Christmas Came Early- Week 8

Bonjour once again to you lovelies!

Cote d'Ivoire is continuing to have a new adventure, surprise, or trial waiting around each corner and it has been a blast finding out how to react and learn from each one! This mission has taught me many lessons that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

In regards to my early christmas, my fan sadly died this week. It was an ugly and slow death it was hard to watch. First came the screams and the slowness of motion, and then unexpectedly it came to a halt. So I had to suffer a night with no fan and let me tell ya that sweat pool is hopefully the only one I swim in while on my mission.  However, the night is always darkest before the dawn, and the next day we went to another apartment to pick up a fresh one. The apartment we went to is called "la maison blanche" and the name fits. It is ginormous, has a grand staircase, multiple balconies, a living room with a piano, an...AC! We just sat in the room with AC for literally 15 minutes it was so nice. Anyway we got back with the new fan and assembling it felt like christmas when I would get a new lego set and I was so excited putting it together. Then finally the moment came where I started it up and it I can only imagine that it is like what it will feel like when we enter into the Celestial Kingdom, enough said.

I had my interview with President Lewis on Thursday and it was fantastic! He really helped me have a stronger knowledge of my purpose as a missionary and my love for this work. My mission president is awesome and he's the best other missions can fight me. I liken interviews with the mission president to a Bachelorette cocktail party. A bunch of people waiting around waiting to talk to someone talking about random stuff but all they want to do is just talk to the person and when they have their turn it goes by so fast and when it is done you just want to go back and keep talking! Yeah it's a weird parallel I know haha.

So probably one of the hardest challenges to face while serving here is the difficulty of feeling the Spirit. Either during lessons, sacrament meeting, or just while walking down the street. There are A LOT of distractions here and they vary in many forms. It can be from children, animals, bugs, loud fans or just loudness in general, or just weird customs that some people have here that I am not used to. I don't want to get to into it too much because I don't want to sound like I'm bashing my mission but that has probably been one of the hardest adjustments since you know, the Spirit is vital in teaching and just going about you day in general. However it has really helped me increase my tolerance and my focus so it has been getting better!

The work is going great! Frère Odilon and Frère Christ are seeming to be on track to be baptised this Saturday so that's exciting! Their baptismal interviews are on Tuesday so pray for them! We found some new amis who seem really interested in our church! One came up to us actually and asked to meet with us and is very excited to meet with us. One we came up to when we saw him studying the Bible outside so we have started teaching him and he has a lot of questions and concerns. He actually reads what we give him though which is rare here, but he just has trouble believing that the Bible isn't the only word of God but hopefully he can come to know of the truthfulness of the Book Of Mormon! This work is awesome and continues to fill my soul with joy!

Sorry for the long email this week haha but I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving this week! Thanksgiving isn't really a thing here but who knows maybe we'll make something special or go out to eat I don't know. But in the Spirit of Thanksgiving...

WEEKLY WISDOM: Be thankful for your challenges and your afflictions because without them it would be impossible to know happiness and joy in this life. We also have the opportunity to learn and grow from our challenges and form ourselves into the saints and disciples of Christ that God wants us to be.

PHOTOS:

1. Me and my beautiful new fan. I decided to name him Princeton. He's so beautiful.

2. We love the african knock-offs of Coca-Cola and Sprite haha

I Love To See the Half-Done Temple- Week 7

Bonjour mes amis et ma famille!!

Wow wow wow these weeks are continuing to fly by like seriously! And Thursday marks 3 months that I have been gone like wow!

The highlight of the week was our conference at the temple! The bus ride there was crazy sweaty and stinky. The bus had air conditioning but it barely worked. It got to the point where when I let my arms rest on my lap and then lifted them back up, my pants were soaked. It was awesome to see so many missionaries and also the progression of the Abidjan Temple! It is kind of funny because it looks like every other sketchy building here that is under construction but it will one day be an amazing House of the Lord where people can go and grow closer to our Heavenly Father! Hopefully it is finished while I am here so I can help these amazing people attend the Temple!

President Kearon was there and shared an amazing message of not worrying and just to lose ourselves in the work. He also re-emphasized the same message from when he visited the Provo MTC of Becoming the Message and having joy in this work which was awesome to hear again! He has such and energy and light about him and you can't help but be fascinated by what he has to say. It might be his british accent who knows.

 We invited one of our amis, Frère Christ, to baptism this week! He has such a good grasp on the doctrine and he remembers a lot of what we teach him and keeps his commitments which is awesome! He is set for the 30th and I am sure he will be really ready for then! This is my first ami that I actually started to teach and help him come unto Christ so I am really excited! We also have a lot more amis that are progressing very nicely and hopefully can be baptised by the end of this transfer! This work is honestly something else. I get so happy when I am able to bear my testimony and share the love I have for this Gospel and also for the love that my Heavenly Father has for me!

I had my first fish head this week. That's right I looked a fish dead in the cooked eyes and bit its head clean off, and it actually didn't taste bad at all! A little crunchy though haha. I also had some foutou which is like a sticky banana paste that you dip in sauce and it is really popular here but for some reason it just doesn't agree with my stomach at all so hopefully I learn to like it. There is one thing I will never like here though. That's the pork. How pork works here is that they take the dead pig then just chop it into a bunch of little bits including the head and legs...everything and then barely cook it so it is super chewy and it includes the skin, bone, and even hair sometimes. You know how some members decide to not drink caffeine? Well it's like that for me but just with the pork here. It isn't good for my physical or emotional health. It makes me really miss my Uncle Kevin's amazing pork at IDK Barbeque there's a little shoutout for ya Kevin. I expect a paycheck when I get home.

