06 Oct 30--Poverty and the "Red Island"

Well, another week here on the "Red Island" has come and gone. Yesterday and Saturday, we finally had the chance to watch conference. It was one of the best I've seen. It's great to hear from you. I got a package of Halloween candy from the Kings, so tell them thanks for me, (or misaotra or merci or whatever.)

The winning story for this week goes as follows: On Thursday as we were on our way to another appointment, we saw a man lying motionless in the middle of the sidewalk near a busy street. Since I've been here, I've seen lots of drunk people and am used to seeing drunk people doing strange things, but there was something different about this person. We asked some other people how long he had been there and if he was drunk. They said he had been there a half hour and that he was not drunk but very sick. I looked a little closer and it occurred to me that he was probably on the verge of starving to death. Immediately we thought of calling the police or an ambulance to come and help. The second we started to help, a crowd of people came to see what we were doing, and started to block traffic. I handed the phone to several different people to call police or somebody. None of them knew the number, and it was starting to get ridiculous, so I finally took the phone back and flagged down a taxi. We picked the guy up--he was stiff as a board--and put him in the small taxi. I couldn't bend his knees, but we got him in somehow. As we picked him up, two policemen even drove by at separate times on motorcycles, and looked at us, but didn't stop. We got in, and drove him to the hospital.

When we got there, they took him and put him on a stretcher. The doctor beckoned us to follow him in. He looked at the man, and said he might be sick, but was probably starving, however, he could not help him unless we paid them first. We explained that we are missionaries and that we don't really have money. The nurses sarcastically retorted " we don't have money either" and started speaking French to us. They basically said to the effect that we were white, and of course we have money, all the while, the man lay unconscious on the stretcher. The hospital was only for French people and rich Malagasys, we realized as we looked at the people, and the nurses, who were very "well to do." We asked what we could do to get help for the man. They told us we could pay for IVs and an ambulance to transfer him to a different hospital, so we payed them and left. It was an eye-opening experience. I thought it was ironic that every day we walk down the street and people shout "Vazaha!" at us, they think we're French , and love to tell us how rich and selfish we are. And yet this man had laid a half hour on the street, about to die, and people just walked past him. They didn't even have a pretense of helping him, until we came. Personally, I could not, in good conscience, just walk past. In the mission rules, we are not allowed to give to beggars, and sometimes you feel guilty, but you have to keep walking.

Last night, as we were walking home, we came across the same area where we found the man we helped. Someone called us over as we passed. He didn't shout "Vazaha!", he didn't speak French in a mocking way,( he didn't even try to speak french, which was refreshing.) He pointed across the street at a woman with a baby, and told us that she needed help. We told him we didn't have any money, and why we were here, but that we would see what we could do. We walked over to see what the problem was. It was a cold night, and I asked if the house right next to us was her house, she said that it was. I felt the crying baby's hand and realized it was freezing. I suggested that she should go inside because the baby was cold. She refused and then said the house wasn't her house, I pointed out that she had already said that it was her house. She then agreed again, that it was indeed, her house. This conversation was beginning to get frustrating, if not a little weird. After talking with the lady for a little while, I arrived a the sad conclusion, that she was crazy, and that the house was in fact, her house, but that she refused to go in. We talked for a little bit more, and realized that we couldn't do anything, and left.

I realized a few things from these two experiences. The man who pointed the woman out, had seen us help the other man earlier that week ( I may have even given him the phone call the police.) And he knew that we weren't just regular people, and here to help. If not that, why else would he have called us over to help someone else? I also realized that sometimes, we can't help everyone, because they refuse to be helped. I also realized that, I love America. In America, if a man passed out on the sidewalk, even if he was drunk, 5 minutes wouldn't pass before 10 people with cell phones would be calling for help, and help would arrive promptly.

I still don't have any solid conclusions about life, except that I know the church is true. I still have lots of hope for these people. And I know that the gospel is the solution to every one of their problems. It won't eliminate all of their problems by any means, however, it will take care of some of the major ones and allow them to put their problems into perspective. I am here to help people, and I'm trying to give them something better than anything else anyone else has to offer.

Well, my time is up, and I've gotta go, so Veloma! and I'll write to you next week.

Elder Draper

06 October 23--Laugh Out Loud

Ny fianakaviako,

It's great to hear from all of you. Thanks for the letter Thomas, and Wade ( and of course, Mom and Dad.) I also received letters from Rosie, Jennie , and Jeff within the last 2 weeks, in fact, according to Jeff's letter, he left for Japan the day I got the letter. It's really cool to hear from everyone. I've been avoiding getting too tied down to a schedule because, well, that's just always been a prominent aspect of my personality ( although not necessarily a good aspect.) Consequently, I have found little time to respond, and the letters I did send were sent back, (apparently I'm not supposed to send pictures in letters.) But, I think this transfer is going to help me in that respect.

My new companion, Elder Rock, is hilarious. I think in this last week, I had more "laugh out loud moments" than the entirety of my mission. As a companionship, we are very impulsive - we taught another large group of kids, "Red Rover", ( and yes, another kid got clothes-lined, so we're going to think twice before doing that again,) we helped one of our investigators wash clothes, (we got the well water and everything;) we helped push a car out of the mud while it was raining, and we talk to a lot more people, etc... It's been fun.

I'm also having to deal with some new challenges. My new companion is self-admittedly not a linguist and that while he has been in the country for a year, he says that I'm better at the language. So, I'm having to lead most of the appointments, I carry the phone, I set up the appointments, I make sure we keep to the schedule, and I keep track of the statistics ( how many appointments, referrals, new members, baptisms, etc....), and so I'm having to completely leave my comfort zone and fight against my chaotic personality constantly, it's definitely a work in progress. This may be the start of a good thing, even though I'm dreading the outcome (I never want to become up-tight and bureaucratic about things, because those kinds of people bother me most.) However, I have never been good at consistancy, and that personality-trait has not done me any favors.

This country is wonderful, these people are great. We're going to help with a family-home-evening tonight in a house so small that our knees touch when we sit. The family is making food, and we're going to bring mofo-kajajaka ( cockroach bread, really brownies) the conection is about to go so I've got to as well veloma!
Elder Draper

06 October 16--Wonderful Week

Hello,

A wonderful week has come and gone. Unfortunately, it's still kind of cold here, and it's been that way since I've arrived. Apparently, it's supposed to be much hotter this time of year already, but then again, there's always next week. It's wonderful to here from you. Alice in Wonderland for Halloween: I'm really sad I have to miss this year. Oh Well, this place is it's own "wonderland" sometimes, you'll never get bored here if you pay attention:)

Anyway, the next set of new missionaries have come, and with them came transfers, so I have a new companion now. His name is Elder Rock, he is from Utah. He is wonderful and I am excited to work with him. He is probably the happiest missionary here, and it is definitely rubbing off on me. The word " Vazaha!" does not bother me half as much as it did working with Elder D, just because Elder Rock is so happy (and as great as Elder D is, he always made a point of going after the "Vazaha sayers" and getting very angry at them) So, I'm looking forward to the day when the word "Vazaha" and the people that come up to us thinking we're French and accuse us of being the cause of all their problems will no longer bother me at all. Elder Rock is so happy to the point that, if you didn't know him, you might think he was a little slow in the head, (for lack of a better description.) However, Elder Rock is actually very smart, and he said something very wise to me my first day working with him; He said," If you can't learn to control your own emotions, how are you supposed to even begin to help these people?" He went on to say that, while we're only 19 and 20 years old, these people begin to trust us and let us in to their lives, and that we're kind of like Psychiatrists because for some reason, we know what they need to do to overcome their problems and when they take "our" advice, it works. So, I'm trying to be more calm, and have more charity everyday.

