Sept 26th - Tsara Herinandro

This was a great week, so much to talk about. First off on Tuesday we were able to talk to some less actives and leave them with a vatsin pani (spiritual thought) I gave it to them and bore my testimony and let them know that the Savior loves them and they came to church on Sunday. I was so happy to see them there, on Wednesday we went to a far part of our area where the beach is and got to talk to a bunch of people who live on the beach, one of them being Angelo who has been taking lessons from the missionaries for a long time and is finally getting baptized. He will be getting baptized in November. On Thursday it rained hard and of course it was the day I left my umbrella so I got soaked but it was way cool to see how much it rains here in Madagascar. We also got our bike fixed so we are cruising around on bikes now. Before we would take these things called "pus pus" which are bikes with little seats attached to the back of them and you pay like 1000 ari and they will take you anywhere. It probably looks pretty funny having this huge white guy being pulled by this tiny Malagasy, the pus pus drivers are probably100 pounds maybe if that. On Friday I went on a split with one of the Zone Leaders and that was awesome to receive help from him, his name is Elder Reynolds and he’s from New Zealand. He is super funny and way nice. We were able to find a family that was super receptive to the gospel and we made an appointment to head back tonight at 7 so I am super excited for this family. We also had some other crazy experiences with some drunks that were super funny. There was a drunk guy who was chasing us and was trying to pee on us. The Malagasy people are really gutsy when they are drunk. On Saturday I taught English and me and my companion got split up for this. I was in charge of teaching the more skilled English class, my companion was in charge of the ones that were just barley learning English. We started class and I was answering questions like what does this "English” word mean in Malagasy. Then a guy in the back said what “treetops” in Malagasy is. I drew a picture of a tree and then explained it with the little vocabulary I have. He said he understood so we moved on, he then asked what does gliding mean in Malagasy I explained it, then he asked what does ecosystem mean and I explained it. He kept asking questions like that over and over finally I asked where all these words were coming from, how this Malagasy knew all of these words? He pulled out a National Geographic Magazine that had a ton of words like that circled, hahaha I thought it was so funny.

Last night we taught a family that lived in a bamboo hut above another bamboo hut and this family had 6 kids in one family so a pretty big family. The oldest boy loves the church but only has one pair of clothes that are really dirty and ripped up, no shoes and so he doesn’t come to church. Last night we gave him a Book of Mormon and he was so happy that we had given him the Book of Mormon. We are going to see if he reads the book and wants to be baptized.

I love Madagascar I don't really love the language right now but I do love the people and the country. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Elder Wolfgramm

September 19th, 2016

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Sept 19th - Madagascar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I a m finally in the place I have been dreaming about for the last 100 days, and it is awesome. I love it here, the language is pretty discouraging but I am learning. My companion is Elder Linganim he is sick he is from south Africa and he is Fluent in Malagasy... we are in Tamatave in an area called Morarano where we are white washing this area , it is about an 8 hour bus ride away from Antananarivo and the roads here are like they were in Kenya except way worse. they also have a dialect here that is different from the Malagasy that I learned in the MTC so I sit in lessons and try to understand what’s going on say a few thing bear my testimony and pray that about it ha-ha I love it. the people are so nice here in Madagascar and so so so so humble and willing to learn, they do have weird customs and culture here though. the kids don't have to wear clothes if they don't want to. There are massive spiders all over the place and cool lizards. in my apartment there are three companionships, me and Elder Lingani, Elder Stromberg and Elder Nielsen and Elder Reynolds and Elder Mccrarey, everyone in my apartment is so fun and awesome. In church I bore my testimony it was pretty good I said like 5 things. Also on Thursday we taught English that was super fun to teach the kids (and adults) English. Everyone here thinks I am huge and no one believes I am 19. I have to crouch to get into their houses and they all get worried that my head is going to go through their roofs. all of our lessons are in houses that are smaller than half of my room, I am honestly shocked at how poor everyone here is. Around 6 it goes dark so we teach with candle light it is pretty humbling. All and all I love it here and can't wait until I can understand what's going on. love you and you are in my prayers.

