This is a copy of what Elder Cloward put in the Mission Newsletter last week.
Have you ever noticed how incredibly Handsome Elder Cloward is? He is this handsome because he is very faithful and religious about getting his Beauty Sleep. This morning Elder Cloward is not looking as good as he usually looks. Last night a little after 9:30, Elder Cloward got a call from the APs asking for a key to get to the passports and visas for everyone. When Elder Cloward asked why they needed access to these things, they said that two of the Elders had been stopped by the police while they were on their way home. One of the Elder's Visa had an expired date on it and they took to two missionaries out of their taxi and stood them against a nearby wall and told them that if they did not produce a valid visa right away, they were going to jail. The two Elders called the APs. They APs got the keys from Elder Cloward and came to the office and made copies of the passports and visas for the two missionaries that had been standing against the wall for more than an hour at this point. The APs drove back and picked up Elder Cloward and then they went looking for these two Elders. They found them standing against their wall, which after a couple of hours, they were beginning to think of as home. The APs convinced the police that the documents they had brought were really the two missionaries documents, and the police finally let them go. Elder Marsh and Elder Jensen were terrific as they negotiated with the policeman. By the time everyone got back home, Elder Cloward had lost considerable Beauty Sleep! When this happens, things (and Elder Cloward) can get real ugly.
Everyone in the mission needs to look at their visas and see if the copy they are carrying has an expired date on it. If your visa copy has an expired date, please contact Sister Cloward to get a copy of the latest visa that we have on file for you. Remember that you must carry a copy of your passport and visa with you at all times. If you don't carry a current copy of each with you, you might want to carry your 72 hour kits with you, just in case you have to take up residence against a wall somewhere. If you live outside of Tana, it will take us a little more than two hours to get a copy of your visas to you. If you don't have to live by your wall for several days, you might get to see the luxuious accommodations that is a Malagasy Jail. Trust me, you don't want to spend a night in a jail here.
If you care about how good looking Elder Cloward is at all, then you will please carry an updated copy of your visa and passport with you at all times. Also, if your phone doesn't work, you cannot even call for help if you get stuck like this! (Please ask the Elders in Fort Dauphin about this.)
Elder Cloward is sleeping at his desk today, trying to get beautiful again. It is good that he has great material to work with!
P.S. Occasionally you will see Elder Cloward sleeping in Sacrament meeting. Some people call this "Old High Priests Syndrome". This is really not the case. It is just Elder Cloward working on looking good. (Please check your Visas and Passports and make sure you are carrying the latest version with you at all times. You really don't want to see Elder Cloward when he is ugly.) You should also know that after Elder Cloward's nightly beauty regimen he is going to start working on humility.
