African Blood‏

So you are all wondering why my title this week is African blood. Well I got stuck witha needle this week. Well it was last week but I forgot to tell ya. Yep thats right, in AIDS ridden Africa I got stuck by a needle! Isnt everyone else excited as I am? Maybe I should explain.... Well first of all I am offically a citizen of Benin,Africa. Dual citizen if the US and Benin, so anyone who says I am not African I can show them my resident card! It is pretty cool! That was the reason I had to get stuck by a needle, to get tested for AIDS, I hoped I passed! Dont worry the vodo lady said it was a clean needle, she even used soap! I okay okay before my mom  passes out it was a clean needle at a government hospital and I made sure it was a clean needle right from and unopened box! Everyone was making a big deal of it but really it wasnt at all, i can now tell a good story that I got my blood drawn in Africa, hey its better than a amateur nursing student who was digging around for mine... I an just kidding the guys couldnt even find my vien which I thought was pretty ridiculous, i had to show him which one. Dont worry mom, everything is fine!!!!!!!!
This week was a very rewarding and uplifting week for us cause Danic was Baptised!!!! It was an a amazing experience! He really has grasped the gospel and taken off with it! I will send a picture later. But i dunno, Danic is just like the perfect investigtor, understnads well and when he doesnt he asks questions, keeps his commitments and more importantly, LIVES the gospel! From the man he was when I met him until now he has made huge changes in his life and has been incredibly blessed for it! He is one of the happiest guys now! Just another testmony to chalk up on my board of testimonies! That is what the gospel is all about changing lives to make one happier, thats all it is pure righteous everlasting happiness! No one can ever disagree with that, I dont care who you are it is that simple.
 LIfe is very simple I have come to find, very very simple, i could explain it all to you but I wont. Sometimes its the journey not the destination that matters. Life is awesome, is such an adeventure with random twists, thats my favorite part the random small and simple things. The key is just to have His gospel in your life and LIVE it! In the words of a wise friend... vous devez la foi in Jésus-Chirst et suivre son evangile pour que vous puissez être herreux!  (you must have faith in Christ so that you can be happy) He is a good man!

Missions fly by I mean this week 1/4 of my mission is over! Yikes! Thats almost too fast! Its pretty crazy how fast its gone. I just hope one day my french catches up! Well I dunno what else to write this week so I will catch you next week! Love ya remember who you are!

love
elderly

The Benin Story‏

I dunno if the Benin story is as good as the westside story, but alot of stuff has happened this week. So where to begin? Lets see, well transfers was this week, I am still with my frenchman Elder Foucher for another six weeks. I am really stoked about that, we get along really well and my french really really improves cause of him! We had Zone confernece this week and it was pretty good.

This week was kind of a slow week cause of Zone Confrence. We did a lot of tracking as usual cause our cartier is DEAD! So tracking this week was interesting, we were walking back to our apartment in the dark and someone passing us started chanting Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith. It was really interesting and quite funny to the point I started laughing, i dunno if that was the best thing to do...  Then later we were walking along and We felt prompted to talk to this one guy in particular, as we walked up he called he us the 'mormons' I havent heard that named in so long! It turns out that he is from the Congo and knez alot about the mormons. We have started to teaching him.OHH I almost forgot!!

This week Danic is getting baptised!  I am really excited for this one cause I am really close with him and the changes he has made in his life is just incredible! the gospel is simply incredible! I have been reading alot of old genreal conference talks and man, i read one called, SUNDAY WILL COME by joseph b.wirthlin that was incredible! Just the sincereity and the simplictiy of the doctrine and the comfort that comes from that! One person we founs just had his niece die that was six years old and it was very hard for him. We shared a little about the ressurection and how children are automatically saved, and one day he can live with here forever and this is thanks to jesus christ! The spirit was so strong, the gospel is simply amazing and simply TRUE! I know it is!

