Akory Aby O!!! 
Well this week has been pretty good. Our mission president set some goals for the whole mission to have to reach. Elder Anderson and I worked really really hard to get them and because of that we had a pretty good week. We ended up having a lot of lessons and teaching quite a few less actives. I feel like our area is starting to pick up a little bit which has given us a little hope! We have a split this week with the zone leaders, and then we have one with the district leader the next day. I'm pretty excited because splits are always a great chance to learn a lot and to ask lots of questions, but I always get a little bit nervous too.

But...  I love my companion. We get along really well. I was really worried about getting along with my companion when I found out we were going to be in a two man house, but I have loved it. We get along really well which has really helped the work be a lot easier. It is so hard to be a good missionary and to feel the spirit when you don't get along with your companion. I have seen it many times. When there is contention between you the spirit can't be with you and you aren't going to be able to help your investigators very much. A good relationship is crucial to teaching well together.

So this week one thing that I was not expecting was how many people celebrate pentacost and how big of a deal it is.Sunday EVERYBODY was drunk and we had so many drunk guys following us around and trying to be our buddies. And then yesterday (p-day) basically everything was closed so we didn't get to cyber so now I'm having to do it tuesday morning. But, we did make some good use of our time and went to a branch activity and played soccer with the members and investigators and had some good rice and laoka (Laoka is some kind of topping for your rice. usually chicken, pork, beef, or beans). I found out how out of shape I am and that I really need to start doing some kind of cardio work-out in the mornings! 

As far as the work is going we have a couple investigators with baptismal dates on 3. We have Do and then Lanto and Seheno who are so close to finally being vita Soratra (legally married). We are really hoping that they will be able to get everything done before then so that they can get baptized with Do. Do is awesome. He is more diligent than half of the members! He comes to church every single week and loves learning about the gospel. He reads the Book of Mormon almost everyday, and is already creating relationships with the members. He is playing on the ward's soccer team because our stake is doing a soccer tournament. I'm so excited for all of them to be able to get baptized and to make covenants with God! 

Thanks for all of the support and love coming this way! I have definitely felt it! Have a great week everyone! Love you all!

Love, Elder Glazier

P.S. I'd like to give a double shout-out. First to my sister Kristan! She is pregnant and due this Saturday! She is going to be an AMAZING mom! Congrats Kris!!! 

Second, my little nephew Jake is having a birthday this week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jake!!!!  

! I'm doing great! Thanks for the email! It has been such a great experience being a missionary! I have learned so so so much and I don't know if I ever would have learned some of the lessons I have learned if I hadn't come. I have gotten so much better at sharing my testimony and listening to the spirit. Me and my comp were talking about listening to the spirit the other day, and we decided that when you have to learn a new language that you don't understand and teach people you have to get really good at listening to the spirit to tell you what they need because you don't know just from listening to them because you don't understand what they are saying. It's so true. When you don't understand someone and don't know what they need you really learn to listen and rely on the spirit to tell you what they need.

 I have also learned a lot about getting along with a companion. I feel like I have always been able to get along fine with people, but I have learned a lot about qualities that I like and dislike and how to get along with different types of people.

As for a package... I need a watch (good sturdy one and the band should be rubber/plastic so it doesn't stink too bad), ankle socks for p-day, a silver/gray sharpie, more deoderant, candy (I'd love some good american chocolate (not just milk chocolate, but something good in it like carmel kisses or treasures or something. but definitely not dark chocolate) and swedish fish are always a favorite! haha oh, and some AAA batteries for my headlight, Jerky is good too. For the kids i think some ctr rings would be way fun (like maybe the little rubber ones). I bet they would love some kind of little car or like little action figures or something... I don't know. Be creative. Think about a toy that would be fun if you only had one of that toy. 

Sounds like you guys had a good memorial day. I didn't even realize it was memorial day cause they don't have that here, but they do celebrate pentacost which was sunday and then they party monday! We went to a ward activity and played soccer and got to know our members and investigators better. It was pretty fun. 

Thanks for taking care of my blog for me! I know that isn't a small job. I hope my emails are satisfactory. I am trying to keep everyone up to date and make them exciting and fun to read, but sometimes I don't really know what to say. I don't know what people want to hear about. haha but let me know! Have a great week! Love you tons! Thanks for all you do! 

Love, Elder Glazier 

Me trying to cross the rice patties!

This is what happens when there is a cow walking on the path in the
rice patties and he starts coming towards Elder Glazier... Elder
Glazier jumps into the rice patties...

This was the bus we took to the cyber this morning. It's called a
taxibe. I'm in the very back and they ended up squishing 5 or 6 more
people in before we got to the cyber. I had a bebe (grandma) basically
sitting on my lap for about 10 minutes before we finally got off. Love
Tana life!!!