WEEKLY WISDOM: Just Smile! Even when It seems hard to. I have a story with this one. During one of my lessons I was giving the story of the First Vision and while I was reciting Joseph Smith's account, the people we were teaching started laughing because I was talking weird and soft so my companion had to take over and I got really discouraged but instead of continuing my day in discouragement, I decided to just smile and it actually helped my attitude and by then end of the lesson I paid no mind to it. Never forget the power of smiling. It can improve your day and also someone else's!

PHOTOS- Sorry I realised that I forgot to put descriptions for my photos so you were probably confused for some of them haha

1- Sweaty Bus Ride!

2- Me in front of the soon to be temple!

3- Conference Selfie!

4- My Provo MTC MTs!

5- Shot with Stake Center and a lot of the missionaries!

I'm Addicted To Water- Week 6

Hello Hello Hello! I am none other than Elder Perkins

(If you can get that reference you will get a gold star...somehow)  

Okay this week honestly flew by and I don't have much to talk about haha. Anyway just so everyone knows...It is HOT in Africa. I get back from our sector most days and my clothes are honestly drenched in sweat and I have to just sit for a while in front of my fan which is slowly deteriorating meaning that I have to now give it a little airplane jumpstart to get it moving. Also in regards to my title I have been drinking a lot of water you're welcome mom. I probably drink around 3-5 liters a day because it tastes so good I honestly can't help it.

I had my first baptismal service this saturday! Baptisms here are a little sketchy since we have to fill the fonts ourselves which means that the water is only up to just below the knee making the baptisms very interesting. They almost have to lay them completely flat to get them fully immersed. Also before the service we had a missionary activity with the members of the stake and we helped them answer some common questions here in Cote d'Ivoire. My companion and I roleplayed with members of being a concerned investigator couple wondering why we have to be married before being baptised so that was funny.

So we have a conference at the Abidjan Temple site tomorrow with the famous President Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy and I was called to be in the choir for it! We are singing "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" in french of course and I am so excited for it! I also can't wait for the temple to be done so the amazing people of Cote d'Ivoire can receive the blessings of the temple more easily! It is scheduled to be done while I am here so fingers crossed!

Just some little Africa funnies this week I accidentally blended together the word "thanks" and its french counterpart "merci" and said "menks" so that was crazy and also awkward haha. I stun the african missionaries here whenever they realise that I know how to play soccer and I gain their respect haha. OH also this might be apostate but I started to liken being an American in Africa to being Jesus Christ when he visited the Americas. Know well that I am NOT saying that I am like our Savior in any way, shape, or form he is perfect and I am far from perfection believe me. But when african children come up to me and feel my palms and skin all of the time it is kind of hard not to relate it to that sorry if I am speaking blasphemy but I haven't been struck down yet so I think I am good.

That's all folks! The days may be rough but I can never regret my decision to be here in Africa preaching this amazing gospel!

WEEKLY WISDOM: In the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith Junior, "Judge Righteous Judgement" Don't be too quick to judge, but still strive to know all that you can of a person and stick yourself in their shoes so that you can know how to act.

Ah! Something Bit Me!- Week 5

Bonjour mes amis et ma famille!

This week has been a good one but also of much trial and tribulation as most weeks as a missionary go. However, the joy that comes from this work exceeds all hardship and doubt.

The title is from while we were waiting for someone for a rendezvous and I felt a tickle on my neck but I didn't think anything of it but then a couple minutes later I felt a sharp sting on my chest and it scared me so bad and I smacked so fast. I reached in to find a really big ant and it just fell through my collar.

I also got pretty sick this last tuesday to the point where it hurt to move or even think. I thought it could be malaria but I didn't know for sure. I asked my comp to give me a blessing then I went to bed super early. Then the next day I felt a lot better with just a mild headache so who knows it could've been an evil spirit and my companion cast it out for me haha.

The French this week got a ton better! It is coming more fluently out of my mouth and the people can actually understand me now when I teach instead of Elder Agbahounzo having to restate everything I say. It has also gotten a lot easier to comprehend...most people. Some just have the weirdest accent and talk so fast it still is hard to understand. There's also a tribal language called mooshi that they sometimes mix in with the french. I'm learning words here and there from it but it'll take a while to get used to that.

Something that is really funny about the people here is that they love to show off their english knowledge any chance they get even when it is a very limited knowledge. It's okay it gives me the chance to get back at them for laughing at my french hehe.

Another perk of being white ihere is that people will give you free stuff because they want you to like their culture. I have gotten a lot of free snacks from the boutique for free and even free bread so that has been great!

I got pretty homesick this week but as usual the Spirit lead me to comfort. I am so grateful to be so in tune with the Spirit so I can always receive direction and advice. It really is a Gift of God. Shoutout to my Uncle Tony who gave an awesome talk at BYU that gave me a lot of comfort. I highly recommend it especially for my college buddies.

WEEKLY WISDOM: Never be afraid to kneel down and ask for help from Heavenly Father. You will receive comfort in ways you may not expect.

The BYU devotional that Kartch refers to, is a great talk for young adults. It is at https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/anthony-d-perkins/nevertheless-went-forth/  

Mike