Bonjour, ma famille! Joyeuse Halloween à vous tous!

Fun fact: So, Halloween is not celebrated here in Africa. When I try to explain the idea to people, it usually just comes across as something voodoo people do everyday. Haha. On the opposite hand, All Saint's Day (it's called Toussin out here) is much more celebrated. It's a national holiday! The banks (and even ATMs) closed this morning (the day before the actual holiday) at 11am, so that was a fun surprise. (; Anywho, to celebrate, everyone goes to the cemeteries and helps to clean, arrange, and decorate the tombstones. It sounds pretty cool!

Speaking of Halloween, let's get to this story:

Imagine yourself, at home, going about your day. At the beginning of a new day, you go to iron your shirt. You plug in the iron, and you turn the dial to warm it up. As you turn the dial, the brightness of your living room lights increases, accompanied by a buzzing sound. Amazed, you turn off the iron, and the lights dim as well. You turn the dial again, and the lights return, as well as the buzzing. You go to turn off the lights, and everything in your home that's plugged in turns off. In the afternoon, you need to make rice in the rice cooker, but it doesn't turn on unless the lights (and everything else) is on. During the nighttime, as you come home from your day, you turn on your living room lights to plan your next day, but, as luck would have it, your porch light doesn't work. You sit down to plan, and then, five minutes later, the living room lights diminish, and the porch light turns on. Naturally, you freak out. Five minutes later, the lights switch back to the way you found them. Exasperated, you try to go to bed, but your fans turn very slowly, almost as if they are dead. Another five minutes pass, and the fans kick up, like wild horses. Five minutes later, they go back down to low life. This five-minute-cycle repeats all throughout the night. And, to make things even more frustrating, when everything is turned off, there is one thing that stays lighted up: a weird doorbell we have next to one of our bathrooms, that has never lit up, and that reminds me of the Eye of Sauron.

Well, we had the electricians come over, and the problem turned out to be the wires. The electricians rewired everything, and after about two days, it was all fixed up. As a bonus, they fixed the surplus in one of the living room power sockets that's been there since I came to Attiegou, so now we can hook up some fans right next to our couches. We consider ourselves super blessed to have functional power again. (:

Me and Elder Angbo are getting along great, as usual. It has been such a wonderful blessing to be able to work with him, he's such an incredible, nice, effective missionary. The Lord sure has blessed me with a wonderful companion.

Sam is doing marvelous, as usual. Malik is doing good too. He's really struggling with the comprehension, so we have to keep things pretty simple with him, but that's okay, I love simple. He hasn't been keeping his commitment to come to Church, but that's okay, I'm not giving up yet! (:

Sika refused to be taught at the church this week. He said he was going on a visit up north, and that he didn't have time to come to the church to be taught, even though it would've taken exactly the same amount of time as being taught in his house. One thing about me, that I've found on the mission, is that when people don't even try to keep commitments, I get rather grumpy. Well, long story short, I got grumpy with Sika, and we left in a huff. Walking away, we didn't really know where to go, so I stopped and said a prayer in my heart. The Spirit tenderly prompted me: "You know, Phillips, that wasn't really a Christlike-way to act. You should go back and say you're sorry." We went back, and I completely apologized to Sika. We decided to just read a chapter from the Book of Mormon together (Moroni 7). I encourage you all to read it, it's such a sweet, tender chapter, and the entire time we read it together, I felt as if Mormon had written that chapter just for a frustrated Elder Phillips on a hot October morning. The Lord sure is tender in His mercies. (:

Frère Bakana, like the stud he is, went above and beyond the call of duty (as he always does), and in his spare time, he reviewed all of the baptismal interview questions with Ahwefah. Unfortunately, Bakana was busy at a funeral all of Saturday, so Ahwefah had to do the baptismal interview in French all on her own. It was tough for her, but she passed! Her baptismal service was great. Well, for the most part, the font was only filled to Elder Angbo's knees, so she had to be baptized five times, but hey, as the saying goes, "fifth time's the charm!" (;

Sunday was wonderful. The evening before, I had read Doctrine and Covenants, section 59, verses 9 to 12, which reads: "And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High; Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times; But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord." So I came to the sacrament, prepared to be sanctified, and I felt that feeling. If there has been one thing about myself that's changed since I left for my mission, I would say that I know how to use the Atonement more fully.

