Its coming fast!

Letter from 4/20

This was a great week, but the time moves so dang fast. This week went by in a blink of an eye.

This week we had the opportunity to go on two splits and also had the opportunity to get some things done in the office. Also we taught english class, taught some awesome lessons to some of our awesome investigators. We got fed by the Public Affairs couple on Tuesday and it was delicious. And then also President Adams went out to teach with us last night. We taught some great lessons to a recent convert and then to some great investigators. 

This week we are going to be busy in the office and there is also a bunch of things to get done in the area and just there is always things to be done. This is going to be a crazy last week.

It doesnt feel real that I will be home next week. I don't think it will be real until I actually end up on the plane, or maybe until I am in America again. But there are plenty of things to keep me busy here. Tomorrow we will spend most of the day in the office, specifically in President's Office, we have office meeting, MLS meeting, transfer meeting, and then other office work, english class, ASL with Jules, PMG class, and we are going to try and get all of that done by 7PM. So we will see how tomorrow and the rest of this weeks shapes out to be. 

Its really hard to find things to say these days.

Elder Weber 

Marathon to the end

I have a rather big problem. I leave Madagascar in 16 days, but there is a lot of work to get done in 16 days. I need to do a bunch of training for Elder Morley on a variety of different things to make sure that he can take over all of the many things that we do when I leave. And of course there are people to taught, many projects to work on, and it is just amazing what needs to be done. We are trying to do everything in our power to get this mission running as smooth as possible before the transition of a new mission president in a few months. There is just so much to get done however and its not easy. The new mission president is not going to have a clean slate to start with, but we are trying to get it as clean as possible. 

So this last week, we spent a lot of time in the office working on several big projects that are going on here in the office right now. I can explain a lot about that when I get home, its not worth trying to explain over email. Besides that we ended up teaching a good set of lessons, we also had the opportunity to go on splits on Saturday. That was a lot of fun and I got to see some members and people I baptized. 

So besides that, everyone keeps telling me that I am about to go home, which I already know, but its really weird. Time has flown by so fast, and I am realizing very quickly that the last of everything is coming really fast. 

I will try and send some pictures today of different things. Some pictures from Norbert's baptism, some of the other people that I have seen recently that I love.

Until next week.

Elder Weber 

Photos from March 23 Letter

HAPPY EASTER!!

Letter from April 9, 2015 - Mom note:  I have two other letters that I haven't posted yet, but I thought I would post this and then catch up. 

It was a good week! A lot of things happened, but it was good! 

We were able to go and teach some this week.

But on Monday we had the Reunion Zone Leaders with us and we took them with us and we taught and had a good time. And then on Tuesday we had the MLC/

So the MLC started in the morning and went until about 3:30. It was a great meeting, we discussed a lot of things for the future of the mission. Lunch was great as always, they made Chicken Enchiladas which were ridiculously good. When the meeting was finished, we cleaned up and taught english class, and then we did ASL with Jules.

The rest of the week was really good as well. We made a visit with President Adams, we taught some lessons, did office work, and everything.

And then Saturday was the big day! 

We attended Norbert's baptism. It was a great service, very well attended, and everything was just great. Naturally, the water was brown, we had to use a fire hose and buckets to fill it up, along with the tap, and everything. But they got baptized, all four of them. I will try and send pictures next week, I need to get them from some other people, as they are on their cameras. There was probably between 200-250 people there. There were some great talks given that explained very well everything about the baptism and the church. We also got 25 referrals from people there that would like to learn more about the church. And then Sunday was a great day, great church time and everything.

So I hope you all enjoyed conference, we will be watching it in 3 weeks. My last weekend in Madagascar will be conference! What a way to go out!

Elder Weber 

One transfer left

March 16 letter

Well. The big day just came. We are officially on day one of the last transfer. It is a weird feeling, and there are a lot of "lasts" coming up. 

This past week we were in Antsirabe and Fianarantsoa for splits and then for zone conferences. The zone conferences were exceptionally good and the week as a whole went better than last week. It was a little less frustrating. 

The zone conferences were my last zone conferences. No more for me. In the last 6 months I have had 12 zone conferences, but no more, I am finished. This last transfer is going to fly by.

My new companion is Elder Morley. He has been serving as a zone leader here in Tana. I am really excited to work with him. We will have an exciting 6 weeks.

This upcoming week is transfers, so until like Friday we are quite busy. And  then on Friday we are going to have a planning meeting with President, and then next week has some meetings lined up, and on the 31st we have a big MLC where we bring in all the zone leaders and Sister training leaders from all of provinces and islands and we will have a full day meeting with them. 

So the splits this last week were really good. Everyone was happy to participate and everyone learned a lot. I had the opportunity to work with several of the missionaries in Fianarantsoa and the missionaries in Ambositra. And then after the zone conferences we drove back. So we had a lot of time in the car this week and it was good. We also took the Ambositra elders to Anjoma, so I got to visit a new place where I haven't been before. So I have been everywhere in the mission except for Toliara and Mahajanga. And I don't think that is going to change before the end. 

