anderson) we lost the two mssionaries we were with in the crowd and they ventured on down the path and caught a bus haha so i was like...im not exactly sure the way home so lets go back to the bus stop! so we did. waited for AN HOUR. nothing. about twenty minutes into the hour the other companionship that lives with us shows up at the bus stop (different one than before) so we wait with them. all the while the darkest clouds have been gathering around. fetch, right? so were like lets start walking! so we do. we get going up this hill and people are just running down it frantically, i literally thought Godzilla was gonna pop out of a building or something, but no it had just started drizzling hahaha so we keep walking and eventually it starts pouring. we four wait under a little terrace thing. it slows to a drizzle and we continue walking. buses go by but they ae jammed full. traffic is terrible so we keep walking. long story short and skipping details of town names to emphasize distance and what not, we walked ALL THE WAY HOME. total time 4 hours and thirty minutes. started walking at 3 then returned and waited at the bus stop at about 3 20. waited an hour and left about 4 20 the walk home. walked, waited about twenty five mintues under that roof thing, then continued on. got home at about 7 20. it was a great time! dont be jealous.

 

i would have to count that as my #TWP this week. #efficientroadsandbusses #ara-dalana

 

so we didnt get a chance to return to the cyber so my comp has to email president real quick and then we will go straight out to a time at 10. WHOOP.

 

I love Ambohimanarina though. I love trainning. Heres what ive realized in these short few days of having a new kid.

 

1. Im not THAT bad at Malagasy

2. I am still terrible at malagasy

3. I love malagasies and malagasy

 

I have talked more than ever (kinda have to) but ive been able to develop a much more personal level with investigators and this mission. i love it so much.

 

So if you didnt get the first few lines. I had a good week. My new companion is Elder Anderson. He is from Utah and is very quiet. I guess when i plead in my prayers for a white companion, after having a Malagasy, i learned that beggers cannot be choosers. he doesnt talk much so its kinda hard sometimes during the day. it has given me the chance to speak more malagasy to others around us when he doesnt talk (which is always haha) i love him though. hes a great kid. i am excited and ready to destroy it this week.

 

almost forgot. its Christmas this week! your challenge this week is to watch "He is the Gift" ASAP (i dont care how many times youve already watched it) and then share it with someone.

 

live the Christmas season. love the Christmas season. Share the Christmas seaon.

 

i love you all. the Savior loves you all.

 

Sincerely,

 

Elder Schroedter

 

(azafady indrindra fa tsisy sary androany. tsisy fotoana)

 

[no pics ^^^]

Madagascar Church History

Not Ready, But Willing!

First off before i forget, here are the challenges and third world probs for the week. I'll start with the probs...

1. tin roofs. but its okay cause i didnt wanna teach, be able to hear you, or go home at night when its POURING RAIN #TWP #whenitrainsitpours

2. rolling an ankle coming home at night 'cause your brick wall surrounding your house fell over #TWP #whenitrainsitstillpours

(this next one is a little personal and might disgust those with weak spirits hahaha)

3. not being able to sleep at night or nap during the day when your sick 'cause you're afraid you might need to shower and change afterward #TWP #hadsomebadchickenandalmostanaccident

haha so! on to spiritual things. this week we had Zone Conference! we went up to Andrainarivo in Tana where the office is located and had a stellar conference. We talked about obedience, gossip, pride, the present, past and future (see blog for details - i dont know how to attach the powerpoint to this) questions, and the relationship between testimony and conversion. we read David A Bednar's talk from a few conferences ago called "Converted Unto the Lord." It was amazing. your challenge this week is to read that talk, maybe share it with someone, and for sure get back to me about what you got out of the talk and what you plan to do about it.

Shout out to the Brinleys for being FREAKIN AWESOME. i love Dutch chocolate. and shout out to the fam (mom) for the package. I love you two families especially much. thank you so much. i could taste the love in all the candies and stuff i got. the food may almost all be gone. fruit snacks are my favorite.

What else happened this week? Lets run through a normal day here. I get up, go to the bathroom haha then study from like 8-11? try to get out to work by twelve, already having been dressed and eaten and such. So we get out and go eat at this hotely called Snack Box (real name - Box'nack) something like that but its way good. they serve vary and laoka. vary is rice and laoka is the meat and beans/stuff it comes with. haha we eat there usually twice a day, but usually the rice and laoka is gone by night time so we usually have soup. We know the whole crew that works there and they know us haha i almost have all the names memorized, we got a pic with them! sometimes we get there real late and its not really open but they still hook us up. i love em. then after that we might grab an ice cream or two down the street then head out to ambohimanarina for work! we take usually two taksibes to get to the desired destination. our area is huge so theres like four different busses you could take. the areas have cool names like Ambodihady or Ambodamita or Morondava (remember the "o" makes the "oo" sound haha) contact for like 2 to three hours a day with three or four lessons thrown in there. its all good fun. this week we've been takin a lotta pics cause this is Elder Randrianatenaina's last week, he leaves TOMORROW! weird...so i gotta distribute all these pics hes had washed to members and investigators.

so you've probably forgotten about the title of the email but now i've struck your curiousity again...well! i am going from complete opposite ends of the companionship spectrum. you may have guessed it cause i told you early, i am training! i go from killin one companion to birthing the next. weird huh? sorry mission lingo comin out there...i am still bad at the language but im so excited! i definitely know ill improve and Heavenly Father will be there for me in my struggle. plus if you ask brother Aldous (mtc teacher whose email is in this giant list) im kinda maditra sometimes so itll be a chance to grow and learn! haha (ask Aldous what maditra means if you want to know the definition)

well i am excited to get this new Elder! trainers/trainee meeting is on thursday so details to come! there are only three elders coming in, one from America, one from French-polynesia, and another from Vanuatu (Remember one of my mtc comps, Elder Tavo? well this guy is his bestfriend) crazy huh! im excited!

well pics to come! i love you all! have a great week and remember your challenge haha

love,

Elder Schroedter

                                                                 Looking sharp!

