November 9 2014
I can’t believe another month has passed by. Most of the past month our days were filled with the “normal” responsibilities we face each day; a few sick missionary calls each day, visits to the doctor when necessary (more ingrown toenail issues, for one), dentist visits and the like. Steve also receives frequent calls regarding bike issues. His quest this past month was finding a “slime” alternative to protect the bike tires in the extreme conditions they are ridden in. Once we found something, then a problem arose in finding compatibility for the tire “stems” in order to infuse the slime…seriously, nothing is ever easy here! ha!
We love the missionaries and I feel very “motherly” towards them—especially when they are ill. We continue to encourage good hand washing, frequent use of hand sanitizer and careful food choices and drinking clean water. Too many missionaries still eat out at questionable places and get diarrhea. It is a the one ‘constant’ in my calls. Fortunately, we can get them straightened out pretty quickly. I’m grateful that we do have clinics that can provide simple laboratory testing capabilities to test stool samples when necessary. Talking about diarrhea is a daily event…type, frequency, duration, amount…you name it…we talk about diarrhea more than we do the weather! ha!
We are working on a contingency plan in the event the EBOLA virus makes its way here. The church keeps close tabs on the spread of this virus and we want to also be prepared in our own mission as well. I watch the news updates myself, daily. When it went into the States, we all became a bit more nervous, I’ll admit that! We will be speaking with the Director General at the Ministry of Health where we teach English, this next week. I know they have been working on contingency plans and training their hospitals about EBOLA. But I worry that they will not have the necessary protective gear to handle an outbreak…it’s such a poor country! We feel somewhat relieved that we are not in a main airline ‘hub’ country of Africa. We are a bit isolated on our Island, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to be prepared.
The biggest news of our month, was that several of our kids came to visit! Brad and Hayely, Bryan and Bitty, and Melanie. It was wonderful to see them, but their visit was all too short! It seems like a dream already! They left a week ago, Tuesday and completed their vacation in South Africa at Kruger Park and a private safari. We enjoyed their visit so much and was able to take a few days to join them. As long as I had my phone close at hand for calls, we were good to go!
We flew to a beautiful island northwest of Madagasacar called Nosy Be. It was very tropical in nature and some of the remote beaches were so beautiful and pristine. The water was bluer than blue! We took a day excursion to a small island (via motor boat) where we enjoyed seeing the lemurs and watching the reaction of the kids as the lemurs jumped on their shoulders and held onto their hair! We saw chameleons (another thing for which Madagascar is famous) and tortoises. As we traipsed up the mountainsides of this little island of Nosy Komba (Nosy means “island” in Malagasy), we were constantly walking through little Malagasy villages. The women were embroidering tablecloths to sell (of course I bought one!) and many men were hand carving items to sell (a few statuettes were also purchased…supporting the local economy!). We loved watching the darling children play and sing and the babies crawl in the the dirt unhindered. It had the feel of unhurried, peaceful island life, and we enjoyed it very much!
We boarded the little motor boat again to scoot over to another “pinch me if this is real” island of Nosy Tanikely. There, our guides unloaded baskets and a couple of coolers filled with food, and while they built their charcoal fires on the beach over which they prepared our food, we took to the smooth, crystal clear, bathwater warm water to snorkel in the surrounding reefs. It was heavenly! There were many varieties of fish, many swimming in schools, that always amaze in their abundance. We even saw a couple of sea turtles. It was so relaxing and enjoyable! it was like swimming in a gigantic swimming pool surrounded by uninhabited little tropical islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean! The sky was blue, blue, blue. The water, different shades of the same. I didn’t want to leave!
We were utterly amazed at the beautiful spread of food our Malagasy guides served us after we snorkeled…A whole “white” fish, chargrilled on a little grill on the beach, a colorful fresh salad of grated carrots, a hint of onions and green peppers in a light vinaigrette , coconut rice, skewers of chargrilled beef and whole prawns artfully arranged like a starburst out of a half of a papaya, and another tasty fish in a traditional Malagasy sauce. It was soooo good!! Then, back to reality…well ‘reality’ Nosy Be style! We finished the last leg of our Nosy Be journey with a scooter ride in the morning around the island before we drove back to the airport and on to Tana in the afternoon.
The next afternoon we drove to a town about 3 hours from home called Andasibe. We have written about it before. But it’s town in a rainforest on the eastern side of the country. The Vakona lodge, surrounded by a green pond and tropical landscaping, sits like a gem amidst the natural wonders of a rain forest. One can hear the exotic sounds of birds, insects and animals in the quiet of the night and morning hours. It’s the greatest place to stay if you really want a Madagascar rain forest experience! (Plus they serve the best crepes filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with a delectable, rich chocolate sauce!) (Bryan may or may not have been kinda sick on the way here, necessitating a few stops along the winding roads—but it didn’t stop us from having a great time there). The next day we again saw the lemurs, this time including the ring-tailed lemurs made famous by the Disney Madagascar movies….”you gotta move it, move it”! We also saw tons of crocodiles and some of the group took a nature hike to see the largest lemurs (the Indry) high up in the trees and heard them call to one another. This is such a unique experience and sound. It was great!
Following another grueling 5 hours of winding roads, we made our way to Tamatave, the town Brad served in for about 6 months of his mission. Tamatave is a port town on the north eastern coast. It’s also rather tropical in nature, but also pretty crowded with pousse-pousses, cars, bikes and motor scooters. We stayed in a little boutique hotel right on the beach (away from the crowds!). The food was great there and very inexpensive (that’s always a plus)…the ambiance was great and the hotel cost…$20 USD a night! Can’t beat that!
While there, Steve and I checked on the missionaries and the bike situation and delivered goods from Tana. Then we visited some of the families Brad baptized and loves! One was a wonderful family that lives quite a ways outside of the town. Brad was able to teach this family and help get the couple married in order to be baptized almost 5 years ago. When the sister, Claudine, found out she was expecting a baby just following her baptism, she named her little girl after the missionaries, Brad and Elder Busteed…the name: Rostina! She is now a little over 4 years old and a little doll! Brad was finally able to meet his little namesake! We enjoyed our visit in their island-style home of wood with a banana leafed roof surrounded by a wall of woven banana leaves…lots of sand, too! They were so happy to see Brad and were amazed at how well he still spoke Malagasy. It was so fun to see Brad in his element…laughing and joking with “his peeps”. We loved it!
We enjoyed the rest of the day visiting a few more friends who were delighted to see Brad again. We were all happy to know that the majority of the people he baptized were still active or had recently been reactivated. There was an abundance of love in those visits!
On Saturday, one of the men Brad baptized, took all of us down the river to the ocean in a hollowed out tree trunk/ boat. We have had the privilege of meeting Jacque Pierre before and taking this same trip when we picked Brad up. Jacque Pierre is definitely “one in a million”. He has to be one of the most positive people I have ever known (except for Olive Poor—for those who knew Olive—they could be two peas in a pod!). In any case, Jacque Pierre lives in the same little house we visited before, with the exception of having added 6 more cows to his then herd of 4. He credits all of his success to Heavenly Father. He is the man we have often spoken of, who, while sitting in his humble little home and providing a living by daily going up and down the river to retrieve boatloads of sand from the ocean, wanted to bear his testimony about the principle tithing! We never forgot the example of this humble, faithful man, and he is still the same! He is as faithful as ever, serving in the branch presidency, and recently was sealed to his cute wife in the Johannesburg temple. He told us he could lose everything, but he would never quit coming to church because he knows it’s true. He has a testimony that has sunk deep into his heart and he lives accordingly. We all came away humbled and renewed in our determination to be as committed and faithful as Jacque-Pierre!
There was an obvious love between Jacque-Pierre and Brad…they had each other laughing and joking and enjoying one another’s company. We in turn couldn’t help but laugh at them! Jacque-Pierre refers to Brad as his Malagasy son! It was delightful!
Following our peaceful trip down the river (Oh, by the way, Jacque-Pierre had installed bamboo “seats” in the boat for everyone…they were three pieces of bamboo lodged cross-wise per person to sit on! ha! I understand they weren’t the most comfortable! Steve and I had a little stool to sit on)…but I can tell you that was one big ‘tree trunk’ boat to fit the 7 of us on it, plus Jacgue-Pierre, his wife and his friend who steered at the rear of the boat with a long pole! As the sun was setting and we were coming back up river, there were others in smaller boats fishing lazily around us and Jacque-Pierre knew them all. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Jacque-Pierre said he had been to Johannesburg with its concrete and glass, and he wondered why anyone would want to live there, when they could live where he did, in “Paradise”!
We all loved him!
The last day with our family was spent hurriedly packing and one quick trip to the “Digue” trying to find just the right last minute souvenirs…there’s so many fun things to buy here! We said a teary good-bye, and they were off. How could a week have gone by so quickly?!? In any case, it was a pure delight! We have been back in the saddle since then fielding the many calls and continuing in our quest to make a difference as missionaries in this, our our Island country of Madagascar.
Sending our love to all, as usual,
Steve and Michele
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Mada Update
September 26, 2014
As time goes on, we find ourselves settling in to life in Madagascar. We worry that we may forget that not everyone has to dodge ox-driven carts and people-pulled carts on every road they drive on! We don’t want to lose track of the wonder of this unique country…but it’s been nearly five months and we find ourselves fitting into the flow of things more and more. While driving still remains a frustrating, challenging experience, we have fewer nail biting experiences and recognize that one does get a “sense” of things as time goes on.
This past week we were very busy as we prepared to move to a new apartment up the hill from where we lived. We were fortunate to be offered the apartment after the Richard’s left, but it has taken several months to get the internet run here. We did not want to move if we could not have adequate internet—it’s our lifeline for sure!! As another Public Relations couple are coming next month, the pressure was on to get everything finished now and get moved prior to their arrival. So it all came together this past week. It was a bigger job than we had anticipated! It was more than just packing up clothes…it also included cupboards, food supplies and the like. We also had to take some time to clean our last apartment. Since we had our daily responsibilities, all this had to be done in the evenings, so we were quite tired by the end of the week.
But we love our new place! It has a great view overlooking the famous “Rova” landmark…high atop the highest hill in Tana. The Rova is the old “Queen’s Palace” from the 1800’s. The inside was pretty much destroyed in a fire about 15 years ago, but the impressive “shell” of the Palace can be seen pretty much all over this capital city. It is beautifully lit up at night and we can see it from all of our windows! We love that! While our last place was cozy and we loved our typical Malagasy neighborhood setting, this place definitely has it’s advantages. One of them is not having to lock and unlock our big gate every time we had to drive in and out! When the rains come I’m sure I will even appreciate it more—I won’t have to get drenched several times a day.