Running on this theme, we found a less-active man that afternoon named René, who is super cool. We started the lesson off by asking him if he had any concerns, and he just spilled out the entire story of why he doesn't come to church anymore, right then and there. It took over an hour to tell, and he even cut some parts short for us. Long story short, he had a falling out with his fiancée, and he just spent months wandering around, seeking help from anything spiritual he could find, including voodoo priests. As he was telling his story, I focused entirely on just listening to him, and I could see how confused and spiritually lost he felt. I could tell that he was disconnected from the source of all spiritual light, and that he was wandering in the dark, searching for the power outlet.
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At the end of his story, I knew what he needed, but I didn't know how to say it in words. Elder Angbo, of whom I am so proud, gave the most inspired comment I've ever heard a companion give during my mission. Afterwards, he said that while he listened to René, he tried to apply his story to himself, and acquire empathy, to imagine how he would react if the same things happened to him. That's a totally inspired aspect of listening that I've never thought of before, but it totally makes sense. Elder Angbo said that when we turn to the devil, we can't expect anything good in return. He just testified of Christ's Atonement, and how no matter how lost we may become, we can always start over and have a fresh, clean, new start. I added my testimony of the power of Christ's Atonement, of how it can cleanse and purify us and reach us no matter where we are. We promised René that we're here to help, and he accepted us gladly. We're going to see him again during the week, we left him a couple of chapters in the Book of Mormon (Alma 38 and 39), and we've been working on a plan to get him where he needs to be, step by step, including reading the Book of Mormon, praying, coming to Church, getting help from Church leaders, and coming back to the fold. It was one of the greatest lessons I've ever been in during my mission, and I feel blessed to work with such wonderful people.

In all, Christ's Atonement is perfect. I testify to you all that no matter what happens, or how lost you may be, whether sins, trials, mistakes, weaknesses, or any other burdens fall upon you, you are always within the reach of the Savior's Atonement; He will heal you, and make you whole. The Savior has said Himself: "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more," (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42). What an amazing, amazing promise. As President Boyd K. Packer has taught: 
"The Atonement leaves no tracks, no traces. What it fixes is fixed. … It just heals, and what it heals stays healed... I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. He stands at the head of the Church. Through His Atonement and the power of the priesthood, families which are begun in mortality can be together through the eternities. The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we truly repent, He has promised that He would atone. And when He atoned, that settled that. There are so many of us who are thrashing around, as it were, with feelings of guilt, not knowing quite how to escape. You escape by accepting the Atonement of Christ, and all that was heartache can turn to beauty and love and eternity. I am so grateful for the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the power of procreation, for the power of redemption, for the Atonement—the Atonement which can wash clean every stain no matter how difficult or how long or how many times repeated. The Atonement can put you free again to move forward, cleanly and worthily, to pursue that path that you have chosen in life. I bear witness that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Atonement is not a general thing that is for the whole Church. The Atonement is individual, and if you have something that is bothering you—sometimes so long ago you can hardly remember it—put the Atonement to work. It will clean it up, and you, as does He, will remember your sins no more."

While I have not yet lived the experiences that President Packer lived, I add my testimony. I know that the Atonement works, and is applicable!

I love you all, and I wish you a happy Halloween! And happy birthday, Adam!

Love,
Elder Phillips

P.S. Also, funny story: one of the Priesthood leaders in our ward is kind of a serious, stern guy, but when I speak Ewé with, him, he seems to lighten up. Well, one evening, I needed to call him and tell him "President, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you that we have a meeting tomorrow at 9am," and I tried to say it in Ewé, but I got my words mixed up, and I said "President, I'm sorry, I love you, we have a meeting tomorrow at 9am." He was super confused, I was super embarrassed, and Elder Angbo and I laughed for a long time. Haha. (;

We had a zone meeting on Tuesday, and it went very well. Elder Omotoyinbo (our new zone leader) and I swapped some Akpakpa stories, and as it turns out, Galiac and Ruth, a less active couple that Hansen and I worked with, are completely active, and are preparing to go to the temple! How cool is that? The Lord sure is blessing us for our service.

