"He asked what it meant" (Luke 18:36) - December 5, 2022

Spiritual Thought

In the book of Luke we read of an occasion when the Savior's passing caused a commotion from the throng of eager onlookers.  After hearing the sound of this disturbance, a certain blind man sitting at the roadside  inquired as to the meaning of the noise and asked what it all meant.  After being told the Savior was passing this man shouted and urgently sought for the Master's attention and healing power.  Because of this man's faith a miracle was performed and his sight was restored.

As we go through the festivities and celebrations of this Christmas season it is highly probable that we will find ourselves in much the same situation as this blind man and we too will ask what it all means.  What is the grander purpose behind the decorations, gatherings, music, and gifts?  What is it about the month of December that captures the imagination of children and adults alike?  What is it about these few days that seem to make them the focal point of our entire year?  Well, the answer, of course, is Jesus Christ.  His birth, his life, his sacrifice and the throne which he has now inherited.  It is the thrill of the possibilities which the babe of Bethlehem provided for us.  The magic behind Christmas lies in possibility.  Children dream of the possibilities of what will be waiting for them on Christmas morning.  Hosts of people separated from their families and homes await the possibility of being reunited with those they love.  Those carrying the pain of the past anticipate the possibility of old wounds being healed at a time of year which fosters such moments of forgiveness and reconciliation.  And most of all a fallen world and each fallen person in it celebrates the possibility of redemption and exaltation which was provided by the king born that sacred, holy night.

During Christmas, perhaps more than any other time of year, it is essential that we create time to "be still and know that [He] is God."  The tragic irony, however, is that in a season when it is most crucial to have such moments of spiritual rejuvenation we are surrounded by a greater clamor of worldly distractions than at any other season.  Consider just how prevalent symbols of the Savior are during the Christmas season.  Entire streets are lined with houses decorated with lights symbolizing the Light of the World.  Children are given candy canes pointing to the Good Shepherd.  At no other season of the year can we walk into the local supermarket and immediately be met with an evergreen tree testifying to all who have "eyes to see" that the "babe wrapped in swaddling clothes" is truly our constant, eternal Redeemer who "never sleeps nor slumbers."  What an incredible time of year.  Too often, however, we hardly even notice the tree and all that is symbized through it and instead our gaze quickly slides  further into the store as we hope all the new electronics have not sold out yet.

President Thomas S. Monsoon once taught that "Christmas…isn't just tinsel and ribbon, unless we have made it so in our lives."  Each Christmas season is an opportunity.  We decide how we will honor every opportunity given us in life, and that includes each Christmas season.  If we choose to we may choose to celebrate the birth of the Savior and all he did for us in a "higher and holier" way..  My invitation is we will honestly answer the question posed by a blind man so long ago: "what does it all mean?"  What does The Savior mean to us?  What does his Gospel mean?  What does Christmas mean to you?

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

What a week!  It feels like an entire transfer of excitement was packed into one week.  Elder Razafisambatra came to Antsirabe on Tuesday along with another missionary, Elder Razanantsoa, who was waiting for his companion.  There were not any buses to Fianarantsoa until Thursday so we had about two days in Antsirabe.  I was able to say goodbye to many of the people I was able to teach these past three transfers.  It was bittersweet to leave the area after serving there for so long.

On Thursday we made the seven hour trip to Fianarantsoa.  The scenery is beautiful in Madagascar and I am always excited for a chance to get out of the cities.  My dream in life is to live in Missoula, Montana so, and as you can imagine, places like Antananarivo or even Fianarantsoa are kind of overwhelming for me. The only bad part is the bus driver had a TV screen they were playing Malagasy music videos on the entire trip.  This was bad for two reasons.  The first is the obvious reason: missionaries aren't supposed to watch things like that or listen to worldly music.  It was difficult to not get distracted.  I love the Malagasy people, they're the people I was called me serve, so I'm very sorry but every song sounds the same to me.  Every. Single. One.  I hate to say it but it's the truth.  I felt like there was a seven hour loop of the same song which I shouldn't have even been listening to to begin with.  Anywho, it was a fun bus ride!

Fianarantsoa is much bigger than I was expecting.  It definitely feels more like Antananarivo than Antsirabe.  As far as living conditions go, it could be much worse.  We have running water from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.  We also wash our clothes by hand which makes me feel very primal in a domestic sort of way.  Oh, our shower is also broken so I wash my hair in the sink at night while we have water and do a sponge bath for everything else.  

We are teaching quite a few people I'm excited about.  One of them is a man named Jacky.  Jacky has not met with missionaries for several months but we called him one day and he said he has been wanting to start learning about the Gospel again.  When we came to his house he was waiting with a notebook so he could take notes on everything we taught and review it later.  It was the first time someone I have taught has done that and it was very neat to see!

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Payne

With Elder Razafisambatra and Elder Razanantsoa in Antsirabe.

The Antsirabe apartment didn't have a can opener so I had to puncture all the cans with a knife then saw them open.  The knife finally bent on the very last day staying there.

Last morning in Antsirabe.

Thankfully my mom is a very forward thinking person and thought I should have some of these straps holding my suitcases shut when I came here.  We needed to bring the Book of Mormon and some other things to Fianarantsoa and didn't have tape so we used this instead.

The pineapple is absolutely incredible here.  It's so good you wonder if you're breaking any commandments while you eat it.

Some women trying to sell things to people on the bus as we passed.

The view from the new apartment.

The church doesn't have a Chapel here yet so our branch meets in a rented building.  This is where we do sacrament meeting.

Our baptismal font.

Fianarantsoa.

With a group of kids.  After the first picture the little boy in read told me that "thumbs up" was kind of a girl thing to do so we needed to take another one where we acted like men.  I asked what men do in pictures and he said they show off their muscles.  You're welcome world.

A snake.

Fianarantsoa again.

Me and, yes, Fianarantsoa yet again.

A fruit that I have quickly fallen in love with.  It's called Litchi and I am going to try and smuggle some seeds back to the States and grow it there.  That might be illegal but I don't care, it's worth it.

Our church building.