Avy, ry taranak'i Jakoba, ary aoka isika handeha amin'ny fazavany Jehovah.

There is one week left in my second to last transfer as a missionary. This is weird, and I don't like it one bit. 

Well it may help your tears to know that transfers don't work like that at all here. We get a phone call Sunday night and take a bus to our new area on tuesday usually, where we meet up with our new comp and get to work. Training assignments work like that though, so maybe that's what you saw. 

Furniture shopping sounds fun. 

This week was mediocre, but it was excessively mediocre so that is something. Tuesday I was very sick. Just one of those "can't even find the strength to get out of bed except when you have to go to the bathroom every half hour or so" type things. So not too exciting. Wednesday we taught a couple interesting people. 

Thursday was district meeting, good meeting. 

Friday, it existed. 

Saturday. We had 14 lessons planned starting at nine in the morning. So off we went after playing some football for exercise in the morning, showered and dressed to our first lesson at nine in the morning. They weren't there. Nor were the next six lessons. So that was fun, got a lot of good tracting done. Spent some quality time together walking around the area. Had a way good lesson with an investigator who is struggling to find work and told us that he might not be coming to church the next day because he found a temporary job that starts on Sunday. We told him he can only get blessings if he is obedient, and basically that if he has faith and comes to church he will be better off than if he goes to work. His name is S. 

Sunday. S came to church. I cannot express in any way how happy I am that he came to church. Absolutely incredible. He will be blessed for that. The rest of Sunday was way solid, went and taught this one family that we have only taught once before and they had a bunch of questions about the restoration and the book of mormon and they really understood the message and were really interested so hopefully they stay that way. 

That's all I have got for this week, not too much interesting. A very average week. I should have a group of pics next week for you guys, this computer is being handicapped so I couldn't send any this week. 

I love you guys a ton.

Elder Galbreath

For your eyes only!

This is your personal email. I hope you enjoy it. 

That's right, coming live to you and only you is the one and only Elder Galbreath in Madagascar. For half a second I forgot I wasn't the one and only Elder Galbreath. That kid is cramping my style. 

Well the Seahawks game sounds intense, but they won and that is all that matters. Here we go back to back champs! 

Well it sounds like work is keeping you busy. I may want to go there for work, do you know what I would make as far as hourly wages go? Unfortunately that does make a huge difference at this point in my life. 

As far as the house goes it sounds pleasant enough. I have to point out that thinking I won't be married in two years isn't expressing much faith in me but that's a whole 'nother topic. 

Your souvenir advice stinks.

I have been feeling a lot healthier the last few days, and you will be proud to know that I made a meal that wasn't instant noodles for myself last night for dinner. I had what was probably a pound of spaghetti. I know, still noodles but I made the sauce from tomato paste and various seasonings. It was pretty good if I do say so myself (and I do). 

Don't worry Mom, I am not getting trunky. With how our area and branch is progressing you will be lucky if I don't "accidentally" miss my bus out of here. Yes it hits me every now and then but that just drives me to work harder. I love it here mom. 

The temple trip sounds way nice, we are working in our branch to try and get a bunch of families to the temple this year, it's a little weird to think about the hour and a half drive to the temple near us. By us I mean you guys. 

Alright story time. So me and Elder Fox were walking out to a farther part of our area the other day. We hear this little girl yelling at us from like a hundred yards away "vazah! vazah!" and we are just like whatever she was a cute little girl so we didn't pay too much attention. Then we hear footsteps. We turn around and she is sprinting full steam ahead to catch up with us. So we stop and wait for a second so she can catch up, and she gets there and goes for a dona, like knuckles or a fist bump or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Then she left. A full hundred yard sprint just to dona the white guys. Most adorable thing I saw all week. 

We went on a lot of splits this week. Tuesday we went with Mahazoarivo, I went with Elder Kelsch, way cool guy. A wrestler from Utah somewhere. So we went around and visited the people they had planned and I showed them a few less active people I had been teaching. So they were happy to see me at least and the missionaries are going to start visiting them again. 

Then Wednesday we went on splits with Manandona due to some really odd circumstances ending in only Elder Fox can drive the car until further notice (that notice came two days later) so I was cruising with Elder Christianson, way cool and great at teaching/malagasy, from Vegas. Good split, great day. We visited this member and he was like "Yeah I have two brothers that want to learn from you guys, one just got out of jail six months early right after he finished the book of mormon that I gave him." So that's cool, a guy who saw a miracle after he read and gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and I will take a rap sheet in this country if it means a man to teach. So we set up times with both of those families and are going to them tomorrow. 