Well, ey zandé (until next time)! Mawu ni fomi-loh (May God wake you up in good health tomorrow morning)! Akudré Iesu-loh (May you dream of Jesus)! (:

Egbevedoh, ma famille! (Bonjour, ma famille)
A fon ye déah? (How are you?)
Ehsobedoh? (How is your day?)
Leko-ofondoh? (How is your health?)
Ahweméfon ye déah? (How is the family?)
Sécouladé? (How is school going?)
Edowadé? (How is work going?)
Besenofonyadeah? (How is your spouse?)
Lévéohfonyadeah? (How are the kids?)
Midoonoonwedeah? (Did you eat well today?)
Nukemidou? (What did you eat?)
Eh desikou? (With what kind of sauce?)

That's the standard spiel of questions that I ask people in Ewé. They love it, they all crack up laughing when they see a white guy speak Ewé, even just a few phrases. (:

This week was great!

Hilaire and Elizabeth are doing awesome. Ever since her baptism, Elizabeth has prepared really big meals for us every time we've stopped by her house. She's soooo nice, and she's just dived into being a Latter-day Saint.

Sam is doing great, too. We started teaching his brother, Malik, this week, who is just as cool as Sam. We taught him the Restoration, and we asked Sam to bear his testimony about the Book of Mormon. Sam said that "it's changed my life," and that "it's very simple and very powerful". I felt super proud of my convert. He's a rock star, and in the words of Président Morin, "a future leader in the Church". We gave him a white shirt and a tie to wear to church.

This morning, we went to the doctor to get my back checked out. The doctor prescribed me a medicine, and if things don't improve in one week, I need to go back for an x-ray. Here's hopin' and prayin'! (:

We had a visit with some recent converts in the other sector, and we basically answered their questions about 1 Corinthians 7. Yeesh, that was a rather awkward lesson. We basically said "Not our business, talk to the bishop! Talk to the bishop!" Haha, they're a great family, and I'm sure they'll go far in the Gospel, we're just here to help them out. (:

Thursday, all of the zone and district leaders in Togo came together to have a Mission Council with Président Morin. It was super cool! There were a lot of us there, myself included, who are rather new at the whole leadership thingy, so Président gave us some training on how to lead in a Christlike matter. He also gave us some training on giving short lessons (in 3 to 5 minutes). We broke into groups, and prepared short lessons for role plays with some of Président Morin's friends visiting from Canada.
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I was with Elders Lath and Mayani, some really great guys in our zone. For some reason, our group was scheduled to be the last. As the groups took turns "contacting" this couple, it went well, but Président told us that there were 3 Levels: easy, medium, and hard. As groups kept coming, the couple got harder and harder. As we were watching others role play, the Spirit dropped a sentence in my head that really touched me, and that I know that I would use in the role play: "I left my family and friends and everything I love for the God that I love the most."

Well, the role plays kept getting harder and harder, and then it was our turn. At this point, the couple became what I would call "European Mission" level of difficulty. The way our lesson plan worked out, my colleagues were supposed to talk first about certain points of doctrine. They tried their best, but the couple outright refused. "No, we don't really want any of that, it's not for us". My companions tried to regain the situation, but it wasn't working. Through no effort of my own, that testimony that I had received of the Spirit came to my mouth. I said "I left my family and friends and everything I love for the God that I love most." That changed the situation, and the Spirit filled the room. In the words of Président Morin, "we all felt the Spirit". We were able to at least give them a brochure.

It was definitely a moment that made my day. I felt like it was a vote of confidence from the Lord, like He was telling me "You're living worthy of the Spirit, and if you rely on Me, you will continue to see miracles happen."

