Don't Pick My Pocket!

I sure wish I had pictures of this one!

Yesterday Dad and I, the Adams and the Shupes went 'downtown' to do a little shopping at Prochards.  It's kind of like the market place in Nassau, a billion little stalls all bunched together.  Everyone in the city must have had the same idea, because there were a million people and traffic was pretty much at a standstill.  After we had been sitting in the same spot for about 15 minutes, Elder and Sister Shupe, Sister Adams and I got out to walk down the street. The street was packed with people and cars and even pedestrians weren't moving very fast. 

When we'd walked a couple of blocks, I felt my brand new blackberry phone taken out of the back pocket of my levis.  I know it was a dumb place to have it, but I had forgotten to take it out and put it in my purse.  Before I even realized what was happening, I had spun around and grabbed the guy by the arm and growled at him, "Give me back my phone."  While I was doing that he was handing it off to another guy, so I grabbed him with my other hand; and let go of the first guy and grabbed my phone back.  I looked down to make sure it was indeed mine, then I 'whacked' the second guy two or three times and told him, "Don't take my phone!"     Then I turned around and walked off.   

Don't mess with the blonde missionary lady!

Things are a little different here

When we first arrived in Antananarivo the end of July, it seems like my thinking was "this is not like home", or" I can't find this or that", or "I miss....".  I am so thankful that I have gotten over that kind of thinking!  Now, we can pretty much make do with whatever we find - sometimes we find what we need or something that will work, or we just do without - and it is usually okay.  Things are just different here!

When we were out at the airport recently, I went into the bathroom.  There is a room with four little stalls with doors (thank goodness!), two for men and two for women.  Sure glad I had my tissues in my purse!  When I went out to wash my hands, standing next to some man washing his, is when I noticed the roll of toilet paper hanging on the door knob of the door out to the terminal.  Things are a little different here!

We came home one night after a really busy week, when about all we would do at home is go to bed, and instead of a big black dog waiting for us - we found a big old slug crawling around on our kitchen floor!

Building practices here are a little different.  The house they are building next to our house basically has no mortar between the bricks.  Sure hope there is never an earthquake here, this is how all of the buildings are built.  After they get the brick all up, they put a layer of plaster over it so that it looks like it is a nice, solid concrete building.

The scaffolding on building projects is a lot like in Hong Kong.

As they build the next floor on top, they put bamboo all throughout the inside top floor to hold up the roof/floor of the next story.

Sometimes 'things' just disappear, like the sidewalk that connects this stairway to the side of the road!
You have to be really careful where you walk!  Lots of hidden hazards!

As cars drive down the streets, if they get a flat tire or have engine problems, they just stop right where the are and fix it.  Doesn't matter that their are LOTS of cars wanting to get around them.  When it's fixed they will go!  Things are different here!

Things are different, but every day is a new adventure.  What adventures we are having!

Catching Up

We have had a crazy 6 or 7 weeks!  It has been crazy here since the beginning of November with LOTS of visitors from South Africa, conferences and Mission Tour.  We are certainly glad that we have our jobs to do and President and Sister Adams do the 'wild and crazy' things, like traveling all over ALL of the time, and speaking at all of the meetings in different places. 

The second weekend in November Elder and Sister Cook from the South Africa Area Presidency came, they brought with them Hugh McKee and Never Phiri.  They toured several of the areas in Madagascar looking at meeting house needs and possibilities. 

Dad and I went out to the airport to meet them when they came back from Tamatave to drive everyone in to their hotel, and then the Senior Couples prepared potluck lunch for all of them on Sunday.   

When I first started making arrangements for their trip, I was really intrigued by the name Never Phiri and commented that I was excited to meet someone with such an awesome name. Never Phiri is from Zimbabwe and has worked for the Church in South Africa for quite a few years. He was a super nice guy but doesn't know why his parents named him that.  His parents certainly gave him quite the legacy to live up to with a name like that.  I would think that it would give him confidence and courage all of his life.   He did love it that I really liked his name.  When we took them back to their hotel, I got a picture with them.  

