Dear family,
How are we doing this week? I hope that we are all happy, healthy, and doing well! Well things are going pretty well on this side of the earth. It is like dangerously hot... dangerous for my skin that is... This week was good, lots of work, and lots of fun activities! First, let me start by setting the stage for transfers. There are many areas that you can serve in here in Madagascar. There is the big city, TANA, which has like 20 areas in it, ANTSIRABE, which has like 7 areas, then there is TAMATAVE which is by the ocean! OK, so then there are three areas that every missionary here dreams of going. Known as the "Big 3" These areas are all near the ocean, they are somewhat clean, and its just like amazing. The first is Fort Dauphin. My companion is from there... the church is literally on the beach and the place is just unbelievably beautiful. The next is Mahajanga. This is the only place in the mission where you can still baptize in the ocean, and its the place in Mada where all of the baobab trees are! The last is called Toamasina. This place is like a desert, but also right near the ocean! So, like I said we had transfers this week... I am not going anywhere. I am still training for the next six weeks! Yaayyyyyyyy!!! Hahahah, but we are getting 15 new elders so it should be fun! This week was great. We taught like 21 times and had a really good week. On Saturday we had this huge branch activity where we went to this wierd place in the woods and played games, ate rice, and played a soccer game against like a legit madagascar team. Our branch did pretty well only losing 2 to 1. So I want to share with you one of the best feelings on my mission thus far. And if you can believe it, it has to do with sports. After the soccer game, we had a little testimony session which was really nice and then we did some question and answer type games. My comp got up and said, (in malagasy of course) "for a piece of candy, who can tell me who the best soccer player today was...?" There was a small pause, and then all at once everyone started to literally chant my name. "HERRIN HERRIN HERRIN HERRIN" Like, yaa that was the best!! We also danced and sang at the activity. Yesterday we had a fun zone activity and all of the elders from tana came. we played soccer basketball volleyball tennis and of course found rice to eat. Other than that, I am just doing well, trying to learn this language, and trying to endure! OH, I am receiving new roomates! For the first time in my mission I will have more than one roomate! Its and elder who I know (lil wierd) and he is going to be training a new missionary! I am way stoked! I continue to count my blessings, like my health, attitude, and family. I dont know what I would do without you. I love you so much. I love being a missionary!
All my Love
Elder Herrin
Monday, September 29, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
God Does Love Me
Dear Family,
How are we doing this week?? I know that my week was one of the, if not the best week I have had with my current companion. Although things were a little hard last week, the famous quote "SUCK IT UP" from ole Lloyd. Hahaha, oh man thinking about that just brightens my day! So Monday we lost our soccer game... not a happy elder herrin. But, gotta remember I am a missionary....I also went and bought some lamba for something that I am making here. Tuesday and Wednesday were just great. We worked really hard this week and taught more times this week than I ever have in this area. On Thursday we had zone meeting and I got to spend some time with my scottish friend and make friends with an elder named rice. Such a stud, his sister is a model and he is talking to a model right now... Ok so I had a really good week, but there is one specific time that I want to share with you. Last night, Sunday night, we went to our last time of the night. It was a family. Mother and Father with 5 kids ranging from 10 to 2. I was so happy that we could teach them because they are really great. So the youngest daughter who is 2 is deathly afraid of me because I am tall and white... like she sees me and just starts to scream and cry... I tried to make that better by giving her chocolate. There were two small bars in a bag so I gave one to the 2 year old and the other to the 4 year old. The two year old didnt know what it was, but the 4 year old new it was chocolate. I honestly dont think that this little girl had seen a wrapper before because she didnt know how to get into the chocolate. At first she stared at it and then I watched her brain work and she thought, "I can do this with my teeth" So the small girl started to bite at it. I want to paint this picture for you so try and catch my thoughts. She bit down on the wrapper, then with all her might, she pulled up with her head and pulled down on the chocolate with her hands crushing the chocolate. She repeated this motion probably 60 times and got nowhere. Her kind older sister tried to help, but the small girl wanted the chocolate so bad that she didnt want anyone to even touch the chocolate. FInally she realized she was defeated and let her older sister open it. This girl was crazy. She was running around and playing and it was like YESS, this is what a normal family is like. Later during the time, the youngest daughter passed gas... really loudly! She just smiled a smile of relief almost. I couild not control myself and burst out into laughter. The father looked at his youngest daughter with a confused look trying to understand how that noise came out of his youngest daughter. He then chuckled emberassingly and apologized saying that when it gets later at night thats what his daughter does. I just laughed and am laughing even now writing this to you!! That time was so good for me because it reminded me of my hectic family back home. Ty running around, dad saying to sit quietly, ty not listening... oh man. I am grateful for this time. I am so happy and love being a missionary. I love you all so much.
