So crazy as it seems, I have been in Madagascar a full month by the end of this week. I can't say the time always feels like it's going fast but that still shock even me! Which means I only have about four months of my mission left - how did that happen? Where did the time go? In fact I officially know my release date - it will be the 18th of March.
This week we finally got to watch conference!! It was fantastic!! I seriously am just so grateful for modern living prophets and apostles and the fact that the Lord still speaks to His children in Their day. You would think that after so many talks on the gospel there wouldn't be anything new to say - yet everytime I come to conference I am so enlightened and edified. It's not that they make up new gospel topics but the way they apply them to our lives and their advice is so spot on and touches me. I can't wait to read and study from the talks given during the next six months. I particularly enjoyed Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf's talk about absolute truth and Elder Jorg Klipgat (??) I can't remember his exact name, but he gave an amazing talk about how to live the gospel. I loved when he said "Become really really good at forgiving. Forgive everyone of everything. Don't hold a bad feeling against a single soul" !!
This week was the week of meeting because in addition to General Conference we also had a Zone Meeting and a Mission Leadership Meeting! Our Zone leader gave an amazing lesson about integrity. One of the quotes he used said "Integrity is about doing the right thing not because of who's watching but because your character demands it!" He said too that Elder Anderson had once said someone with true integrity would do the right thing even if God blinked or looked away for a moment. It was great. All about being completely truly honest about what you think is right and wrong - because your own character demands it. It made me really think about how I can have more integrity. Also I was very suprised to learn that I am still a Sister Training Leader in Madagascar...I thought that that calling had ended when I left Reunion since I don't know the language, area, mission, or even missionaries over here very well but nope. Sister Johnson has been the only sister training leader over here for quite a while and it can sometimes be tough so I'm a little nervous about this addition to all the new changes that are already going on. Speaking of which...Sister Johnson will be leaving in two weeks when the transfer ends so it is almost guaranteed that I will stay in the area I am in and be in charge of leading it with my new companion. The language is still coming along slowly and yeah, all these things are making me really nervous for the future. It's going to be a big stretch that is for sure. I will be the person with the most knowledge about our area and investigators but I will only have been here for 6 weeks and not speak the language.
Funny language story for the week. In malagasy, the subject almost always goes at the end of a sentence. Such as "Through the prophet Joseph Smith, restored the gospel and his church, Jesus Christ" or "Can pray to God no matter where, no matter when, we" So occasionally when I am speaking I focus so much on the words I need to put into the sentence that I think I have already mentioned who is doing it. And then I'll get done with this sentence and look over at Sr Johnson and she's sort of waiting for me to finish and I don't get what she's waiting for and she mouthes to me the word "subject" and I'm like "oh....right" So some of my sentences sound like this "Loves us with all His heart and wants us to be happy.............God"
Soeur Stewart
BP 5094
Dingana III
Andrainarivo, Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
Love,
Sr Stewart
btw ... kiana would LOVE christmas cards (:
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