We now have 2 bedrooms and an additional bathroom with a large tub! We are excited for that—i love a tub when I’m cold and Steve loves one when he is sick (thinks it’s a cure for everything!). We actually have a master bathroom and a nice kitchen with granite-like countertops. I hate to give too many details for fear you won’t think we suffer enough in this 3rd world country! haha! If it only had heating and air conditioning, we’d be set!! ha! We do feel blessed with our amazing new accommodations, and fast internet! To celebrate, we had all the couples over last night (p-day) for a few games of UNO and popcorn…it was fun!!
Earlier this week we received a call about 8:30 pm from an elder who, while walking up the tile stairs outside his apartment, tripped and fell with a bottle of Coke in his hand. The bottle shattered and lacerated his eyelid and his eyebrow. They were unsure if they needed stitches or not. Normally, this is not a place you want to go out in at night, but I felt that we needed to go and check out this elder. So off we went. Traffic is much diminished at night, but there are still people walking the streets. There are no street lights, so the winding nature of the unlit roads makes them scary to drive on for fear of not seeing people, etc. It’s also unsafe from a robbery view point. I always pray we won’t have to stop along the way or have car trouble! But, we made it OK. The cut on the elder’s eyelid was small, but pretty deep as was the other cut was in his eyebrow. If we had been in the US, I would have taken him in for stitches. But after the last (less than wonderful) experience with stitches here, I decided to steri-strip them closed and hope for the best. I cleaned the cuts very well and then applied the steri-strips. I was grateful to even have them. I had to buy them once after a procedure another missionary had had. They came in handy! I had to patch his eye to make sure he wasn’t opening and closing it too much until the eyelid could heal. It was one of those interesting calls to the mission nurse!! We made our way home and were so glad for a positive outcome and to get home safely! (BTW; the elder’s eye is healing well…thank goodness!)
We enjoyed a lovely lunch one day with the Bishop and his wife of the Ward we attend. They are wonderful people and treated us to a typical Malagasy meal and it was delicious! We had a shredded carrot salad and a pasta salad to start with. Since she said it was a “simple meal” we thought that was great! So we filled up on the plentiful salads and then she went into the kitchen and brought out a rice (a staple with every meal here), a delicious stewed chicken and garbanza beans with pork! We were already near full, but enjoyed the additional offerings. We find the Malagasy people so kind and generous with what they have! Following lunch we talked about the ward and some of the blessings and challenges there. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming poverty here, welfare issues are the overriding challenges in every ward or branch. The biggest push and goal for members here is teaching and understanding the concept of self-reliance. The culture is such that many people look for the quickest handout or follow the least line of resistance and live literally from hand to mouth. It is a very large obstacle that needs constant addressing. The church has recently hired a full-time employee to help with the self-reliance program. We sure hope it helps. We know from talking with many young people that the concept of planning, saving and doing what one can to get ahead is not on the radar. They typically spend everything they have in short order, and always have great need by the end of every month. We hope to continue to help teach principles of planning and self-reliance, too, within our scope of influence. In any case, our bishop is wonderful and has a maturity and understanding beyond most of the leaders in these, the relatively early years of the church here. He is a gem!!
I also wanted to share a touching story about our counselor in the mission presidency. It is a touching story that has taught me so much in terms of faith and “being an example of the believers”. I think I wrote about President Lalary losing his little 6 week old baby to a respiratory infection. Well, I’d like to share ‘the rest of the story’. As the story of his little baby, London, unfolded, we found out that when he was in the hospital struggling the breathe, the hospital only had one nebulizer machine in which to administer the life saving respiratory medications. This one machine had to be shared among all the sick babies. The parents literally ran the machine to their child just as soon as the previous baby was finished with it. It became an impossible situation and baby London could not get all the medication and attention he needed to survive this ordeal. I remember the heart wrenching but beautiful words Lalary wrote on FB to announce the passing of his little baby boy. He wrote, “With firm testimony of Jesus Christ and belief that we are a forever family that we announce with regret the passing of our beloved son ZIVA London Jairus.” President Lalary could have been angry or bitter, but he was amazing! Although it was a very sad event, they displayed exemplary faith and helped those around them (many non-members) to see and feel the hope for the eternities.
But it didn't stop there. A week following the funeral, president Lalary put out a plea to everyone he knew to raise funds to purchase more nebulizers for the hospital where his son had been. The machines were only about $85.00 (which is a lot for Malagasies), but many people chipped in and they were able to purchase 6 new machines (exceeding their original goal of 3 machines) for the hospital. He did this in the hope that fewer babies would have to die in the future. They delivered the machines this week and they brought their other two little boys to present the gifts. They called it "London's gift". I think this is such an amazing example of faith and forgiveness. The head of the hospital, who accepted the gifts, said he was also touched by this family's example. He said many people would be bitter and blame the hospital and doctors, but this family turned a sad event into something positive. I couldn't help but think of the amazing example the parents were to their other children. They involved them in learning a valuable lesson of grace and forgiveness; in bringing light into an otherwise tragic event.
I love and appreciate President Lalary’s example to me and to all those around him. His example makes me want to be a better person!
We have another big week coming up with 17 new missionaries joining us. This is always an exciting time and we usually don’t get quite so many at one time. But with new missionaries come a sense of excitement and enthusiasm that we all enjoy. It’s busy with making extra food and several training sessions, but it’s wonderful. Steve and I are involved in the training as I do the health orientation (there’s lots to learn about staying healthy here), and Steve trains on the bikes maintenance program and emergency preparedness. We enjoy being involved and ‘anxiously engaged!’
One last word before I close. We received a very thoughtful and sweet note from one of our missionaries last week. We have had time to get to know him quite well as we have shuttled his new Malagasy companion back and forth to the dentist for extensive dental work. This sweet missionary told us how appreciative he was of us and the talks we have had. Apparently some of the things we shared really buoyed him up at a challenging time in his mission. It really made us feel so good and happy that we were here and that we helped someone out. Of course, it is always our great desire to be of service wherever we can and one of the motivating factors for our serving was to kind of “pay forward” the kindnesses showed by the senior couples who had such a positive impact on our sons while they served. So, needless to say, we appreciated his sweet note more than you know!
Lots to love to all—
The Rossiters
Random thoughts/ observations:
Joy in finding “Cadbury” chocolate bars..expensive, but HEAVENLY!! (I told Steve we really shouldn’t spend $20..00/ week in chocolate bars…but then on the other hand, why not?!? ha ha!!) They are our one big indulgence in an otherwise unfamiliar world! We are petrified they will quit selling them, so we make sure we are stocked at all times..mint chocolate being our favorite!
Seriously, having just one Wendy’s here (not to mention a Cafe Rio) would enhance our lives so much! While there are food stands everywhere, they are unsafe to eat at…sometimes we just need to grab a quick bite to eat, but that’s impossible!
If you see something in the grocery store that you like, you grab lots of it…the next time you go they may be out of it, or you may never see it again!
I miss brown sugar for baking, regular mustard (they have lots of Dijon, but no yellow mustard), and I crave hot dogs….go figure…didn’t even eat them much at home…ha!
Most all the stairs here are uneven in height. They will range from 8-12 inches or more. It really throws off one’s rhythm when climbing or descending stairs…bet you’ve never thought about it before! Oh the things we take for granted!!
I’m in awe of how the women carry things on their heads…mostly with no hands!!
As time goes on, we find ourselves settling in to life in Madagascar. We worry that we may forget that not everyone has to dodge ox-driven carts and people-pulled carts on every road they drive on! We don’t want to lose track of the wonder of this unique country…but it’s been nearly five months and we find ourselves fitting into the flow of things more and more. While driving still remains a frustrating, challenging experience, we have fewer nail biting experiences and recognize that one does get a “sense” of things as time goes on.
This past week we were very busy as we prepared to move to a new apartment up the hill from where we lived. We were fortunate to be offered the apartment after the Richard’s left, but it has taken several months to get the internet run here. We did not want to move if we could not have adequate internet—it’s our lifeline for sure!! As another Public Relations couple are coming next month, the pressure was on to get everything finished now and get moved prior to their arrival. So it all came together this past week. It was a bigger job than we had anticipated! It was more than just packing up clothes…it also included cupboards, food supplies and the like. We also had to take some time to clean our last apartment. Since we had our daily responsibilities, all this had to be done in the evenings, so we were quite tired by the end of the week.
But we love our new place! It has a great view overlooking the famous “Rova” landmark…high atop the highest hill in Tana. The Rova is the old “Queen’s Palace” from the 1800’s. The inside was pretty much destroyed in a fire about 15 years ago, but the impressive “shell” of the Palace can be seen pretty much all over this capital city. It is beautifully lit up at night and we can see it from all of our windows! We love that! While our last place was cozy and we loved our typical Malagasy neighborhood setting, this place definitely has it’s advantages. One of them is not having to lock and unlock our big gate every time we had to drive in and out! When the rains come I’m sure I will even appreciate it more—I won’t have to get drenched several times a day.
We now have 2 bedrooms and an additional bathroom with a large tub! We are excited for that—i love a tub when I’m cold and Steve loves one when he is sick (thinks it’s a cure for everything!). We actually have a master bathroom and a nice kitchen with granite-like countertops. I hate to give too many details for fear you won’t think we suffer enough in this 3rd world country! haha! If it only had heating and air conditioning, we’d be set!! ha! We do feel blessed with our amazing new accommodations, and fast internet! To celebrate, we had all the couples over last night (p-day) for a few games of UNO and popcorn…it was fun!!
Earlier this week we received a call about 8:30 pm from an elder who, while walking up the tile stairs outside his apartment, tripped and fell with a bottle of Coke in his hand. The bottle shattered and lacerated his eyelid and his eyebrow. They were unsure if they needed stitches or not. Normally, this is not a place you want to go out in at night, but I felt that we needed to go and check out this elder. So off we went. Traffic is much diminished at night, but there are still people walking the streets. There are no street lights, so the winding nature of the unlit roads makes them scary to drive on for fear of not seeing people, etc. It’s also unsafe from a robbery view point. I always pray we won’t have to stop along the way or have car trouble! But, we made it OK. The cut on the elder’s eyelid was small, but pretty deep as was the other cut was in his eyebrow. If we had been in the US, I would have taken him in for stitches. But after the last (less than wonderful) experience with stitches here, I decided to steri-strip them closed and hope for the best. I cleaned the cuts very well and then applied the steri-strips. I was grateful to even have them. I had to buy them once after a procedure another missionary had had. They came in handy! I had to patch his eye to make sure he wasn’t opening and closing it too much until the eyelid could heal. It was one of those interesting calls to the mission nurse!! We made our way home and were so glad for a positive outcome and to get home safely! (BTW; the elder’s eye is healing well…thank goodness!)