A Whole Lotta Water!!

Well besides the fact that it has rained everyday per usual, we had even more water! This past saturday there were three baptisms. (pics to come) I had the opportunity to conduct two of the baptisms. here are details about the candidates:

Miora - how old is she? 9. yeah not the best possible, but everyone needs the gospel right? haha her family is less-active, well her mother was but since weve been teaching her she has been coming so thats good, but i have yet to see her father. apparently he works in Mahajanga - far away place. And she has a priest-age brother. We tried to get him to baptize her, but he said he wasnt ready to, so that kinda threw us back but then she picked me to do it so it was all good haha

Hery - He actually came up to us at church, probably my second week here and asked when he could be baptized. Weird huh? He is dating a member so...ya. BUT he accepted all the lessons, commitments, and Gospel. he is an awesome guy, he just lives about a 45 minute bus ride away...two buses actually then a ten minute walk from the stop haha but its worth it!

Serge - the final candidate. Serge has a great story. He learned from missionaries previous to me and randry (we white-washed) but when i got here his wife became very sick. four to five weeks later she actually passed away. It was tough. but luckily we were still able to teach him. He is awesome and remembers almost everything. He has two kids, thania and sergio, they are like 4 and 7. he sells shoes from 5 to 11 in the morning and learns from us twice a week around 2 then gets his kids from school at 4:30. I love this guy. Bad things happen, so what do ya do? you dont throw away what you know is good. I had the opportunity to do his baptism. stud.

Hope you all have a great week and dont get struck by lightning like i almost do every day ;) haha it just rains a lot and the Lords work aint stoppin. actually almost froze one day during a storm. it was saturday haha i could literally see my breathe and i almost ate it in the mud a couple times. fun day! hahaha 

i love you all! stay fresh! email me. do what you do right.

sincerely,

Elder Schroedter

                                               Ready to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner.

EFA DISIAMBRA VE?

wow its already december! bout to hit the five month mark...anyone miss me yet? hahaha

well i had a great week this week! many pics and maybe a video...where to start! hmmm maybe with the fact that i still do not have the plague nor do i plan to ever contract that terrible disease haha im takin my doxy...pretty usually...dont worry! how is everyone elses health? ao tsara ve? 

so how was everyones thanksgivings? thanks for the pics to like the two or three that sent me some. i love you indrindrindrindra (especially). haha its way fun to say! cause the dr is like "g" try it.

well this week was flippin awesome! it all started when we got dogged upon signing off the cyber. we called the guy and was like, "no, not today because its too late" gypsy. BUT! we were outside the cyber and me and koplins companions go back into cyber haha (they got dogged too) but this way drunk guy comes up to us and is like "hey, do yall speak english! cause i dont" (in english) and we are like "this is gonna be fun hahah" we have a hilarious conversation half in malagasy and english. i got his pic so you can see him hahaha we tried to talk about the church, but he was like, "lemme tell you why my people are not good", or something like that haha i loved it!

then on tuesday we had an average day, tuesdays are always way good, we teach most of our solid investigators then. but at the end of the day, as per usual it starts raining. it kinda let up and we were like...ndao isika! (lets go!) so we started the mile run to the main road...it started pouring. we get to the main road, traffic is a mess...so we ran at least another mile home...needless to say i was drenched and it took my shoes about two days to dry haha but it was a good time!

wednesday was even better! it was Elder Koplin's birthday! so we convinced our companions to do a split so i spent the day with him haha dont worry the real reason was because my area had three baptism interviews and Kopes comp is the District Leader, aka the interview conductor so manao'ed the split. we started it off right by gettin cokes at the local grocery store, shoprite. its two thou for a glass bottle which is a liter, but you can return the glass bottle and get 600 back so its like 1400 for a liter, which is like 50 cents. its nice. truly. so then we went to the sinoa(chinese) eating place. and the owners are inactive so we usually get deals but especially that day for Koplins birthday. then we get to our first time (this is in Kopes area btw) but hes not home so we continue through rice patty trails. and these guys are fishing in the mud (a lil bit of water) but like straight mud. we ask if they need help kinda jokingly and they said sure, so we were like why not! service and contacting! we roll up our pants right above the knees and hope in...*slurp* mid-thigh...oh well, literally five seconds in kope snags one with his hand. (its all bare hands btw) then like 10 minutes later i grab one, it was way fun!

we walk home and wash up, and this whole time we are just talkin about like everything. lemme tell you how nice it is to have an english companion...with Randry we barely talk haha soooo we go to the next lesson and we totally kill it. we taught so well together and it was flippin awesome. then we ate at a members, then again at the nicest place i have ever seen in mada. called Gastros Pizza. an amazing day, needless to say.

then thursday was Thanksgiving! average work day, but we killed it for dinner as a house. especially for four 18/19 yr olds. the pics will show but just know it might be one of my favorites of all time...sorry Mom...

and now its monday! yay! haha well i hope you all have a great week! ill leave you with my challenge and third world problem haha

your challenge this week is to read the Sacrament prayers and think about the three things you committed to do when you were baptised and the promised blessing you are guaranteed if you keep the three. write down two ways you could be a better disciple of Christ. the scriptures are found in Moroni, chapters 4 and 5, and doctrine and covenants, chapter 20, verses 77 and 79 but may i suggest reading 75-79. Hope you do it! please report!

third world prob...so today we are riding in a taksibe (bus/vans that taxi everyone around) and our van was goin along and the door bounced off the hinge and almost swung off but i caught it haha 

ratchet cars driving on ratchet roads equals a swingin time #TWP

love you all! have a great week! hope you love the pictures!

love,

Elder Schroedter

                                                         The beauties of the earth.