Guitar lessons are good. I have about 6 people that have become regulars and they have come every week for the past month and a half and all I had to do was stop them on the street once and play their guitars once. I only wish it was that easy for getting people to come to church. I'm a little bit scatter-brained right now and I don't have too much time to write, but my goal for the letter next week is a coherent and informative letter. OK, well I've gotta go. It's lovely to hear from all of you, Thanks for the letters.

I love you and I pray for all of you always. Veloma!

Elder Draper.

06 June 12-- Arrived! First Email

-- Editor's note: The order of the blogs, starting with this one, changes. This entry is the first email we received and the following entries are in chronological order. Each entry includes the original email date. Happy reading. Cheers, ND--


Bonjour! Manahoana!
Ny fianakaviako,

Well, where do I begin? I'm here, & this place is incredible! My new companion's name is Elder Kofoed( pronounced CO FED, & I enjoy calling him "kufid") I actually got to stay with someone from my MTC district, Elder Prouteau! We live in a really nice red-stucco(spelled write? right?) house. There are four elders in it: Me, Elder Kofoed, Sommers, & Prouteau. It's actually quite a nice house--it even looks good. The cockroaches are small--apparently we can get big spiders (I saw what I thought was a "Big" spider on my bed, as it was bigger than the spiders we saw in Florida, but apparently, I was wrong) (Cool.) My companion's a great cook--we had a pot roast with mashed potatoes & gravy on Sunday--it was good. Speaking of food, I've already eaten at several investigators' houses.

The food doesn't actually taste bad--it's just a little unnerving to eat it when I'm not used to anything here yet. However(kanefa,) no worries--I haven't gotten sick yet, so I think it's gonna be just fine. These people are amazing. They don't have anything, & yet they are willing to give it all to you. As you sit in a grass hut with a dirt floor and clay walls while eating a large portion of rice, with ... something sprinkled on top of it, you think, "Wow, why have I ever complained about anything?" You basically feel like a spoiled brat. And while you eat, they look at you for your approval as if to say, "Do you like my food?" & then they say it: "Ny Sakafo tsara ve?(Is the food good?") To which you reply, "Tsara be!(it's wonderful!") & all the while you're smiling & thinking: just chew, don't think, just chew. They're so nice it's almost heartbreaking.


This place is so interesting. One minute you're walking through rice patties & brick houses piled on top of each other(which might be considered the "2nd world") & then suddenly you turn a corner or walk through an alley & you're in the 1st world & it looks nicer,in some ways, than the U.S. Then, if you walk a little further, you get the grass huts(3rd world.) We have investigators from all three. I was teaching about the Book of Mormon in a very nice house, one that I think mom could see in one of her design magazines(& only 1 person lived in it.) After that, we went & taught about baptism in a tiny grass hut(& 5 people lived in that,) & we've taught in everything in between. Now, when I say "I taught," I mean I actually said things & they were actually understood! Amazing!

The people here love that we speak Malagasy. As we walk through out the day, hundreds of kids follow us, or shout, "Manahoana Vazaha! (pronounced vaza) which means 'foreigner', or 'French guy', or basically 'White guy'. It's true, we are the only white guys. But it's great and the kids are wonderful. I'll tell you more later but I gotta go! veloma!

Madagashlycrumb

Elder Draper

06 June 19--Broken String

Hey,

This week was fun. I had only been in the country 4 days, body's guitar string. Two Malagasy men were playing guitar on the side of the road, and of course I ask, "Afaka mitendry ny gitaranoa?" So the guy happily gave up his guitarand I already managed to break some momentarily to this weird "vazaha" and let me play. It was tuned really weird, so I couldn't really play what I wanted. So, he told me to tune it how I liked. I did so, and started playing. As I was playing, I noticed that this had drawn a crowd, and I was surrounded by Malagasys. I stopped playing, and the people applauded, and said things like, "tena mahay izy!" (he's really good.) My companion said that we had to go, so I gave the guitar back. But now he couldn't play because of the tuning, so he asked me to tune it back. Thankfully, there was another guitar so I actually could tune it back. Every thing was going fine... that is until the Last String, and well... you Know the rest. He didn't seem to mind too much. But we got his address (which is almost completely useless here--nobody actually knows where they live or how to give directions, and they all point in different directions... but we find it eventually...with the help of the spirit,) and I bought him another guitar string in town, and when we find his house, I think it will be a good 1st discussion:)

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I live in a place called Talatamaty (which literally means, "Dead Tuesday") and it's wonderful. I spent my first 7 nights here eating in a grass hut. In fact, I've already eaten Cow Stomach with rice (which my companion neglected to tell me until after the appointment. All I knew was they said it was "hena omby" (meat of cow) and I was thinking the whole time, "This doesn't taste like "hena omby".) But I still haven't gotten sick, so count your many blessings. Speaking of food, my companion is actually a really good cook... we had pot roast on Sunday or Alahady, and it was good (and it tasted like hena omby--fuzz free.)

The people here are wonderful. They never get used to seeing " vazahas" (white guys) walking down the street, so everybody stares, and says, "Bonjour." The kids always stop whatever they're doing and shout, "Bonjour vazaha!" ("good day white guy," because everybody knows that all white people are French.) Our retort is, "Manahoana zaza!"(how ya doin' children!...(it rhymes with vazaha)) and their eyes go wide--it's pretty funny. The kids love to follow us, and always request a "dona kely," which is basically asking for a knuckle handshake. It's cool. It's also fun when it's later in the night and very dark outside and we can't see people until they're about to run into us, and they can see us a mile off in the dark (being the only white people, and in white shirts,) --and somebody sees you and says, "Good Morning!" Funny.

I'm amazed how interested in the gospel people here are. We did a first discussion earlier this week (and I actually was partially, semi-understood! Awesome!) And the people were so receptive, it was unreal. More and more people kept coming into the room to listen. They even turned off the fuzzy television football game to listen! They were answering questions and asking great questions, I almost felt like stopping the lesson to say "Are you serious? You're just eating this up! Are you sure you don't have any problems with what we're saying? Like--I don't know--your church isn't true? Really? OK then." This has happened more than once. It's great\Well gotta go. Veloma!

Elder Draper\Madagashlycrumb

06 June 27--Beautiful Place

Hi,

I kind of got the luck of the draw with the computers at this internet cafe. Every thing's really slow so I took most of my time waiting for your letters to come up, and creating this account. But no worries. I got mom's letter this time. It's great to hear from you and to hear how every one's doing (I didn't know Tim was getting married and everything else was nice to know.)

