Kiri ki mele everyone ?!
P-Days in Bonabéri are pretty sweet except for one thing – I had like 9 people that I didn’t get to respond to because the lady in the Cyber Café was kindof mean and kicked us out after exactly two hours, but otherwise we had an awesome day. We went home and made an unreal amount of yogurt in our bath-like pot. We filled 12 1.5 liter bottles. It was a glorious week. I also read all of the Petit Prince, which is a phenomenal book that I would recommend everyone to read!
We met the parents of a member who just left on a mission, and they’re really cool and love the missionaries but never really learned with them, so we’re giving it a shot. I just love the idea of emailing our friend and telling him that we just baptized his parents. The best part is that they’re Douala, so they love when we speak a little with them.
The Gaileys came over for district meeting on Wednesday, but weren’t able to get us meat, so we were kindof in a rut for a couple days. We’ve been eating a lot of rice and pasta with some combination of green peppers, tomatoes, and onions. It’s always delicious, but I’ve learned that variety=sanity.
One of our investigators is a guy whose biology professor recommended to all the students to check out a list of books that would help them complete the teachings from the Bible, and the Book of Mormon was on the list. He searched for 6 months, but never found it until one day a year later he saw it in the window of a book store. So he buys the book, and starts reading and loves it, until one day 5 YEARS later he’s sitting outside his house reading when a member neighbor of his walks by and says hey! I didn’t know you were a member. He wasn’t, but was so excited to find that the church was in his neighborhood. He knew where the church was, but never knew that it was associated with this book he loved so much. It’s an awesome story. God is awesome. How He even works…I don’t even know.
We tried to get meat for ourselves because there’s no way that you can’t find any on this side of the bridge, but all we could find was goat meat. So…we’ll just rely on the Gaileys.
I tied a French Cross with one hand while I was eating a sandwich with the other. It was beautiful.
One day we were teaching Donald, the guy who bought the Book of Mormon, and he put on this Mormon Tabernacle Choir song on repeat for the next hour and 45 minutes while we talked. “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” will never be the same for me.
We swept the dirt floor of a member’s house and washed some of his dishes on Friday, and that was a sweet experience. Service, whether it be big or small, is always appreciated to the fullest extent here. They literally took my camera out of my fancy fanny pack and started taking pictures because they thought it was so funny that 2 white guys were sweeping their floor. People walking by were stopping to watch Elder Massé do dishes. They thought it was hilarious.
On Saturday we walked so far, it was ridiculous, but it was great. I haven’t taken a single taxi since I got here.
This one woman from Congo loved the plan of salvation so much that right after we were done teaching her about it she claps her hands and says, “do it again! Do it again from the beginning!” It was probably the number one reaction I’ve had from anyone so far on the lessons we’ve taught. Just absolutely priceless.
Sunday was normal. We had a lot of people at our little branch, and even one of my converts came across the bridge to see me! It was so nice. I miss them all so much. I’ve gotten a couple different calls from members and people I’ve taught throughout the week just to say hi and that they miss me. No one can make you feel as good as Africans can. I imagine them sitting there thinking about what to do and then for some reason or another I come to mind and they call and the whole process makes me feel like a champion. I love these people so much! I didn’t want to leave Akwa, but I’m pretty sure I just don’t ever want to leave Douala. I’m sure the love is same everywhere here, but you never know! I’ve heard from several different missionaries that they’ve preferred Douala of the three cities. Maybe I’ll just stay here until the end of my mission. Pourquoi pas!
Anyway, I love and miss you all. Time is passing so quickly and I know I’ll see you soon, so please be patient if I don’t respond to an email on time. Remember that I’m in Africa and we’re not exactly up to speed with the rest of the world haha. That being said, I’m having the time of my life. There’s no where else I’d rather be that sweating bullets in a small cyber café surrounded by my African brothers and sisters. Words are never enough to describe the experiences I’m having.
Just recently I told someone that who you are is defined by what you do when you think no one is watching. Remember that there’s always someone who knows what your every move, and He loves and cares about you more than you can even imagine! He knows you perfectly; more than you even know yourself! And his love for you is incomprehensible. He is literally your Father in Heaven and His biggest disire is to bring you back home to live with Him. If you’re passing through difficult trials, know that He allows those to come so you can learn and grow. Sometimes we can’t understand why, but the most important thing to remember is that He loves you know matter what! So what are you waiting for?! His arms are open and He’s waiting with a big ol’ smile on His face! Run to Him!!!
Elder Garland
No comments:
Post a Comment