"Just Keep Swimming"

Dear Family,

Man, what a week I have had.  I cannot wait to tell you all about it.  First, I love just giving you all some encouragement as it makes me feel as if I am fulfilling my duties as a missionary!  Hahaha.  I hear that the football team is doing well!  I can promise Rhet that I am his biggest fan from Madagasikara, BY FAR!  Hahah.  I just need to know what number you are so I can start making signs like all of your girlfriends back home.  Maci, I am sure, is just throwing girls around left and right!  You bully! And I am sure that Ty is just running around trying to do his best on the soccer field!  You are all living up to the Herrin name that Brock started! 

So this week has just been one of those extremely tiring weeks that was just so fun and strange all at the same time.  Pretty normal week for Mada I guess.  We started the week helping the sisters work through some .. issues.  I will probably report more on that once I am home.  We spent the next couple of days working in the office.

Some of the things that we were doing in the office were meeting with President every night to work on transfers as that just happened yesterday!  Well, the transfer has started I guess you could say, the week of transfers is ahead.  We were also preparing for zone conferences, MLC, meeting with stake presidents to coordinate the missionary work with the wards.  It was a pretty long week.

This last weekend we drove back up to Tamatave with President to meet and do interviews with the missionaries, and also to dedicate a building.  That was one of the coolest things that I have been able to witness here.  This brand new building that was just built that could pass for an American building.  I tell you what, the church knows what its doing when it comes to ... well anything.  And it does help that we have stacks to build nice buildings like that, but its a great building.  The entire chapel was filled and President Foote gave a great prayer to dedicate the building.  So cool.  We finished the meeting and headed back to tana that sunday.  We decided to stop at a hotel half way so we didnt have to do the entire drive that day.  We stayed in a place called Andasi be.  It is this rainforest that is just beautiful and has so many wild animals.  Big tourist attraction.  Elder Rigby and I got our own little room for the night and then we drove back this morning in time for a north vs. south zone soccer game.  We (the north) won 2 to 0.  The south will not rise again.  hah.

I am still loving my mission.  I am learning so much from President and his wife.  I can not wait to start a family and help my children live the gospel.  I know that it is what will make us happy for life and all eternity.  I love you all so much.  I love being a missionary!

All my Love

Elder Herrin