Joyeux Noel, ma famille, et bonne année!

I wish you a joyous and happy Christmas season.

In terms of proselyting, because it was Eperonnier's last week, not a lot of work got done. Elder Adzagah got kind of ticked at that, but he also told me that he thinks that I did the best I could with Elder Eperonnier. I'm looking forward to kickstarting the secteur and the zone again.

In the end, me and Eperonnier ended on a good note. We had a lot of fun celebrating yesterday, and he's a good guy. When Adzagah kind of went crazy on me about the numbers, Eperonnier got mad at that. He was like "It wasn't Phillips's fault, he wanted to work, I was the one that was tired." He said that he was going to have a few choice words with Adzagah about what he said. I really appreciated him saying that. Eppy said that I was a good guy. I learned a lot from him, and I hope that he has a wonderful return home.

My new companion has arrived! His name is Elder Randriamalala, and he's from Madagascar! I'm so stoked to be working with him. He's very polite and kind, and I'm excited to work with him.j I don't know why, but I've got a good feeling about this transfer. (:

So, in the Spirit of the Season, we spent some time with the members here in Togo this weekend.  On Friday, we had a mangez-vous with Président Richard, the first counselor in our bishopric. He's a good, solid guy, a returned missionary. One gem that he said was "Often we criticize our leaders for not doing a good job. We all need to understand that leadership opportunities are opportunities to learn and gain love. These people are trying to figure it out just as much as we are." Very wise man.

Also on Friday, we got to see members play drums and do African chants and dances for a few minutes while I was doing a baptismal interview. I forgot to mention, but Ruth and Abide, the mother and her daughter that I taught in Attiegou, have been baptized! It was great to do Abide's interview, 

On Saturday, I got to spend some time with my family! It was such a true and remarkable blessing to be able to see you all! It was a little slice from heaven. I was trunky, but in a good way, as if to say "Yes, I'm so excited to go home and just be with my family and have many adventures, and just jump into life with them".

Sunday was the Best Christmas Ever. In the morning, the three wards in our stake center had a one-hour Christmas sacrament meeting. Elders Eperonnier, Lath, Roundy, and Kerr bore their testimonies, and then the Hedzranawoé and Kelegougan bishops gave talks about Christmas and New Year's
 
One thing about African culture that I've noticed: the Christmas season is not really like back home. The partying really starts on Christmas Eve, and climaxes on New Year's. How do they celebrate Christmas? By partying!

We had three dinner appointments Sunday afternoon: With Président Attiogbé (the second counselor in the mission presidency), then out to a city called Djagblé with our Bishop, Bishop Gabriel, and Président Blaise (he's kind of like the Mycroft of the Church here in Togo: low enough in visible leadership positions that he goes largely unnoticed, but involved enough that all of Togo depends on him to function properly).

Some things about being invited to a meal in a traditional African party: to show respect, and to sort of leave your blessing on the family, you have to eat a lot, and if they invite you to dance, you have to dance enthusiastically. Some people might think that it is unseemly for missionaries to dance to some more popular music, and I suppose in lots of cultures, that applies. However, here in Africa, it is a sign of true respect, and when missionaries join in a dance, or eat really well, it means so much to these families, and it's like our way of leaving a blessing on them.
So yeah, we kind of danced rather enthusiastically at some of our dinner appointments. (:

We ate so much, and so well! Rice, pate, pork (the pig was still whole!), sauce, mint lime drinks, atieké, salad, fish, beef, intestine, water, bread. You name it, we ate it. It was soooo good! (: I'm really grateful for the members. More important than the food, was spending time with people that I love. I was truly blessed to be able to be with wonderful members, and to have been able to Skype my family. Christmas is all about the Savior, and the purpose of the Gospel is to be together and happy with those that we love dearest.

I testify that the family is the center of Christ's Gospel, and that we can be together forever as families. I wish you all a very merry Christmas, and, as we enter the new year, let us prioritize and focus on that which is of greatest importance. May we fix goals of meaning, and may we try our best, with the Savior's saving grace, to achieve new heights.

I love you all, and I wish you a very merry Christmas break! As we say in Ewé, epebé jobenwé (Merry Christmas)!

Love,
Elder Phillips

Bonjour, ma famille!