                                                   Grant and his fellow missionaries.

Tratra ny "Thanksgiving"‏ !!

Well hello fam and friends, how are you? im a little tezitra right now satria za manoratra ny hafatra aloha fa mijanona ny internet mandritra. #TWP ( im a little mad right now because i was writing a message before but the internet stopped during) it was long and beautiful and yes. dumb.

so how was everyones week! thank you for the emails i did receive! email me if you havent. please. i miss you.

well nothing really happened this week. just work and walking and proselyting. and taksibe riding. i love hangin out the back of those things. they dont go to fast but there is a lotta swerving and bumps in the road so i would advise two hands. but what is everyone doing for thanksgiving? i expect a lotta pics. we are havin turkey, home fed and prepared. if youd like to join us i live way close to the airport. i could come pick you up, its only like 10 min taksibe ride from my house, we'll have fresh turkey and if you left today youd make it by thursday! youd miss turkey bowl (which was this morning) and also be out a couple thousands of dollars but its nbd. stay home or where you are haha but we had some football this morning! it was way fun. the usual malagasies showed up that we usually played soccer with so they wouldnt let us play football till we played a little soccer so we did for about half an hour. we won 2-1 and i scored off a penalty. it was fun. then football with the other missionaries! it was way fun. its not the same on dirt though...

the only things that really happened this week was koplin stayed home sick, dont worry i am still healthy. stomach pains here and there but what can ya do? but i stayed home with em so our areas could still be hit. they had member help so it worked out. BUT we killed a rat in the evening...pics to come and oh the sky looked sick since it just finished raining. pics.

OH and i gave the lesson in district meeting this week. it was on being Christlike. classic Schroedter lesson huh? haha but chapter six in Preach My Gospel. read it, learn it, live it. there are so many scriptures. i like Ether 12:6 (faith), or 1 Cor 11 or 13 (charity) etc, but youre challenge this week is to read that, but really to pray each day for a chance to grow in one of the attributes. and pray specifically for a different one each day. (faith, hope, charity and love, diligence, obedience, humility, virtue, knowledge, and patience) this transfer and last, my patience has been tested to its limits. we learn and grow more everyday. i also mentioned in my lesson the fact the we have the potential and ability to become Gods or be Godlike and we have been given this time here on earth "to prepare to meet God" and to repent and learn. but we arent just instantly going to become Gods, we arent going to be as God, charitable, loving, merciful, etc., unless we put that work in now. so theres your challenge, similar to past but we should all be trying to be better and more Christlike all the time, every week, every day, every thought, and every action. it all starts with your commitment to Christ. there is your challenge. tell me your experiences, please.

well thats about all i got! have an AMAZING Thanksgiving! i love you all very much and would love you more if you ALL emailed me back haha but ill get what i can. only so much i can do from half way around the world. i miss you all. i love you all. i pray for you all. 

Elder Schroedter out.

Our Motto is.....

WORK WORK WORK.

and that was our week in a nut shell. probably the hardest ive worked since being here and i cant wait to repeat it for the next 80 something weeks, whoa. 

so i was feelin a little not good monday and tuesday, just from the constant rain and everthing seemed to be flooding through my head. but then i decided, probably the Lord, to just stop that. i dont need that. i told Randry, "dude its your last transfer and i wanna kill it! i want a total of 10 hours by the end of the day. we had 3 hr and 20 min the day previous, but we MADE it. the succeeding days were just as work filled. my goal by the end of wednesday was thirty hours for the week and we hit it right on the dot. it feels so good. i cant wait to work just as hard and forget myself even more.

i learn so much out here. and so much from the emails i receive. thank you.

so a little bit about Ambohimanarina. we are the only branch in tana. and tana is the only place with wards and stakes. there are two stakes in tana. but our ward meets in a building that is four floors high and too small. i have yet to be in the actual sacrament meeting room for the meeting. too small and so many people. BUT there is a new church that has been built. and just needs the contracting of power and water so we are just waiting. its two building...ill take a pic of it sometime. its huge! its the new stake center. we have stake conference there this sunday so hopefully it will be a permanent move. to answer my mothers question, the missionaries dont really get callings, unless the branch is REALLY struggling like Manandona was/is. but all wards have at least 80 members who come to church. our branch has been averaging about 140 the weeks ive been here, idk what it was before. but the work is rolling. we had 28 lessons this week. 30 hours of proselyting time, and 9 investigators at church, the highest yet. things are looking up, but sadly bap dates have been pushed back due to vita soratra (legal marriage) problems, word of wisdom problems and the inability of some investigators to be able to meet with us as of late. but yeah we have like 10 planned and ill probably still be here to see them all! i hope. i love these people and this work.

sorry no challenge or TWP for you this week. survive. i gotta go out to work! love you all.

love,

Elder Grant Schroedter

        After having a small run in with a rice paddie.  I rocked this style for about 4 hours.

Hi there!

HEY SQUAD. 

Just a quick email for you today and I will start with my third world prob. Well it has rained every night for the last 5 days. Which means constant cuts in the power.

Taking 3 hours to get home from the office (usually an hour and 15 minutes) through traffic and only coming home and getting to the cyber to find all power cut, in our house, the local cybers, and the market. #TWP #whenitrainsitpours #patienceisavirtue

Well I will tell my week in pictures. I love you all! Thank you to those who responded to my challenge. your challenge this week is to email three missionaries away from home. (this could include me for those of you who never respond, which is aboult 3/4 my list haha) and then report back. thank you!

i love you all! i hope the pics load and you enjoy them! 

love,

ME (elder schroedter)

                                                      Grant   -   doing the Taylor wave.

