We received nine new elders here in Madagascar this week from the Provo MTC. In the past couple of weeks we also received two elders and one sister assigned to Reunion Island. Three missionaries have completed their missions and have gone home. These are really exceptional missionaries. Included is a photo of the arrival of the group here at the Antananarivo airport. We had training for the new missionaries and for those who will train them. We had dinner for 20 Wednesday evening and then lunch for 30 the next day (shown here) in our home. That is a lot of food preparation. The transfers associated with these new additions and the training and other assignments have, thus far , been one of the most challenging parts of this calling. A significant portion of the mission was affected by these changes. The logistics of moving many missionaries all over this country are daunting. They were handled almost flawlessly by my missionary assistants. Including is a photo of the Tanjombato Ward building at the south end of Tana which is a converted mansion inside a walled compound with a formal garden and beautiful views of the surrounding valley and hills. This is a very rare property here.
Today we attended church at the Manakambahiny Stake Center which is on the main road in the center of the city. It is a very impressive building both inside and outside. We attended with Elder Jackson Mkhabela, our Area Seventy from Johannesburg. I have included some photos taken of and from the church. Also there are some random photos of young members.