Elder Anderson during planning after a VERY VERY long day.

Analamahitsy Week 9, Sabotsy Namehena Week 3

Salama Daholo!!! Hello Everyone!!!

It's Elder Glazier again.

I can not believe it is already monday again. 

Time is starting to go so fast. I was just talking to my family
for mother's day yesterday and it's already p-day again!

 Everything is going great here in Madagascar!

 My area is going okay... kind of slow.

With our areas combining Elder Anderson and I are having a hard timegetting done what we feel like we need to accomplish. We feel like we are just tied up with our hands behind our backs and can't really do very much and we are really neglecting our investigators because we just don't have time to visit them. It has been really frustrating to watch some of my investigators and members get frustrated at me because I can't visit them. I feel like we are both working very hard and giving it all we have but it isn't showing in our stats, it isn't showing to our members, or to our investigators and we just aren't really seeing a benifit from our work. We are both just trying to be patient and do the best we can to help the people that are within our reach. I'm trying to be patient and positive and I'm starting to see
and recognize the small successes that I was taking for granted before. Some days are harder than others and we get pretty frustrated, but we are pretty good at staying positive. And Elder Anderson is really fun and keeps me on my toes so that helps the days go a lot faster and we don't get as discouraged.

We have a few investigators with Baptismal dates coming up which is exciting. I have Do who I have already talked about and I have a couple named Lanto and Seheno who have been learning for five years but could just never get legally married because of money and stuff,  but now they are getting married like this week or next so they should be getting baptized soon too. I think I might try to do the baptisms together on the 15th of May. That's when Do's date is. So overall the work is going, but it's just kind of frustrating. And other than that I don't really have anything new. We are just trying to keep our heads above water with our areas right now.

 But I know that God is with usand helping us accomplish His work. I see His hand in our work everyday in some small way or another,

 I love you all!

 Keep reading those scriptures and saying those prayers! Have a great week!


Love, Elder Glazier

Analamahitsy week 8 / Sabotsy Namehena week 1

Well this is going to be very very short because I have zero time.

 But Elder Glazier is doing great! I got to talk to my family this week for mothers day wich was so good! They are all doing great and it was so good to see them! I love them and miss them so much, but it was cool to see the difference between this time and last time. Last time (christmas) I was so sad when I hung up and I just wished I could be at home with my family and I didn't really want to be in madagascar, but this time when I hung up I walked outside and I just felt like I was home. I didn't feel like this was a weird or foreign place, or that these people are any different than me. I just felt like this is where I belong and what I'm supposed to be doing. I love this country and I love these people and their culture. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and that God knows each of His children and loves us all individually. Have a great week everyone! Don't forget to smile and to thank God for the blessings you have!

Elder Glazier

: This is a traditional and very common Malagasy house. They are made out of home-made mud bricks and lots of times have mud stucco rubbed all over the house on top of the bricks.

Analamahitsy Week 7 & 8

This week we had TRANFERS!!!!!!! Yes that is a big deal! Transfers is the only thing that brings big change into the life of a missionary. So this transfer has been kind of crazy for me. My last companion, Elder Te'e, got sent to Tamatave which is like 9 hours north east and on the beach. I'm so jealous! And my new companion is named Elder Anderson. He is from Idaho and has been out almost a year. He is two transfers ahead of me. He lived with me last transfer and his area was right next to mine. That is important because we had 10 missionaries go home this transfer and only one come which means that they had to close like 3 or 4 areas. To avoid closing an area they decided to combine my area (analamahitsy) and his area (sabotsy namehana). Now we have the biggest area in the whole mission. It is super hard though because he has a calandar and investigators that he has been teaching and I have a calandar and people I have been teaching, but now we have to combine our programs and everything. And our area is so big that we can't work half of the day in mine and half in his or else we just get caught in traffic and end up squished on a taxi-be between a window and a lady breast feeding her 4 year old child! So we basically spent this whole week saying goodbye to people with Elder Te'e and then trying to rebuild our program with all of our investigators and members. One upside to it is that we have a HUGE house and there is only two of us that live in it so we don't have to fight over the shower or washer/dryer or who didn't do their dishes or anything. It's kinda quiet, but not too bad because we get along really well and talk a lot.

Church this week was great! The last few weeks I have been trying to get memebers to see the importance of missionary work, and yesterday our ward mission leader had a meeting with all of the young single adults and mad a plan to have them visit a few families in the ward. And then we went and met with our elders' quorum president and talked to him about home teaching and he said he is going to try to make a better list and really get that going so hopefully we will have members helping us with our work in that way soon because right now we are basically the home teachers for the ward I feel like! haha 

Other than that not too much has happened here. Elder Glazier is still safe and healthy and loving his mission! The church is true and God loves you! Have a great week everyone! 

Love, Elder Glazier