Elder Wolfgramm

Sorry for any mistakes in this letter the keyboard here is missing like half of its keys

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Sept 9th - Last Week

So this is my last week in the MTC, and I have loved it here but I am so ready to leave and get to Madagascar. I am still a little nervous about the language, but I know that through the lord I can do anything. If anyone in Madagascar needs me to pray, I can do that perfectly, I can also testify. We have had a fantastic week. Me and Elder king every night have been going down to the bottom floor and wrestling some kids who I guess are pretty decent. A couple of them are state champs so they actually are pretty good. it has been fun to wrestle again, and to represent and I get to help in the humbling process that I have come to know so well at the MTC. Also I have been released from my calling as the Zone Leader. which has been a lot of responsibility lifted off of my shoulders. I will miss being the zone leader though because I really could feel the love for everyone in the zone.

If there are some things that I KNOW from being at the MTC is that the lord loves and cares about me, but more importantly he cares about the people I am serving. I know that when I serve the language comes so much easier. I also know now that you have to be humble in order to have the lord use you. This week we taught our final lessons in Malagasy here at the MTC and I feel comfortable enough to understand but I know that I when I get in Madagascar I won’t be able to understand anything. Also Elder D Todd Christensen came and talked to all of the missionaries. I got a ton from his talk. He said if you ever can’t think of anything to say, just testify of Christ which is all I am going to do in Madagascar my first 3-7 months. I will be honest this mission has probably been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but it is the hardest thing that I have ever loved to do.

Next email you get will be from Madagascar.


Elder Wolfgramm

Sept 2nd - Flight Plans

We get our flight plans today and I am so excited. Well this week was another fantastic week here in the MTC. first off I am loving the time that I get everyday to study scriptures. because I am a zone leader and our zone is so big, I lose about three hours every Friday night doing interviews. I interview all of the district leaders and I get to listen to all of the districts problems and concerns and I just try to help them out, then I report to president Willes. Because we have all of the Tongans and Samoan districts we have allot of problems. I love all of the poly's but some are not the most obedient. So If any of them get to out of line I get to wrestle them to the ground. today will be the last day that I get to do all of the interviews because I am getting released this next Wednesday because I am leaving for Madagascar.

I have noticed that I am really starting to see the love that the lord has fro everyone in the zone, and I am trying my best to be the best servant that the lord needs. I am trying to be a harder worker this last week in the MTC because it will be easy to get distracted thinking about Madagascar.
Our investigator Zacque was an actual investigator that our teacher had and he portrays him well. He was telling us about the real Zacque and I was really understanding all of his needs. I am gaining a lot of confidence in Malagasy I can actually understand whats going on in class and in lessons. lessons are fun now because I am following what is happening. we had a great devotional from Tracy Watson who basically wrote preach my gospel. I learned a whole bunch from him about how to get to know investigators. We also got to hear from President Maynes from the presidency of the seventy. he talked about Joseph Smith, and that really strengthened my testimony. all in all nothing has really been different from week to week. I love the MTC and I know that I am where I am supposed to be.

I will keep you all in my prayers.
Elder Wolfgramm

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Aug 26th - Its flying by

Where To start????

So on sunday we were able to hear from the Nashville Tribute Band, and they were awesome. They sung some fantastic songs and got all of us so excited for our missions. We also were able to teach a bunch of return missionaries which was a good experience to see how much we know. I have learned so much here, like, when you think you have been humbled as much as you can, you can always be more humbled. On Monday I was teaching Zacque (Rahaliy Evans), and I was trying to tell him that "In 1820 Joseph Smith was confused about religion" and instead I said "In 1820 Joseph Smith was confused about Breast Feeding". the word religion is "Finona" and the word for breast feeding is "finonana". My teacher just repeated me and said are you sure? me and my compainions had no idea what I had said until after the lesson when he told the whole class. I will always remember the word for religion from now on. Tuesday was a great day, we had a fantastic talk from Juan Uceda. I don't know how the talks keep getting better and better but they do. I can feel heavenly father personally answering my prayers through these talks. I can honestly see my saviors hand in every part of my day, I thought that he was watching over me before I came on my mission, but now I know he is watching over me. on wednesday we had a great lesson from sir Whinney and she rapped for us again in french. I love her she is so sweet. we also said goodbye to half of our zone on monday. That was really sad because I got to know a bunch of them really well. We got a bunch of new one's on Wednesday and it will be fun to get to know all of them just as well.

