Jeff's letter:
Hey, How's it going? I watched a show on the travel channel the other night about this guy who travels all over the world to eat strange food. This one that I watched, he was in a little town just south of where you are. It was unreal to see some of the crap (and I use the word loosely) those people are eating. They were eating a fried beetle that are poisonous and sting the hell out of the people gathering them. They fried them up and ate them like potato chips. This guy said this was the only food in Madagascar that he thought was good. He said everything else was disgusting. They also showed a ceremony where this 5 year old boy was being circumsized because that is when they do it and the entire village shows up to watch and have a huge feast. The poor kid was awake through the whole thing and it took 4 men to hold him down while some old guy with a rusty knife got the job done. Then the grandpa has to eat the foreskin. They didn't fry it up in garlic butter or anything!!!!!!!!! Then they kill a zebu and cut out all the guts and only the immediate family get's to eat the guts while the rest of the village has to choke down the prime cuts off the zebu. It was funny as hell watching this poor guy eating the guts. He was telling his guide that he would rather have a hind quarter or something, but they told him only the peasants eat that gross meat.
Then they went out fishing out of Maha janga and caught a bunch of fish. instead of coming back and cooking up the fish, they gutted them and cooked all the guts for dinner and sold the rest of the fish at the market. It was hilarious to watch this poor guy. But the one guy caught a 50 pound mackarel and the whole village took turns dancing with the fish before they ate the guts. There sure isn't a lot of bra's in that country is there? I was thinking of coming over there and starting a VICTORIA'S SECRET, but I don't think it would fly real big.
So, now that I had my fun, how's things going for you? I talk to the *** every week at church. They even bring pictures of you and show me. Elder *** sure likes you. They said that he will miss you a lot when he leaves. He doesn't want to leave, but at the same time he is very excited to come home. If I had to eat the crap I saw on T.V. I would be wanted to come home. I can't to go over there some time though. I think we could have a ball. (literally) After mom watched that show I don't think she will want to go.
Kassi got contacts this week. She sure looks better with them than glasses. She is probably the most popular kid in school' but she sure has a lot of homework. It sure gets her frustated some days. Josh has never brought homework home and has all A's. Mom thinks he's cheating or something because the teachers all say that he is the best student they have. He is just naturally smart!! I better finish up here at work and go home. Have a good week. Love ya lots, the old man
Bug's response:
Hey,
hahaha that is funny how true that show sounds. The circumcision you saw is called a didipoatra. Haha there are some native Elders here that can remember theirs very vividally. That is the last thing on my list of malagasy traditions that I need to see. But ya everything is very true. And that isnt just the little towns they do that pretty much everywhere here. My first relief society presidents kid got it done the weekend before I got there so I missed it. Haha but they make the poor boys wear dresses for the next two weeks after the didipoatra to let it heal but I think it just scars the kids for life. There was actually a missionary that got offered to eat the forskin off the banana. Haha yumm. Also what they do is when the kid is freshly snipped they tie him to the back of his naked grandma and she does a dance completely toppless with the kid screaming and bleeding all over her. Hahaha if you could see how big off a pain in the butt that these kids are you would see that they only have it coming. Haha. That is cool about the fishing, because Mahajanga is the town that I am in right now. And holy cow do they have big fish. When you order fish here at a resturaunt it comes with the entire head staring back at you. Haha but man the fish is darn good up here. I also ate shard this last week. Oh wow that is some good stuff. They masacre the sharks and stingrays here. You see so many in the market. I saw one that was about 4 feet long the other day, but I didnt have my camera.
Things are going very good here. We have another baptism on this Sat. I am way excited for the lady that is getting baptised. She has come along ways. She used to do alot of really really bad things, but she has completely changed her life around and is a new person. It was way sad. She was in a relationship with a married man, who was paying her for the affair. Well she cut it off, but as soon as she did that her family disowned her because they found out that she was getting baptised. She was still staying positive, but then all of the tomatoes that she sells got stolen, so she had no money to buy new ones to sell, her family wouldnt support her and she cut off the guy. We didnt find out until it was later, but she went 5 days with only drinking hot water. When she told us she was in tears. It was so difficult because we are not allowed to give people money. Well I asked her if she had asked God for help. She said that she had been praying for strength every day. But when I asked if she had actually prayed to get more tomatoes she said no, she felt like she wasnt worthy. I told her that if she needed a blessing she had to ask. I promised her it would come. Well I am so glad I didnt give her money, because that night she prayed, and the next day a guy saw her and gave her an advance on some tomatoes to sell, and now her little street side stand is doing great. If I would have paid her I would have ruined that faith growing experience. Funny how things work. But I have been way impressed with her faith. She refuses to work on sunday, she keeps coming to church, even though her family is just evil to her, and the guy she left has come back to her twice offering her tons of money if she would come back. But she turned him down, this is when she had gone five days without food. I am so humbled at her faith. I cant believe it.
But ya *** goes home in like 3 weeks. He is a way cool guy. This area loved him. He is gone back to Tana now though. But ya. I hope that things are going good. Things are great here. Well I love your gutts,
Elder Madsen
Tia Ko Be
Mandrakisay Ny Fianikavianstika
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