We enjoyed a lovely lunch one day with the Bishop and his wife of the Ward we attend. They are wonderful people and treated us to a typical Malagasy meal and it was delicious! We had a shredded carrot salad and a pasta salad to start with. Since she said it was a “simple meal” we thought that was great! So we filled up on the plentiful salads and then she went into the kitchen and brought out a rice (a staple with every meal here), a delicious stewed chicken and garbanza beans with pork! We were already near full, but enjoyed the additional offerings. We find the Malagasy people so kind and generous with what they have! Following lunch we talked about the ward and some of the blessings and challenges there. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming poverty here, welfare issues are the overriding challenges in every ward or branch. The biggest push and goal for members here is teaching and understanding the concept of self-reliance. The culture is such that many people look for the quickest handout or follow the least line of resistance and live literally from hand to mouth. It is a very large obstacle that needs constant addressing. The church has recently hired a full-time employee to help with the self-reliance program. We sure hope it helps. We know from talking with many young people that the concept of planning, saving and doing what one can to get ahead is not on the radar. They typically spend everything they have in short order, and always have great need by the end of every month. We hope to continue to help teach principles of planning and self-reliance, too, within our scope of influence. In any case, our bishop is wonderful and has a maturity and understanding beyond most of the leaders in these, the relatively early years of the church here. He is a gem!!
I also wanted to share a touching story about our counselor in the mission presidency. It is a touching story that has taught me so much in terms of faith and “being an example of the believers”. I think I wrote about President Lalary losing his little 6 week old baby to a respiratory infection. Well, I’d like to share ‘the rest of the story’. As the story of his little baby, London, unfolded, we found out that when he was in the hospital struggling the breathe, the hospital only had one nebulizer machine in which to administer the life saving respiratory medications. This one machine had to be shared among all the sick babies. The parents literally ran the machine to their child just as soon as the previous baby was finished with it. It became an impossible situation and baby London could not get all the medication and attention he needed to survive this ordeal. I remember the heart wrenching but beautiful words Lalary wrote on FB to announce the passing of his little baby boy. He wrote, “With firm testimony of Jesus Christ and belief that we are a forever family that we announce with regret the passing of our beloved son ZIVA London Jairus.” President Lalary could have been angry or bitter, but he was amazing! Although it was a very sad event, they displayed exemplary faith and helped those around them (many non-members) to see and feel the hope for the eternities.
But it didn't stop there. A week following the funeral, president Lalary put out a plea to everyone he knew to raise funds to purchase more nebulizers for the hospital where his son had been. The machines were only about $85.00 (which is a lot for Malagasies), but many people chipped in and they were able to purchase 6 new machines (exceeding their original goal of 3 machines) for the hospital. He did this in the hope that fewer babies would have to die in the future. They delivered the machines this week and they brought their other two little boys to present the gifts. They called it "London's gift". I think this is such an amazing example of faith and forgiveness. The head of the hospital, who accepted the gifts, said he was also touched by this family's example. He said many people would be bitter and blame the hospital and doctors, but this family turned a sad event into something positive. I couldn't help but think of the amazing example the parents were to their other children. They involved them in learning a valuable lesson of grace and forgiveness; in bringing light into an otherwise tragic event.
I love and appreciate President Lalary’s example to me and to all those around him. His example makes me want to be a better person!
We have another big week coming up with 17 new missionaries joining us. This is always an exciting time and we usually don’t get quite so many at one time. But with new missionaries come a sense of excitement and enthusiasm that we all enjoy. It’s busy with making extra food and several training sessions, but it’s wonderful. Steve and I are involved in the training as I do the health orientation (there’s lots to learn about staying healthy here), and Steve trains on the bikes maintenance program and emergency preparedness. We enjoy being involved and ‘anxiously engaged!’
One last word before I close. We received a very thoughtful and sweet note from one of our missionaries last week. We have had time to get to know him quite well as we have shuttled his new Malagasy companion back and forth to the dentist for extensive dental work. This sweet missionary told us how appreciative he was of us and the talks we have had. Apparently some of the things we shared really buoyed him up at a challenging time in his mission. It really made us feel so good and happy that we were here and that we helped someone out. Of course, it is always our great desire to be of service wherever we can and one of the motivating factors for our serving was to kind of “pay forward” the kindnesses showed by the senior couples who had such a positive impact on our sons while they served. So, needless to say, we appreciated his sweet note more than you know!
Lots to love to all—
The Rossiters
Random thoughts/ observations:
Joy in finding “Cadbury” chocolate bars..expensive, but HEAVENLY!! (I told Steve we really shouldn’t spend $20..00/ week in chocolate bars…but then on the other hand, why not?!? ha ha!!) They are our one big indulgence in an otherwise unfamiliar world! We are petrified they will quit selling them, so we make sure we are stocked at all times..mint chocolate being our favorite!
Seriously, having just one Wendy’s here (not to mention a Cafe Rio) would enhance our lives so much! While there are food stands everywhere, they are unsafe to eat at…sometimes we just need to grab a quick bite to eat, but that’s impossible!
If you see something in the grocery store that you like, you grab lots of it…the next time you go they may be out of it, or you may never see it again!
I miss brown sugar for baking, regular mustard (they have lots of Dijon, but no yellow mustard), and I crave hot dogs….go figure…didn’t even eat them much at home…ha!
Most all the stairs here are uneven in height. They will range from 8-12 inches or more. It really throws off one’s rhythm when climbing or descending stairs…bet you’ve never thought about it before! Oh the things we take for granted!!
I’m in awe of how the women carry things on their heads…mostly with no hands!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
10,500 Miles from Home
September 4, 2014
Dearest family and friends,
We find the days fly quickly by and it's hard to keep up with the accounting of them! I started this letter last Thursday, but I'm going to send it anyway, so just pretend this was last week! ha! 8/28/14: Today we find ourselves once again in Tamatave, a city about 7-8 hours north-east of Tana. This is the town filled with bicycle driven pousse-pousses...the local taxis! It really makes driving very difficult when the pousse-pousses are 3-4 deep on each side of the street and they dart in and out of each other without looking. Compound this with motor scooters, trucks and cars, people, chickens, goats and dogs, and you have a big traffic mess. It's a real feat to even get a 1/2 a mile down the road without hitting something...I told Steve I draw the line at hitting people (but I've had to ease up on the battle not to hit side mirrors! Ha!) We have come up to bring new bicycles to the area for the new missionaries. Steve is also setting up another routine maintenance program with a local Malagasy bike repairman, who happens to also be one of the Branch clerks here. I love it when we can provide business to members who are qualified to do it! Since Tamatave is a coastal town, the bikes take a real beating from the salty air, sand, and horrific pot holes that ravage the city. We are hoping that by getting someone on board to routinely tune up and maintain the bikes on a monthly basis, we can have fewer mechanical problems. When the bikes are down, the missionaries can't get out as easily to do their work. Steve is currently in a little shop with our repairman, buying parts, and I am out in the car writing this note. It's overcast but warm today and I am surrounded by the sites and sounds of Tamatave...people's voices, motorbikes passing, the sound of bicycle bells, children laughing and the periodic Muslim 'call to prayer' which is broadcast throughout the area on a loud speaker from the local mosque. The street is lined with tiny 'lean-to' type shops selling everything from bike parts to electrical parts, to plastic containers, to clothes interspersed with a myriad of little food stands. There's also the ever prevalent little orange stands selling phone minutes...typical life in Madagascar. One difference here is the clothing. Since it's usually quite hot here, most people are in shorts, t-shirts or wrapped in a 'lamba', which is a colorfully printed piece of thin cloth, much like a Polynesian LavaLava. Many women just wrap this around themselves and tuck or tie it in the front. It's cool and comfortable. Bare feet and flip flops abound. Luckily we are just coming into Spring and because it is cloudy today, it is not too hot...yet! I can feel the humidity, and I'm grateful the heat hasn't set in all the way.
Because the town has salty air, many of the buildings are run down and oxidized, or just abandoned, or perhaps never even finished...one just doesn't know. But in either case sometimes I get the feeling I'm witnessing a bombed out WWII town, where life has just gone on around the destruction. There is a beach that runs down the main part of town and it's fun to see the ocean and accompanying palm trees for a change from city life. This was one of Brad's favorite areas to work in when he served here. We appreciate the change of climate and scenery!
We are also here to check on the cleanliness status of the missionary apartments and Steve is installing new smoke and CO detectors in them. We feel fortunate that we do not have much CO risk in this mission as all the heaters and dryers, etc. are electric (plus, they don't even need heaters in Tamatave), but we always want to be on the safe side...especially since hearing of the two missionaries who lost their lives in Taiwan from CO poisoning. We have been working on this project for a few months and were unable to find CO detectors in Mada. Last week an Elder's dad came to pick him up and brought some detectors for us from the States. We are grateful!
Two Sunday's ago we were able to join the Mission President, the assistants and the other senior couples, for a drive to Moramonga and attend church there. This is a little town about 2 hours outside of Tana. A branch had been started here several years ago, but new church directives called for using the missionaries in "centers of strength" and the mission has been unable to place missionaries here for some time. The wonderful thing is, this little group has bonded together and they plug away as best they can. There are some wonderfully faithful members here with a fantastic group leader who monthly drives to Tana to pay the tithes and offerings for this sweet group of Saints. When we arrived, they treated us like royalty. They love to shake everyone's hands and the women often greet with cheek to cheek "kisses" (3 'cheek to cheek' air kisses--think Europe here). During the meeting, the MP announced that a few of the senior couples would be sharing their testimonies...wouldn't you know, I was one of them!?! My heart started racing as I tried to think of something worthwhile to say, then quickly decide whetherI could say it in Malagasy?!? I knew I couldn't speak very eloquently in Malagasy and had a quick debate in my mind whether to share a simple testimony in their language, or have deeper thoughts translated by the missionaries. I decided on the former, and with shaky knees (only in front of a group of 58 people), and a prayer in my heart, I bore my testimony and shared a few simple thoughts in Malagasy. I know it was far from perfect grammar or pronunciation, but they seemed to understand and appreciated my wobbly efforts. That's one thing about the Malagasy people that I absolutely LOVE...they really do try to help you with the language and are so appreciative of any effort you make to speak Malagasy. I loved looking into their faces and speaking to them, heart to heart, and spirit to spirit. I was well rewarded for my efforts and it only strengthened my desire to study harder and get better at this language. It's difficult when you don't get the opportunity to speak it all day as we are often at the mission home, or working on things that don't require constant interaction with Malagasy people. So, I know mastering this language won't be a quick process, but I'm determined to give it my best shot (did I say, "mastering" this language...I mean "bungling through" this language (haha!). During Sunday School, Steve and I joined the missionaries in a discussion with some investigators. We love it when we get the opportunity to share gospel basics along with the missionaries. After church, we stopped by a beautiful river to eat the lunches we had brought for the journey. It was a lovely and rewarding day, and a highlight for the week!