ALl my Love
Elder Herrin
How are we doing this week?? I know that my week was one of the, if not the best week I have had with my current companion. Although things were a little hard last week, the famous quote "SUCK IT UP" from ole Lloyd. Hahaha, oh man thinking about that just brightens my day! So Monday we lost our soccer game... not a happy elder herrin. But, gotta remember I am a missionary....I also went and bought some lamba for something that I am making here. Tuesday and Wednesday were just great. We worked really hard this week and taught more times this week than I ever have in this area. On Thursday we had zone meeting and I got to spend some time with my scottish friend and make friends with an elder named rice. Such a stud, his sister is a model and he is talking to a model right now... Ok so I had a really good week, but there is one specific time that I want to share with you. Last night, Sunday night, we went to our last time of the night. It was a family. Mother and Father with 5 kids ranging from 10 to 2. I was so happy that we could teach them because they are really great. So the youngest daughter who is 2 is deathly afraid of me because I am tall and white... like she sees me and just starts to scream and cry... I tried to make that better by giving her chocolate. There were two small bars in a bag so I gave one to the 2 year old and the other to the 4 year old. The two year old didnt know what it was, but the 4 year old new it was chocolate. I honestly dont think that this little girl had seen a wrapper before because she didnt know how to get into the chocolate. At first she stared at it and then I watched her brain work and she thought, "I can do this with my teeth" So the small girl started to bite at it. I want to paint this picture for you so try and catch my thoughts. She bit down on the wrapper, then with all her might, she pulled up with her head and pulled down on the chocolate with her hands crushing the chocolate. She repeated this motion probably 60 times and got nowhere. Her kind older sister tried to help, but the small girl wanted the chocolate so bad that she didnt want anyone to even touch the chocolate. FInally she realized she was defeated and let her older sister open it. This girl was crazy. She was running around and playing and it was like YESS, this is what a normal family is like. Later during the time, the youngest daughter passed gas... really loudly! She just smiled a smile of relief almost. I couild not control myself and burst out into laughter. The father looked at his youngest daughter with a confused look trying to understand how that noise came out of his youngest daughter. He then chuckled emberassingly and apologized saying that when it gets later at night thats what his daughter does. I just laughed and am laughing even now writing this to you!! That time was so good for me because it reminded me of my hectic family back home. Ty running around, dad saying to sit quietly, ty not listening... oh man. I am grateful for this time. I am so happy and love being a missionary. I love you all so much.
ALl my Love
Elder Herrin
Sunday, September 14, 2014
A Week
Dear family,
How are we doing this week?? I dont know about where you guys are, but where I am it is starting to get HOT!! I think about you guys a lot and pray for you everyday! So this week was hard, not gonna lie. Each morning this week we had somewhere to be... whether it be a doctors app or district meeting or meeting our zone leader for splits... we had something everymorning. Thats all good, but I really like my study time. I am in 3rd Nephi right now reading about how Jesus is just like "REPENT, just listen to me and things will be good, repent you dumb people that are my children!" I shouldnt word it like that, but its like why dont they just do what he says... then I look at the words I just said... How easy is it to see from the outside looking in. Anyways, like I said pretty hard week. Didnt get to work on Wednesday again because my comp was feeling not to good from all the dental work being done. Thursday we got out to work and had a lot of app drop but at the end of the day we went to this family who is learning from us. We had taught them about the Book of Mormon and we were testifying to them of the truthfulness of it. Man was the spirit so strong. I thought it would be a good opportunity to bless them with the hard work of the Wood family. I gave them each a bracelet. The smile on their face when they got this was like getting bread after not having food for weeks. Just brightens up their day and week. Friday we had a a split to do a bap interview for a 12 year old boy. Elder Weber is now the zone leader. I came to find a friend in him as we shared our experiences of how tough our companions are right now. It was really nice to be able to speak english for a day. Havent been able to do that in a while. Saturday was the baptism and things just tanked. It was my first baptism that I put together all by myself. It went just smooth as butter, no problems, and everyone was happy. All returned missionaries know that all of that is false!! I had to ask people to give talks the day of, we were not able to print off the schedule thingy, and one of my talks showed up late. All in all, the baptism happened and everything went. I knew that it didnt go well, but my comp thought he would let me know that he didnt think it went well either. I got to sit there and take that Malagasy to my dome. Yesterday was way nice. Church was nice and the times that we had went well. My zone leader let me know that my area is being carefully watched by the stake because there are many problems behind closed doors... just great!! I love it though. I am so grateful to be here, I am so grateful for prayer. Try it sometime, it really helps. Thanks for all the support!! I love you so much.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
