Paradise!

Paradise is the only way I can describe my new area. I honestly don't even feel like I am in Madagascar anymore. It is like a weird mix of South Pacific island and the Arabian peninsula. It's super cool though. Not temperature wise though. Temperature wise it is super hot. This is the hottest place in the mission. I went from the coldest place in the mission at the coldest time and now I am in the hottest place in the mission going into the hottest time of the year. Hopefully the mission won't have to send me home in a jar after I have melted.

But Monday before I left I was able to have a nice P-day in Antsirabe and print some pictures off to give to the members. Malagasies love pictures so much. We just had a chill P-day and then at night we went and taught Prisca. We said goodbye to them and then went to Voahangy's and Setra's houses to drop off pictures and say some final goodbyes. We had a soiree with Mampionona and his family that night and it was super good food. We did like a family home evening with them and it was way fun. 

Then Tuesday morning we were off. I said goodbye to Elder Reynolds and Antsirabe and Elder Lehr, Elder Liao, the Anbositra Elders and I all got in the Manandona truck and drove to Tana. Way better than a taxi be. We got to the office and got to see tons of missionaries that I haven't seen in a very long time. I was able to see Elder Rice before he went home so that was awesome. I went on a split with Elder Thompson (remember him) and Elder Mack. We just taught English so it wasn't like a busy day or anything. They live with the AP's and the Office Elders so I got to go back to my old house. The Elders that were going home were staying there too so I got to hang out with Elder Rice one last time before he went home. 

Wednesday I officially said goodbye to Elder Rice until I see him in America. That was sad. He is definitely one of my best friends that I have made on my mission thus far. I went on a split with Elder Snell that day all day in his area in Tana. It was a way fun day but I never really realized how poor Antsirabe was until I went to Tana. Everyone is so rich in Tana by comparison. SO rich. But yeah it was a good day and we were able to meet the new elder that stayed at the AP's apartment as well that night. 

Thursday I got to the office early and started packing all my stuff into one suitcase to head to Mahajanga. It still hadn't hit me at this point that I was going there. It was like a dream come true. Well I was almost late for my plane because the mission driver was goofing around in the opffice doing who knows what but I made it safely. Let me tell you, it is the weirdest thing getting on a plane when you are not going home. Especially since Elder Rice went home the day before. Weird. But it was a relatively short flight, only an hour. And we flew out over the ocean and it was amazing! I am so glad to see the ocean! We had to fly over it and turn around to land and it was the coolest. The Indian ocean is so beautiful. And then I stepped off the plane and got punched in the face with humidity and heat. SO that was nice. I made it to the house good and met my new companion Elder Heiden and he is awesome. He ran track and he ran the 100, 200, 400 and the 4x100. And he did a lot of things that I did too before my mission so yeah we get along great. He is from Portland Oregon. 

Friday we had our first full day of work here in Mahajanga and we taught a ton! The work here is going great! The people here are super prepared to receive the gospel. And the houses here are something else. They are ovens. The walls and roof are all tin sheets. Occasionally you'll get a roof that is like palm fronds but usually it is tin. SO it is already hot as it is but once you get inside some of those houses, you literally cook. But it's good though. I love it here.

Saturday we had English class and that was fun. The people here are super good at English. I was super surprised. We had another full day that day too. Sorry I can't really include details because I don't really know them yet but don't worry, this week I will get to know them better. And also on Saturday we did a bunch of contacting... on the beach. Our appointment was on the beach and so after that we just knocked doors around his house. It was awesome and we got a lot of good contacts. 

Sunday we had a very good day. We had church at 9 and even though we did not have a lot of people there, we did have quite a few investigators show up so that was good. I am very impressed with the branch president here. He knows what he is doing. So that's good. That means I won't have to teach him what he is supposed to do. We taught a bunch of awesome investigators that day that are progressing way well and I can see getting baptized soon. We were also able to find out the problem of one of our investigators of why they won't get baptized. She wants her whole family to get baptized is the thing. SO we can hopefully start teaching all of them and help them all get baptized.

So yeah it is way hot here. I come home every night just soaking wet in my own sweat and it's a biking area too to add on top of that. But I love it here. It is a gorgeous place and I honestly feel like I am in like Saudi Arabia. Just the way everything is here makes me feel like I am there. And there are lots of Muslims here. We have a Mosque actually not far from the house that does those cool singing prayers every morning. It's way cool. How's that for an alarm clock? 

Well have a great week everyone! 

Elder Coleman