Bonjour ma famille!
Ça va ici dans Akpakpa. We're doing good here. This week was a slower week, with a lot of appointments falling through. Nevertheless, we have some solid and progressing investigators.
Alex is doing great, and his cousin Gudi (pronounced "joo-jee") is doing even better. Gudi has a baptismal date fixed for this month, and he's loving the Book of Mormon. He asked some really good questions that nobody asks, like "What are the urim and thummim? Who was Moroni?" and, in our last lesson with him, he asked "What happens after we die? Where do our spirits go? Do we all get resurrected?" I probably looked like a giddy idiot. We didn't have time to go into the questions, but we promised to respond to them in our next lesson. Every time we teach him, we feel the Spirit. He is definitely prepared for the Gospel.
The Lost Boys are doing good, and one of them, Evè, is starting to really accept the Book of Mormon, and he's got a baptismal date fixed as well. So does another ami, Valentine. We're not sure if he's going to make it, but we know that he'll eventually get baptized. Another ami, Eugene, is basically the foster father of Christ (my first baptism), and he's interested in the Plan of Salvation. He came to church! We will have to talk about marriage with him, so pray that it'll go well.
Elections passed very well. The mission asked us to only go out for one hour of sacrament meeting yesterday, and then to go directly back to the apartments. We were obedient, and spent the day in the apartment. Turns out everything was really tranquille, nothing happened at all. We probably could've gone out proselyting, but it's better to be safe than sorry, and we really needed the rest. We'll be hearing about election results in a couple of days.
Frère Amos is an all-star. He works hard, and he never complains, even with days of lots of missed appointments and walking around. He's got a lot of integrity, and he's a good man. He's also starting to pick up some of my habits. For example, we were knocking on an ami's door, and they weren't responding, so Amos went to open the door, and I said "No, Amos, wait," and he turned and gave me this facial expression that I give all the time: wide eyes, jaw wide open, as if to say "Things 'bout to get crazy down here!" Haha, I love my companion.
So imagine my surprise, Saturday night, when the Assistants call Amos and ask him to stay on the mini mission for another week. That's all we know, is that he's staying for another week, we don't know what's going to happen after that. He was kind of depressed by that, by the time he leaves he'll only have two weeks before he leaves for his real mission. We bought some soda together, talked it over, and he said he's willing to do whatever the Lord asks him to do. He's got so much faith, I love my companion.
Elder Magré got transferred out (he was only here for five weeks, what?), he's going to Zogbo. Elder Kola is the new district leader, and he'll be training an American. Also, my good buddy Elder Destribois has finished his mission, he's now home in France. Elder Hansen is now district leader in Fidjrossé.
I'm going to miss Elder Magré, he was a really great missionary. He really helped to bring his sector back to life, and in his last week they found 27 new amis! He's been a big influence on me, given me a lot of good advice. I've actually modeled a lot of my teaching style off of him. He's been a great friend.
In reflecting over the transfers, I was really content and grateful to spend at least a little more time here in Akpakpa, and to stay with my awesome companion, but I was kind of mad. "Why does my companion have to stay, he wants to go home? Why does Elder Magré have to go, he was such a fantastic district leader? It's not fair." Satan was really feeding me a bunch of negativity. I ended the Saturday night praying that Heavenly Father would help me see His will.
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting, which can sometimes get chaotic here, but it was by far the best testimony meeting I've been to here. Everyone gave moderate, actual testimonies. And the underlying theme was "I know that the Church is true". Seriously, every person bore testimony that the church is true. At the meeting, I thought it was great for our amis, and that it would help them a lot in their search for answers. Then, back at the apartment, I realized that that little miracle was for me too. There was a message just for me. "The Church is True". It really helped me reflect on my personal engagement to the work. We must have an anchored testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ as our Savior, and a testimony of the reality of the Restoration. I know that God has again spoken in our day like times of old by means of an ordained prophet, Joseph Smith. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is what it claims to be, God's true church established with the authority of heaven to administer the ordinances of salvation. I know that all that happens happens for a reason, and that if we have faith in Jesus Christ and His inspired servants, we can endure any storm, and look forward to a sunny future. The Restoration is the coolest thing ever, isn't it? :)
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Phillips
Ça va ici dans Akpakpa. We're doing good here. This week was a slower week, with a lot of appointments falling through. Nevertheless, we have some solid and progressing investigators.