How are we doing this week?? I dont know about where you guys are, but where I am it is starting to get HOT!! I think about you guys a lot and pray for you everyday! So this week was hard, not gonna lie. Each morning this week we had somewhere to be... whether it be a doctors app or district meeting or meeting our zone leader for splits... we had something everymorning. Thats all good, but I really like my study time. I am in 3rd Nephi right now reading about how Jesus is just like "REPENT, just listen to me and things will be good, repent you dumb people that are my children!" I shouldnt word it like that, but its like why dont they just do what he says... then I look at the words I just said... How easy is it to see from the outside looking in. Anyways, like I said pretty hard week. Didnt get to work on Wednesday again because my comp was feeling not to good from all the dental work being done. Thursday we got out to work and had a lot of app drop but at the end of the day we went to this family who is learning from us. We had taught them about the Book of Mormon and we were testifying to them of the truthfulness of it. Man was the spirit so strong. I thought it would be a good opportunity to bless them with the hard work of the Wood family. I gave them each a bracelet. The smile on their face when they got this was like getting bread after not having food for weeks. Just brightens up their day and week. Friday we had a a split to do a bap interview for a 12 year old boy. Elder Weber is now the zone leader. I came to find a friend in him as we shared our experiences of how tough our companions are right now. It was really nice to be able to speak english for a day. Havent been able to do that in a while. Saturday was the baptism and things just tanked. It was my first baptism that I put together all by myself. It went just smooth as butter, no problems, and everyone was happy. All returned missionaries know that all of that is false!! I had to ask people to give talks the day of, we were not able to print off the schedule thingy, and one of my talks showed up late. All in all, the baptism happened and everything went. I knew that it didnt go well, but my comp thought he would let me know that he didnt think it went well either. I got to sit there and take that Malagasy to my dome. Yesterday was way nice. Church was nice and the times that we had went well. My zone leader let me know that my area is being carefully watched by the stake because there are many problems behind closed doors... just great!! I love it though. I am so grateful to be here, I am so grateful for prayer. Try it sometime, it really helps. Thanks for all the support!! I love you so much.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
Monday, September 8, 2014
Useless Week
Dear Family,
So what a boring week this week was. Also, what a cold week it was!! I wore sweaters and scarfs almost everyday because of the extreme wind and cold. Kind of strange for being September, its the start of summer here!! So this week was just not good. Tuesday we went out to teach and not only was like none of our investigators home, but my companion was complaining of pain in his head and sinus pain too. The next day we had an appointment with the dentist. I should have sent a picture home earlier, but he had a huge cavity in his two front teeth and there was a whole from the cavity. Our mission President paid for that to be fixed. He got a filling, an extra tooth pulled and some other little things done. Needless to say he was drugged up and we couldnt work the rest of Wednesday! Thurdsday I got him to go out to work with me, even though he still complained of pain. However, we came home early because I gave into his plea for pain. Friday the same sort of thing happened, we went out to work and then we came home because he was not feeling good. This was not only getting to be annoying, but the area that we serve in NEEDS the missionaries. I, once again, became his little nurse, tending to his needs, giving him medication every couple hours. Saturday we got out and we went to an activity with the JAS... its french for young single adults. We had a small lesson, and then learned how to do malagasy dances, kareoke, and other fun things. It was a really good activity because there were non members there and they were able to be in the church and have a good time with the members. If you were wondering, yes I did dance, but no, I did not sing kareoke. My companion somehow had the energy to dance with us, pretty much a miracle in my eyes. Sorry I shouldnt say that. I just hope that he can get better soon. Sunday we went to church and it was really cool to listen to the members bear their testimony on repentance, or the sabbath day, or certain topics. After the second hour, we left to meet our mission doctor to see if she could help my companion any more. All that she could do was give him stronger medicine until we can get to a doctor. So, yesterday he took some codine and slept all day... I was left to study, take stats for my district, and just kind of hang around till it came time for bed. All in all, I am doing great, I am happy to have a companion who can teach me the language, I am happy to be healthy, I am happy to be serving the Lord. What more can you ask for right? I am doing my best. I love you all so much and hope that you have a wonderful day. Sorry the letter is not that long this week... not a lot happened.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