I finally got sick this week. But generally speaking, I feel great. I sleep here! And it feels wonderful! That didn't happen at the MTC. And I will only sleep better once I actually have a bed (The elders before me kind of destroyed it the day before I came. Apparently it was a "back flip" competition.) And I spoke too soon about there being only "little" cockroaches in our house :)

This place is beautiful! I wish all of you could see it. There is nothing that is "Disney Landish" or fake about this place. The rice patties that we walk through everyday are incredible. I make my companion stop every so often so we can just look at this place. I am taking pictures, but they will never do it justice. Jesse would love to come here and just Paint.

I will have to write a letter during the week so that I can include more in these things. Yesterday was Madagascar's Independence Day, so we moved our P-day to today. Sometimes some Malagasys show their dislike for the French on this day (and since all white people are French, we changed our P day to today and went home a little early so as to avoid those Malagasys.) But no worries, We are bigger than almost everyone here, and most people know who we are and what we do.

I will tell you more next week about this and I WILL include a good spiritual story if I can help it because that's primarily what this experience has been. I love you all. Veloma!

Elder Draper

06 July 3--I Love this Place

Ny fianakaviako,

Another week has gone by just like that. And now I realize that I've been here a month already! This week was fun. Last night, the former mission President and his wife stopped by our house on the way to the airport and said good bye. They seemed sad to leave, I could tell that this experience had changed their lives. I just barely met the new Mission President, President Gaya, and his wife. I think this is going to be really cool. He does speak English, but we have to speak slower, and I think he'll only get better as time goes on. (And if all else fails, Elder Prouteau is teaching me French in exchange for guitar lessons on P-days.) Apparently, President Gaya used to be a professional soccer player for New Caledonia, which, I think, is pretty cool.

I have to apologize, I'm a little bit scatter-brained every time that I write these letters, because there is so much to say, and so much that happens in any given week that I don't know what to include.

I love this place. It was worth the wait at the MTC to come here. While at the MTC, we were read letters from some of the elders that had been in Madagascar for a week to a month, and all of the letters sounded horrified. They all sounded like they were having a severe culture shock. They said things like, "They told me this would be a 3rd world country, but I would say this is more like a 4th or 5th world country!" or "Everything's really dirty here, the food tastes terrible, everything smells like poo, there's mostly dirt roads ... etc..." And they all said things like, "...Tell the missionaries coming here that it's nothing like they expect and to prepare themselves, 'cuz it's gonna be a shock." Basically, they all sounded scared, if not a little disappointed.

I've been here a month and I can truthfully say that from day 1, I have loved this place. It is beautiful here! The people are wonderful! I haven't had a crippling culture shock, This place is very different from home, but the people are so nice, and the place itself is so interesting that I can't help but be excited to be here.

I still don't know how to do street contacting or a door approach. This is partly because I have a good companion who makes sure that we have a full schedule everyday (we generally don't get home until after 9 pm.) But the other reason is because, the last 5 new investigators we've received while I've been here have come up to us as we're walking to our next appointment! They tap us on the shoulder, or call us over to them and say, "I've noticed you guys walking down the street everyday, what are you doing?" or even just, "I want to learn more about Christ--I want you to teach me--Here's my name and address." Wow. I don't even know what to say about that. I never expected anything like that to happen, and if it didn't actually happen to me, I would have trouble believing it.

These people are so humble, they know the importance of religion, and they are willing to hear our message. Sometimes it's difficult to convey the importance of our message, the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, or in other words, the only true church . It's just too easy for them sometimes to place the things we say to them where they have already comfortably placed their own religion, namely: A social event on Sundays, and not something that actually effects the rest of their lives. All too often, we have a great discussion and they feel the spirit and completely accept everything we say, and comment that, "yeah, this makes sense, Duh, the fall of Adam and Eve was a good thing, of course we need a prophet, of course we need true priesthood authority....etc." they even read the Book of Mormon, and say that they know it's true. But surprisingly, this doesn't always seem to make a difference, and it's sad.

BUT, then, you get the investigators who get it, and it's beautiful. I am running out of time so I'll write more about them next week. Suffice it to say that, there are people here ready to receive the gospel, and I've met a few of them. We already have a baptismal date this month with one of our investigators, Sister Bertina, (in whose grass hut I ate cow stomach my first week.) She is wonderful. I've already witnessed a baptism here. The church is still in its infancy here. And we are searching for the select people who will remain strong especially after we leave, so that they can build up the church. This work is hard but satisfying, and I know why I'm here, so any frustrations that exist, and will exist are slight. I directed the lesson for the first time this week, It was at a less active's house. He had been baptized a year ago, and stopped coming about 3 months in and that's all I knew about him. When we got there, my companion said, "OK, you're teaching the lesson," which admittedly, scared me to death. But I went in and spoke Malagasy, and showed him the baptismal covenants in Moroni 4 and 5, and basically chewed him out for 20 minutes. After I stopped talking, I realized that I had been a little harsh. (But I was happy just that he understood me!) and my companion had to say nice things for the last five minutes, and we left. I kind of felt bad for chewing him out, BUT, he came to church on Sunday again, and bore his testimony! Well, got to go.


Elder Draper

06 July 10--Mormon Choir

Ny fianakaviako,

Sorry about not letting you know that I did, in fact, receive your e-mails. I also got Sascha's. It's great to hear from you. It's amazing, it seems like you guys are keeping pretty busy.


This week was fun. I got to know the new president and his wife a little bit better. We drove into town almost everyday this week, which completely depleted our taxi fund. The drive from Talatamaty (or "Dead Tuesday" where I live) to Antananarivo is about a 45 minute to an hour and a half drive. This week we had P-day, Independence Day, Island Conference, and our individual interviews with the new president, all on different days. So, consequently, we didn't get to spend as much time with our investigators as we would have liked. But It was a good week.

Recently, my companion and I have been focusing on reactivating some of the less-active members. Among them is a guy named Frere Parfai. Parfai is a cool guy. He was actually the World Champion Kick-boxer twice in a row. (I'm not kidding.) His house is interesting. He lives in what we would consider to be a shack next to a dirt road, but in this house, he has brand new leather couches, a nice TV, and system to go with it, and a whole wall dedicated to his Trophies. Interesting guy--I'm kind of scared to "Chew him out" about not coming to church, though. But not to worry, I think he'll come to,(now that the missionaries are visiting his house, I think he knows that he's now on the "inactive" list, and that we won't leave.)

President Gaya is wonderful. I think he will do some great things for this mission. He wants us to focus on bringing inactive members back to church, and to strengthen the members in our branches, by having them participate in the lessons, and in fellowshipping. I have thought of the same thing since I've been here. My companion told me that he has been frustrated that he hasn't seen that many baptisms on his mission, and knows that lots of other elders are baptizing a lot. I told him that I would rather baptize 2 people that were going to remain strong in the church, than 10 who would just go inactive. (Of course, you can only do so much to make sure, but it's important that people understand what they're doing BEFORE they're baptized, and I'm not sure all the missionaries here are doing that.) But when President Gaya came and said exactly what I had been thinking, I knew that it was a good thing that we have been so careful about making sure our investigators really understand the importance of the Gospel, before they're baptized. President Gaya wants us to build up the branches with the existing members first. (We still have lots of investigators, but we'll focus more on this.) He said that statistically, it might not be as satisfying, but if we had all of our members coming to church, we would have THREE stakes in Antananarivo alone. I think that's important too. If we strengthened the members first, then the new converts would have something strong to come into, and they would have a strong support system, and so on and so forth... I'm excited for the future.