This past week was beyond busy as the mission prepared to welcome 14 new missionaries on Wednesday, followed by a mission tour with Elder Hamilton of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy. I was busily putting a power point presentation together on staying healthy in the mission, as I do this for all new missionaries and I wanted to standardize the presentation. In the middle if all the preparations, Steve got terribly ill. He had body aches, 102 fever, terrible diarrhea and vomiting...the dreaded Madagascar intestinal bacteria! By the second day of extreme illness, I took him up to the hospital for cultures and to rule out Malaria ( a long shot in the area we live in, but standard procedure when someone runs a fairly high fever for more than 2 days here). It was negative but the stools looked bad so we got him on a couple of antibiotics. Fortunately by the next day he was feeling better...finally! It was a rough one! He was well enough to join us for the area Mission conference with the Hamiltons on Saturday. It was a wonderful and uplifting conference and a treat to be taught by a general authority. He spoke a lot about how to use questions in teaching and did a bit of role play with all the missionaries. He is a very skilled teacher, but I guess I wouldn't expect any less from a leader of his caliber! Following the conference, and an adult meeting with the members after which the senior couples hosted a dinner for the Hamiltons. We did a "Cafe Rio"esque' meal, Malagasy style (aka: lots of substitutions! Ha!) and it was wonderful. Another full, but rewarding day.
I should mention, however, that the morning of the conference my office was inundated with Elders with one one problem or another...once again the ever present ingrown toenail issue, headaches, allergies, diarrhea and the like. One Elder, however, had sliced his index and middle finger pretty substantially the night before while cutting bread. He had me look at the cut before the meeting started. Part of it was pretty deep, so I hauled him down to local Malagasy clinic for suturing. This happened just after I had already helped a visiting dentist who had come to present at a local dental convention and to bring dental supplies for several orphanages in Mada. While on his trip up to Tamatave, he stopped at a lemur park. While there, he had fallen and lacerated his elbow. He tried to wash it best he could with soap and water and wrapped it in toilet paper, but by the time he got back to Tana, 36 hours later, he had a full blown cellulitis in his arm. I was helping to soak and dress his wound and got him started on antibiotics, but it was so red and swollen, I was terribly worried about him. In any case, after the suture job on the other elder, which I won't go in to detail on, we were a few minutes late for the Zone conference. But all's well that ends well, right?
The visiting dentist's arm continued to get worse, so I finally took him into the ER and got some different antibiotics. Thankfully that did the trick and he finally started to get better. In the US, they would have put him on IV antibiotics! It's difficult for me sometimes to find the equivalent antibiotics here as the names are different or they don't exist...and when I can find them everything is written in French. I'm catching on to what I need to do and know, however, and feeling more comfortable. I'm grateful for the support of the Area Medical Advisor (Doctor) in South Africa with whom I can consult on difficult cases. Frequently I'm reminded that, "I'm not in Kansas anymore"! Ha!
Let me tell you about our first significant truck mishap...not to mention the minor fender bumps and scratches that have already occurred....oops!! Anyway, Steve was trying to turn our "most difficult to turn" truck around in the middle of traffic on a narrow two lane road in Tamatave. He really needed to make a 3 -point turn, but felt the pressure of lots of traffic waiting for him, so he just did a a two point turn. Just a as he went to finish the turn, I saw a piece of meta sticking up on the side walk and it popped our tire! UGH!! There we were, stuck on the side of a busy narrow street, in about 2" of soft, reddish dirt, without one thought about how to proceed to change the tire in the middle of things. There was Steve in his white shirt, tie and slacks and with little knowledge of the spare in this truck. We were painfully aware of our limited language (like the word for "tire", "jack", etc.). We were about to try and find a gas station or someone to pay to help us, or something..we didn't quite know what, when up rides a man on a scooter. Soon after another man stopped. With no words from us, except 'thank you', the two men went to work. They knew exactly where the jack was ( behind the back seat, thank you very much, who knew?!?), how to get the spare from under the truck; one found two rocks to chock the back tire and went to work. In abut 10 minutes they had the flat tire fixed, the old one in the back of the truck and the jack safely tucked back away! You can't imagine our relief! We felt very blessed, indeed! We gave them each 5,000 Arirary (about $2.00)and they were happy as clams (you have to remember an average wage here is about$60.00 per month; so making a day's wage for 10 minutes work was pretty good!)...needless to say we were so relieved and thankful. We were impressed with the kindheartedness of two strangers who, without hesitation or fanfare, jumped in to help two stranded foreigners. We felt they were heaven-sent!
Before I close this lengthy missive, I would like to share a sweet experience I had last Sunday. We had to drive about 8 hours back home from Tamatave on Sunday so we went to an 8:00 AM Sacrament meeting in order to get an early start (one really does NOT want to be on the windy, unlit roads after dark). This 8:00 am branch (there are 5 branches in Tamatave) meets in a large, white, old French 'villa' of sorts. The bottom floor, where they have the largest gathering area, is for Sacrament Meeting.The floors are concrete and the chairs are stacking chairs placed in rows. There is a wooden stand and podium at the front of the room, with 2 large vases of plastic flowers adorning the fronts of floor speakers which stand on either side of the podium. The thing that really touched my heart that day and was truly a 'tender mercy' to me, occurred during the Sacrament. While we sang the Sacrament Hymn, I glanced over at the priests who were preparing the Sacrament. They were doing so with such humility and care. The white cloth covering the emblems of the sacrament was deliberately and reverently folded back. When it came time to bless the broken pieces of french bread (the most commonly found bread here in Mada), I watched as one of the young priests knelt down upon a small, plastic covered pillow on the concrete floor. He humbly blessed it, repeating carefully the sacrament prayer in Malagasy. The young deacons stood like a little army at attention, but with heads bowed and arms tucked behind them, wearing white shirts and ties, while the sacrament prayer was recited. I don't know why this scene touched my heart so, but the tears started to roll down my cheeks. I thought of our Savior and what He might be thinking as he looked over this little congregation, gathering in an obscure little building in far off Madagascar, to humbly bless and pass the emblems of His sacrifice; His atonement, for all mankind. A sweet and emotion filled feeling spread throughout my body. I knew that He was pleased with what He saw. I knew that He was aware of this beautiful group of faithful saints who had gathered in humble circumstances to honor and obey Him, to make and keep sacred covenants and commitments. I knew that He loved them; as my love for them was filled to overflowing. I had a thought that our eternal salvation is a very individual thing. It is up to us, no matter our race, culture, or circumstance, to develop a personal relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is up to us to work out our own salvation. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we are all on an "equal playing field" if you will, when it comes to the work of salvation. Each of us must be committed to keep the commandments, to strive to become more like our Savior, and to love and serve our fellowmen. These commandments can be lived be everyone...EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE.. I felt it a privilege to worship with my Malagasy brothers and sisters that day and catch a glimpse of God's love for them, for me, and for each of us. I want to remember that precious moment as it reminds me of my responsibility to strive to be better, more patient, worshipful, obedient; a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to serve here, for the lessons I can learn, and hopefully, the service I can render.
Steve and I love this opportunity to serve as missionary companions. We laugh together, sometimes shed a tear or two (OK--probably more tears on my side), but overall love sharing our mutual experiences while living and serving here in Madagascar for a season. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all!
With love,
Steve and Michele
PS. Thank you to those who have e-mailed us…we appreciate it more than you know. We love knowing what’s happening with you and yours. God Bless!!
Dearest family and friends,
We find the days fly quickly by and it's hard to keep up with the accounting of them! I started this letter last Thursday, but I'm going to send it anyway, so just pretend this was last week! ha! 8/28/14: Today we find ourselves once again in Tamatave, a city about 7-8 hours north-east of Tana. This is the town filled with bicycle driven pousse-pousses...the local taxis! It really makes driving very difficult when the pousse-pousses are 3-4 deep on each side of the street and they dart in and out of each other without looking. Compound this with motor scooters, trucks and cars, people, chickens, goats and dogs, and you have a big traffic mess. It's a real feat to even get a 1/2 a mile down the road without hitting something...I told Steve I draw the line at hitting people (but I've had to ease up on the battle not to hit side mirrors! Ha!) We have come up to bring new bicycles to the area for the new missionaries. Steve is also setting up another routine maintenance program with a local Malagasy bike repairman, who happens to also be one of the Branch clerks here. I love it when we can provide business to members who are qualified to do it! Since Tamatave is a coastal town, the bikes take a real beating from the salty air, sand, and horrific pot holes that ravage the city. We are hoping that by getting someone on board to routinely tune up and maintain the bikes on a monthly basis, we can have fewer mechanical problems. When the bikes are down, the missionaries can't get out as easily to do their work. Steve is currently in a little shop with our repairman, buying parts, and I am out in the car writing this note. It's overcast but warm today and I am surrounded by the sites and sounds of Tamatave...people's voices, motorbikes passing, the sound of bicycle bells, children laughing and the periodic Muslim 'call to prayer' which is broadcast throughout the area on a loud speaker from the local mosque. The street is lined with tiny 'lean-to' type shops selling everything from bike parts to electrical parts, to plastic containers, to clothes interspersed with a myriad of little food stands. There's also the ever prevalent little orange stands selling phone minutes...typical life in Madagascar. One difference here is the clothing. Since it's usually quite hot here, most people are in shorts, t-shirts or wrapped in a 'lamba', which is a colorfully printed piece of thin cloth, much like a Polynesian LavaLava. Many women just wrap this around themselves and tuck or tie it in the front. It's cool and comfortable. Bare feet and flip flops abound. Luckily we are just coming into Spring and because it is cloudy today, it is not too hot...yet! I can feel the humidity, and I'm grateful the heat hasn't set in all the way.
Because the town has salty air, many of the buildings are run down and oxidized, or just abandoned, or perhaps never even finished...one just doesn't know. But in either case sometimes I get the feeling I'm witnessing a bombed out WWII town, where life has just gone on around the destruction. There is a beach that runs down the main part of town and it's fun to see the ocean and accompanying palm trees for a change from city life. This was one of Brad's favorite areas to work in when he served here. We appreciate the change of climate and scenery!
We are also here to check on the cleanliness status of the missionary apartments and Steve is installing new smoke and CO detectors in them. We feel fortunate that we do not have much CO risk in this mission as all the heaters and dryers, etc. are electric (plus, they don't even need heaters in Tamatave), but we always want to be on the safe side...especially since hearing of the two missionaries who lost their lives in Taiwan from CO poisoning. We have been working on this project for a few months and were unable to find CO detectors in Mada. Last week an Elder's dad came to pick him up and brought some detectors for us from the States. We are grateful!