On the opposite end of the sector, because Elder Angbo isn't a district leader, he was put on temporary split with Elder Lath's new American companion, Elder Abbott. During our planning session, we thought about amis that they could go see Thursday morning. We both thought of one of our morst difficult amis, Sika. Sika is another guy that we street contacted, and he's very trenched in his ways. He's a Seventh-day Adventist, and he's been known to make Jehovah's Witnesses flee. I figured that, because Elders Angbo and Abbott are two young, open-hearted, inexperienced missionaries, their testimonies would be strong, sincere, and perfect for Sika.
And hey! The rendez-vous went well! Sika said he would come to Church one day, and he accepted a baptismal date! I knew that they could do it!

Unfortunately, Sika lost that Spirit, and come Sunday morning, he didn't want to go to church. I tried fighting his excuses, but he just wouldn't have it. Suddenly my companion had a stroke of inspiration: he invited Sika to receive the lessons at the stake center during the week. I totally agreed with it, and I have a feeling that that'll help our "tough to crack" investigator.

Another "tough to crack" investigator is Noelie, the daughter of Agathe, a recent convert in the other sector. She's super complicated, and she doesn't keep her commitments. We literally showed up to her house Sunday morning, she said that she was on her way with her mom, and she pinky-promised! And, oddly enough, she didn't come to church. So, Sunday afternoon we stopped by with Frère Bakana, and we realized that we hadn't finished teaching her the Plan of Salvation. So we taught her all about where we go after this life. It really touched her. For the first time since we began teaching her, she was engaged in the lesson. We could tell that she was visibly moved into serious reflection by everything we had taught her. The Spirit helped us find the gold mine. Game changer. (:

Tierry is doing great. We read Alma 34 with him, which he loved! He's a university student, so he totally related to the idea of "not procrastinating" the day of our repentance (see verses 31 to 34). He says that he's been constantly praying to know if it's true. He just needs to read the Book of Mormon more, and I know he'll get his response. He says that he wants me to baptize him, which really touched me. He's a good guy.

Ahwefah understands it all now! We hope she'll be baptized this week. Pray for us! (:
When we surrender the lesson to the Spirit, and listen intently, the whole course of the lesson changes, and we have a wonderful time with our investigators. At the start of my mission, whenever I heard about missionaries "having their mouths filled," I imagined it as this extraordinary, otherworldly experience. As time goes on, I realize that it's not really too extraordinary or amazing. If anything, I would describe it as natural. When the Spirit takes control, it feels more right, like things are falling beautifully into place. The Spirit, more than us, knows what to do, and when we listen and let things take their natural course, without forcing or taking away, miracles happen in the lives of our investigators.

Sunday, the investigators that had promised, sworn even, to come to Church didn't come. But investigators that we would never expect to come, came, and they loved it! One was Esther, a maman that we had contacted literally the evening before. We hadn't even had a sit-down lesson with her, and she came to church! What faith!

Sunday afternoon, we had planned to go to one end of our sector, but the Spirit gave me a prompting to turn around to the opposite end of our sector. So, we went, and that's how we had all of those wonderful lessons with Tierry, Noelie, and Ahwefah!

On Saturday, the stake organized a missionary activity, and they asked our zone to be there. Well, for some reason they combined the missionary activity with the seminary/institute kickoff activity, so that was rather disappointing, but I still got to play the piano for them. It was awesome to just spend time with the members. Whenever there's a stake conference or a stake activity, and the members get together, it feels totally different from back in the States. Here, I really feel like I'm just spending time with my very large, adoptive family. Everyone is so open and just happy, even more so than back home!

Saturday evening, during my nightly prayers, I just got choked up, shedding a tear or two, and I thanked Heavenly Father for how much He's blessed me. I have been called to serve among the best people on the face of this planet, and He has given me so many blessings that I can hardly count them. I know that when I leave, I'm going to miss them with all of my heart. I love these people more deeply than I can express. Little by little, the Lord has answered my prayers, and I have been filled with charity, "the pure love of Christ".