This morning was a sad morning for elder Prouteau, as he found out that France lost to Italy in the Final game in the World Cup, in other news. (We couldn't talk to him for a while there, but he's doing alright now.)

I love this Place. I find something new everyday. There is beautiful sunsets every single day, like, if not surpassing Florida's. I walk through rice patties every day and I still have to stop sometimes, just to look at everything. This is changing my life. On the fourth of July, we went to the Hilton Hotel to sing for the American Embassy. (It said on the program, "Mormon Choir"--I think they were a little disappointed that we weren't the Mormon "Tabernacle" choir, but oh well.)

There were a lot of "important" rich people there. Ambassadors, The Vice President of this country, Representatives from every Major Religion, and Big Business in Madagascar. Lots of French, lots of Americans, lots of Affluent Malagasy People. From the moment I walked in, I felt out of place. There were too many white people. Nobody said, "bonjour vahaza," or "Manahoana." They said, "How ya doin' guys!" and we didn't know what to say. Everything was so Nice--there was an ice Statue of Liberty, and a buffet table (so good,) and lot's of political speeches, that, while very passionate, were almost pointless, and very political. Everyone was given champagne (we all refused of course,) and they made a toast. It was nice, and we met some nice people, but in the end, it was an elaborate, expensive, NOTHING when compared to what is really important. That night, we taught Seor Bertine in a grass hut, and I felt more comfortable there. We were doing something important. This meeting was far from pointless, in fact, we taught THE Point. It's hard for me to describe this feeling, but I'm so glad I'm here. I can't think of anything right now that would be more important.

Elder Draper

06 July 31--Rice

Hello again,

It's nice to hear from all of you! I would love to get Jeff's address. I would also love to get that recipe for Fasanjan, because while I have never eaten more rice in my life, no one here knows what basmati is, BUT you can get it here. And my companion, Elder Kofoed, is THE best cook in the mission, so he would also like a go at the Persian food, as this is our last week together before transfers--time flies.

This week was lovely. Elder Golden, who is the Presiding General Authority over the Southern Africa area, came and spoke to us this week. It was very enlightening. My companion and I were able to have some great teaching and learning experiences this week, because of Elder Golden's counsel.

We have an investigator named Henry, who lives with his family in a small one-room, dirt-floor house with a tin roof and a bed that takes up about a third of it. He works every day of the week, and as a result, cannot come to church on Sunday. This has been a very difficult problem for us to help him with. He is very diligent in reading the scriptures and understands them very well, BUT he cannot progress until he comes to church. He even knows that church is very important, and wants to come. So, we've tried to help him overcome this obstacle for awhile now, but with no success. This last visit was very interesting. I think we were able, through the spirit, to get through to him. We almost had him teach the lesson. I was trying to think of a good example, to convey the importance of faith, and putting God before anything else; without DIRECTLY telling him that he didn't have enough faith to stop working on Sunday, and come to church to SHOW God his faith, because who am I to tell someone who barely makes enough as it is, to stop working on Sunday? That would be impertinent. And then, an example came. I was reminded of the excuse that A LOT of other investigators put forth as to why "they CAN'T come to church." Namely, "I can't come to church on Sunday, because that's the day I wash my clothes,"...pitiful.(Admittedly, washing clothes is a more involved process here, but come on!) So I gave him this example, and then said, "which is more important...washing clothes, or God?" I honestly didn't know if that would help him get it at all, but there it was. But to my (and my companion's) surprise, he took it EXACTLY the right way, and said, "WOW, that's exactly what I'm doing with my work! I don't have enough faith that God will bless and help me if I do his will," and then proceeded to teach the lesson. We felt the spirit very strongly, and after we left, we realized what we were asking him to do, and it was exciting, and scary at the same time. Then we went to our next appointment, to another investigator with the same problem, but with a bigger family to support, and I gave the same example, and the SAME thing happened! We went home that night feeling like, if we expect these people to make a sacrifice this big in their lives, we had better do everything we can as missionaries to obey the spirit and the rules with exactness, and NOT MESS IT UP! It's a little daunting sometimes.

So much is happening that is changing my life for the better. Seour Bertina was baPtized yesterday (thank you dad, it's "atao ny batisa" in Malagasy;) and it was wonderful.

I would love to say more but my time is gone, so Love ya, And I'll write the rest in my journal (if I have time;) VELOMA!

ELDER DRAPER
( I like the way our last name sounds here, people say it like, "Jappear:" emphasis on the "PEAR" and they roll the "R")

06 July 1--Cow Feet

Hello again.

Another week has come and gone. It's good to hear from all of you--(Mom, Dad, Sascha and Jesse) Thanks for the E-mails. You made my P day
better.

This week was a little more frustrating than most--in that most of our appointments fell through, but I remain optimistic for the future. I also have found LOTS of things about myself that I can improve on (which, to be completely honest, also made this week a "little more frustrating than most.") I have a lot to do, and a lot to improve, but I'm looking forward to the "improving" with confidence. I'm looking forward to competently speaking this language as soon as possible. And I think I know what to do.

This place remains amazing. I hope I never forget that during the course of my mission, because I think that some of the missionaries here have forgotten. How sad for them.

We had the opportunity to help build a "house" this week. Soeur Bertina, who will be baptized in about 2 weeks, purposely demolished her grass hut because the mud-bricks were starting to... well... turn back into mud. So we helped her build a new one. Everybody was watching us from their windows. People stopped on the street--the workers stopped helping us build, just to watch the four white guys work with their hands. It felt a little weird. But apparently it sparked interest, and a bunch of people came to ask Soeur Bertina who we were, and "where we prayed." (You don't ask, "what church do you belong to?" here, you ask, "Where do you Pray?") Anyway, I think we helped out a lot, and they gave us lots of food afterwards to thank
us,(lots of rice, and ... something else :)

Speaking of food, I also had the opportunity to have Tongotraomby (cow feet) this week. My companion honestly didn't know what it was. ("just eat it, elder") It was funny because my companion's name, "Kofoed" means "cow feet" in Danish, and he always said to the Malagasy, that he would never eat his name, so he was kind of upset when he found out. (His name didn't taste very good, I guess.)

Anyway, Got to go, but it was lovely to hear from you. I'll let you know if I accomplish some of the things I hope to improve this week.

Love ya

06 July 24--Not from France

Manahoana ny fianakaviako,

Well, here we are again. This week has gone by too fast. I don't know where to start. This place is still amazing.I'm still adjusting to it though. I have never been noticed this much in my entire life. We are the only white guys on the street, and you can't look anywhere and not see someone staring at you. We walk through little villages, and all of the kids run at us and shout "VAHAZA!"(This is a rude way to say white guy, and it implies that you are "French and rich"--depending on how it is said--) over and over, and the little kids grab on to you and you pick them up and swing them around (which is a mistake because then all of the kids demand that you do the same for them.) The missionaries tell me that the culture shock going home is more devastating.

It is easy to get frustrated at the way a lot of people look at us. "I'M NOT FROM FRANCE, AND I'M NOT MADE OF MONEY!!!" It kind of becomes a source of frustration for me, when people look at me and just assume I'm rich, (and french) and stuck up, and then treat me a certain way. It's just one of those petty things that you just need to overcome, because otherwise it just ruins your day. I think in that respect, I've come a long way.