                                                                            Hello!!!  

Wassup vazas!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHASEY-POO and MICHELE "mom" SCHROEDTER. i love you both so much and wish you the best. one bday down that i have to miss. only one to go haha chase is turning 20 and my mom is almost at 40, hitting 39 this year. i love you two :) 

How is everyone this week? and in the week previous? i do so ever deeply apologize for not sending a group message in the past preparation day here from Ambohimanarina. So yes i am in the region of capital of Madagascar but i am the furthest north to be counted in Antananarivo. i wish i could here your pronunciation of such malagasy words. i would put offensive language on here and tell you wrongs meanings but this email goes to my mtc malagasy teacher also but i love him and i know hed get a kick out of it. (bro aldous-related to the aldous's the schroed fam knows) small world. but i mean i only say appropriate words in malagasy. dont think less of me haha cant wait to yell random stuff like "door" or "shirt" in malagasy upon arrival in the united states haha 

so first things first, conference. FINALLY got to listen to the throwdown of the apostles and 70. wow it was goood stuff. my favorite talk was Bednar's. finishing off conference strong with "Come and See" freakin beautiful. if you are reading this and you arent a member and if youre reading this and you love me, listen to that talk and tell everyone about it. You need the ointment and bandages we have to offer hahaha great story. another beauty was Tad R. Callister in the Saturday afternoon. it was beautiful. go back and rewatch it if you dont remember it. we can all apply the stories within. i especially thought of caleb in the beginning story of Callisters laydown. i loved it. learned alot about helping those in need, marriage and families and revelation. i loved it. a lot packed in two days. especially since we watched saturdays 6 hours worth of broadcast within 8 hours. whoa nelly but it had never gone so fast. i love it. i hope we truly apply those principles taught. let us seek to sustain those men, not only by the raising of a hand, but by the applying and the living of the principles taught. let us attain those blessings that our rightfully ours.

hopefully i can throw some pics of the pqst couples weeks on here real quick...

but these last couple weeks have been eventful. sickness. conference. work. sickness. just know that my health right now is not at its peak and im having a couple problems. keep me in your prayers haha its nothing serious but just little annoyances you cant control but those are the worst ya? ya.

oh real quick. i was in the mission home a lot this weekend and today and i decided to look for Elder Cryers pics on the board they have of all previous and current missionaries. i found him. this is my version of facebook stalking haha Elder Matthew Tyler Cryer haha seems like a stud. small world he maried Emma Twiggs. cool beans. sorry if that was creepy. but theres your fun fact of the week.

So the pronunciation of my name gets butchered. "Scro...Scroter?" like come on dawg. haha so i say "shro-dare-ah" with a flick of the tongue on the first "r" and a silent release for that "ah" haha beautiful i know. pronunciation here is way mora mora. so phinetic (spelling on that? fa-ne-tick) lol on the irony of that. english sucks haha but i love it i guess.

other fun facts about the mish:

-i have come to believe tana is the dirtiest sight for a mission/mision home. can someone research that for me?

-this is the farthest i will ever be away from home and mission headquarters.

so some crazy food? i havent really eaten anything too crazy yet. just a lotta rice. my favorite laoka is probably henan-kisoa (rice and pig as the side). ive become accustom to cold chicken biscuits and crackers and a lot of fanta and coke. its a beautiful thing. oh and a lotta bread. they have mofo akondro (first word is bread and the second is banana) and its litterally a banana still intact with bread fried around it. havent tried it yet jus cause but i love all the bread they sell at eppiceries. for 1 thou five (1500 ariary) (about 60 cents) i got a glass bottle of coke, a roll like the ones mom handmakes, a little bowl of noodles, and two pizza bite things (about the size diameter-wise of a baseball) and it was way good. maybe i got a discount cause we bought from a members eppicery but i dont think so. was way good!

congrats to becomin bishop, now Bishop Wardinsky! thats way sick. but the names will forever be katy 3rd katy 4th and cross creek haha. true and blue. idk why i said that it just rhymed.

well my third world prob this week is...

not being able to type properly or play the guitar because your pinky nail is so long... #fombagasy #twp

well i love you all and this mission!

i pray to feel your love and support each day. i neeeeeed it for sure. i love you! stay classy! do something spiritual this week and put it on facebook or twitter or instagram

love,

Elder Grant Ross Schroedter

Well HELLO!

Well Hello from Ambohimanarina.

 

this week was a long one haha just adjusting to the new area and new comp and different foods. So i am in tana yay. i am the most north you can get in tana and right close to the airport so come on in. i am livin with elder koplin, a sick malagasy, a BYU soccer player, a greener elder than me, and another malagasy. so my comp is malagasy and i actually knew his family in my first area! way weird right? his dad was just put as a counselor with my old comp (bowler). way small...mission.ya. this week has been quite the change tho, got to see a bunch of other missionaries i hadnt seen for weeks and some id never seen so it was cool. kind of a bummer that guy even went home. come to find out a second would also go home this week, he being in my MTC group. just a bummer. but ya gotta keep your head up and keep working. so they got different...i shouldnt say different, they have food up here haha they did in antsirabe too but not out in the boonies of manandona. so we eat a lot more hotely food, epiceries foods, and other random stuff on the side of the road. its way good. they have a lotttta bread which is way good. maybe thats the reasons ive been havin stomach problems today and yesterday...lets say the VC count has gone up a couple haha but i love it. oh i also drink a lot of soda. dont think i ever told yall this. i broke the soda fast of six full years on august 25th. tiis birthday. from bday to bday. bam bam. beat that caleb haha but yeah they have a lotta coke, fanta (orange, pineapple and grenadelle) and sprite. goood stuff. and cheap haha

 

speakin of cheap haha i bought i rolex today for a lil less than four dollars and its probably worth that much. ill prob give it to caleb when i get back cause i dont really want it...lolz.