I love you all! I wish y'all a fantastic week! May "the love of God and of your fellowmen" lift you to unforgettable peaks!

Avec tout mon amour,
Elder Phillips

​Bonjour toute la famille!

The week in rap...

Mmhmm, yo, yo yo yo
This week was really chic, it was hard but it was worth it
Forgot to mention last week that we taught a lesson on the way home from church.
We tried our best, but the guys were kinda jerks
They asked us why, if we were like Christ, do we teach by rendez-vous instead of in plain sight?
The words that came to me, they caught me by surprise:
"The Lord knows the hearts of His children. He knows them perfectly. He knows your hearts, your true intent, why you've chosen to speak to us. He knows who is ready for our message. He knows His elect. We are guided by His Spirit".
Well, Monday was so great! On Tuesday, whoda thought?
We tried teaching a guy from Ghana, but speak English, he did not
Well, just a little, enough to get confused
When I tried to teach the Restoration, he seemed to straight-up refuse
Well, together with Arnaud we taught in Ewé, and to our surprise
He understood perfectly, it was plain before his eyes

PAUSE: I totally forgot to mention this last week, but do y'all remember Julien and Lioni? Well, Elder Omotoyinbo, our new zone leader, served in my old sector, and after much effort, they finally got married, and now their whole family is baptized! That's such a miracle! I was leaping for joy when I heard it, I felt so happy! The Lord is truly working miracles, and He is blessing the lives of His saints.

Thursday, whatayaknow, we did our best to gather,
Some candidates for baptism, but it didn't seem to matter
Our amis are great, but they aren't quite ready
That's okay, we keep on runnin' slow but runnin' steady
Ahwefah understands little by little, that's just swell!
A few weeks ago we found a family, oh they understand so well!
It's the niece of Elizabeth, and her adorable kids
Her husband however, is kinda gettin' jipped
He's locked up in prison for at least a couple of years
So their marriage is gonna take a while, and maybe a few tears
But do not despair! They have so much faith!
I feel so uplifted when we teach, I'm sure they'll make their baptismal date!
Their daughter, we work with, she's really super smart
Maybe next week, she'll be ready, she's got a sincere heart
Tierry hesitated, he doesn't quite have his response
We encouraged him to read and pray, we have hope he'll learn how to dance (pronounce in a British accent, dance in the context of the Gospel)
Sam is great, just as always. This week we taught him
About the temple, and he's in! (with the idea, he likes it)
Sam also received, this Sunday passed,
The Priesthood of Aaron, what a path he's traced!
In one lesson, a late Friday eve
There was a cryin' baby, "Oh baby, stop cryin' PLEASE"
Well, you need not worry, I'm an expert of sorts
In helping African kids turn tears into snorts (of laughter)
I danced and danced, made funny faces and shouted
For at least ten minutes straight. The confused baby pouted (as in, she didn't really know what to think),
But she stopped crying! And the whole family laughed,
Geez, that really tired me, I'm gonna need a- (falls onto his bed, snoring)
Weeeeeell,
Come Friday evening, we tallied up our lessons
And we found that we had more than 30 lessons
Be bold, be courageous, and shoot for the stars
We set 40 lessons as our finishing mark