Being here and teaching these people has given me a lot of new insights about my own life. There are a lot of problems with the branch that I have been assigned to work in. There are enough members here to make a ward, but only a few come to church. My companion and I are visiting the different members of our branch, active and nonactive alike, trying to find, and possibly help solve the problem. One thing we've found is that, THERE ARE CLIQUES in the ward just like at home! (I honestly don't know if I spelled that right)[You Did!] Here I am on literally the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WORLD, and the same problem exists in this branch(ward.) But it's almost worse in some ways, because part of the exclusiveness comes from the wealth of some in the ward and the poverty of others. There are rich Malagasy in our branch, and they are great people, but they don't always reach out and fellowship with some of the members that don't have money. Granted, the problem isn't all one-sided. I personally think that Everyone needs to step up, and get moving.

We actually had an investigator who loves to argue, and doesn't come to church say, "If I was rich, then I would be the most righteous person in the world, because then I wouldn't have to worry about anything, and I could spend my time helping other people..." Nice thought. BUT I don't think you get it, do you? Over and over, I have found that everything is a trial of faith--taking that step into the dark in order to progress. Are you going to put your faith in God, and put Him FIRST, or wait until you have money and then see how you feel? I see how the poor view the rich, and yes, the rich seem to have everything and often are selfish, and the poor often think, "if I was rich, I wouldn't be like that," and just as often, the rich see the poor and think, "If I was poor, I would do everything I could, and then I would GET rich, and I wouldn't have any excuse." I honestly don't know the answer, short or long, to this problem. All I do is tell people, "First, seek ye the Kingdom of God..." and everything else will be good. I am still trying to do that everyday. The question is whether you are going to trust God and SHOW Him your trust by doing, OR whether you are going to trust something else: Money, your own knowledge--anything else. The amount of people that say, "I have faith in Christ," and then don't come to church, is a sad number. It's like me KNOWING that if I came on a mission, that it would be the best thing for me, and then not going, because, "Hey, I already KNOW a mission is a good thing--isn't that enough?" Faith without works really is dead.

This mission is incredible. I have more thoughts and no more time to write them. I couldn't tell these people the things I'm telling them, if I didn't know it was true. I'm grateful to be here. I love you all.

Elder Draper

06 August 8--Last Week in Dead Tuesday

Ny fianakaviako,

This is my last week in Talatamaty (Dead Tuesday.) I get a new companion on Thursday and I will no longer be "the new guy." The next area that I will go to is called Ankadindramamy.

I'm doing well. Before I go any further, I've had some ideas of some things that would be useful here, but I can't really get them here (not that I've seen.) If you ever could send a package, (but only if it's absolutely no trouble,) some useful things would be:
1) One or two pairs of black water socks (Size 10) (They're like shoes, but they're meant for walking in--no, not on--water for the rainy season, when the dirt roads are like rivers and it ruins your shoes.)
2)CLARITIN or some such kind of allergy medication.

Other stuff would be nice, but these two things, I think, would be most useful. But in the mean time, I will continue to look for the shoes, and do what I can to boost my immune system. I think this only came up now because my allergies have been doing fine, BUT TODAY, for some reason, it's terrible. (Maybe it's just a cold. It is winter here, and actually is cold.)

This week was great. On Tuesday, our Malagasy teacher didn't show up at the church, so as we walked back from the church, Elder Prouteau and his companion, Elder Sommers, decided to play soccer on a dirt field with some kids. We sat and watched for a bit, and then, on a whim, I decided to teach the kids near by (we draw a crowd no matter what we do,) "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Malagasy and English. So I taught them, and it was a success, and it drew an even larger crowd. So, then I thought it would be fun to teach them a game--Red Rover. (I couldn't think of anything else at the time.) So I taught the kids Red Rover. There were about 40 kids at this point, big and small. They picked up really quick, and it was hilarious. I've never seen anybody get "clothes lined" so bad in my entire life. It was fun. I liked how easy it was to throw away fear of embarrassment and do something different. Lots of people came and joined in.

I've gained the nick-name of "Frank Sinatra"--a name coined by the Mission President, President Gaya, because, yes, I do wear my hat, (I also have the Malagasy straw-hat equivalent of my hat,) and I play the guitar, (I bought a decent-sounding guitar for $25,) and I sing. The talents that I actually DO have, have helped me already. It's amazing how sometimes bringing the guitar to an appointment and playing hymns invites the spirit. I've also used it to advertise guitar lessons when all the other elders teach English. It's worked so far.

Well, it's great to hear from you, and I've got to go. The members are already throwing little "parties" for me because I'm leaving the area. These people are wonderful.

It is a goal of mine, to do what Jesse did, and actually write down a letter before I e-mail, so that I have more time, and the e-mail is coherent. Next week's Hopefully.

Love you all

Elder Draper

06 August 14--New Area

Ny fianakaviako,

Well, here we are again. I'm now in my new area, in a two-man house with Elder Davies. It was great to hear from you guys. I think it may have been a cold last week, and I've found a way to boost my immune system: Drink a ridiculous amount of water everyday. Unfortunately, I can smell now, and I'm still debating with myself whether that's a good thing :) I now live in a place called Ankandindramamy, as I mentioned before, which is basically in the city. (Talatamaty was more in the country.) This being the case, I thought it might be possible that we wouldn't hear the words, "Bonjour Vahaza!!" as much, because the people were more used to seeing white people. (Vahaza is a mean racial slur similar to the "N" word in English.) I was wrong. If anything, we hear it twice as much here. My new companion makes a point of stopping and correcting them: "Misionera izahay" (we're missionaries,) or something like that. I think it might bother him more than it does me. I'm getting to the point where it doesn't really bother me anymore. Most of the people here are wonderful, and frankly, the "Vahaza" (or some of the other things) is just because they don't really know any better. In fact, when most people figure out we're not French, but American, and speak Malagasy, they love us. (I've never seen so many people wearing American memorabilia in my life.)

I'm getting so many different perspectives on life, and I haven't quite figured out what to do with all of them. I'm still in a transitional stage in my mission, and maybe that will last the duration; but it's exciting to think of how each day is an opportunity to improve--to raise to a higher level of thinking. Admittedly, I have fallen short on several occasions, and lapsed, BUT that's what is so incredible about the Gospel. "Yes, I'm terrible at this," or "Yeah, I could probably do that better," but I don't have to let that defeat me. It's easy to focus on petty things, and to get caught up in the trivial that's day to day life. I used to be really bothered about "Vahaza" too, or... well there's lots of things like that which can trip you up if you let them.