 

so last monday we played soccer in antsirabe and me and the guys were talkin about backflips and how i really wanted to do one. so my friend was like, if i do a round off, you have to do a flip so i was like ok cause this guys tall and a big haha but he does it so im like awe crap cause ive never done it off straight ground, but i decided to do a round off into a backflip so it takes me three tries till i try to do a backflip with the roundoff but i nailed it. shocked myself haha first time ever. so we started playin soccer with these malagasies (we won 3-1) haha but i scored one of those and as my celebration i did another one haha it was way sick. id send a video but its back on someone elses camera in antsirabe.

 

oh today we went to the zoo aka lemur land haha and the guys let us into the cages and feed these things. only lemurs ive seen here so far. but they were way cool. i saw king jullien. there hands are way soft and they are way fast. just a heads up. ill send pics next week...maybe

 

so a normal malagasies life is like this: they get up early and work all day. then come home when it gets dark haha and thats it. noone is ever home so we pretty much go contacting all day. ya its great.

 

well i would give you a challenge on something that i studied myself this week buuuuut i only had one actual day of studies amidst all this commotion of moving and interviews and ya. so please, i guess as my challenge, focus a little more each day on YOUR studies. school, church, work, whatever it is. put that little extra effort in, put a little more concentration in, put a little more time in. youll see the difference.

 

i love you all. have a great week!

 

Elder Schroedter

Transfer.

Hello,        HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIELLE AVERY WARDINSKY (born October 9, this thursday) i hope you have an amazing birthday! one birthday down, only one more i have to miss! yessss.

had a GREAT week this week. got transferred to Antsirabe with the Zone leaders. so there was a lotta driving to pick up new guys and them staying over and new trainers and new trainees. there were 13 people that stayed in our house one night. yaaaa. lotta time at the bus stop. so i got to meet a lotta the new guys and see a couple people i hadnt for a while. loved it. got more missionary work done this week than i did in manandona haha oh well.

so im in a trio...for the next couple days. so itll probably be just this week of trio life...cause im gettin transferred again! yay. about my companions first though. there is elder arrieus (are-you) hes french canadian. way sick guy. i lived with him while i worked in manandona so ive known him. we are way tight now haha then there is elder galbreath. hes a cool guy haha but they dont really matter now cause this emergency transfer. apparently there is a missionary going home :( so since we are in a trio at least one of us is gettin switched. im pretty sure im going up to antananarivo. but i think there are other switches besides jsut me. cant i just stay in an area? oh well. its a good thing i love mada and these people. i get to live (i think) with elder Koplin! one of the fab five from the MTC. sucks to leave Covey but glad i get to see kopes all the time. come what may and love it. JB Worthlin. my man.

well i hope you all paid attention in general conference! i get to pay attention to it on the 25 and 26. whoop! hopefully we can get it in english too...haha but ya im way pumped. 

fun fact "simba" means broken. lion king. whoa. jk its not based in mada in malagasy.

and thats all i got this week! oh wait! there were two baptisms in the branch on saturday that i just moved into so that was way sick but they werent mine haha but ive gotten to teach em a couple times. it was a neat experience.

well have a great week! love ya!

Elder Schroedter

                                                           Grant and his furry friend.

LWoDL

What the mess does this title mean? Well its an accronym. first to guess it right gets 10000 ariary. lol jk 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILLIE. i love you. i pray for you as you pray for me, ya cutie.

SO lets start at the beginning of the week. Well we taught sooooo much this week...NOT. Elder Bowler got sick a couple a days, fall throughs, and a lotta meetings for the second counselor in the branch presidency. heres what cool happened this week:

-i did a backflip

-arrows were shot at us

-Elder Bowler got bucked by a lady bull (it had horns. only in mada)

-i split a butterfly in half

-my pinky nail is growin way good

-i taught a lesson almost by myself

"you did a backflip? sick bro how?" well we were walking from a fallen through appointment one day and i see this kid trying to do a backflip onto some rice and i was like, "hold my gohld, hold my gohld" so i went over to the ledge (about a four inch drop to the rice [i know it wasnt straight from ground level to ground level sorry]) but i was like whateves and went for it and landed it like that girl who broke her foot in the olympics but still competed. stumbled (cause i mean it was rice...) but stuck it. word.

arrows? dump bro. as we were waiting for another time these kids were shooting make shift arrows (reed with a pen cap) from bows (a bent reed with a band of rubber as the draw string) and we were like we'll try and catch it. didnt ever. close though!

bucked by a bull you say...well elder bowler and i see a ton of animals out in the dona. SO we enjoy holding them and petting them. (pics to come) so he tried to pet this members cow but he wasnt having any of it. so it like rams him into the clay wall and im like just starin watchin haha it was great. cut his shirt but not the second layer and he only got a bruised butt and cut on his arm. he walked away laughing dont worry haha

split a butterfly. I'm just on a kill streak with animals. that's two weeks in a row. the butterfly was like ten yards away so i was like *throw* (cause i thought id never hit it haha) but i like split it perfectly. it was kinda bittersweet. kinda.

pinky nail is growin! ill send a pic dont worry. malagasy fomba.

so real quick lemme tell you about my struggle. so here i am sitting at the cyber typing this email...no...no...dang it i gotta take a bathroom break. (since we are in the city it does have plumbing...) BUT no toliet paper. no toliet seat. muh. the one day i dont bring my bag around with the sacred scrolls inside...so what do ya do? cant stop that. ill just tell you that a couple pages of my planner are now missing and my thighs are on fire. this is real mada life. but we make it through.