Saturday, the day when we decide our fate,
Got to work, taught at a great rate
Took a taxi to find a contact, that surprise!
Really wasn't in our sector, but we still testified
She's got a kid that's got special needs
She wanted a blessing, we encouraged her to plead
Her case before the Lord, in a special fast
So the missionaries over there, will probably work things out
It was great, but from home, we're like three miles out
So we skipped going home, we walked all the way
We ate lunch chez l'un des nos amis, it was great!
We ate and ate and ate, boy was I hungry
Hey, look at that guy, he's kinda ugly,
And whoa, look away, he's actually naked!
And to our delight, he decided to make it,
His day to parade all along the street
Awkwardly, I laughed and looked at my feet (#Nike!)
We taught more amis, and what made me smile,
Arnaud came and joined us! We hadn't seen him in a while
His best friend passed away in a moto accident,
But he's been goin' on, he's truly an inspiring example to me
We ran around Attiegou, teachin' and testifyin'
To wrap up the day, we encouraged our dear Arnaud
To introduce us to his crush, we'll take on his load (be his wingmen in the Gospel)
Well, before we came in the picture, their relation was cordial
But for some reason, when we were there, it became rather adorable
She was super flirtatious, she played the "punch the shoulder" game
All the while Frère Arnaud looked like he'd never be the same
"What just happened?" he asked with a quirk
"My friend, that's what you get for doin' missionary work"
We finished the day, exhausted but proud
Of our great work, we'll say it loud:
44 lessons, wow, how did it happen?
Well, it was all thanks to the Lord, and His tender mercies.
All throughout the week, I was kinda discouraged,
But the Lord showed us that He's in control
Your prayers have helped us, thank you so much
Woohoo! Prayer works, the Lord hears us, He stays in touch
This Sunday was good, we started off with a split,
But then I felt, distinct and clear, a prompting from the Spirit
So I cancelled the split, it was just me, Angbo, and Bakana
I love my companion, he's really the top banana!
And Frère Bakana's faithful, no matter the cost
Without him, this whole ward would be lost
We taught a guy who makes the JWs quake
He knows his scriptures, he can make you shake
But we have our testimonies, what we know to be true
My companion was bold, he was true blue!
No matter what you face, never forget
A testimony will last when everything is set
So, you may ask, what's the lesson of today?
What really helped me all throughout the gray
A talk titled "The Fourth Missionary," it's been my quest
To apply this talk since day one, to become my best
It doesn't matter how imperfect you may be,
The Lord only asks for your heart (Omni 1:26), not the fluffly and sparkly
Never be discouraged, just continue your conversion
And the Lord will see you through. Here's a poem
That reflects what I learned this week:

"Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile:
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried, “Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two? Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice; Going for three—” But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet as a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?” And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two? Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going, and gone!” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried, “We do not quite understand
What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply: “The touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine, a game—and he travels on.
He’s “going” once, and “going” twice, he’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand."-Myra Brooks Welch, as quoted by President Boyd K. Packer, April 2001

Well my family, thank you for your prayers
You rock, you're wonderful, I feel your gentle cares
Never give up, even when things may mount
He is coming, He'll lift you up, The Fount
of Ev'ry Blessing. If you are discouraged,
That's the best of times, you'll see!
How much you'll be helped and touched
My Him who calmed the Sea of Galilee.

I love you all! Have a great week!
Avec tout mon amour,
Elder Phillips

Bonjour, ma famille!

This week was fantastic!

Well, today was kind of a drag at first, but it turned into a fun, laughable adventure. We planned a trip to the Grand Marché to pick up groceries for the month. Funnily enough, during all the time that I was a junior companion in Togo, I never payed too much attention to where the taxi dropped us off, where to get the food, etc., and, as luck (or lack thereof) would have it, it was my turn today to introduce my companion to the Marché.

2 missionaries+a very disorganized, huge market+language barrier+people who have no idea where to find certain things+a whole variety of other setbacks=getting lost at least 10 times.

Haha, it was tiring, but we made a laugh of it, and we found most of what we needed. Seriously though, we would ask someone where the onion market was, he would point in one direction, we would go that way, ask someone else, she would point in the opposite direction, from where we came. Haha, very fun. Seriously though, we had a good adventure of it. (:

Me and my companion are getting along great. His weakness, and also mine, is that we are completely incapable of making decisions. I would describe ourselves, in moments of crisis, as the vultures from The Jungle Book: "So whatta you wanna do?" "I dunno, whatta you wanna do?" Haha, it's not too bad, in fact it's rather comical. Hands down, Elder Angbo is one of my favorite companions. Fun fact: he's seen the Scott Sterling video! Haha (;

We started teaching a wonderful family. Well, the parents are busy, so we end up teaching the kids. We taught one of the best Restoration lessons I've ever taught on my mission. Let's hope and pray for the best! (:

Yesterday, we did another split with the members: Elder Angbo went with Frère Matthias to some of our investigators near the church, and I went with Frère Bakana to Zogbedji. We stopped by the Famille Kpatcha, who are wonderful. The church is too far away to walk, and they're too poor to pay for transport every Sunday, so they've been stuck for a long time, now. Nevertheless, they really really really want to come to Church, and they love the Gospel. I felt the Spirit very sweetly, and I knew that Heavenly Father loves them deeply. He wants them to try their best, but He completely understands how they feel about Him.