I got to thank my aunt carrie cause I recieved my first package this week! Peanut butter has never tasted sooo good! Along with redvines!! Thank oyu so much! I am way to spoiled sometimes, but this doesnt mean you have to stop! I also recieved letters from dAVID THAT WERE OVER THREE MONTHS OLD!! THANKS TO Benin mail! haha


oh and a little side noteI got robbed this week! yes my camera got stolenn along with all my pics. Im alittle depressed because of that cause I had some really good ones, and I found out the Butch died this week. MAMan I thought he would last a little longer but life goes on. Well things are good in Benin hope everything is amazing with all of you! until next week I love ya and remember who you are!!!

love
 elderly

Benin is good!‏

Mom, first of all, I knew that you would be worried but now I am fine, by wednesday I was completely fine!! Malaria, what is that? Never heard of it, haha I am kidding. Dont worry Sister Southam took very good care of me! So you can thank her. And no I dont have Malaria. Well this week. Has been slow yet I when things are slow, you learn sooooooooooo much! So we had a lot of rattiez-vous, this is when people dont show up at your rendez-vous, something 12. Slow week! And it rained all week. One thing I have come to learn about rain and African, they dont mix. Aie Aie Aie! Tracking in the rain no one wants to hear your message. They will NOT go out at all even if it looks like it is going to rain. Hard week. BUt I love it!!! At Church on Sunday it was raining, guess how many investigators came to church? ZERO. Not even one, it was really hard to grasp. Why no one would come, I was kinda mad about it all Sunday until after our 3 hour planning session I was reading in Conference talks and I realized something. My testimony!!! I dunno alot of things came into this moment. One of our investigators didnt not comphrend the concept of faith, I have have been studying that, and I realized what I am here to do. Proclaim that god TRUE church is here! It is not some ther good church, in which I am trying to convice people to come to church. But this is HIS TRUE chuch! No other church can say this! I am a servant of God called to proclaim everlasting life!!! I cant wait to share my testimony with everyone, I shouldnt be ashamed at all cause this work is is gods work. I cant describe how I feel, just amazing realizing this is not just going to church, its your eternal welfare at sake! A lot of things have come together, and I am truly grateful for everything that is hard, everything I get to go through because it just builds my testimony and character! This church is true! There is no doubt! If there is anything that is more sure than this, tell me cause I dont know! The church is His, everything that happens to us, every trail, hardship is nessacry for our salvation! God, Christ lives! I dunno what to say except if you dont know find out! Get on your knees and ask Him to know! He answers, every nite he answers my prayers, every nite! This is my testimony! As I said, Benin is good! Until next week, remember who you are! love ya!


love elderly

SICK IN BENIN

So here is the letter my mom has been dreading for since I opened my call... I was sick this week! haha Yeah quite the adventure, a couple of days ago I had a temperature of 101, and staying up all nite doing what is lovely referred to the double dragon. Thats all im going to say. So they think I might have Malaria or something small like that. Not much to eat and sleep the last couple of days but, hey what do I expect? Im in Africa! It also couple be some sort of parasite or something dunno. Its all good! It just makes everything kinda blurry at times.. and at nite it is really cold, wow, it cold at nite! Im doing a little better still have a temperature and stuff but it will be fine mom!

For this week, I meet a person called Will. An amazing kid, we started to teach him this week and at our first rendez-vous he took notes like he was a school and just posing these questions that simply put were amazing! I really like him, you know those kinda of people you meet for the first time but you feel like you have known them your whole life, yep I meet one of them in Africa! And in French! I dont know, he is another Taylor, Ken, Bryce kind of a guy. Just really awesome and pretty dang serious too! I feel really good about him! Danic is progessing really well and doing very good. Serge is doing alright, i worry about him lot. Man you really grow attached to people on a mission, especially those you teach. Like Hortance and Eric and Hypolite, just cant explain it, just you love them i guess, simply put and you just want them to feel the thing you feel, have the blessing of the gospel in their lives. We let go on of our long time investigaitrs th at wasnt really progressing, wow its difficult. really difficult.

So here is africa in a nut shell so i was luch and we were sitting on the side of the road drinking a malta for lunch and there are thousnads of motos driving by and one moto, jsut one had a monkey sitting the handle bars of a moto! It was really cool, i wish i could of taken a picture with him, i tried to flag him down but to no advail. well i no its short but so is life, any ways ttyl and remember who you are! love ya

love
elderly