Never Phiri, Sister Cloward, Hugh McKee

The next week was really calm in the office because President and Sister Adams were in South Africa for Mission President Seminar.  

The fourth weekend Elder Mkhabella, an Area Seventy, came from South Africa for District Conference in Tamatave.  They all traveled down there for the weekend so it should have been calm here in Tana, but that was the weekend of the shooting here in our neighborhood.  Since President and Sister Adams were out of town, and the Shupes had gone to Tamatave that weekend, also; Dad and I were busy trying to make sure all of the missionaries were safe and accounted for.  

THANKSGIVING

The 'old' people got together and had Thanksgiving dinner at the Adams.  Elder and Sister Shupe had arranged to get a turkey brought up from Tulear for Thanksgiving.  Gaby, one of the Malagasy guys that help the Humanitarian Missionaries, had killed, cleaned and plucked the turkey and brought it into the office for the Shupe's to take home to cook.  He was a pretty weird looking turkey with his head and  his feet  still  intact.  I'm used to Butterballs that you get at the store!

I think that was the toughest turkey I have ever eaten.  It definatly wasn't a butterball, cooked  in a Cook'in Bag!  Everything else was good and we had a fun time together and played some fun games.

It wasn't like being home with all of the family, but it wasn't quite as strange as the year we had Thanksgiving Dinner in a bar in the Bahamas!  

Robert and Janell Todd from the Pleasant View 5th Ward are the Senior couple down in Antsirabe (about 3  1/2 hours south of Antananarivo) and they are doing a marvelous job down there.  When they were called to come here, they were given the job of getting the Antsirabe District ready to become a Stake.  They have worked miracles down there, and the District is doing awesome.  They are about ready to become a Stake.  Their District President was recently called to be a counselor in the Temple Presidency in Johannesburg.  It is going to be great for the Malagasy people to go to the Temple and have someone there who speaks their language, and knows many of them.  The Todd's are training their second District Presidency now.

The day after Thanksgiving, the last weekend in November, Elder Gidy, another Area Seventy from South Africa, came for District Conference in Antsirabe.  While everyone was in Antsirabe for District Conference, Elder and Sister Renlund, the Area President from South Africa, flew in and joined them in Antsirabe...

AND THEN THE CRAZINESS BEGAN...

The next seven days were super busy as the Renlunds and the Adams traveled all over the mission holding Zone Conferences.  Monday was Zone Conference in Antsirabe and travel back to Tana, Tuesday was Zone Conference in Tana and fly to Reunion, Wednesday was Zone Conference and a fireside in Reunion, Thursday was travel from Reunion to Tana then on to Tamatave, Friday was Zone Conference in Tamatave.

We sure have awesome missionaries here!

Saturday morning Dad and I got to go down to the Carlton and have breakfast with Elder and Sister Renlund and then take them to the airport.  What an awesome experience.  They are super nice, 'real' people.  We totally enjoyed our visit with them.  What a big job they have for this area of the world, and what great people they are.  All of our missionaries 'felt loved' when they left the Madagascar Mission.  

The next couple of days Elder van Reenan, another area seventy, was here for meetings.  The Senior couples had a potluck dinner for him on Saturday night and got to visit with him.  He has been here several times since we have been here.  He is another awesome man.  He knows Brenton and Janeen Salveson from our home Ward and often gets to see them when he is in Utah. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec 10 and 11 we had transfers, missionaries going home and new missionaries coming in.  And then training for the new missionaries on Thursday.  It is always sad for us to see the missionaries go home.  This time an AP and a former AP went home, we really get to know and love these young men.  It is kind of like sending one of your own missionaries out all over again - except that they are going home to their own families so you are also excited for them.  

Elder Smith and Elder Rasmussen, both were APs.