Elder TS from Tremonton UT. And I'll be working in Analamahitsy, which is actually the same ward, so that's nice.
I actually wrote a long pointless letter trying to explain some of the mission politics that lead to my switching areas prematurely, but I realized that it didn't make a whole lot of sense out of the context of mission life, and more specifically, mission life in Madagascar. I also realized that I'd been having a rough day and I wasn't in the best mood when I wrote it, so it was a little tainted by that as well, the conclusion of the letter was optimistic though, so I'll just give you the gist of that.
Basically I said; I'm really sad to be leaving my area that I've didn't even get to stay 3 months in. W and I managed to take a good area ( as far as the work was concerned) and make it an even better one, which is easier said than done. By the end of the transfer, Alarobia, our area, had become one of the most successful areas in Tana. We found so many great people there, many of which now have baptismal dates. I spent so much time and energy figuring out who our investigators were, where they were from, what their jobs were, if they were looking for work, what their tribe was, how to connect with them. I spent all this time getting to know the area, who lived where, how to get there, best short cuts, I got to know everyone, little shop owners, members, how old they were, who they were friends with, who they could be friends with, who the leaders were, what times they could go on splits with us, what their work schedule was etc...
I was gathering all of this information, and was excited to pass it on to W's replacement, and hopefully let him catch the spirit of the area and see him fall in love with it like I had done already. But it wasn't to be, and while I know that it's not completely true, I just feel like I wasted a lot of time and energy figuring all of that stuff out because I was moved before I could do anything with all of the information I have. And now I'm in a "slow" area and I have no idea who the investigators are, or where they live etc......And a lot of them don't seem to be going anywhere right now.
BUT. I'm doing good. I'm optimistic, I see a lot of potential in this place, and I have a great companion. Also, I learned a ton from my last transfer, and while I was really sad to leave it so soon after arriving, I'm excited to apply what I learned there to this place. Elder TS is a new guy, who is also a bit new to this area. He's got a hilarious sense of humor that not everyone can appreciate because it is very dry, and deadpan. Some people might not even realize when he's joking because not much changes in the tone of his voice or mannerisms ever. I think it's hilarious. It's also hilarious that he's kind of new to the area as well, because sometimes as we're walking, he sometimes slows down a bit and gets this look on his face as if to say, " Where am I?" and then I notice and ask "You know where we are right?" and he straight-away answers " don't ask questions, just keep walking" in his hilarious, dead-pan, very TS way. We've taken the "long way" home a few times since I've been here;)
SO I'm good. It's really nice to hear from you. Sounds like lots of stuff is keeping you guys busy. I''ve probably gotta go now so, until next week, love ya, dia Veloma.
(Jean Pierre has stuck, so if in the future, missionaries ask a member who taught them, they will say "Elder Jean Pierre taught me" and the missionaries will have no idea who that was;)
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