So what a boring week this week was. Also, what a cold week it was!! I wore sweaters and scarfs almost everyday because of the extreme wind and cold. Kind of strange for being September, its the start of summer here!! So this week was just not good. Tuesday we went out to teach and not only was like none of our investigators home, but my companion was complaining of pain in his head and sinus pain too. The next day we had an appointment with the dentist. I should have sent a picture home earlier, but he had a huge cavity in his two front teeth and there was a whole from the cavity. Our mission President paid for that to be fixed. He got a filling, an extra tooth pulled and some other little things done. Needless to say he was drugged up and we couldnt work the rest of Wednesday! Thurdsday I got him to go out to work with me, even though he still complained of pain. However, we came home early because I gave into his plea for pain. Friday the same sort of thing happened, we went out to work and then we came home because he was not feeling good. This was not only getting to be annoying, but the area that we serve in NEEDS the missionaries. I, once again, became his little nurse, tending to his needs, giving him medication every couple hours. Saturday we got out and we went to an activity with the JAS... its french for young single adults. We had a small lesson, and then learned how to do malagasy dances, kareoke, and other fun things. It was a really good activity because there were non members there and they were able to be in the church and have a good time with the members. If you were wondering, yes I did dance, but no, I did not sing kareoke. My companion somehow had the energy to dance with us, pretty much a miracle in my eyes. Sorry I shouldnt say that. I just hope that he can get better soon. Sunday we went to church and it was really cool to listen to the members bear their testimony on repentance, or the sabbath day, or certain topics. After the second hour, we left to meet our mission doctor to see if she could help my companion any more. All that she could do was give him stronger medicine until we can get to a doctor. So, yesterday he took some codine and slept all day... I was left to study, take stats for my district, and just kind of hang around till it came time for bed. All in all, I am doing great, I am happy to have a companion who can teach me the language, I am happy to be healthy, I am happy to be serving the Lord. What more can you ask for right? I am doing my best. I love you all so much and hope that you have a wonderful day. Sorry the letter is not that long this week... not a lot happened.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
Monday, September 1, 2014
This is Harder Than I Thought
Dear Family,
How is everyone doing this week? I hope that all is well and that you are all healthy and happy! Never a better day to smile than today! So, this week was probably one of the hardest weeks of my mission by far... my comp is just a wonderful man that drives me insane. So first I will just tell you about the work this week. It went so great, like literally, small miracles everyday through contacting, teaching, and just being willing to sacrifice everything we have as missionaries makes all the difference. Tuesday and Wednesday were just full of contacting and looking for new people to teach, new people that are READY to hear our message. Hopefully they all work out. Since my companion is a native, he likes to be in command thinking that he can do and say better than I can. True. Still bugs me a tad. Anyway, Thursday and Friday we got to teach a lot more and I got to see what kind of teacher Raza was. (Raza is what I call him...) He is a very in your face, preach preach preach, kind of teacher. He would make a great pastor or preacher. He is VERY knowlegdable about the gospel and can answer any question that comes his way. Saturday was good too, we taught, I taught english... Funny story about that. One question that was brought up in english class was, and I quote... "What does, 'lets f*** around mean' because my friend said it was slang in english..." Oh, havent heard that word in like, six months. That was where I just said, ok next question. Hahah. Anyway, Sunday we had nine app. scheduled and got to teach 6 of them. Great day, lots of teaching and new investigators. Okk, so now I am not going to complain, or tell you how much my companion bugs me, I am simply going to give you a couple of my experiences from this week. So, during one of our lessons this week, we planned that we would teach this family from the very beginning as it was their first lesson with the missionaries. So that meant ask questions like who is God, and who is Jesus Christ... my comp started teaching about Joseph