Saturday we went on splits with Ambohimena South, Elder Rice and I were companions. Pretty decent day, filled with the stereotypical malagasy drama and lack of interest in listening to anything that doesn't come from their pastor. 

Yay for exercise! Keep it up, when I get home I am going to start lifting and running and playing basketball. That way when Wyatt gets home and he is all sickly and skinny from his mission I can beat him at arm-wrestling. It won't last but I can give myself an edge. Gotta look good for the wife hunt. I am going to need some Supersonics short shorts though. Haha but seriously, I need to put on some muscle I am way too skinny. 

Did nobody see that google has malagasy in google translate now? Maybe it doesn't automatically give you the option in whatever browser you use. I promise I wasn't just being annoying with that all malagasy email. 

I love you guys a ton and am praying for you guys almost as much as I am for the Seahawks to keep winning and grab that second superbowl. 

I am just having a great time and not wanting to leave at all. For real.

Elder Galbreath in the best mission in the world. 

Ambany vohitra. My favorite place in the world.

Fantastic times with Fox

I guess that makes me the hound. 

First things first, nativity obtained and it is awesome. The little drummer boy is on order from the same guy and it should be here this week. That's that. Probably won't send a picture to keep the surprise for when you get it though. Sorry. 

Also the picture thing is hard. I have been in Madagascar for a very long time and so I feel like I have seen everything worth taking a picture of. I will try to do better to make this whole new camera thing worth it. Then I will probably just sell it back to someone before I come home because I will never use it again. I will try and be better though. Promise. 

So this week was, hard. It was just a hard week. We are still both trying to recover from the sickness that has plagued us since we were first together. Also it has rained every day. I started carrying my rain coat though so it hasn't been too annoying except my shoes have deteriorated to the point of no water protection at all. So wet feet every night but that's a small price to pay for the wonderful work of a missionary in Madagascar. We are trying to work with the members more and build a relationship with them, not only to help the missionary efforts in the branch but also to help the members. There is an uncomfortably small number of truly converted members here in Madagascar. Lots of people have testimonies but as many many apostles and prophets have taught, that is not enough to get us through. We have had a lot of people falling through from the contacts we made, and a lot of people not wanting to talk to us this week. Tracting did not go so well, but we got almost 30 hours of proselyting time this week which is incredible. Proselyting time is time spent doing active missionary work. That is teaching lessons or contacting people. Travel time doesn't count, and meals and talking to people before lessons doesn't count. So the mission goal is 28 hours a week, and without going on splits pretty much nobody catches that. Except for good old Fox and the Hound. It's just nice to have a companion who actually enjoys doing missionary work and knows how to do it. An experience I have had not nearly enough times in my mission. So Elder Fox is a great companion, even if he is from the west side. We spend a fair amount of time deciding how long the dynasty of the Seahawks is going to last. We haven't pinned it yet, but they are going to win at least the next two Super Bowls. Also the Sonics are coming back. 

We started playing basketball every morning, we go out and get nice and tired and refreshed in the morning and eat a good breakfast of yogurt and bread and go out to work. I feel pretty good lately except this stupid cold. It just won't go away. Trying to stay dry and warm and blowing my nose a lot. Not too much interesting going on lately out here other than that. 

My thoughts on the house situation are that if Mom is planning on moving down to Boardman in the relatively near future get something you can both live in. If that's not the plan, just get a little man cave house. No need to break the bank on a half a week house for one person. 

Dad-my thought on the sport coat thing is that I will probably just get like one or maybe two if they are significantly cheaper than a suit, or else I am just going to get the maroon suit and call it good. I already have the material so I am still not sure. If you could put a little money in my account I would sleep better at night, but I don't think I will need it. Just a suit left for me. That should only be like 40 or 45 bucks too. Then I am pretty sure I am done unless I can track down a rugby jersey for bubba. Oh and could you send me the names of the temples that John and Dan got married in? I know you are Seattle and Grandma and Grandpa are Cardston. Then I have all the souvenirs for everybody. 

And I think that rounds out my take on the week. I love you guys a ton.

Elder Galbreath