I'm improving on the language. Malagasy is like nothing I have ever heard and yet it is the most recognizable language other than English to me. Most people don't speak speak French here, as I've come to find. I do have the opportunity to learn French because there are enough of the people here who do (most of them are from France,) and it is possible to be sent to Mauritius or La Reunion--both French speaking. But I would say that the majority of missionaries here don't take advantage of it.(In part because I think a lot of the missionaries learn to dislike the French from being here.) I don't hold that opinion, as Elder Prouteau is one of my favorite people here, and President Gaya, who is also French, is also incredible. Anyway, Malagasy is coming along nicely, and once it's here, I can focus more on French if I choose to (but I don't see any reason why not.) Malagasy is a very simply constructed language, but that's why it's so difficult sometimes--because I tend to complicate things. Also, it's still like speaking using nothing but tongue-twisters with really long words. "Ny fotompampianarana sy fanakempiavanana" is Doctrine and Covenants, and "ny lalanan' ny fidiovampitondrantena" is The Law of Chastity. And there's so many "fomba fitenys" (the way a Malagasy would say something) that are completely foreign.(Well, I guess they would be...) and Malagasy Proverbs that are constantly thrown into conversation. It's fun, it's like a really confusing game, and you have to play to figure out the rules. I think think this is a really cool sounding language though. and when I make a conscious effort, I can actually be understood.

I love this place. I'm happy to be here, I'm even excited to figure out how to click with my new companion. (The last two were too easy to get along with.) My new companion is great, I just don't know how to connect with him yet. He likes cars, Texas, country music, and making fun of people from Utah. Apparently, I can't be too offended about that though, because well... he likes cars, Texas, and country music ;) Well anyway, it's wonderful to hear from you. I love you all--Veloma!

Elder Draper

06 August 21--"Vahaza"

OK. Thanks for the letters.

To begin, I did read them, but I don't have the address with me right now, so I'll make sure I get it from the mission home this week. As I mentioned before, the "water-shoes" (2 pairs, black, size 10) would be nice, and so would the Claritin. (But I'm actually doing pretty darn good as far as that's concerned--I think it's the drinking of lots of water.) Anything else you feel like sending would be nice too. (My companion got 4 packages last week, all of them food, and he was happy,) but if you're worried about sending a package because you think I need it, then don't because I'm doing great. I only mention the shoes because rainy season starts in November, and this is the Indian Ocean.(Apparently, it puts the Florida rain to shame--and there's not many paved walk-ways;))

All right. It's good to hear from you. Thanks for the letter, Liz. It's nice to know life goes on elsewhere. In fact, it seems like life picked up the pace for you guys after I left. Cool.

This is my second week in my new area, and it's been an adjustment. It's funny, the moment I resolved to be indifferent to the "Vahaza!!!!" comments that are hurled at us all throughout the day, the onslaught intensified. But I survived. However, I'm still working on a way to "perfect my indifference to trivial things" to a point where it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I also discovered a way to connect with my new companion. One way is that we are "Brothers in Adversity" in that, we deal with many of the same frustrations as missionaries, (he gets called "Vahaza" too,) and I've been able to share my "philosophical" viewpoints on the various matters, and he seems to appreciate them. Also, since he likes cars, football, etc... it naturally followed that he might also like construction working,(and he does,) which I had the opportunity to do for a time, so I was able to connect with him there. Nice.

I've had the opportunity to lead many of the discussions this week, and my companion tells me he likes the way I teach, so I think I can expect the same this week, but I'm excited to improve my teaching and language. This is a good thing, because before, I was secretly happy every time a lesson fell through, because it meant that I didn't have to go out on a limb, and make a fool of myself. Now, I'm bothered every time we don't have an appointment to go to. (It might be the missionary attitude coming through, I don't know, but I think it's a good thing.) I was used to relying so heavily on my companion's judgement before, that I never really had the opportunity to take charge of the situation and be bold. All too often, the conversation between me and my companion would be reminiscent of the vultures on Disney's Jungle Book: "So, what do you want to do...?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?" and we would arbitrarily choose something. Now it's good to have a little more confidence in my own judgement, and more ability to do something about it.

I'm starting to be able to use some of my "dormant-since-my-mission personality traits" now. I taught guitar lessons at the church on Friday, and also piano. I taught "Hey Jude" to a Malagasy (he requested the song,) and he really appreciated it, I think. I've also been able to branch out in my method of teaching because my manipulation of the language has improved. I think my companion enjoys it because: 1) He doesn't have to talk as much, and
2) He's never seen anyone teach like that and the people are much more involved.
(In part because I make them participate and answer questions, and in part, because they really have to pay attention if they want to understand what I'm saying.)

I've improved a lot since I've been here, and I don't think I'll ever be satisfied, so that's good. I've gotten very good at delivering "guilt trip" lessons to the members who have stopped coming to church, which, I think, is an improvement over the "If you don't come to church, you will go to hell" lessons that were given by previous missionaries, because they come. But I'll keep trying to improve the teaching.

I'll see if I can improve my writing next week by writing a more coherent letter. Anyway, I love you all, OK Veloma!

Elder Draper

06 August 29--Computer Problems

Hi,

Sorry you guys didn't get anything until now.

I actually wrote you a long E-mail yesterday, but just as I was wrapping it up, the computer crashed. (It was kind of frustrating.) And then I had to go, (and I still had to pay--which was also kind of frustrating;) I thought Gmail could have saved at least some of the mail, but I'm here and I can't find it, so here you go.

But no worries--I am in good health, and in good spirits. This E-mail may not be all that exciting, (but then--I'm not sure how "gripping" any of my E-mails have been, so that shouldn't matter too much.) Things are going well. I just thought I'd write you quickly just to say Hi and let you know that things are good. OK, gotta go, Azafady Tompko! Veloma! tsy maintsy handeha!

Elder Draper

06 September 4--Bells

Manahoana ny fianakaviako!

Here's a message from Ny fiangon' i Jesoa Kristy (or Jesosy) ho an' ny Olomasin' ny Andro Farany, or "The Church of Jesus Christ for the People Holy of the Day Last." (just to give you an example of one of the more logically constructed sentences in this Language to show you how weird and cool it is.)

Another week has passed, and I'm wondering where it went. Thank you for the E-mails. (I got an E-mail from Tyler Andrews this week as well.) It's so good to hear from you. I was looking at The Church News this week, and read the article about the Draper, UT Temple. I like the design. The article mentioned William, and Zemira Draper, and I was inspired to look through the genealogy papers and the pictures that I brought with me. It made me think how cool our family is.

Yesterday, my companion and I took some great pictures, but they were all on his camera. Fortunately, his is digital, and he's going to print some off for me. I do take pictures with my camera, but it's hard to tell if they'll turn out, and because of that, I don't always have the presence of mind to even take a picture. So, yes, a digital would be nice, and I guess I could figure out how to send you pictures via Internet, but you'd have to educate me:)

I'm still in good health and good spirits. So far on my mission, I've been able to see five baptisms--three of them I had the opportunity to teach before baptism. And in this coming week, another of our investigators will be baptised. It's wonderful to see how happy these people are because of the gospel--you can definitely feel the difference it makes in their lives.

My new missionary apartment is pretty funny - it is situated less than a foot away from a protestant church (really, you can't walk in between them.) We live on the top floor of this apartment, and our room is situated closest to the bells, which go off every Thursday and Saturday at 5AM and wake us up. I personally think that's a cheap shot, hindering the work of the Lord by depriving His servants of sleep:)

My companion is great--definitely a different experience from my first two companions--in that they matched my personality so well. It was too easy to get along with them. I believe I mentioned before, my companion is from Texas, he likes cars, football, country music, and guns (as in hunting,) and as such, not the the most obvious choice for someone that I would connect with. But I feel this has been a good companionship. The other week, my companion told me something kind of funny--as we were walking, he said, kind of hesitantly, "I'm debating whether or not I should tell you this, but uh.... oh what the heck: for some reason, I get along really well with you--like, better than the other companions I've had." He sounded surprised, as if that was the last thing he'd expected. But this was a relief for me.