Two Sunday's ago we were able to join the Mission President, the assistants and the other senior couples, for a drive to Moramonga and attend church there. This is a little town about 2 hours outside of Tana. A branch had been started here several years ago, but new church directives called for using the missionaries in "centers of strength" and the mission has been unable to place missionaries here for some time. The wonderful thing is, this little group has bonded together and they plug away as best they can. There are some wonderfully faithful members here with a fantastic group leader who monthly drives to Tana to pay the tithes and offerings for this sweet group of Saints. When we arrived, they treated us like royalty. They love to shake everyone's hands and the women often greet with cheek to cheek "kisses" (3 'cheek to cheek' air kisses--think Europe here). During the meeting, the MP announced that a few of the senior couples would be sharing their testimonies...wouldn't you know, I was one of them!?! My heart started racing as I tried to think of something worthwhile to say, then quickly decide whetherI could say it in Malagasy?!? I knew I couldn't speak very eloquently in Malagasy and had a quick debate in my mind whether to share a simple testimony in their language, or have deeper thoughts translated by the missionaries. I decided on the former, and with shaky knees (only in front of a group of 58 people), and a prayer in my heart, I bore my testimony and shared a few simple thoughts in Malagasy. I know it was far from perfect grammar or pronunciation, but they seemed to understand and appreciated my wobbly efforts. That's one thing about the Malagasy people that I absolutely LOVE...they really do try to help you with the language and are so appreciative of any effort you make to speak Malagasy. I loved looking into their faces and speaking to them, heart to heart, and spirit to spirit. I was well rewarded for my efforts and it only strengthened my desire to study harder and get better at this language. It's difficult when you don't get the opportunity to speak it all day as we are often at the mission home, or working on things that don't require constant interaction with Malagasy people. So, I know mastering this language won't be a quick process, but I'm determined to give it my best shot (did I say, "mastering" this language...I mean "bungling through" this language (haha!). During Sunday School, Steve and I joined the missionaries in a discussion with some investigators. We love it when we get the opportunity to share gospel basics along with the missionaries. After church, we stopped by a beautiful river to eat the lunches we had brought for the journey. It was a lovely and rewarding day, and a highlight for the week!
This past week was beyond busy as the mission prepared to welcome 14 new missionaries on Wednesday, followed by a mission tour with Elder Hamilton of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy. I was busily putting a power point presentation together on staying healthy in the mission, as I do this for all new missionaries and I wanted to standardize the presentation. In the middle if all the preparations, Steve got terribly ill. He had body aches, 102 fever, terrible diarrhea and vomiting...the dreaded Madagascar intestinal bacteria! By the second day of extreme illness, I took him up to the hospital for cultures and to rule out Malaria ( a long shot in the area we live in, but standard procedure when someone runs a fairly high fever for more than 2 days here). It was negative but the stools looked bad so we got him on a couple of antibiotics. Fortunately by the next day he was feeling better...finally! It was a rough one! He was well enough to join us for the area Mission conference with the Hamiltons on Saturday. It was a wonderful and uplifting conference and a treat to be taught by a general authority. He spoke a lot about how to use questions in teaching and did a bit of role play with all the missionaries. He is a very skilled teacher, but I guess I wouldn't expect any less from a leader of his caliber! Following the conference, and an adult meeting with the members after which the senior couples hosted a dinner for the Hamiltons. We did a "Cafe Rio"esque' meal, Malagasy style (aka: lots of substitutions! Ha!) and it was wonderful. Another full, but rewarding day.
I should mention, however, that the morning of the conference my office was inundated with Elders with one one problem or another...once again the ever present ingrown toenail issue, headaches, allergies, diarrhea and the like. One Elder, however, had sliced his index and middle finger pretty substantially the night before while cutting bread. He had me look at the cut before the meeting started. Part of it was pretty deep, so I hauled him down to local Malagasy clinic for suturing. This happened just after I had already helped a visiting dentist who had come to present at a local dental convention and to bring dental supplies for several orphanages in Mada. While on his trip up to Tamatave, he stopped at a lemur park. While there, he had fallen and lacerated his elbow. He tried to wash it best he could with soap and water and wrapped it in toilet paper, but by the time he got back to Tana, 36 hours later, he had a full blown cellulitis in his arm. I was helping to soak and dress his wound and got him started on antibiotics, but it was so red and swollen, I was terribly worried about him. In any case, after the suture job on the other elder, which I won't go in to detail on, we were a few minutes late for the Zone conference. But all's well that ends well, right?
The visiting dentist's arm continued to get worse, so I finally took him into the ER and got some different antibiotics. Thankfully that did the trick and he finally started to get better. In the US, they would have put him on IV antibiotics! It's difficult for me sometimes to find the equivalent antibiotics here as the names are different or they don't exist...and when I can find them everything is written in French. I'm catching on to what I need to do and know, however, and feeling more comfortable. I'm grateful for the support of the Area Medical Advisor (Doctor) in South Africa with whom I can consult on difficult cases. Frequently I'm reminded that, "I'm not in Kansas anymore"! Ha!
Let me tell you about our first significant truck mishap...not to mention the minor fender bumps and scratches that have already occurred....oops!! Anyway, Steve was trying to turn our "most difficult to turn" truck around in the middle of traffic on a narrow two lane road in Tamatave. He really needed to make a 3 -point turn, but felt the pressure of lots of traffic waiting for him, so he just did a a two point turn. Just a as he went to finish the turn, I saw a piece of meta sticking up on the side walk and it popped our tire! UGH!! There we were, stuck on the side of a busy narrow street, in about 2" of soft, reddish dirt, without one thought about how to proceed to change the tire in the middle of things. There was Steve in his white shirt, tie and slacks and with little knowledge of the spare in this truck. We were painfully aware of our limited language (like the word for "tire", "jack", etc.). We were about to try and find a gas station or someone to pay to help us, or something..we didn't quite know what, when up rides a man on a scooter. Soon after another man stopped. With no words from us, except 'thank you', the two men went to work. They knew exactly where the jack was ( behind the back seat, thank you very much, who knew?!?), how to get the spare from under the truck; one found two rocks to chock the back tire and went to work. In abut 10 minutes they had the flat tire fixed, the old one in the back of the truck and the jack safely tucked back away! You can't imagine our relief! We felt very blessed, indeed! We gave them each 5,000 Arirary (about $2.00)and they were happy as clams (you have to remember an average wage here is about$60.00 per month; so making a day's wage for 10 minutes work was pretty good!)...needless to say we were so relieved and thankful. We were impressed with the kindheartedness of two strangers who, without hesitation or fanfare, jumped in to help two stranded foreigners. We felt they were heaven-sent!
Before I close this lengthy missive, I would like to share a sweet experience I had last Sunday. We had to drive about 8 hours back home from Tamatave on Sunday so we went to an 8:00 AM Sacrament meeting in order to get an early start (one really does NOT want to be on the windy, unlit roads after dark). This 8:00 am branch (there are 5 branches in Tamatave) meets in a large, white, old French 'villa' of sorts. The bottom floor, where they have the largest gathering area, is for Sacrament Meeting.The floors are concrete and the chairs are stacking chairs placed in rows. There is a wooden stand and podium at the front of the room, with 2 large vases of plastic flowers adorning the fronts of floor speakers which stand on either side of the podium. The thing that really touched my heart that day and was truly a 'tender mercy' to me, occurred during the Sacrament. While we sang the Sacrament Hymn, I glanced over at the priests who were preparing the Sacrament. They were doing so with such humility and care. The white cloth covering the emblems of the sacrament was deliberately and reverently folded back. When it came time to bless the broken pieces of french bread (the most commonly found bread here in Mada), I watched as one of the young priests knelt down upon a small, plastic covered pillow on the concrete floor. He humbly blessed it, repeating carefully the sacrament prayer in Malagasy. The young deacons stood like a little army at attention, but with heads bowed and arms tucked behind them, wearing white shirts and ties, while the sacrament prayer was recited. I don't know why this scene touched my heart so, but the tears started to roll down my cheeks. I thought of our Savior and what He might be thinking as he looked over this little congregation, gathering in an obscure little building in far off Madagascar, to humbly bless and pass the emblems of His sacrifice; His atonement, for all mankind. A sweet and emotion filled feeling spread throughout my body. I knew that He was pleased with what He saw. I knew that He was aware of this beautiful group of faithful saints who had gathered in humble circumstances to honor and obey Him, to make and keep sacred covenants and commitments. I knew that He loved them; as my love for them was filled to overflowing. I had a thought that our eternal salvation is a very individual thing. It is up to us, no matter our race, culture, or circumstance, to develop a personal relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is up to us to work out our own salvation. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we are all on an "equal playing field" if you will, when it comes to the work of salvation. Each of us must be committed to keep the commandments, to strive to become more like our Savior, and to love and serve our fellowmen. These commandments can be lived be everyone...EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE.. I felt it a privilege to worship with my Malagasy brothers and sisters that day and catch a glimpse of God's love for them, for me, and for each of us. I want to remember that precious moment as it reminds me of my responsibility to strive to be better, more patient, worshipful, obedient; a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to serve here, for the lessons I can learn, and hopefully, the service I can render.
Steve and I love this opportunity to serve as missionary companions. We laugh together, sometimes shed a tear or two (OK--probably more tears on my side), but overall love sharing our mutual experiences while living and serving here in Madagascar for a season. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all!
With love,
Steve and Michele
PS. Thank you to those who have e-mailed us…we appreciate it more than you know. We love knowing what’s happening with you and yours. God Bless!!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Catching up--August 9, 2014
Steve, looking for bike parts in the "bike parts" section of a large market. Actually found some pretty nice (but old fashioned) bike pumps for the missionary houses!
Some of our darling Institute students...We love them so!!
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| This is called Kuba...we could not figure out what it was when we first saw it on the streets. It is a favorite Malagsy treat. I know it has peanuts in it and is cooked in banana leaves...I kept thinking it was tuna steaks! ha! |
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s the end of P-day and I’m tucked in my bed, heater on, computer on my lap, and catching you all up on the last couple of weeks of our mission. We had an interesting P-day today exploring more of the downtown area of Tana and its associated markets. Analakely is known for it’s crowded streets and endless merchants selling everything from socks to solar panels, with everything you can imagine in between…stationary, videos, computer parts, electrical parts, toys, bike parts, blow dryers, curling irons, shoes galore, make-up, panty hose, clothes of all kinds, jewelry, pots and pans, food…you name it! Today we were on the hunt for a certain type of battery for our key fob (We did find it, by the way), but along the way we ran into all manner of the above mentioned items, and more! We wound our way into a larger food market and we are always amazed at what is sold there…everything from ducks, chickens and geese to papaya, tiny mangoes and a variety of little peppers—some are extremely HOT!! One must watch one’s footing in places like these as there are so many uneven surfaces and treacherous open manholes. We looked down in one and saw all kinds of garbage in it and rats running through…it gave me the willies! The missionaries told us that when it rains those open manholes fill up with water and you don’t even know it doesn’t have a cover on it. One must walk very gingerly to avoid falling in! UGH!! But, we are always enamored of the sites and sounds of these markets—not so much of the smells! We did buy some papaya, and will enjoy them for the next couple of days. We love the fresh fruit and vegetables that are found everywhere in Mada. The vendors always tell you the cost of things in French, so we’re working on at least honing our ability to understand numbers in French. For example, a kilo of bananas are one thousand, two hundred Ariary (the name of Malagasy money) per kilo. But instead of using Malagasy numbers, they use French—“ mille deux cent Ariary”. If the number is too large, we must revert to having them show us on a calculator! As I said, it’s always an adventure!!