SO one of the two lessons we taught to investigators this week was done by me and max (sent a pic of him holding the way cute dogs a couple weeks back) cause bowler was sick so i left him at the branch presidents house and he rested. but this lesson was like 45 minutes and way gooooood. its comin along even though we teach like not at all. 

i love my studies. this past week ive been at least able to study a lot. i still listen to a ton of talks. when ever. during breakfast. when going to bed, on the way out and back to the dona. whenever theres time. but during studies this last week ive read first nephi and a lot of handbook two(leaders and auxilaries guide in the church). one way cool chapter is chapter 13 in nefia voalohany! (first nephi) its all about the Gentiles leaving england, messing up the natives in america, fighting against mother Britain, the "plain and precious things" being lost from mans understanding of the Bible and the need for a Restoration. way sick! please go back and read that one this week. another way cool scripture, especially if youre into logic and you wanna take a second to understand is in 2 Nephi 2:13. Way sweet. love it. 

how did the article of faith thing go this week? noone reported back. thanks.

well read that chapter and that verse and also this talk. i LOVE this talk, it puts Grace into perspective. it is titled "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. stud. i especially love the piano analogy. caleb pay attention to the piano part. and everyone else (caleb too) focus on the analogy. its beautifully said and easy to understand.

so have you all ever heard the song "When Jesus Say Yes, Nobody Can't Say No"? its by Beyonce and someone else and everyone here loves it. i didnt know beyonce sang stuff like that anymore haha

well the title. "Last Week of 'Dona Life" 

i am getting transferred. MID-training. aint that just the best. NO. i love the dona. i love the people. i love my companion. i dont like it. but im doing my best to accept it. im with the zone leaders in Antsirabe now and im in a TRIO. YAY. thats gotta be a record. 5 comps in three full transfers. good news is one of my comps ive lived with for the last six weeks and hes awesome. elder webb is goin to tana (old zone leader) and a new guy is comin in and ive only heard stuff about him. AND another companionship is comin into the house...gonna be packed and dirty. Mom, i may not have done anything at home, but know that i love it when things are clean, surprisingly, so i do the dishes, clean the countertops, clear and clean the table, and other stuff. im gonna be a great husband. if theres one thing ive learned about being in these companionships is its a lot easier to deal with and love your comp when you serve them and dont complain. i feel like that can be with anything in life. please apply that this week. 

whenever you wanna complain or say something mean to someone, go serve that person or someone.

PLEASE dont worry about me. life is way tough here but i am probably the happiest ever. (except for a few great select moments with fam and friends back home) but really my attitude is great! i love life. i really do. so dont think im down cause the work is down. i dont feel like hinckley at all now, but when even a thought like that comes in i definitely think of that story and remember the 6 word sermon from his father. dont worry about me. i love life. i love manandona. i love antsirabe. i love madagascar. i love these people. i love this work. i love this church. i love my comps. and this may sound weird but i love myself.  not in a conceited kinda way, but in a "im not blamin myself or takin things out on myself mentally" way.

so  here fun words in malagasy to say. 

trash - fako (fah-coo)

ponder (command form) - fakafakao (fah-ka-fah-cow)

read (com. form) - vakio (the v is soft so its va-kiu)

rabbit - bitro (be-chew)

:) lol

well have a great week! love ya all! stay fresh. remember the challenges. gimme feedback.

Elder Schroedter

                                           The countryside where I am serving - Antsirabe.

It's been a hard week....

Salama Tompoko

first off. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPRI, KRISTI, JOHNATHAN, AND SOON MILLIE! i wish you all an amazing day and a better week then i had haha

well this week was pretty rough but it happens. just a lotta problems.

SO to address the parents questions:

1. How many active investigators do you have?

2. What is your average # of lessons taught per week right now?

3. What percentage of the dialogue do you hear?

4. What attribute do you like most about your companion?

5. Do you have a favorite branch member?

1. We have...lemme think...4 (and thats being generous)

2. This last week (excluding BiM lessons) 4? but usually the average, including RCLA's (recent converts/less actives) and investigators, is like 15-20 here in the Dona.

3. I get about 40 percent of the words but putting them together is way rough...

4. He is patient.

5. Our Branch President is probably my favorite. hes a stud and a hard worker.

 

so a quick recap of the week i guess. our dog died(alex) on tuesday. taught not many lessons, did a lotta service, (cleared a rice pattie of weeds [got in the mud] and then planted rice in it. also helped build a door for our branch president) i hit a dog in the truck...probably killed. its yelp of pain will destroy me forever...i felt terrible. i dont think anyone cared though cause noone really cares for these dogs. they are mostly strays and 

around. im sorry though. hate me if you want but i dont care anymore. the cars fine too dont worry. just knocked a light in but can easily be poppedback into place. i know, the car was my first worry too. oh and our branch presidency got rearranged. elder bowler is the second counselor and we have a new first counselor, secretary, and assistant. good stuff. psalms 6:6 pretty much describes my week, please read it.

the mission president gave an AMAZING talk in sacrament meeting. a rare occasion. hopefully these people listen. i pray.

PLEASE, if you dont do anything from reading this letter, do this. find out the guy on the Preach My Gospel: District 1 videos name. and see if it isnt the same guy from the santa clause (the one with tim allen), i sincerely think its Tim Allens kid in the movie. the elder is companions with the hawaiian dude. please help me out.