During this transfer, I've improved in my Malagasy tremendously. I've broken out of another shell of timidness and am more able and willing to talk to everyone. My first two months here, I never street contacted or knocked doors, and I was happy about it. Now, while it is not my favorite aspect of missionary work, I contact people on the street, or anywhere else I feel so inclined, every day, and it's fun. I can even use the " Vazaha!" to my advantage by approaching those who shout it at us, kindly correcting them,(if they don't run away first because they realize that we know what "Vazaha" means;)) and telling them why we're here. Yesterday, my companion and I walked through a town we had never been to before. Now, it doesn't matter where we go, people will stare at us, but at this place EVERYBODY was staring at us. My companion said, "Look! they're all staring! Quick! Try to look inconspicuous!" At which point, I smiled, and waved at the people saying, "Howdy, partner," like Jackie Chan on Shanghai Noon. It was pretty funny. But it made me realize that, no matter what we do in this country, people are watching. They see us walking everywhere. They see us talking to everyone in Malagasy, and it definitely sparks curiosity. And so, even though we don't always realize it, we are doing missionary work, and it's great.

Well it's been nice to hear from you. Tune in next week for when I might tell you some stories about some wacky appointments I've had, or about some of the wonderful people here, or for something completely different. OK, I've got to go, but keep up the good letters, and wish me luck in the coming week. I pray for you always.

Veloma!
- Elder Draper

06 September 11--Simple Life

Hello indray!

It's good to hear from all of you. Thanks for the letters, Mom, Dad and Mabel.

This week went by a little slower. I feel a connection with Dad, in that over half of our scheduled appointments ended up not going through. So we did a lot of street contacting. Sometimes, I feel very grown up, and in a position of authority to help these people because of the spirit and the experience I've had with the church. For the most part, the Malagasy live a very simple life, and are like children in some ways. (They take our advice willingly--it might be because they don't realize we're 19 and 20 years old.) I can see the difference the Gospel makes in their lives. We teach them practical religion, and it does wonders when they live it. I've seen it. However, sometimes I feel like saying, "Slow down--I'm only 19, I have no clue how to even begin to help you with that(those) problem(s)!" Since I've been here, I've found myself in several situations where someone much older than me is asking for my advice or help with something very difficult and/or personal. This morning at 5am, a less active member called us because he needs money for rent, even though we tell people all the time that we're not allowed to give them money. We've had questions like, "What's the church's position on divorce?" while both husband and wife were in the room. This week we had a long conversation about how, "You can't be baptized if you're a polygamist, so you have to leave your other wife and kids and sign a marriage contract with only the one if you want to be baptized. However you still have to support your other wife and 6 kids in a different house with the money that you don't have." So, yeah, sometimes it's a little difficult to know what to tell these people. When we have an investigator whose only problem is drug and/or alcohol addiction, there is sometimes a sigh of relief: "OK, here's what you need to do..." All the while, my Malagasy is improving.

I will say that many people here are a pleasure to teach. Many of them are ready for the Gospel. Many of them have strong testimonies, and have overcome some astronomically difficult problems through their faith. I know it's possible to overcome anything with true faith in Christ, which is what we're bringing to these people. The happiness that comes is indescribable.

My Guitar lessons on Friday are starting to pick up quite a few people. Some of the other missionaries wondered whether guitar lessons were "appropriate" for missionary work, so I went straight to the president, and asked. He said (in his cool raspy french accent,) "If you want to catch flies, do you use vinegar or jam?" Awesome. So the guitar lessons are not only OK, he really likes the idea.

Well I've gotta go. It's nice to hear from you. I remain in good spirits and good health.

Veloma!
Elder Draper

06 September 18--Meeting

Manahoana!

It's been a good week. As far as I can remember, nobody in our family has ever heard me sleep-talk, but now all of my companions say that I do. Last night, according to my latest companion, apparently I was sleep-talking--in Malagasy. (I just thought that was funny, so I thought I'd mention it.)

As far as everything else goes, things are wonderful. We had a general authority, Elder Parmley, come this week. President Gaya introduced me to him as "Frank Sinatra" and told him about the guitar lessons. He said I was only allowed to play guitar if I was surrounded by a hundred people:-) He spoke to the missionaries on Friday, and to all of the members of the church here in Madagascar on Sunday. The church had to rent the biggest GYM in the country (which is about the size of an average high school GYM,) and it was packed full with Mormon Malagasy. It was cool to think that everyone in that GYM was a convert, most of them having only joined within the last 6 years. It was a good, trilingual meeting--first with some of the Malagasy leadership--then our Mission President and his wife in French--the last being in English, with Elder and Sister Parmley. (All the while, it was translated into Malagasy, which was a good study in the language for me.)

It's odd to think that this place is normal to me now. It's no longer "odd," so to speak. The more I improve in Malagasy and spend time with these people, the more I come to enjoy their company as friends and I feel comfortable around them. I don't know if it's my personality changing, or the people here, or something else entirely, but it is not uncommon for me to impulsively start up a random conversation with somebody on the street. It's fun. Most people love that we speak their language. They shout, "Bonjour Vazaha!" at us as we walk by, thinking that we're French, and don't expect us to walk over to them and say something like, "Aza miteny hoe 'vazaha.' satria avy any Amerika izahay, ary tsy malala-fomba ny teny hoe 'vazaha.' Amin' ny manaraka, hiteny hoe 'Manahoana Misionera.' Tsara kokoa izany. Misoatra. Veloma!" It's funny to see their faces drop. But they soon recover and want to talk to us and figure out why we speak their language. A good proselyting tool, I think. Word of the guitar is also getting around. This past week, as we were walking, a kid came running at us bringing a guitar, and insisted that I play. And now as I pass that area, I am known as " Ny Mahay anakiray"--"the skilled-one"--or "Ny Mahay-Mpitendry" (skilled-player,) and whenever they see me, I can expect to play a guitar.

Well it's nice to write to you. I didn't get a chance to hear from you, but maybe I'll come back later today. But I've gotta go now at the insistence of my companion. So, take care! I love you all. I'm doing good. This place is incredible. All is well.

Veloma!
Elder Draper

06 September 25--"Tovo"

Hello again,

Well, another week has come and gone, and I don't know where the time went. I've had lots of time to think about some of the more ironic things in life lately, for instance: Despite that I am now in a 3rd world country, I have never had to eat more in my entire life (lots of rice.) And I'm still trying to figure out why the women here sweep the dirt roads, or why the taxi-drivers don't believe us when we tell them that it does NOT save gas to turn your car OFF whenever your not moving or descending a hill (that's what neutral is for.) This place is full of things like that, and I could probably spend this entire e-mail writing about all of the odd things that happen here,(at least the ones that I still consider "odd,") so I'll stop there.