One interesting thing we saw today in the market was small solar panels of varying sizes, being sold right next to small batteries which store the electricity generated from the solar panels. Right next to that are radios. Putting two and two together, we realized that people run their radios and other small electrical appliances from a battery charged by solar panels! They are resourceful, for sure!! Thank goodness Madagascar generally has lots of sunshine during the day!
The past couple of weeks have been filled with my daily “sick” missionary calls; everything from “my eyes hurt”, to “I think I passed a worm”, to ingrown toenails and headaches, sore throats, or diarrhea, and more. One elder had to have a minor surgery on his toe to remove the skin around the nail, not the nail, since this was his third very infected ingrown toenail—on the same toe! Ingrown toenails are pretty common due to the amount of walking the missionaries do, compounded by the “hilly” nature of Antananarivo..up and down hills with the toes hitting the end of the shoes. I’m working on getting the missionaries to not wait until the infection is too bad and they have to have their nail removed…that’s miserable!! But in any case, I have been helping this elder soak and dress his toe daily this past week. It’s doing well, but will require some time to be 100% back on his feet—he can’t even get his shoes on quite yet! So, poor guy, has had a pretty boring week having to stay up at the mission office.
Steve has been working with the translation office trying to get the youth curriculum translated and distributed to the various Wards and Branches. Most of the printed materials are sent in French, and while many Malagasies understand French, many do not. So, we have been trying to get more things translated locally to be able to get them into Malagasy. Steve continues to oversee the missionary bike maintenance program as well as putting together another business seminar for the Malagasy returned missionaries. He got sidetracked from the seminar development temporarily while trying to find a source for carbon monoxide/smoke detectors to replace the broken ones we find when we do missionary apartment checks. While the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely low here considering almost every appliance and heat source is electric (electric oven, washer/dryer and heaters), in order to be compliant with the church recommendations, we want to make sure everyone has them in their apartment and that they are in good working order. Steve also went on a splits this week (with the companion of the Elder who is recovering from the ingrown toenail ) to one of the back neighborhoods of an adjacent area. He had to bear his testimony in Malagasy and say the closing prayer. He said his language was pretty dismal, but he is determined to keep working on it! He studies diligently every day. But he enjoyed a birds-eye view of how the local Malagasies live!
Speaking of that, as a reminder, many, many Malagasies do not have running water into their homes, or electricity. They often live in a one room home and share a common “out house” with the neighbors. They generally cook outside, or in a small lean-to type ‘kitchen’ attached to house, over a charcoal fire.They are a very humble, but generally happy society; although most are really feeling the stress of a poor economy, high unemployment, and the skyrocketing cost of food. The value of the Ariary is dropping and prices on everything, including food, is going up. There are many beggars on the streets and in the tunnels, and that is sad since many of them are children. Since we have been counseled not to give money, Steve and I have taken to stocking the car with little packages of cookies and we give those to the kids. They are appreciative of that and always flash a smile and thank us with a quick, “Merci”—-they think all foreigners are French (and rightly so, since most are!!). A common greeting on the street is, “Bonjour Madame or Monsieur”.
We are still teaching a YSA institute class, and we enjoy doing that (although we always hope that not much is literally “lost in translation”!) While we can say some things in Malagasy, we are definitely far from able to teach solely in Malagasy. We love these sweet and most diligent youth! We enjoy attending church here and hope to have the language come to us in due time.
I put a power-point presentation together for the Zone Meeting this month on taking care of your feet. We had some fun with it and I introduced my new mission nurse “mantra”, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” (Thanks, mom, for raising me with wonderful and wise sayings that I can now share with these young missionaries!). So much of what they suffer with from time to time, can be avoided by being careful and following simple health rules; taking time to sanitize food, washing hands regularly, and not letting small infections become BIG ones! I enjoy my work with the young missionaries, and feel such a protective instinct for them. I remember once, many years ago, when having a particularly hard day with my VERY active and rambunctious boys, raising my hands to the heavens and crying out, “Why…why did You give me three boys in a row?!?” I now see the reason why…just so I can serve this mission and have a better understanding of boys! ha! I love them!! My favorite day of the week has become Monday, for that is the missionary’s P-Day. They come in and we get to see many of them regularly. The sisters come for a hug and the Elders come for the cookies! ha…not exactly, but P-Days are known as Cookie P-Days. I love it when they come in my office and just chat. Often they come looking for me with a health concern or question, too. They are often busy days for me.
We are currently gearing up, as a mission, for a large mission tour with Elder Hamilton who is coming from South Africa, and for the next missionary transfer in about a week and a half which will add 14 new missionaries to our mission. We need them badly as we have had to close areas due to our declining numbers. Six weeks later we will receive another 15 missionaries. We welcome them with open arms. I know some parents are fearful to have their children come so far away to a 3rd world country, but I figure if they send us old folks here, it can’t be all that bad, right?!? ha! We look forward to seeing what wonderful things lie in the future of this mission as the work goes forward. We all do our part, and while we don’t always have a direct responsibility to work with the Malagasy people, we know that supporting the missionaries and helping them to stay healthy is important in furthering the work here.
We are sad to mention that our sweet friend, Brother Lala, (I spoke about him in a previous e-mail), has developed a brain tumor. It came on so suddenly, it’s rather shocking! They noticed it about a month ago, and since that time his ability to speak has all but stopped, he drags his right foot and he in unable to move his right arm. The doctors have removed as much of the tumor that is safe to do, but he is in dire need of radiation therapy. (this does not exist in this country). There is a “go fund me” effort to help him raise the money to get to France for radiation therapy. They decided on France as he has a sister there with whom he can stay during the therapy as it will be over a two month time frame. We definitely have had opportunity to “comfort those who stand in need of comfort” as we try and support Brother Lala and his family, as well as our dear friends, Lalary and Antsa, who lost their 6 week old baby to a respiratory illness last week. We have come to love these wonderful people so much, and our heart breaks for them as they face such tremendous challenges. But, I have been so touched by their firm testimonies about God’s plan for each of us. Both families have shown amazing and unshaken faith in Jesus Christ and are finding strength through His atonement. I am blessed by my association with them.
Some people have asked me about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and whether that affects us in any way. We have not been affected directly. We have received some educational information from the church, but so far there are no known cases in Madagascar. I keep up on it as much as I can from the internet, but I pray we won’t have to face that particular challenge. What a horrible disease! Our concern is if it spreads to other countries near Sierra Leone, like Ghana, Cote d’Voire, or the Ivory Coast, where we currently have Malagasy missionaries serving. We would have some steps to take upon their return to Madagascar. We certainly pray for rapid containment and eventual eradication of this terrible disease!
We do hope this letter finds you all healthy and well. As always, we send our love to each of you. Thank you for your prayers and support. We are grateful for this opportunity to serve together in this area of God’s vineyard. We are blessed by our experiences and always pray for guidance and inspiration and that we can be profitable servants to our Heavenly Father. I read a quote this week that I really like, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” —Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
Love to all—Remember…we love hearing from you as well! (OK…a shameless plea for e-mails; but admittedly, I have no pride! haha!)
’Til next time…
Michele and Steve
Thursday, July 24, 2014
A Glimpse into the Healthcare in Madagascar
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Darling country children playing their homemade mud game!!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Getting Back to Normal
Getting back to normal
Life has certainly been crazy for the last few weeks. But we are resuming our regular schedule now, and that’s pretty busy, but a little more predictable.
We had the opportunity to go with President and Sister Adams down to Fianarantsoa last weekend. It is south east of here and takes about 8 hours to get there by car. We stopped in one of my most favorite towns, Antsirabe, on the way down. I love Anstirabe for it’s country feel and fresher air…it’s more peaceful there than in Tana. There are less cars and way more “pousse pousse”es—‘rickshaw’ like carts that are pulled by lean, but very strong, barefoot Malagasies. They are probably the main source of transportation in this town. Sometimes you will see them laden with every sort of thing…furniture and even bed frames!! I also love seeing the zebu pulled carts everywhere. It’s so charming and reminds you that you are in a unique country that never disappoints to entertain!! hehe. Bicycles are also more prevalent here and you hear the clang of the bicycle bells often. I wish I could live here some time on my mission, but it will never be due to my calling; I must stay close to the center of things. But I do enjoy it when I get a chance to visit!
We are working to establish a medical network in all the towns where we have missionaries, so we were hoping to visit the best (albeit small) hospital there. It is owned and operated by the Lutheran church, and they are always the best resources if there is one in town. But even at that, they are fairly rudimentary. The main surgeon/head doctor was unable to meet with us this time, so I’ll try to visit next time I go down.
We met that evening with a couple that has completed their mission and had the blessing to be assigned to work in Antsirabe. The Todds loved it here and have done an amazing job working with the leadership here. The new District President is only 27 years old!
That reminds me…I think I better share with you my experience with the principles of self-reliance. President Adams has cautioned us over and over again about giving money or stepping in to “save” a struggling Malagasy. He has told us that when we do this, it has never turned out well—either the ‘gift’ is misunderstood, or others wonder why you are not helping them…anyway, rescuing folks is really not the Lord’s way. The Lord’s way is to teach and train them how to be self-reliant. You remember our friend, “Cheesecake Patrick”…well we were tempted to buy him a freezer, but low and behold, he came up with a better solution on his own. He is borrowing one from a friend and is trying to save to get his own. The very large order that he was expecting did not come to fruition (was downsized greatly). If he was into a payment for the freezer, it would have been difficult right now. We were proud of him for finding a more reasonable solution as he grows at slower, but steady pace.
The other example happened in Antsirabe. There is a wonderful couple who live there. They have been coming to church for years, but had net been baptized. The father does not have the use of his legs. He has a broken down wheelchair that they use to get to church, but mostly he scoots along by lifting his legs with his arms, using nothing else. They have two children but they were not married. It is so difficult for couples to get married here in Madagascar. First, they have to have to go to the city of their birth to procure a birth certificate. For many people this requires many hours of travel, and more money than they have. Once they get the certificate, it’s expensive for them to pay the fees to be married civilly. With the help of the mission office however, this couple were able to get the necessary paperwork to be able to get married. They were baptized the same day. They are a sweet, faithful and wonderful couple and everyone loves them. In spite of his handicap, Frem is able to do many things, including some painting and “handyman” work. He works hard and does a good job. Anyway, a week after their baptism, they received notice that their landlord was going to tear down their house, and they had to move in two weeks. They don’t have much money and no steady job or income. Everyone was so worried they would be homeless. Two of the senior couples wanted to build them a new house…a very basic one at that, but the President said, ‘no”. He said, we must have the members pull together and figure out a resolution. He said, “If you do this, everyone else (who is poor—which is about 80% of the people), will want you to build them a house or will ask why you won't help them.” While everyone’s hearts were in the right place, it was not the right answer. Everyone was praying and hoping the branch could help them out in some way. One option was to take the left over wood from the house they live in and have everyone get together to donate labor to build something. But that was not going to happen in time. As the time grew closer for them to have to leave, a feeling of desperation ensued. Then, the miracle happened. One of the missionaries was talking with a local businessman. Somehow the subject of Frem’s situation came up. The man asked the missionary if Frem had any experience with taking care of chickens. Surprisingly, he did! They made arrangements for them to meet. The businessman took a liking to Frem and his wife and said he had a house on his property that Frem could move into (better than the one they were currently living in!), and he would hire him to take care of the chickens. Furthermore, the businessman’s wife needed a housekeeper and asked if Frem’s wife would be interested in the job. She could bring the baby with her. They also told them they could eat with them daily! So, in one fell swoop, they had a house, income, two jobs and food to eat! Seriously, this was a miracle! We were all convinced that our way was not the Lord’s way and He did take care of this sweet, faithful couple, in a way that far exceeded our plans! We heard recently that Frem and his family had moved in and things were going well!