I love you guys and I am so thankful for all of your prayers.

Elder Wolfgramm

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Aug 19th - Sorompanavotana

Salma Ve Lanao???

Well this has been another fantastic week in the MTC. On Saturday we had a great lesson from one of our teachers Brother Christiansen. He answered every question that we had about Madagascar and just got our district excited to go to Madagascar. We also got another teacher named sister Whinney.  She is so sweet, she was born in the Congo but grew up in Pairs, then went to her mission in Madagascar speaking Malagasy. She is hilarious.  She will start rapping in Malagasy while she is teaching. I love her as a teacher. On Tuesday there was a special devotional planned and Elder Holland was supposed to be coming, but to our disappointment, Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson came. She is the young women’s President, we were only disappoint when she walked out because I was expecting Elder Holland. It turned out to be one of the best talks I had ever heard. She brought the spirit into the meeting with humor and love. Some of the things I got from her talk were first forget yourself and go to work.  Then she talked about how we were in the right place and how we will have unlimited blessings poured out to us. But we have to exercise faith in order to gain some of those blessings (especially with learning a new language).  She explained this point with a story about when she was 25 years old and newly married.  She had a child at the time and her husband was going to school.  Their family received a call from the church that told them that her husband was called to be the new mission president. He was only 29 at the time. I can’t even think of how much faith that took to move her new family to Scotland, with added responsibility of being a mission president's wife. After that she told us that we all have a plan and that god is the gardener and he is in charge.   She shared some awesome scriptures like Alma 26:12.  After that awesome devotional I was called by my branch president to be the zone leader... which I was really nervous about because I lose a ton of study time and I am now in the biggest zone in the MTC. But president Willes promised me that if I serve as hard as I can than the lord will bless me with the rest which I hope means Malagasy.

Love you guys miss you and you are all in my prayers

Valoma

Elder Wolfgramm

August 18th, 2016
View Out of MTC Room

August 16th, 2016
Elder Hunter and Elder Jekins

August 16th, 2016
Zone Leader Rubber Band Ball

August 16th, 2016
Malagasy Class

August 16th, 2016
Elder ? and Elder ?

August 18th, 2016
View from MTC Room

August 18th, 2016
Elder ?

August 18th, 2016
Elder ? and Elder Hunter

August 16th, 2016
Elder ?

Aug 12th - P-Day!!!!

Well I don't know where to start. First off I love my district and my zone.  I have honestly been blessed with the best District in the MTC. I feel like I am close to everyone and we all get along. Well Friday was my birthday and at night I was greeted with everyone in my zone singing happy birthday to me and they gave me a massive box full of all sorts of goodies and notes. I can feel their love. I am feeling a ton better with Malagasy I am still not really understanding a lot but I can pick out words here and there. Our lessons have been going really well. We committed Abel our investigator (Brother Christiansen) to baptism. It helps when my companion is basically fluent.  Fast Sunday was sweet here, we got to listen to all the languages bear their testimony's. We have an ASL district in our zone and they know how to bring the spirit in with their testimony's. It doesn't matter what language it is, the spirit testifies of truth. which is awesome because the Madagascar people wont be able to understand me but the spirit will testify. On P-day we go and play volleyball, I now LOVE volleyball.  We challenge the Tongan district and always beat them (sometimes). We also went to the temple last Friday and that was a huge boost. We were able to hear from Jeffrey R. Hollands son on Sunday which was sweet. He taught us about keeping the fire burning. Then on Tuesday we had Elder Neil L Anderson come which was so spiritual to hear from an apostle of the lord. He Taught us how to have the spirit with us ALWAYS.  The three main points of his talk were 1. Be Clean 2. Be Obedient 3. Be Busy and as I have tried harder to do these things I have felt the constant companionship of the spirit. I have seen so many tender mercies of the Lord here in the MTC I can't name them all. I know he is watching over me and he cares about me. I love you all so much and miss you.

Love, 
Elder Wolfgramm

August 11th, 2016

Walker's District Having Fun

August 11th, 2016
Coleman Edwards

August 11th, 2016
Derek Ostler

August 11th, 2016
Elder ? from Madagascar District

District Playing Volleyball

District Picture after Attending the Temple

Walker's Residence - Matthew Cowley Building

Some Elders From Walker's District in MTC