Talk of the week was on Joseph Smith. whether it was the words which struck me or the fact the i had the playlist of the movie pearl harbor goin on in the background, i dont know. but it was way good and i LOVE Joseph Smith. it was from last conference. sunday morning session. Lawrence E. Corbridge was the speaker. 

So i finished the Pearl Of Great Price in a couple days and it never hit me how fundamental and important the Articles of Faith are. like, have you ever read them and went "thats our church, thats what we believe, why dont i have these memorized? why dont i use these to answer peoples questions of what WE BELIEVE?" they are so fundamental. so important. so TRUE. your challenge this week is to commit to memory, three of them. (if you are a non-member reading this email it can be any of them) but if you are a member it cannot be 1, 2, or 4. those should be on lockdown and if you dont have em memorized, there is more for you to do haha also, the second half for you to do is to share at least one of the articles of faith with some one this week AND report back to me. thank you.

Well this week was a one step forward, two steps back kinda week, but we can only go up from here right? i love you all. i pray for you each individually, thank you for your love and support. never forget who you are and your purpose. Alma 42:4. read the Book of Mormon. study it. learn something. love it. live it.

-Elder Schro

                                           Puppies!!  I want to bring one home with me!!

Faith, Hope, and Charity

Well hello everyone! how are you all? i am great thanks haha

so the pics are pretty rad huh? i love those dogs. the guys house we were waiting at never came...dumb. classic manandona but you cant really blame em. they work all day in the fields, which they live off of, so they usually arent home. happens. a lot. 

so the food here is pretty good and sketchy haha a lot of rice! breakfast is usually cereal and yogurt. or moof balls. and lunch is usually at the hotely. then dinner is either noodles or we eat out at this french resteraunt that is way good. called chez billy's. we are lazy haha

so lemme tell you about the VC... "vay-say" they are great. they are little shacks about as tall as i am. the door is about neck height or smaller and pretty slim. some dont have doors...ya...thats a problem sometimes. but basically it is a little shack built over a giant hole with the floor leaving a whole in the middle to use...remember there is no running water or electricity. and lemme tell ya, its a little smelly and stuffy in there. id love to wait to get home to go but the food you eat doesnt often allow that...haha its quite the experience, i will say that my thighs are gettin more toned. from walkin around everywhere too haha yeah one time...naw ill tell that story after the mish, kinda embarrassing..

Salama Tompo

so! if you noticed mom and dad i pulled out some presonal fund money. everything is way cheap here. i had to buy a bible for 15 thou and pitched in for a soccer ball which was 5 thou. (you can do the math if you want haha) but suits are way cheap and this cool shirt they make is cheap. you buy the lamba (material) then take it to a tailor and the suit is only like 80 bucks american? maybe cheaper. depends on how you bargain. i bought some ray bans for like a dollar and a half and you can by beats by dre for like 7 and a half dollars haha

life here is still same old same old. mothers whipping out feeding substance for their babies randomly. in church. middle of lessons. walking down the road. just gotta get use to it haha i see a lotta animals. starting with insects- there are a lotta fleas, LOTS of flies, wasps, bees, etc. there are tons of cattle chickens ducks "dokitra" (the mix of a duck and chicken) dogs cats and others too haha

something WAY sick this week. i got to go on a companionship exchange with Elder Covey. my closest friend from the MTC. so here we have two terrible malagasy speaking missionaries takin on THE manandona haha we actually had a way good day planned but of course those times fell through. so we went contacting and actually had a way good way for manandona. taught 5 times and got two contacts. which is way good for the dona haha elder bowler (district leader) had to take care of baptismal interviews in andranomanelatra(coveys area). which has a lotta baptisms comin up.

another great experience yesterday! i commited someone to be baptised (they said theyd think about it) but it was way good. we talked in alma 32, a WAY good chapter about faith, and the spirit was so strong. highlight of the day for sure.

Conference talks for you to read this week:

"Hope Ya Know I'm Having a Hard Time" -Quinton L. Cook (i think thats the title) its way good, and theres a mormon message on it too. if youre having a hard time watch that mormon message and "Mountains to Climb" (Mormon messages found in mormon.org or through lds.org) and listen to the actual talk of Mountains to Climb by President Uchtdorf. WAY inspiring.

Well i finished Fotopampianarana sy Fanekempihavanana or the Doctrine and Covenants. way good stuff in there. my favorite chapters are probably 121 and 122. where Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail (what kind of name is that for a jail?) and he just opens up. Verses 1-25 in section 121 and all of section 122 are a huge testimony builder and comfort. very humbling.

section 124 was actually givin on dads birthday...but like 119 years previous...do the math if you wanna know how old Dad is! haha oh and section 135 is on Calebs birthday, for a sad reason im sure a lot of you know. but it is...just 158 years previous. We have little DVD players here and my comp has a few tallks that we can listen to through them and its been amazing. one was a six disc set of 8 lectures truman g. madsen gave on the prophet joseph smith. we would listen to them on our rides out to manandona. i love the prophet joseph smith. i love the song praise to the man. i love section 135. the section where his martyrdom was announced. his testimony will live on forever. Love was his motivation. Just as it was Christ's.

Youre challenge this week is to study love. I dont know what aspects but here are some ideas. how can we love others more? (family, friends, strangers) how can we love ourselves more? (a weird one but it applies) how can we love our faith more? how can we love Christ more? how can we love more?

Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love are my favorite.

If we have love for God and our fellow man, following all the commandments (not just the 10 from Moses) will be a breeze. If we have faith we have not the need to fear. "Faith is the antidote for fear" (in one of the talks i read, maybe nelson?). If we have hope, a chain reaction will go down to the other three. Charity is the pure love of Christ.