I've really learned a lot about how God feels about His children during my mission. He will never force us to choose the right, but He so desperately wishes for us to accept His invitation. He understands our situations, our dreams, our desires, and our potential more than we possibly could ourselves. He loves us infinitely.

We didn't get to teach Tierry this week, so we're going to move his baptism to next week. We did, however, get to visit Sam a few times. He was totally ready for baptism, has completely fallen in love with the Book of Mormon, and asks great questions (ie: I know we are not supposed to smoke or drink, but are there also certain types of meat that we aren't allowed to eat? Answer, no).
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Come the day of his interview, he actually didn't show up, so that gave us a little scare, but we stopped by his house Saturday morning, and he was fine, he just was too busy to make it to his interview on time.

Baptismal Font Bananza, Part 2
Previously on Baptismal Font Bananza, our intrepid heroes arrived at the church to find the baptismal font completely empty. Now we return to the never-ending story of our two missionaries and their mission to invite others to come unto Christ:
Elder Phillips: "It's half empty!"

Yeah, that was terrible. We hooked up a hose to a sink in the church, and we had to fill buckets from a pump outside. Frère Bakana, Sam, and another member helped us out, and the buckets were much smaller, thank heavens, so it was much less demanding than the first time. But heaven help the man who keeps unplugging the hose, because I'm not too happy with that hokey-pokey.

I felt very blessed to be able to baptize Sam. The water was only to my knees, and every time I put him down into the water, something would pop up (his legs, his jumpsuit, his hair). I ended up baptizing him five times to get him completely immersed. Thankfully, Sam was super chill, and he didn't freak out. On the fifth try, the belly part of his jumpsuit popped up, full of air, and my elbow snapped like a quarterback to push it down. Fifth time's the charm, right?

Jokes aside, it was a very spiritual service. At the end of the service, Sam bore his testimony, and he said that he knew that the Lord would bless him just like he's blessed the members around him. So very cool.

The Sunday of Sam's confirmation, yesterday, was also Fast and Testimony Meeting, when members and investigators can come up and share brief testimonies of truths they've experienced. Elder Angbo elbowed Sam, encouraging him to go up, and Sam basically told his conversion story, and bore a firm testimony.

Hilaire also passed the sacrament for the first time this week. It was pretty much a pay-off day for me. (:

Allow me to share with you the letter I wrote to Président Morin today:
This week was great. We baptized one of our friends, who has finished his spiritual quest. He searched, for years, several churches, and did not find the truth, but he continued to pray to know God. His hobby is being an "trash artist," and picking up the garbage, he found an unknown book. A year later, we contacted him in the street, and he accepted our visits. By introducing the Book of Mormon, he told us that he had the book already. He likes the Book of Mormon, and he got baptized last Saturday. On the Sunday of his confirmation, he gave his powerful testimony. It is my feeling that he will become a convert devoted to the Lord. And, would you like to know my thoughts while we were contacting him? It was not a big, powerful whisper of the Spirit, it was just "It would be cool if he was baptized." We do not know all the moments when the Spirit guides us, but if we do our best, He can lead us to those who are ready for the gospel.

I know that the Lord guided us to find Sam. I know that he was prepared by the Lord to receive the Gospel. The Lord gives us daily miracles, and as we do our best to serve Him, we see lives changed. I know that Sam has felt true conversion, and that he'll rest strong in the Church.

I wish you all a wonderful week. Make it a good one!

Je vous aime beaucoup! (:
Elder Phillips