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