"I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas,
Just like the one I had last year,
Lots of dust and wind,
That hasn't come in (yet)
And happiness wherever I go"
Or something like that, I get song lyrics mixed up every now and then. (;

I'm so stoked to be able to Skype you in just a week or two! I'm rather jolly about the idea. (:

Starting Tuesday evening, and finishing on Wednesday evening, I went to Attiegou to work with Elder Jean-Jacques. I just couldn't turn up the opportunity to work with my mission grandson. (; It was rather fun, Elder Jean-Jacques is a pretty cool guy. He's from France, so there were some parts of the day when I had to do a double-take and say "Umm, I didn't understand that one, Elder." Haha, African French is not French French. (; Anyhow, it felt so good to be home away from home. I told Elder Jean-Jacques multiple times: "Hedzranawoé is my area, but Attiegou's my home". It felt good to say hello to the old crowd again, everyone was so happy to see me. We visited Sika, and talked about walking forward with faith. He's still stuck against his wall of faith, and we're praying that he makes the leap. Keep him in your prayers! (: Noeli, Arnaud, Elizabeth, Hilaire, Denise, Papan Mensanh, Frère Bakana, and everyone are doing very well. The kids in Elizabeth's courtyard were sooooo happy to see me. They just wanted to play together for a good ten or twenty minutes. I lifted them up, danced the macarena with them, etc. The kids all call me their dad, and I honestly feel like a papan when I'm with them.  Ahh, it felt good to be home. (:

Here in Hedzranawoé, things are going well. So for investigators, we've got:

• Stephen, a Nigerian family man who had a baby boy a month ago. He accepts everything we teach him (after a little explanation), but he doesn't come to church! Don't worry, he'll come.
• Amen, a man we street contacted, who wants to learn more.
• Komi, the security guard I told you about.
• Papan Favor, the dad of some recent converts. He's interested, and he comes to Church, but we never get the chance to teach him during the week.
• A friend of our recent convert Samuel, who came to church this week for the first time, invited by Samuel

After that, it's just street contacting and recent converts. We're having a tough time getting people to Church, but, as we say in French, "ça va aller!" (:  We're trying our best to keep the sector on its feet. We can do it!

Things are going well in the zone. Splits are such a stress reliever. They're a nice break. And on Thursday, I had a split with Elder Abbott, and we worked in the other sector.

Here's the highlight of the week:
This weekend was the stake conference for Lomé, Togo. We didn't quite reach our goal of dividing the stake, but it was good to have a General Authority come to preside at the conference. Elder Marcus B. Nash, President Graham (the Ghana temple president), and their wives came to speak to us. Normally, missionaries aren't supposed to go to the member's session on Saturday, but we had to teach a recent convert, Samuel, at the church, so we arrived and caught the end of the conference, running overtime. To celebrate afterwards, some members played some large African drums and danced and sang. We went over to say hi, to Président and Soeur Morin, and while we were talking with them, I hear someone say "Elder Phillips!" and I turn and oh my goodness, there's Elder Nash right in front of me!  He came up to me just like he would a good friend, shook my hand, and took some sincere time to talk to me and Elder Eperonnier. President Graham and their wives made sure to say hi to us too.  Elder Nash asked where I was from, and I said Alpine, and he said "Yeah, I know Alpine, they produce really great youth!" He asked how the work's going, I said well, and he asked if I've stopped sweating yet. Elder Nash served his mission in Central America, so said that the West African climate is just the same, it felt like coming home. Elder Nash took the time to genuinely thank me for the work we're doing. He said that it means so much to the people here, and for our future life. As a missionary, we receive a certain level of discernment, according to our worthiness. I really felt like Elder Nash and his wife, as well as the Grahams, are pure souls, they had nothing to hide, and that they had so much charity for us. Elder Nash doesn't break eye contact! I feel so happy around General Authorities, because when you get one-on-one time with them, they just express their gratitude for what you do, and you feel their love.  Anywho, a great journal moment. (:

Sunday morning was the open-session of general conference, and it was wonderful! Sister Graham talked about building our families, President Graham talked about the plan of salvation, specifically for our families. Soeur Morin talked about the #LighttheWorld initiative, and President Morin just briefly bore his testimony, and taught about the duty of a Seventy. Sister Nash talked about President Russell M. Nelson's conference talk, "Joy and Spiritual Survival", and how, even in these often difficult circumstances in West Africa, we can feel joy. Elder Nash talked about his favorite food, bread. One day, his mom forgot to put salt in his homemade bread, and it tasted really disgusting! He likened that to 3 Nephi 12:13 (also found in Matthew 7:13), and how if we keep our covenants and the commandments, then we are the salt of the earth. Oftentimes, however, we fall short, and that's what repentance is for. Repentance is simply finding ourselves next to the Savior. It is a happy principle! Elder Nash specifically focused on how we can teach repentance to our children. A very prominent "tradition of the fathers" here in Africa is beating your children when they do something wrong. Elder Nash suggested that, if our children come forward to us with something they've done wrong, instead of getting mad, we can be happy, and say "I'm glad that you want to improve yourself, and that you came forth to tell us about this. Let's help each other out!" When we correct our children like this, then they feel happy when they repent, and they'll have a deeper desire to repent; In keeping our covenants, and repenting, we will have the Light necessary to Light the World!

I testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel of peace and happiness. If you feel that you're not truly happy with where you are in life, I invite you to learn more about Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Let's put Christ at the center of our Christmas, and we will truly see the light. I testify that in growing closer to the Savior, we can truly have peace. I leave this Christmas testimony with you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a wonderful week, y'all! May you make the most of this Christmas season! Joyeux Noel! (:

Love,
Elder Brian Phillips

Bonjour, ma famille!

Hey everyone! Wow, isn't it awesome to get in the Christmas Spirit! This is it, we are officially in December! Woohoo! (:
​
There is no snow here, but the temperature is dropping just a little bit, especially at night, because of the Harmattan winter coming in. Harmattan is the winter sandstorm which comes in from the Sahara desert and blows all over West Africa. The dust hasn't come in yet, but I've got a feeling it's going to strike any minute. Batton down the hatches! (;

Well, this week was a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of in-betweens, but I believe it was an overall good week.

Today, we went to eat at San Marco's pizzeria. I had a calzone and sparkling mineral water. Soooooo good! (:

Me and my companion had some good moments and some bad ones this week. Elder Eperonnier is holding out really well compared to some other companions that I've "mission killed",  but it's still pretty tough. It's pretty tiring, but I'm learning to be patient. I've really learned a lot from Elder Eperonnier, and the other elders in my apartment, and I'm glad that I came to serve here.

Our recent convert, Gbaguidi, is doing great! He received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday, which is a huge step, and he wants his family to learn more about the Gospel. One day, I believe that they will become an eternal family.

On Thursday, I got to go on a split with Elder Lath. He's such a good, good guy. That morning, in personal study, I read Alma 13:1-3. Such a powerful, powerful doctrine. I was valiant in the pre-mortal existence, and that just inspires me to be just as valiant in this life. The plan of salvation is pretty cool. (:
​
We taught a new ami named Rodrigue, who moved to Togo about two months ago from Chad. We talked about the problems of life, and if I understood correctly (his French accent was a little different), his parents were killed in a massacre in Chad while he was a student. He talked about how being a Christian brought him peace and comfort. We testified that the Savior loved him, and that Christ only wanted Rodrigue to feel even more peace and joy in his life, which comes through living the Gospel. He accepted our message very easily, and I think that he will progress. It was a sweet, Spirit-filled lesson.

On Friday, I went to Kegué to work with Elder Kerr again. We basically spent the morning doing contacting. We met multiple people, even a guy from the north of Togo (a village named Karah). As me and Elder Kerr were talking about avoiding the routine present-a-brochure-and-take-their-number approach, I felt prompted to start talking to two construction workers who were just taking a lunch break. I felt like I needed to just have a natural conversation with them. I saw that they were working on a building, asked how it was going, and then I talked about how we can build our lives on a sure foundation, the doctrine of Christ. I read 3 Nephi 11:38-39, and testified that the message we offered would help them build upon the rock of Christ. They seemed very interested. Their names were Lucien and Enfant de Dieu. I'm sure that the Spirit directed us towards them, and I'm excited to see where the Gospel takes them.

Afterwards, we went to some baptismal services (Elder Kerr baptized for the first time), which are always wonderful. I'm trying to do the #LightTheWorld challenge, and on that day I was focused on helping others see the virtues in themselves. At the end of the exchange, I felt prompted to tell Elder Kerr that he's humble, he's so willing to learn, he's got the right attitude about the mission, and to keep up the good work. He said "Thanks. That means a lot more than you know."

As a district, we had a good, open-hearted district council last night that lasted over two hours. I testify that councils are important, and that they help us grow closer. Have some fun and hold a family council! (:

In the spirit of the Christmas season, the Church has released a new initiative: #LIGHTtheWORLD. The idea is simple: be an example of the light of Christ, and serve those around you, in 25 ways, over 25 days. The invitation is open to all, young and old, member or non-member, to reach out in simple acts of Christlike service. I'm trying to do this myself, and I feel like there would be no better way to spend the Christmas season.

I invite you all, if you haven't already, to watch the video attached above, and pray to know how you can "light the world" over this month. I promise you that as you seek to serve "the one" each day, you will be guided by the Spirit, and you will feel true joy this Christmas season.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Phillips