Alex is doing great, and his cousin Gudi (pronounced "joo-jee") is doing even better. Gudi has a baptismal date fixed for this month, and he's loving the Book of Mormon. He asked some really good questions that nobody asks, like "What are the urim and thummim? Who was Moroni?" and, in our last lesson with him, he asked "What happens after we die? Where do our spirits go? Do we all get resurrected?" I probably looked like a giddy idiot. We didn't have time to go into the questions, but we promised to respond to them in our next lesson. Every time we teach him, we feel the Spirit. He is definitely prepared for the Gospel.
The Lost Boys are doing good, and one of them, Evè, is starting to really accept the Book of Mormon, and he's got a baptismal date fixed as well. So does another ami, Valentine. We're not sure if he's going to make it, but we know that he'll eventually get baptized. Another ami, Eugene, is basically the foster father of Christ (my first baptism), and he's interested in the Plan of Salvation. He came to church! We will have to talk about marriage with him, so pray that it'll go well.
Elections passed very well. The mission asked us to only go out for one hour of sacrament meeting yesterday, and then to go directly back to the apartments. We were obedient, and spent the day in the apartment. Turns out everything was really tranquille, nothing happened at all. We probably could've gone out proselyting, but it's better to be safe than sorry, and we really needed the rest. We'll be hearing about election results in a couple of days.
Frère Amos is an all-star. He works hard, and he never complains, even with days of lots of missed appointments and walking around. He's got a lot of integrity, and he's a good man. He's also starting to pick up some of my habits. For example, we were knocking on an ami's door, and they weren't responding, so Amos went to open the door, and I said "No, Amos, wait," and he turned and gave me this facial expression that I give all the time: wide eyes, jaw wide open, as if to say "Things 'bout to get crazy down here!" Haha, I love my companion.
So imagine my surprise, Saturday night, when the Assistants call Amos and ask him to stay on the mini mission for another week. That's all we know, is that he's staying for another week, we don't know what's going to happen after that. He was kind of depressed by that, by the time he leaves he'll only have two weeks before he leaves for his real mission. We bought some soda together, talked it over, and he said he's willing to do whatever the Lord asks him to do. He's got so much faith, I love my companion.
Elder Magré got transferred out (he was only here for five weeks, what?), he's going to Zogbo. Elder Kola is the new district leader, and he'll be training an American. Also, my good buddy Elder Destribois has finished his mission, he's now home in France. Elder Hansen is now district leader in Fidjrossé.
I'm going to miss Elder Magré, he was a really great missionary. He really helped to bring his sector back to life, and in his last week they found 27 new amis! He's been a big influence on me, given me a lot of good advice. I've actually modeled a lot of my teaching style off of him. He's been a great friend.
In reflecting over the transfers, I was really content and grateful to spend at least a little more time here in Akpakpa, and to stay with my awesome companion, but I was kind of mad. "Why does my companion have to stay, he wants to go home? Why does Elder Magré have to go, he was such a fantastic district leader? It's not fair." Satan was really feeding me a bunch of negativity. I ended the Saturday night praying that Heavenly Father would help me see His will.
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting, which can sometimes get chaotic here, but it was by far the best testimony meeting I've been to here. Everyone gave moderate, actual testimonies. And the underlying theme was "I know that the Church is true". Seriously, every person bore testimony that the church is true. At the meeting, I thought it was great for our amis, and that it would help them a lot in their search for answers. Then, back at the apartment, I realized that that little miracle was for me too. There was a message just for me. "The Church is True". It really helped me reflect on my personal engagement to the work. We must have an anchored testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ as our Savior, and a testimony of the reality of the Restoration. I know that God has again spoken in our day like times of old by means of an ordained prophet, Joseph Smith. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is what it claims to be, God's true church established with the authority of heaven to administer the ordinances of salvation. I know that all that happens happens for a reason, and that if we have faith in Jesus Christ and His inspired servants, we can endure any storm, and look forward to a sunny future. The Restoration is the coolest thing ever, isn't it? :)
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Phillips