Moving on…we accompanied the Adams’ down to Ambositra (where most of the amazing wood work is done), and then on down to Fianarantsoa. I cannot describe the road there. Just think of the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland and you can begin to get an idea of it…winding and potholed (I’m talking craters in the road) for about the last 4 hours! In spite of taking motion sickness pills, both Steve and I were carsick! We had such admiration for the President and his sweet wife who have to make this trek every three months! On the way back, Steve had to stop and throw up!! (Oh the joys!!). I’ve only known Steve to throw up twice while in a car, and both times were in Madagascar—this being the second time). The roads here are all very windy, but some are worse than others. The fact that the potholes were so prevalent made it so the carwas going side to side while at the same time going round and round! I was sick, too, but fortunately did not have to throw up. (Probably too much information!! haha!)
This city sits up in the mountains and is more wooded than most of the cities we have seen. We enjoyed meeting the members there who are always so happy to have visitors. President conducted interviews and meetings Saturday evening and Sunday until 2:00—then we began our momentous trip back to Antsirable—Ugh…not too anxious to do that again any time soon!!
June 26th was Independence Day, one of Madagascar’s biggest holidays. Street vendors fill the streets in the weeks ahead, selling all types of Malagasy flags, and colorful lanterns hang from all the small street shops. It’s a fun holiday with festivities for days!—including the sound of fire crackers all throughout the days…and nights!! The night before (June 25th), the children walk through the neighborhoods carrying lanterns lit with candles. It reminds me a lot of Halloween. The boys also carry lightsabers and the little girls have crowns that light up, and various other lit toys.
We watched as many people were walking down the hill near where we live. We decided to follow them. One little family took us in! ha! They explained they were going up to the Rova (the old Queen’s Palace) that sits high above the city atop a mountain of sorts just across from our “hill”. People go up there to see the fireworks. They let us follow them and I was determined to try and keep up with them. Well, let me tell you, getting up that thing was a feat…especially at night! Part of the path is made up of very deep and steep stairs that go straight up! Then the path is muddy and slippery in spots. The man called it a “lalana ratsy” or “bad path”. I gotta admit, I was a trooper, but definitely winded by the time we got to the top. There was a kazillion people up there! There was a band playing and the cars that had driven up were unable to move due to the shear numbers of people and other cars. So they just stopped in the middle of the roads and the roads all became giant parking lots! The crowd was dense and we held on to each other so as not to get separated. We tried to see the fireworks and were able to see the high ones, but there were thousands of people cramming together on the side of the fireworks and we couldn't get close enough to see the lower ones. We tried, but I seriously felt I couldn’t breathe and had visions of being trampled!! (OK…I might be a little dramatic here, but that’s how I felt!). I was horrified to see people standing on top of cars (not their own), to get a better view. I wondered what the owners would think if they saw them?!? Seriously, the crowd mentality was a little scary! The fireworks that we were able to see were good and lasted a long time. When they were over, we were lost. Picture Steve standing out with his I-phone held high trying to decipher the GPS directions to find our way home in the dark! We ended up going down a different “lalana ratsy” with stairs that reminded me of old Roman ruins! I was ever so grateful to see our street. We made it home unscathed except for muddy shoes and tired knees; and don’t forget we did all of this in our missionary clothes…me in a skirt and Steve in slacks and a white shirt. We must have been a site! But…when in Madagascar….haha! We enjoyed our authentic Malagasy pilgrimage to the Rova for Independence day!
I keep pretty busy with daily calls from the missionaries (some days more than others), experiencing a variety of health challenges. Some are very minor, like headaches, or a ‘sty’ that someone thinks is deadly! ha! Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are common, but can be minimized by observing better sanitation rules, hand washing and not eating with the people. I know it’s hard to turn down an offering, but the water is not pure here and some don’t have running water. Therefore the chances of them washing their hands regularly is pretty low. So…thus the diarrhea. There have been other issues as well and I’m grateful for a wonderful doctor that we have found who makes my life so much easier! His name is Dr. Oswaldo Lara who is a US Board Certified surgeon from Argentina. He, like us, is a missionary for his church (Seventh Day Adventist). He has dedicated the last 12 years to missionary service as a doctor in Africa and in Madagascar. He speaks English, is very thorough, and is a blessing to us!! He has had to do emergency appendectomies for the missionaries in the past, and we trust him 100%. He will take my calls 24/7…I feel like a lucky missionary nurse!! But of course, he can only treat the missionaries in Tana.
Steve continues to meet with returned missionaries to assist with business plans and to help as he can with ideas to help them be successful. With the unemployment rate begin what it is they need to be creative in finding a way to sustain themselves and a future family. We pray for their ability to follow through and grasp the concept of being self-reliant.
This past 2 weeks have not been easy ones!! In addition to losing our dear elder, I bit down on something and one of my back teeth broke entirely off. It gets worse. It was a tooth anchoring a 3 tooth bridge! I wanted to cry!! I was able to find a decent Malagasy Dentist at the 7th Day Adventist clinic who was able to fashion a ‘flipper’ to hold the two teeth. It looks surprisingly OK, but bugs the heck out of me! Suddenly our 2 year mission just seemed like an eternity—until I can get my teeth fixed properly! Ugh…
Then the next morning, I banged my head on the kitchen cabinet and ended up with a gigantic goose egg on my forehead. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but each day the bruising extended further down my face until I had two black eyes, bruising over my nose and down to my cheeks. I can assure you, I’ve been quite a colorful site for two weeks! One eyelid is STILL purple!! I’ve added new Malagasy words to my vocabulary as I try and assure folks that I wasn’t beaten, and, “no, it was not my husband!!” JK
We continue to love the opportunity to serve together and are always enamored with the Malagasy culture and lifestyle. We are still trying to understand the streets and find better ways to get places. We don’t particularly love that part of Madagascar! We feel blessed and happy (despite some challenges) and welcome anyone who wants to join us—particularly the senior couple type!—always recruiting!! hehe
We pray for all at home and love hearing from each of you whenever you get time!
With love,
Steve and Michele
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Good-bye Elder Palmer
July 3, 2014
Good-bye Elder Palmer…’Till we meet again…
We lost our Elder Palmer last week. It has been an emotional time for the mission and for us personally. Many of you have seen the news release in Salt Lake City about his death and the the generosity of his parents to donate his organs so that others might live. Steve and I will forever feel a connection with this wonderfully talented young elder and we continue to pray for his family.
We, as a mission, held a memorial service for him on Tuesday. It was beautifully done and so comforting. I had the privilege of speaking at that special service. I am enclosing a copy of my talk at the end of this post.
It’s true that words simply cannot convey the depth of our feeling and love for for this young elder. We never saw each other “eye to eye”, and yet the feelings of compassion and love will be forever remembered and cherished.
Even after we were able to get Elder Palmer safely transported to top notch medical care in South Africa, his brain continued to bleed. At one point we thought he was through the worst of it, and had an excellent prognosis, and then we developed another bleed. It was so deep in his brain that they were not able to go in surgically to stop it. We knew his life was in the hands of a loving Heavenly Father who truly knows the end from the beginning. While we grieve for the loss of such a young and talented young man, we turn our faith to the giver of life and look forward to seeing him again someday…and I know I will. I will never forget him.
Elder Palmer Memorial Service
July 1, 2014
I am humbled as I stand before you today to share a bit of my experience with Elder Palmer…Particularly the last 24 hours of his mission in Madagascar. While I am deeply saddened at his loss, the word that keeps coming to my mind is Love. Love was made manifest at every junction of a very challenging situation.
When it became evident that Elder Palmer’s illness required further attention, President Adams called Elder Rossiter and I back from a trip to Tamatave. We rushed back to be in Tana when Elder Palmer arrived from Antsirabe. I was so touched by the love that was shown by the elders who accompanied him, particularly his companion, Elder Herrin, with whom I had been in contact about every two hours in the two days preceding. He fixed him food and monitored his medications; he was loving and so concerned.
On the way down from Tamatave I had called ahead to find the best neurologist in Tana and President Adams arranged for us to take Elder Palmer to him for a CT scan. We rushed over to the the hospital with Elder Palmer and was quickly sent in for the scan. President Adams also rushed to the hospital and was there when the scan was read. When the results indicated that Elder Palmer had had and aneurism that had burst deep within his brain, President immediately got the ball rolling for an air evacuation to South Africa to procure the expert care that was needed. He worked tirelessly to make this happen, including contacting people in high positions at the US Embassy to assist. I knew President Adams was filled with love and concern for his missionary who was in a very critical situation.
While all of this was happening, Elder Rossiter and I stayed by Elder Palmer’s side. At first, the doctors in the emergency room were not going to let us stay, but with the help of President Adams, they finally capitulated and let us stay. I desperately did not want him to be alone. While I have a nursing degree, my “mother heart” also emerged and I knew I could not leave him. When I mentioned that I thought he would rather have me hold his hand than the assistants, he quickly gave a thumbs up. I would have moved heaven and earth within my power to make sure he was watched over and cared for as much as possible here in Madagascar.
During those long hours, I held Elder Palmer’s hand, and tried to offer comfort as best I could. I felt a great love for him. I cannot describe how deeply I felt for him in such a short period of time. I began to understand, in some small way, the reality of God’s love for His children. As I wiped his brow, gave him water, helped to turn and position him for comfort, and wiped his parched lips, my heart overflowed with love and compassion for him. At times, when the pain was intense, he would reach for my hand, and I was grateful to be there for him and. He was so courageous and brave. I felt at times I was able to glimpse a bit of his soul. He was a good and stalwart young man. He shared some of his thoughts with me during the night. He told me about his family, and the love and concern he had for all of them—(he didn’t want them to worry about him). He told me that his favorite place in the world was Lake Powell, and in the difficult hours, we went there in our minds; he seemed comforted by the memories. He shared with me some of the previous health challenges he had experienced while in the mission. At one point he dryly said, “Sister Rossiter, I’ve had quite the mission”, and went on to tell me the details.broken nose in the MTC, seriously sprained ankle requiring getting around on crutches here in Tana…we can all imagine what a challenge that was! Receiving Rabies shots for a lemur bite and battling a bout of ringworm… We couldn’t help but chuckle at the range of health challenges he had had. He also briefly shared his testimony and faith in Heavenly Father. He talked about Elder Herrin the missionary he was “training”; so dedicated he was to his calling as a “trainer” and his desire to do a good job there. I was touched.
