Tsisy vorontsiloza tamin'ny Alakamisy....
Hey Everyone!
I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that
ya'll stuffed yourselves full of Turkey! Thanksgiving was a little different
here but Elder Coleman and I sure made it worthwhile. We started off the day by
working our tails off and then on Thanksgiving night we went to this insane
beach resort down in the main part of town. The food there was really expensive
but it was so good. I got this really good shrimp and then topped it off with
some chocolate mousse. I never thought in a million years that I would be
eating seafood on Thanksgiving but it sure was good!
Anyways, the next day Elder Coleman left and I got my new
companion Elder Wootan. He is such a baller and he's got great ideas for this
branch. He and I have been talking for the past couple of days and we have come
to the conclusion that the leaders in this branch need help. It's not that they're not doing a good job, they just
don't know how to do their job. Elder Wootan and I are going to be doing lots
of training with Branch Members to see if we can bring this place back to life.
Mahajanga can be an area of strength here in the mission, but we first need to
help the branch get back on their feet.
We had 3 baptisms this week! Victor, his wife, and
Mercelline all got baptized on Saturday and I had the privilege of performing
all 3 ordinances. To make matters even better, we did the baptisms in the
Indian Ocean! Literally, the coolest experience of my life. There were a couple
of times, however, where I thought I was going to die because the waves were so
big, but in the end, we got everyone baptized and it was a great way to spend
our Saturday afternoon. The next day, they all received the Gift of the Holy
Ghost and I have a little story to go along with that.
On Sunday morning, Elder Wootan and I walked into the
Chapel to make sure everything was in order for Sacrament meeting to start
especially for those who would be receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Every
thing seemed to be in order until our 2nd counselor came up to me, literally 5
minutes before the meeting started, and said, "You ready?" I replied, "Ready for what?" He then went on to
tell me that my name had been written down as the one who would be giving
Mercelline the gift of the Holy Ghost! Talk about panic attack! I started
freaking out a little bit because I literally had no idea how to do it in
Malagasy and I only had 5 minutes to prepare. In the end, I figured out what
to do and the nerves eventually went away. Mercelline received the Gift of the
Holy Ghost, along with the other two, and now all 3 are members of the church.
Well, that's about it for the week. We saw a lot of
amazing things happen this week and I sure am thankful for our 3 new recent
converts. I love you all so much and I hope everyone has a great
week!
Love, Elder Stringfellow
Baptism Pics! The last pic is the best, haha! Really
thankful the waves didn't kill me!
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
No comments:
Post a Comment