Bonjour, ma famille!
Well, this week has been yet another pretty decent week in Attiegou.
We spent a good chunk of our evenings this week helping Elizabeth and her family move. They're, miraculously enough, moving into the parcel that's just next door to the future Attiegou building. How cool is that? They want to do missionary work in their new neighborhood, so we're pumped for that. Their new house is just a turn and a walk down the street from their old house, so everything was carried by hand. It reminded me a lot of when we as a family moved. Man, I hated those days. (; The stuff wasn't nearly as heavy or as large as the stuff we moved, but still, I think I've developed a passive distaste for moving. Haha, (; Still, it was a great service project.
Sam is doing great. Still enjoying the Book of Mormon. We ended up talking about families this week, and he said he isn't quite interested in the idea of having his own family. Well, we encouraged him to listen to general conference and try to find answers for his preoccupation. And yes, he did show up for general conference! We were super stoked. And, as it turns out, Sam is actually one of Elizabeth's children. I think. I'll have to do a follow-up on that one. Anywho, we're hoping to hold his baptismal service this week. Pray for us, and wish us luck!
Another investigator we hope to baptise this week is Tierry, a cool young man we found with Frère Bakana a couple of weeks ago. He's pretty cool, and we think he's got real intent. We're excited to see what happens! Again, pray for us and wish us luck!
We're trying to involve the ward in weekly meetings, namely Correlation Meeting and Priesthood Executive Counsel. We had a phone conversation that went something like this:
Missionaries: You'll be coming to PEC tonight?
Bishop: No, but my counselors will be there.
Missionaries, calling 1st counselor: Will you be there at PEC tonight?
1st counselor: What's that?
Haha, nevertheless, the ward is still great, and we're working together to accomplish miracles. The Bishopric really likes us.
While doing some service, I saw a mother, well, let's say, mistreat her child. It was one of those moments when your jaw stays dropped for about a minute, and you know it'll be etched into your memory for a long time. So, we taught an impromptu, Spirit-filled lesson on how God is our Heavenly Father and how families are ordained of God. The Spirit testified, and the maman felt the Spirit. The Lord sure does sustain us in our work.
In terms of transfers, me and Elder Angbo are staying together. Hallelujah! We're still two in the apartment, which I've grown to love. It's pretty chill. On the other hand, because of all of the new missionaries coming in, the zone has been kind of shaken up. Elder Digbeu is going to be the Assistant in Benin, Elder Adzagah is the new Assistant in Togo, Elder Omotoyinbo (from my old zone in Benin) is coming to be zone leaders with Elder Eperonnier, and the other two district leaders in the zone will be training new Americans. It'll definitely be an interesting shake-up for the zone, and we'll see how it plays out. Pray for us in the midst of change! (:
Sunday, we had the blessing of seeing General Conference! It was my first time since April 2015 seeing General Conference the day it actually happened! We got to see the Saturday Afternoon session and the Priesthood session (re-broadcast). We were going to go out teaching, but two Liberian members needed someone to translate for them, so we opted to stay. Then the members disappeared, so me and Elder Angbo decided to treat ourselves for the hard work this transfer and take the afternoon off to watch the Sunday morning session live. It was so cool to actually see conference live. Y'all don't know how much of a blessing it is, and how much it brought in the Spirit to see and hear the prophet and apostles testify in real time. It was glorious.
This morning, we decided to have a bit of fun, and go exploring. Our goal was to see if we could find the limits of our sector. We started in Zogbedji, we reached a massive pond, and we worked our way around the pond, stopping by mosques and houses and more pond. The pond had no end! We saw a lot of poverty, on a totally different level than I've seen up to this point in my mission. It was really an eye-opener.
We worked our way to the Exchanger, the largest road in Zogbedji, separating our sector from Kégué. We walked for a good thirty minutes or so, and there wasn't a house in site, it was literally a swamp divided by a dirt road. Men digging piles of silt and rock to be transported to construction sites in the city. Fishermen hacking away at huge calamari with their machetes. Other fishermen patrolling around in their boats rowed by tree branches for gondola poles. Some type of crane/albatross flying above our heads. It got hot, we got tired, and we took a taxi back to the city side of Attiegou, still a good distance away from the closest signs of civilization. It was just a fun little exploration of the beauties we have in our area. It was another one of those moments I've cataloged in my mental "This is Africa" folder. Definitely cool and life changing.
Well, that about sums it up for this week. I encourage y'all to listen to and ponder upon the truth we've received from our living prophet, his counselors, and apostles. We're so blessed to have the word of God so accessible, so real-time for our needs. Let's take advantage of it! We need not be fanatical or overly-zealous, but we'll surely find joy in seeking personal revelation for our journey towards Christ. Life is like Zogbedji: stay on the path, don't touch the swamp, and you'll see the beauties of life in a way you've never seen them. The words of the prophet keep us on the path.
I testify sincerely of that, and I wish you all a glorious week!
Mawu né ramé, et myiakudré Iesu (God bless you, and may you dream of Jesus),
Elder Phillips
Well, this week has been yet another pretty decent week in Attiegou.