I witnessed the love, concern and dedication of the Assistants who also stayed with us in the hospital. They thoughtfully brought mattresses for Elder Rossiter and I and blankets that we really appreciated as the night chill came on. While I didn’t sleep that night, I appreciated their thoughtfulness and the warmth of that blanket! They brought us food and expressed concern for Elder Palmer throughout the night; as they attempted to sleep on the chair pads in the hallway; sharing one pillow. They were ministering to us, as we ministered to Elder Palmer; love made manifest!
We were all disappointed when the evacuation had to be delayed several hours due to heavy fog, making it unsafe to fly into Mada until the next morning.
Elder Palmer was aware and cognizant the entire night. He was even able to help translate for me in Malagasy to the nurses once in awhile. It was difficult to see him in pain from time to time, and if my will could have healed him, he would have lived several lifetimes. I prayed and contemplated scriptures that came to my mind; I felt that i understood in greater measure our baptismal covenants to bear one another’s burdens and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort.; To put my trust in God, who knows the end from the beginning, and who sent His only begotten son to die for us so that we might all have eternal life.
It was an amazing site to see the sleek medical evac jet on the tarmac at the airport. President and Sister Adams were there along with top embassy and other government officials helping to assure a smooth evacuation. It was comforting because there is often a lot of bureaucratic red tape to get though in this country and we knew we needed a miracle to get him out without someone stopping the process because a paper wasn’t procured or signed just right.
Finally, when Elder Palmer was safely strapped into the medevac jet, I was able to go aboard and say my good-byes. While I did not expect them to be my last, I simply said, “I love you, Elder Palmer.” A moment later he weakly replied, “I love you, too.” While I would have hoped the outcome to be different, I will cherish those final words. They bring me comfort.
I had the opportunity this past weekend to go to Ambositra, where Elder Palmer was serving. We met with the leadership of the Branch there. The sweet Relief Society president began to cry when she heard of Elder Palmer’s passing. She wept as she expressed her love for him. She said he was like a son to her. It was so touching to look into her beautiful face, a different color than ours, with black hair and dark eyes, and to feel of her love for Elder Palmer. Continents and cultural differences melt away when the universal language of love is spoken. Elder Palmer made a difference here. His love for the Malagasy people, and they for him, was evident.
Yesterday, in the early morning hours as Madagascar was just waking up, I was walking the streets of Antsirabe. It was quiet as I walked. But sometimes I heard an occasional rooster crow or the sound of a bicycle bell, and I thought of Elder Palmer. I thought about what he might say to us, those who are left behind. I think he would tell us that he is at peace; that he is filled with love and joy, light and peace. I think he would tell us not to grieve, but to get to work, because it’s all true and he is anxiously carrying on the work of salvation and we must also continue to share that knowledge that we have with those who seek the truth. I think he would echo the words of Joseph Smith in D&C 128:22; “ Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage brethren; and on, on to the victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad!”
This is my testimony as well…I will be forever grateful for the brief 24 hours I spent with a faithful elder so far from home, whose courage and love and a weak, “I love you, too”, has left an eternal imprint on my heart. Till we meet again, Elder Palmer….
Good-bye Elder Palmer…’Till we meet again…
We lost our Elder Palmer last week. It has been an emotional time for the mission and for us personally. Many of you have seen the news release in Salt Lake City about his death and the the generosity of his parents to donate his organs so that others might live. Steve and I will forever feel a connection with this wonderfully talented young elder and we continue to pray for his family.
We, as a mission, held a memorial service for him on Tuesday. It was beautifully done and so comforting. I had the privilege of speaking at that special service. I am enclosing a copy of my talk at the end of this post.
It’s true that words simply cannot convey the depth of our feeling and love for for this young elder. We never saw each other “eye to eye”, and yet the feelings of compassion and love will be forever remembered and cherished.
Even after we were able to get Elder Palmer safely transported to top notch medical care in South Africa, his brain continued to bleed. At one point we thought he was through the worst of it, and had an excellent prognosis, and then we developed another bleed. It was so deep in his brain that they were not able to go in surgically to stop it. We knew his life was in the hands of a loving Heavenly Father who truly knows the end from the beginning. While we grieve for the loss of such a young and talented young man, we turn our faith to the giver of life and look forward to seeing him again someday…and I know I will. I will never forget him.
Elder Palmer Memorial Service
July 1, 2014
I am humbled as I stand before you today to share a bit of my experience with Elder Palmer…Particularly the last 24 hours of his mission in Madagascar. While I am deeply saddened at his loss, the word that keeps coming to my mind is Love. Love was made manifest at every junction of a very challenging situation.
When it became evident that Elder Palmer’s illness required further attention, President Adams called Elder Rossiter and I back from a trip to Tamatave. We rushed back to be in Tana when Elder Palmer arrived from Antsirabe. I was so touched by the love that was shown by the elders who accompanied him, particularly his companion, Elder Herrin, with whom I had been in contact about every two hours in the two days preceding. He fixed him food and monitored his medications; he was loving and so concerned.
On the way down from Tamatave I had called ahead to find the best neurologist in Tana and President Adams arranged for us to take Elder Palmer to him for a CT scan. We rushed over to the the hospital with Elder Palmer and was quickly sent in for the scan. President Adams also rushed to the hospital and was there when the scan was read. When the results indicated that Elder Palmer had had and aneurism that had burst deep within his brain, President immediately got the ball rolling for an air evacuation to South Africa to procure the expert care that was needed. He worked tirelessly to make this happen, including contacting people in high positions at the US Embassy to assist. I knew President Adams was filled with love and concern for his missionary who was in a very critical situation.
While all of this was happening, Elder Rossiter and I stayed by Elder Palmer’s side. At first, the doctors in the emergency room were not going to let us stay, but with the help of President Adams, they finally capitulated and let us stay. I desperately did not want him to be alone. While I have a nursing degree, my “mother heart” also emerged and I knew I could not leave him. When I mentioned that I thought he would rather have me hold his hand than the assistants, he quickly gave a thumbs up. I would have moved heaven and earth within my power to make sure he was watched over and cared for as much as possible here in Madagascar.
During those long hours, I held Elder Palmer’s hand, and tried to offer comfort as best I could. I felt a great love for him. I cannot describe how deeply I felt for him in such a short period of time. I began to understand, in some small way, the reality of God’s love for His children. As I wiped his brow, gave him water, helped to turn and position him for comfort, and wiped his parched lips, my heart overflowed with love and compassion for him. At times, when the pain was intense, he would reach for my hand, and I was grateful to be there for him and. He was so courageous and brave. I felt at times I was able to glimpse a bit of his soul. He was a good and stalwart young man. He shared some of his thoughts with me during the night. He told me about his family, and the love and concern he had for all of them—(he didn’t want them to worry about him). He told me that his favorite place in the world was Lake Powell, and in the difficult hours, we went there in our minds; he seemed comforted by the memories. He shared with me some of the previous health challenges he had experienced while in the mission. At one point he dryly said, “Sister Rossiter, I’ve had quite the mission”, and went on to tell me the details.broken nose in the MTC, seriously sprained ankle requiring getting around on crutches here in Tana…we can all imagine what a challenge that was! Receiving Rabies shots for a lemur bite and battling a bout of ringworm… We couldn’t help but chuckle at the range of health challenges he had had. He also briefly shared his testimony and faith in Heavenly Father. He talked about Elder Herrin the missionary he was “training”; so dedicated he was to his calling as a “trainer” and his desire to do a good job there. I was touched.
I witnessed the love, concern and dedication of the Assistants who also stayed with us in the hospital. They thoughtfully brought mattresses for Elder Rossiter and I and blankets that we really appreciated as the night chill came on. While I didn’t sleep that night, I appreciated their thoughtfulness and the warmth of that blanket! They brought us food and expressed concern for Elder Palmer throughout the night; as they attempted to sleep on the chair pads in the hallway; sharing one pillow. They were ministering to us, as we ministered to Elder Palmer; love made manifest!
We were all disappointed when the evacuation had to be delayed several hours due to heavy fog, making it unsafe to fly into Mada until the next morning.
Elder Palmer was aware and cognizant the entire night. He was even able to help translate for me in Malagasy to the nurses once in awhile. It was difficult to see him in pain from time to time, and if my will could have healed him, he would have lived several lifetimes. I prayed and contemplated scriptures that came to my mind; I felt that i understood in greater measure our baptismal covenants to bear one another’s burdens and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort.; To put my trust in God, who knows the end from the beginning, and who sent His only begotten son to die for us so that we might all have eternal life.
It was an amazing site to see the sleek medical evac jet on the tarmac at the airport. President and Sister Adams were there along with top embassy and other government officials helping to assure a smooth evacuation. It was comforting because there is often a lot of bureaucratic red tape to get though in this country and we knew we needed a miracle to get him out without someone stopping the process because a paper wasn’t procured or signed just right.
Finally, when Elder Palmer was safely strapped into the medevac jet, I was able to go aboard and say my good-byes. While I did not expect them to be my last, I simply said, “I love you, Elder Palmer.” A moment later he weakly replied, “I love you, too.” While I would have hoped the outcome to be different, I will cherish those final words. They bring me comfort.
I had the opportunity this past weekend to go to Ambositra, where Elder Palmer was serving. We met with the leadership of the Branch there. The sweet Relief Society president began to cry when she heard of Elder Palmer’s passing. She wept as she expressed her love for him. She said he was like a son to her. It was so touching to look into her beautiful face, a different color than ours, with black hair and dark eyes, and to feel of her love for Elder Palmer. Continents and cultural differences melt away when the universal language of love is spoken. Elder Palmer made a difference here. His love for the Malagasy people, and they for him, was evident.
Yesterday, in the early morning hours as Madagascar was just waking up, I was walking the streets of Antsirabe. It was quiet as I walked. But sometimes I heard an occasional rooster crow or the sound of a bicycle bell, and I thought of Elder Palmer. I thought about what he might say to us, those who are left behind. I think he would tell us that he is at peace; that he is filled with love and joy, light and peace. I think he would tell us not to grieve, but to get to work, because it’s all true and he is anxiously carrying on the work of salvation and we must also continue to share that knowledge that we have with those who seek the truth. I think he would echo the words of Joseph Smith in D&C 128:22; “ Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage brethren; and on, on to the victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad!”
This is my testimony as well…I will be forever grateful for the brief 24 hours I spent with a faithful elder so far from home, whose courage and love and a weak, “I love you, too”, has left an eternal imprint on my heart. Till we meet again, Elder Palmer….
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