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