Hello Mother!
Don't worry about Elder Fox and i being so far from Tana, cause we are cool. That's why you don't have to worry. We are cool. Nah, but seriously though, things are going great. No worries here. We are teaching a lot, and receiving a lot of blessings so it's all good. This week has been one of those ones that felt reaaal long though. Like, I just try to think back a week ago, but it's hard, ahah. It's great though, just lots of hard work. 
Also, I got your package this week! Thank you so much for all the candy, it's super bomb. You know those special candy corn m&m's you put in there? Ohhhhh dang. I only let myself eat like two a day in hopes that they'll last me a while. It's all so good, and we are going to bake those cookies right after we are done emailing here. I am stoked. 
Oh yeah, you know that Madagascar thing you sent me from the LDS Living magazine (I think that's where it was from??), yeah, well if you read it you read about a town that takes a one hour bus ride, then one hour hike to get to. They also had photos of the missionaries baptizing in the river and stuff. Well that's where I worked in my first area, in case you forgot or something, so seeing that all typed up in magazine form was weird haha. Cool though. 
The October Liahona has a few different things about Madagascar too, which I found pretty coool.
You asked whether or not you should send the conference issue to me, and the answer to that is yes. I want it. It's true that they distribute them here, but it's also true that I want my own copy. If it is not out before you send the package, then that's okay.
I don't quite know yet if I'll be for sure able to skype or not, though I assume I will. It seems reasonable, but I'll find out more about that. 
A christmas list? Well did you get that letter that talked about that MoTAB cd? That's probably what I want most. And other than that.. maybe jerky, haha. Pictures or postcards. 
I'd seriously be stoked on anything. All I can think of is food and that cd, haha.
Okay, but yeah, things are great up here on the mission. Time goes by all the time, and it's sweet. People say Bonjour to me all the time, and who doesn't love that?
I am way jealous that it snowed down there, haha. Hopefully this winter will be a bit better than last winter sounds.
Maybe I should bring my journal with me when I write on these things, cause I seriously can't think of anything anymore. I know that cool stories happen all the time, but I don't remember any at all. 
We found some big dead cockroaches this week, so I guess that's cool.
Also, the power goes off about every night, haha, so that's pretty cool too. 

Well I hope you all have a cool week this week, for I will be sweating my head off. 
Until the sweat gathers in my eyebrow.
And then drops into my eye.
It happens.


:)





Elder Bergera 4 lyf3

Dear Mother,

I am pretty sure you can still send pictures. I don't know why it didn't let you before, maybe there were too many or it was just being a silly dumb computer, but yes, you can still send pictures, for Chelsie sent me one this week. Maybe just try it twelve more times or something. I don't know. I don't know much about computers anymore, haha. My knowledge is already ancient, the way technology moves these days.

So due to popular request, I am including some pictures for you all to enjoy and look at.

#1 - Okay, I don't remember the order, but one of them is a picture of a house and some boats by the water. This picture is part one of an unfinished two part series. This picture shows the 'high tide' of it all. I think it actually gets a bit higher than this, but this is pretty high. I'll get a picture of low tide. It's pretty cool stuff, except when this is the path that leads to your investigators house. It pretty fun though, just one of those extreme nature phenomonons (i don't know how to spell that anymore). Tides are like turtle tsunamis.

#2 - A baobab tree. These are pretty common here, but they are a different type of the ones you may see in Madagascar Advertisments. There is a huge old fat baobab here that I will most likely get a picture with one of these days, so look out for that.

#3 - I added a picture of Elder Fox and I on our year marks. It's way weird that I've been out here a year now. The actual yearmark was really just another day of work actually, but still a little weird floaty feeling that mark the day's uniqueness wifted the day. I tried to make the picture match the one I sent home to you guys last year, so you can see how much different I look now, haha. My hair made me look really young back when I first got to the mtc. It's all good though now. I am a man.

#4 - Here we see a few missionaries walking their way to the ocean for the baptism last Saturday (the 13th). My companion Elder Kovacs walks along with Elder Hansen on the hot sand down to the shore. Baptisms are cool.

#5 - I attached also a cool picture of me sitting in front of a cool tree. This also took place on my year mark.I found out yesterday that I will be watching conference this weekend, so pray that I'll be able to focus to malagasy enough to get some good messages. I am not as worried this time as I was six months ago though.Anyway though, things are good. I love you all. I'll try and write more next week!