Smith... Not exactly the stuff we planned that morning. After he taught about J-dog, he was like, so do you have anything else to add to that... So I tried to get it back on track by asking some of the simple questions, and in the middle of them answering questions, he started to teach about the Great Apostasy... AHHHH! That night, I tried to give him some tips and tell him that you should teach in order the way the pamphlet has it lined out. Before I could get through that sentence, he said "I understand, I understand, I understand" and left the room... I just keep telling myself how great the work is going. So, I found that after he showers, he uses my towel... thats a big no no in my book. He actually spends a longer time in the bathroom that I do, believe it or not. We are always running late because he irons his shirt for 20 min. And shines his shoes everyday, and just likes to look at himself. Thats cool with me, I look at myself too, but longer than a minute is just a little obsessive. My companion is awesome, do not get me wrong, he just doesnt respect me yet because he thinks I dont understand his language. True, to an extent. I was talking with Elder Davis about this matter and his solution to that problem was... In a scottish accent "Just pin the lad against the wall and give him a couple right hooks, then look him the eyes and sing, 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to YOU" Hahahahah, I love that elder! I am learning to love, thats forsure. I am grateful for him, and the many trials that he brings to my life, just love it. I love you all so much, thanks for your prayers and love.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
How is everyone doing this week? I hope that all is well and that you are all healthy and happy! Never a better day to smile than today! So, this week was probably one of the hardest weeks of my mission by far... my comp is just a wonderful man that drives me insane. So first I will just tell you about the work this week. It went so great, like literally, small miracles everyday through contacting, teaching, and just being willing to sacrifice everything we have as missionaries makes all the difference. Tuesday and Wednesday were just full of contacting and looking for new people to teach, new people that are READY to hear our message. Hopefully they all work out. Since my companion is a native, he likes to be in command thinking that he can do and say better than I can. True. Still bugs me a tad. Anyway, Thursday and Friday we got to teach a lot more and I got to see what kind of teacher Raza was. (Raza is what I call him...) He is a very in your face, preach preach preach, kind of teacher. He would make a great pastor or preacher. He is VERY knowlegdable about the gospel and can answer any question that comes his way. Saturday was good too, we taught, I taught english... Funny story about that. One question that was brought up in english class was, and I quote... "What does, 'lets f*** around mean' because my friend said it was slang in english..." Oh, havent heard that word in like, six months. That was where I just said, ok next question. Hahah. Anyway, Sunday we had nine app. scheduled and got to teach 6 of them. Great day, lots of teaching and new investigators. Okk, so now I am not going to complain, or tell you how much my companion bugs me, I am simply going to give you a couple of my experiences from this week. So, during one of our lessons this week, we planned that we would teach this family from the very beginning as it was their first lesson with the missionaries. So that meant ask questions like who is God, and who is Jesus Christ... my comp started teaching about Joseph Smith... Not exactly the stuff we planned that morning. After he taught about J-dog, he was like, so do you have anything else to add to that... So I tried to get it back on track by asking some of the simple questions, and in the middle of them answering questions, he started to teach about the Great Apostasy... AHHHH! That night, I tried to give him some tips and tell him that you should teach in order the way the pamphlet has it lined out. Before I could get through that sentence, he said "I understand, I understand, I understand" and left the room... I just keep telling myself how great the work is going. So, I found that after he showers, he uses my towel... thats a big no no in my book. He actually spends a longer time in the bathroom that I do, believe it or not. We are always running late because he irons his shirt for 20 min. And shines his shoes everyday, and just likes to look at himself. Thats cool with me, I look at myself too, but longer than a minute is just a little obsessive. My companion is awesome, do not get me wrong, he just doesnt respect me yet because he thinks I dont understand his language. True, to an extent. I was talking with Elder Davis about this matter and his solution to that problem was... In a scottish accent "Just pin the lad against the wall and give him a couple right hooks, then look him the eyes and sing, 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to YOU" Hahahahah, I love that elder! I am learning to love, thats forsure. I am grateful for him, and the many trials that he brings to my life, just love it. I love you all so much, thanks for your prayers and love.
All my Love
Elder Herrin
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