I love you all! You are in my prayers. Stay safe. Stay fresh. Stay classy San Diego (im on a mission and a shouldnt quote that movie hahaha).

love,

Elder Schroedter

Salama Tompoko

hello fam and friends. just another email from Mada-who-ha.

 (just tryin to give more detail through out this letter) a missionary in our house related Madagascar to something i see too. Madagascar is the Mexico of Africa. its great haha i love it. so i forgot my camera today. azafady. but living conditions are great. for the missionaries and the rich. we stay in probably the nice apartment complex the mission rents. so yay for that. but i work in probably the least prosperous area. struggles. but our apartment is two stories. its got a fireplace which we use a lot cause who doesnt love a nice fire? you can buy like 10 bundles for less than a dollar (like 40 cents) and we got a giant bundle for like 80 cents one time and it was glorious. 

...quick math problem for you. the money here is ariary. the bills are (starting with the biggest) 10000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, and 100. the coins are 50. 20. and 10. 2500 ariary is about a dollar. so if i have a 10 ariary coin. how much is that worth in dollars (cents)...(that was really for caleb but please get back to me with your answers haha)...

so we have a kitchen and the kitchen sink is the only one with filtered water. two and a half bathrooms. but we have way limited hot water so one usually showers at night and the other at morning. theres a loft area. a study room. a living room. its WAY nice. i'll send pics next week. for my camera today i apologize.

living conditions for our members are rough. my area (Manandona) has no electricity and the only running water is the pumps that the church has provided around the town. houses are made out of brick or clay or crap haha its actually cool to watch em make bricks. the rooms are tight and the bed or maybe two beds and a couple chairs are usually the only furniture. life is tough. i talked last week of how easy it is to be humble. its crazy easy in that sense to be humbled. oh and its all mountains and rice patties out there. love it. some roads are WAY sketch and could easily get the truck stuck somewhere but it hasnt happened...yet...lol.

so my companion is pretty tight, he is WAY good at the language and im not just saying that cause im new and everyone sounds good. he was asked to translate for meetings only six months in. he is from vegas. he graduated a year early in high school and did a year at utah state before coming out here at 18. i know all about his love life haha. hes a funny guy and a great trainer. trainers gotta have a lotta patience...especially in this area...anyways!

glad to hear about everything you all have told me. life goes on huh? hope caleb is doin well in football. hasnt written me in a couple weeks im upset. lol jk i know everyone is busy, i really appreciate all your love and support. 

so the weather right now is spring. its gotten down into the fifties i think this last week which is weird cause the first two weeks was warm. its like im back in texas and mother nature forgets what time of the year it is. but i get to use my sweaters so i look fresh. haha summer and rainy season comes in december so im lookin forward to that! whoop! a regular sunday here is alright. wake up maybe study a but, leave by 9 to greet people about half an hour early. church is at ten. who knows what theyre saying. they could just be roasting me for an hour idk haha then e. bowler "teaches" a temple prep class. we dont have a manual so we read moses and talk about covenants and its not well structured. then preisthood. then branch council. then we teach (hopefully) a time then lunch at 3 with the branch prez. (thats the only time we have food with a member throughout the week) then we got out and try to teach somemore. usually (this is with most days) we teach the most towards the end of the day cause thats when people come home from working. cause no lights otherwise.

a usual day is like this. wake up. eat. get dressed by eight. personal study for an hour. companionship study for an hour then language study. then lunch around 11:30 12ish with the zone leaders at besovana, the hotely, we eat at. then we head out to do work. about a 25 minute drive. (one time we did it in 15) it was crazy! no speed limits, stop signs. lights, stop lights, lined roads. crosswalks. there is only one paved road from antsirabe to the dona and only one road through the dona. so a lotta walking otherwise up and down mountains and rice patties, but no i have never fallen in a rice patty...yet. what the branch lacks in beauty, is taken in the landscape. yesterday was fast sunday and we started our fast at 3:30 on saturday and went all the way to 3:40 on sunday...broke a white handbook rule by going over 24 hours. gonna get struck down or something haha i really am tryin to be more obedient. its helping for sure. it was a great opportunity to fast though. loved it.

ill give you more detail about the branch specifically next week.

so things i needed to mention today:

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUBREY GRACE.

-letters (through regular post office) address [they told us it was unreliable]

Elder Schroedter

B.P. 5094

Antananarivo 101, Madagascar

-thru UPS/Fedex/DHL (this one is expensiver)

Elder Schroedter

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Dingana III, Andrainarivo

Antananarivo 101, Madagascar

-if you were to send anything (dont have to) but i would like my electronic razor, patriarchal blessing (laminated?), food? love, letters?

oh and they recommend putting Jesus stickers on it especially on the seals so they wont open em haha

-i started reading Fotopampianarana sy Fanekempihavanana on monday and im already on section 77. i read about 30-40 minutes a day and its a shame i never really took just that much time outta the day to read. ive gotten so far. i love progress. (D&C btw and its crazy how fast i can say that haha)

-i also read a ton of conference talks. i LOVE them. ones i would recommend from the last session would be "Follow Up" by M. Russel Ballard and "Your Four Minutes" by idk haha but they are both way good. tell me what you learn from them. find em in the Liahona, the Ensign, and online. read em. gimme feedback.

for my challenge to you all this week i would just like each of you to take 30 minutes out of your day. read a conference talk. read the Book of Mormon. the Bible. the Doctrine and Covenants. but study it and put all your focus on it for just thirty minutes a day. i know itll strengthen you and bless you.

time for a third world prob.

Listening extra close to the sacramental water prayer, not because i specifically want to hear the commandments and blessings, but to make sure it is properly worded and blessed (cause who knows what water they are using) #TWP

well once again thanks for your love and support! i love you all! stay fresh.

love,

Elder Schroe