Anyway, this week has been great. The other week, we tracted into a Catholic Malagasy named "Tovo." He invited us in and we taught a good 1st lesson, and arranged to come back in two days. He didn't bring up any Bible-bashing scriptures or anything like that as has come to be expected lately; he just asked, "How do I know that this is really God?" pointing to the picture of Joseph's first vision. We told him he could only know through prayer. The next visit, we gave Him a Book of Mormon and he agreed to read and pray about it. We came back two days ago to follow-up on his reading, and to our surprise, he had actually read. (Bear in mind that it usually takes us coming back a couple of times before most people realize that we're serious.) "So, how is your reading coming?...You actually read?! No no--that's good, good, wonderful,... OK so did you pray about the Book of Mormon and to know if Joseph Smith is a true Prophet? You did?! (Wow) OK, great...so what was the answer? You believe that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true?...Really?... OK, well uh... great. Any questions? No? OK, then..." We were caught off guard a little bit, and my companion and I kept looking at each other like, "Did he just say what I thought he just said?" This is not to say that it is surprising that the Book of Mormon is true or the prophet Joseph Smith, we were just not expecting someone to be so receptive after a week of the most angry Bible-bashers in our area (actually, one didn't believe in the bible, but anyway...) It's wonderful to see that if someone is sincere, they will feel the truth of what we're saying.

Well, I love hearing from you guys back home. I've written some letters that should be sent this week. I'm on splits with an elder who doesn't like to e-mail while my companion is taking a trip into the jungle today. Fun. So I've gotta go.

Veloma!
Elder Draper.

06 October 2--Jungle

Hello again.

It's good to get a "hello" from you, and it's also nice to know that every one's doing well. I got the package with the camera and the allergy stuff last week and they're awesome. I'll need to buy some rechargeable batteries this week, and I'll be all set.

I think I mentioned earlier that my companion went out into the jungle last week. This is cool because the last mission president banned the jungle trips.(Apparently, because of some stupid missionaries doing something stupid in the jungle.) But president Gaya has approved trips into the jungle on P-days, as long as we can get back by 5, and we set it up with him first. My companion came back and told me about it. There are Lemurs, snakes, all kinds of weird plants that you don't see anywhere else, bugs and a lot of other cool stuff out there. And this is all just outside of town. I've seen a glimpse of it, and it's absolutely beautiful. And now I figure I've got a cool camera, so I should go (before the next group of stupid missionaries do something stupid and this president banns the jungle trips.)

We pulled through another week. Unfortunately, a lot of our appointments didn't go through, but we have a chance to tract and street-contact. It's hard sometimes to convey how important this message is to the people. We're kind of a novelty to these people--"Look! the white guys are speaking Malagasy!" so it's easy to strike up a conversation from that angle, but then it's a question of how do you take it beyond novelty and actually get them to LISTEN to what we're saying. It does happen, and when it does--when they actually get it--it's wonderful. Every mission has their own particular problems, and it's nice that in this mission, the people are humble and gracious enough to let us in for the most part. Our problem is, "Stirring them to action." They're very good at the "smile and nod" routine, and they seem to understand, but it's the "go and do" routine that is the main struggle. And I understand completely. That has been one of my main struggles throughout my life. Tovo, one of our latest investigators, is great. I think I told you about him last week. He was the Catholic guy that answered all of the questions beautifully. But he moved out of town last week and there's no missionaries where he now is. He called us and said that he was moving, but that he was going to bring the Book of Mormon, and that he would definitely read it. So that's good. We were sad to see him go, though.

It was kind of a tough week in that respect, but I am constantly reminded about how cool this place is and how great these people are. Yes, much of this last week was spent visiting the mpikambana-mangatsiaka (inactive-members) and it's difficult to know how to help them sometimes; but to these appointments, we brought the mpikambana-mafana-sady-tena-mazotobe (the wonderful and diligent active-members.)

The members here are so cool. They're wonderful and help us out so much, so it's hard to get too discouraged. We like them so much, we make them mofo-kajajaka, (cockroach-bread--which is actually brownies--but it's fun to see their faces when they eat it for the first time;) and mofo-akondro-amerikaina, (American banana-bread)whenever we can.

Anyway, things are going good. I'm doing well,(and can you tell I'm having fun with this language? ;) I'm getting better all the time with this language. Missionaries can be in this country for 2 years and still get a lot better at Malagasy. Some go home and could pass for a native (on the phone at least.) However, some near the end of their 2 years sound just as American in the language as they did when they arrived. I plan to sound as Malagasy as possible as soon as possible. It's a little tricky though, because Malagasy has 18 different tribes with at least that many dialects, some of which might as well be a different language. We speak Merina, and if we go outside of Antananarivo, we learn a different dialect, luckily the areas we're allowed in have a similar dialect.

This mission is so cool, I love it and I can't imagine a better place to be right now. Because this mission is so small, in terms of the # of missionaries, I've gotten to know all of them--some of them very well. We're all friends. There's 2 other Elders that went to Olympus High, and that's pretty cool. I'm excited for the future and I'm working my way towards it. I love you all. Have a nice week.

Veloma!
Elder Draper

06 October 9--Polygamy

Hey guys

This week was eventful. I think I've already told you about an investigator family that unfortunately can't get baptized because they're polygamists. The husband's name is Voasaotra. They're still coming to church, and we visit them whenever we have time (which isn't that often.) Anyway, this week on Friday, as we were walking from another appointment, someone informed us that Voasaotra's son had died earlier that morning, and that we should go over there. As we approached the house, I noticed that all of the furniture was outside and lots of people were just sitting there talking like it was the most natural thing in the world. Voasoatra came out of the house and gestured for us to come in. Inside, all of the women were sitting on the floor weeping and wailing out loud, and in the corner on the floor, lay the deceased. He was dressed in white and had a white handkerchief tied around his head. He was only about 20 or 21 years old. The family said he had been out drinking with his friends all night, and they suspected murder. But from the sound of things, we suspect it was alcohol poisoning. It was really sad to see. We did what we could to console the family, we ended with a prayer, and left. I was reminded of what the branch president had said earlier about Voasaotra and his family. It was the branch president who had determined that they couldn't be baptized. He basically said, "That family has just convinced me about how truly important the Temple is, because they won't be able to be baptized until after this life." Now, thinking back on that statement, and the recent death of their son, it shows just how important the temple really is, and the gospel. Our next few appointments were with inactive members who are struggling with the Word of Wisdom. The experience only solidified what we had to say.

Lots of other things happened this week as well, but I don't have time to elaborate. I'm having a life changing experience. I'm realizing more and more how stupid I was sometimes before my mission, and happy that I was smart enough to come here. I still have to kick myself for stupidity and pride every so often, but I'll get there eventually, maybe;)

It's lovely to hear from you. It was like reading a little novel with multiple characters (that happen to be people I know very well.) It sounds like you guys are keeping busy. Wonderful. I pray for you always. I apologize for all of the "hair standing moments" that I may have caused you. (I've been trying really hard to leave all of those kinds of things out of my letters, I guess I'll try harder.) I'm doing well, I'm healthy, I'm happy, and I'm safe, so you don't need to worry. OK then, aza fady tompoko, fa efa tapatra ny fotoana ary tsy maintsy mandeha. (Time's up. Gotta go.)

Love ya, Veloma!
Elder Draper