We spent a good chunk of our evenings this week helping Elizabeth and her family move. They're, miraculously enough, moving into the parcel that's just next door to the future Attiegou building. How cool is that? They want to do missionary work in their new neighborhood, so we're pumped for that. Their new house is just a turn and a walk down the street from their old house, so everything was carried by hand. It reminded me a lot of when we as a family moved. Man, I hated those days. (; The stuff wasn't nearly as heavy or as large as the stuff we moved, but still, I think I've developed a passive distaste for moving. Haha, (; Still, it was a great service project.
Sam is doing great. Still enjoying the Book of Mormon. We ended up talking about families this week, and he said he isn't quite interested in the idea of having his own family. Well, we encouraged him to listen to general conference and try to find answers for his preoccupation. And yes, he did show up for general conference! We were super stoked. And, as it turns out, Sam is actually one of Elizabeth's children. I think. I'll have to do a follow-up on that one. Anywho, we're hoping to hold his baptismal service this week. Pray for us, and wish us luck!
Another investigator we hope to baptise this week is Tierry, a cool young man we found with Frère Bakana a couple of weeks ago. He's pretty cool, and we think he's got real intent. We're excited to see what happens! Again, pray for us and wish us luck!
We're trying to involve the ward in weekly meetings, namely Correlation Meeting and Priesthood Executive Counsel. We had a phone conversation that went something like this:
Missionaries: You'll be coming to PEC tonight?
Bishop: No, but my counselors will be there.
Missionaries, calling 1st counselor: Will you be there at PEC tonight?
1st counselor: What's that?
Haha, nevertheless, the ward is still great, and we're working together to accomplish miracles. The Bishopric really likes us.
While doing some service, I saw a mother, well, let's say, mistreat her child. It was one of those moments when your jaw stays dropped for about a minute, and you know it'll be etched into your memory for a long time. So, we taught an impromptu, Spirit-filled lesson on how God is our Heavenly Father and how families are ordained of God. The Spirit testified, and the maman felt the Spirit. The Lord sure does sustain us in our work.
In terms of transfers, me and Elder Angbo are staying together. Hallelujah! We're still two in the apartment, which I've grown to love. It's pretty chill. On the other hand, because of all of the new missionaries coming in, the zone has been kind of shaken up. Elder Digbeu is going to be the Assistant in Benin, Elder Adzagah is the new Assistant in Togo, Elder Omotoyinbo (from my old zone in Benin) is coming to be zone leaders with Elder Eperonnier, and the other two district leaders in the zone will be training new Americans. It'll definitely be an interesting shake-up for the zone, and we'll see how it plays out. Pray for us in the midst of change! (:
Sunday, we had the blessing of seeing General Conference! It was my first time since April 2015 seeing General Conference the day it actually happened! We got to see the Saturday Afternoon session and the Priesthood session (re-broadcast). We were going to go out teaching, but two Liberian members needed someone to translate for them, so we opted to stay. Then the members disappeared, so me and Elder Angbo decided to treat ourselves for the hard work this transfer and take the afternoon off to watch the Sunday morning session live. It was so cool to actually see conference live. Y'all don't know how much of a blessing it is, and how much it brought in the Spirit to see and hear the prophet and apostles testify in real time. It was glorious.
This morning, we decided to have a bit of fun, and go exploring. Our goal was to see if we could find the limits of our sector. We started in Zogbedji, we reached a massive pond, and we worked our way around the pond, stopping by mosques and houses and more pond. The pond had no end! We saw a lot of poverty, on a totally different level than I've seen up to this point in my mission. It was really an eye-opener.
We worked our way to the Exchanger, the largest road in Zogbedji, separating our sector from Kégué. We walked for a good thirty minutes or so, and there wasn't a house in site, it was literally a swamp divided by a dirt road. Men digging piles of silt and rock to be transported to construction sites in the city. Fishermen hacking away at huge calamari with their machetes. Other fishermen patrolling around in their boats rowed by tree branches for gondola poles. Some type of crane/albatross flying above our heads. It got hot, we got tired, and we took a taxi back to the city side of Attiegou, still a good distance away from the closest signs of civilization. It was just a fun little exploration of the beauties we have in our area. It was another one of those moments I've cataloged in my mental "This is Africa" folder. Definitely cool and life changing.
Well, that about sums it up for this week. I encourage y'all to listen to and ponder upon the truth we've received from our living prophet, his counselors, and apostles. We're so blessed to have the word of God so accessible, so real-time for our needs. Let's take advantage of it! We need not be fanatical or overly-zealous, but we'll surely find joy in seeking personal revelation for our journey towards Christ. Life is like Zogbedji: stay on the path, don't touch the swamp, and you'll see the beauties of life in a way you've never seen them. The words of the prophet keep us on the path.
I testify sincerely of that, and I wish you all a glorious week!
Mawu né ramé, et myiakudré Iesu (God bless you, and may you dream of Jesus),
Elder Phillips