Elder Cruise Control Bergera

Here is a picture my companion Elder Kovacs took last week. We walked down a path as a school got out, and this is what followed, haha.

Bonjour!
I am glad you saw my matureness in how I wrote last week despite of nothing to reply to. Quite mature of me indeed. 
Haha I talked to a Malagasy lady last week who said she could read and write english very well, but just had trouble speaking. She wanted to practice speaking more. I invited her to come to our english class that we teach every saturday. She kept repeating, "Thank you very much indeed." haha. 
Oh yeah, you know that one email you tried sending with pictures? Well I got the email, but it didn't come with any pictures attached, but I appreciate the thought behind it. That's what truly matters.
I will try really hard to take lots of good pictures this next week and get some real good ones for next week, okay?
This will be a good week anyway. It's like you said, I will be hitting the noon of my mission. Pretty cool stuff. Pretty weird stuff. It goes by so fast and so slow, haha. It's good though.
That new age thing is way weird, but good I suppose. It'll get people right out after their missions, and quit lollygagging. I think it's especially good for the sisters. 21 is a long time to wait for a mission, haha. 
Okay, quick answer sesh:
1. It is not yet rainy season, so it is not rainy yet. It'll start next month and go through until April-ish. Way fun.
2. The sun sets at about 6:30, so yeah, I get to see the stars everynight.
3. I don't know what the southern cross looks like, though I would like to. Help?
4. Taylor Workman has another kid! ahaha cool! Okay, that wasn't really a question, but that's way cool. Good for him. I'm proud.
5. New things in my area? Well I hear the muslims praying about 5 times a day, but that's not new. This town was settled in by Arabs of some sort, so there is a muslim background. Kind of a cool cultural thing.

But I have to go now, but I promise to get lots of sweet pics you and a nice juicy email. Mmmmmmm.

I love you all, thank you for the letters and love.

Elder Austin "Back When I Started My Mission, You Had to Be 19" Bergera

Hello Family and Friends!
Hello Hello Hello! 
When Malagasies answer phones, they say 'hallo?' haha. It's like they are speaking english and they don't even know it.
Hm.. I really don't quite know what to say today.
Last week we have tried to sort out the people who are really trying to progress and come close to God, and the people who just.. well sort of say so. I actually read a really good talk about this sort of thing in the November 2007 Conference Issue Ensign this past week. The talked titled 'Do It Now' spoke mostly about procrastination and laziness. The speaker talked about how those two things are the attributes that slow down and block mankind the most from really pursuing excellence. We all have so much potential within us, each and every one, yet there is that little tick that tocks inside us that prevents us from really magnifying that potenial. If we were to really buckle down and do then we could do miracles. We'd reach places we never would've expected to be. Raging rivers of opportunties could flow to us at immense speeds; crashing with turbulent success and experience. 
And yet, the coo-coo clock of idleness seems to tick tock its way into us all.
That's the most disappointing thing I have seen on my mission so far. Way cool families who could benefit so much to what the church has for them. People who are latching on to worldly things because they don't quite know what else is in store for them. People who feel the spirit during lessons and even sometimes tell us that they know the church is true, yet they lack the umph to come to church and really dive in to the whole experience. I know it can be scary at times, getting into something new (especially about one year ago this month, I knew that quite well), but God has such cool things in store for us all, you know? We just have to put trust in Him, and do. 
I can't believe how much time I used to just waste before in my hip teenage days, haha. It's crazy wack. 
Maybe that's just 'missionary me' and I'll be all hip and lazy again someday.. haha. Who knows. 
Other than that schpeel, I don't know what to say.. haha. I got all talking a lot again. 
I've been studying some Conference talks a lot lately, and just trying to get all prepared for conference. It looks like I will likely not be watching conference in English.. again, but I expect my Malagasy comprehension has improved this past six months, so we'll see. It'll probably still be about 3 weeks until we get it anyway too.

I just want to give a shout out to my good ol' friends Reggie Brody and Mathis Trent. They'll be hitting their year marks soon, so rah rah roo to that! And don't worry Helper and Doug, you'll get there soon. 

'Saotra.

Elder Bargara