So on Sunday we met with President and made a few transfer changes and then we had a soiree with Sister Manda, and then we got home and took stats and then called out the transfer news. So that is what my week was like.

So in Zone conference we talked a lot about integrity, planning, we watched Meet the Mormons (yes that means I have now seen it 6 times) and talked about hastening the work of salvation. We also had a module about teaching with questions to check for the understanding of our investigators. 

So this week I have lots of bus stops and airport trips and food from Sister Adams in my schedule. 

Well until next week.

Elder Weber 

ANTSIRABE!

Letter from March 9, 2015

Here I am writing you all from the land of Antsirabe!! We have been down here on splits for a few days and life is going great! We have had three great days of splits!

It brings back so many memories of serving here. I was able to visit some people for the last time and it will be crazy to see what the future holds in regards to me coming back to Madagascar.

I really cannot think of much to write this week, because I kinda feel not into things this morning. I feel like I am in another world.

But so this week we did a lot to prepare for our trip and then on Thursday we came down here and then we just did a bunch of splits. But I really don't see anything to write about.

I love my mission, I love the people, even when things come up that are a bit frustrating, you just keep going knowing that the Lord is in control and that He will provide. I have had an experience with that this week, but this is the Lord's work and He is in control. There is a good quote somewhere about how Satan can do nothing to stop the progression of the work of the Lord, and only people who can stop the progression, is ourselves. So as we focus on always progressing, we will help Him do His work.

Elder Bednar recently stated in an all africa conference that this is His work and He does the hastening. Our responsibility is to see if we will keep up with His hastening. The church here in Madagascar is new and it has a few growing pains, but He will provide the way, He always has and He always will.

I love you all!! Keep up the good work that you are doing back home! Try to always progress and be the person that the Lord would have you be. He lives and loves us. That is the greatest knowldege in the world. Love triumphs everything else.

Until next week!

Elder Weber

March is here!

Mon 3/2/2015

Hello March! It has come fast for sure. 

 So this week we were still in Tamatave on Monday and Tuesday. We had some wonderful splits there and everything was great! And then on Wednesday we drove back to Tana. That took most of the day. Thurday was a great day! 

Thursday we got to attend the fisoratana of one of our investigators! That is her legal marriage. She has been investigating the church for over 9 years, and the only thing stopping her from baptism was the marriage. And so we have been working with her for a long time and we finally got the marriage done Thursday morning. I will send some pictures. And then after that we had to go to the airport which always takes a while. Then Thursday evening we started catching up a little on office work and preparing for the next three upcoming Zone conferences this week and next week. We also visited Nadia and talked to her about the marriage and the upcoming baptism. 

Friday we had office meeting in the morning and then we met with President regarding transfers. And then we did yet more office work. We did also teach some which was good.

Saturday - We had a nice baptismal service for Nadia and her daughter Mirana. It was a great baptism and everyone had a great experience. It was a day long awaited. And then later in the afternoon we attended the Adult Session of Stake Conference. Sunday we also attended the general session, both sessions were presided by Elder VanReenen who is an Area Seventy for the Africa Southeast Area. It was a good conference. I spent time reflecting on my mission and I realized that I have spent 15 months of my mission serving in this stake. I have served in 4 different areas inside of this stake. It was cool to look out over the audience and see all these people that I know from the areas in which I served and also to see all the investigators that I have taught from many of those areas now active members in the church. It was a very humbling experience and I realized just how much I am going to miss Madagascar. 

Mom asked for pictures and then asked about transfers. So I will explain a little bit about the whole transfer system for the mission. Mom Note: No pictures yet. :)

Missionaries report to the MTC on a Wednesday. We currently have missionaries attending Provo or Ghana and will be adding Johannsburg soon. And then that lines up exactly with our transfer dates here. We have a transfer every 6 weeks. And so for missionaries coming to the mission, they leave the MTC on Monday morning and arrive here Wednesday afternoon. For the missionaries that are already in the mission, they find out Sunday night about transfer news, that is, who is going where. And then the transfer moves are conducted normally Monday through Thursday, and we make a program telling everyone when they are going to be moving. And since we have long bus rides in this mission we have to plan it out well. Going to some places takes as much as 10 hours and so we have to figure out how to get everyone everywhere without leaving any missionaries stranded without a companion. Talk about fun logistics. So the assistants plan transfers with President over several weeks throughout the transfer and then missionaries wont find out until that Sunday. For example there is a transfer on the 18th of March. And so the missionaries in the MTC went there on February 4th. On the 16th they will leave the MTC. On the 15th, all the missionaries will know about the transfer. And so thats a little about how the transfers work. So the new missionaries show up on the Wednesday and then they get a nice dinner and some paperwork and stuff and then on Thursday they get trained and head to their new areas. 

So thats kinda how it works. And I will talk to you guys later!

Elder Weber