Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief





in a corn patch with Elder Gnahore

This has been a very interesting week.  It has been full of some very good experiences and some not so good.  If I learned anything this week, it's that a mission isn't split into good and bad experiences, but rather it is spiritual and learning experiences.  It's been a struggle this week partially with missing home and with cultural differences in the apartment.  One of the things about the mission is that we have very specific rules set in place both to keep us safe and to help us be in touch with the Spirit of the Lord and of the work we are doing.  The Africans have a very different interpretation of a lot of these rules, which at times this past week has led to some times of tension in our apartment.  To sum up my week, I shall paraphrase a bit from Thursday in my journal this week:

Yesterday was a very interesting day.  I was still in quite a bit of a down mood from the day before.  When we got back to the apartment for lunch, I decided to take some time for myself after lunch to listen to soothing music (Paul Cardall) and read the latest Conference issue of the Ensign.  (For those of you who don't know, every six months our church has a church wide conference that is based in Salt Lake but is broadcast all over the world.  In this Conference, all of the leaders of our church, men who are called of God, share a spiritually uplifting message.  This is then transcribed into our church magazine (The Ensign) so that we can go back later and study those inspired words.)  I had been praying to our Heavenly Father for guidance and comfort during these trying times.  I put myself in the Lord's hands and said whichever talk I randomly opened up to, I would read all the way through and try to find the message.  I soon learned that it wasn't random at all in the Lord's eyes.  The first message that I opened up to was by Elder Bruce R. Porter of the Seventy, entitled "Beautiful Mornings."  Immediately I felt such a Spirit of peace and comfort, even to the point of almost weeping.  This provided such a simple, but powerful message of light in a time which was, at the time, seeming so dark.  This gave me such a message of hope that I knew that it had to be the words of God, merely spoken by the words of one of his servants.  When I finished reading this talk, I wondered how a man that I have never heard of before could bring such a change in my life during a time of need.  I now realize that this is exactly what I am doing as a missionary, which brings me even more comfort, to know that it can be done.  The phrase that affected me the most was when he stated, when speaking of missionary work in our church, "no man can stay its course, for God is the author of this work and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone."  I know, without a doubt, at this moment, that I have been called of God to perform this work.

I then looked back to see which session of the conference this was given (Sunday Afternoon, April 2013), and I saw the first message of this session was given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, entitled "Lord, I Believe."  Again, I felt this same feeling of peace and comfort come over me as I remembered being in the building and feeling the Spirit of this message.  Elder Holland started by recounting the New Testament story of a father and his sick son.  When the father finally meets the Savior, he pleads for help, or in the least, compassion.  Christ then replies in asking if he has faith, for "all things are possible to him that believeth."  The story then continues, "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (See Mark 9:22-24)  I thought of how this situation could apply to me, and I immediately opened my heart to the Lord and tried my hardest to turn myself to Him.  Something about the mission is that you cannot just call home to Mom when you're struggling; I can only email home one day a week.  In this instance, I think I really learned for the first time how to lean upon the Lord for help through prayer.  For the first time in my life, I felt truly converted unto the Lord, even amongst all the noise and turmoil in the world around me.  What a marvelous feeling this was, and I intend to carry it with me for the rest of my mission and the rest of my life.

This was indeed a very special experience for me.  I believe it has changed me and with that I can continue forward in this marvelous work.  I have shared this with all of you to bear testimony and witness that we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us all so very much.  I share this to bear witness that Jesus Christ really suffered and died for all of our pains, sicknesses, and afflictions so that we can lean on Him in times of need.  Whatever you are going through, He has felt the same way you have and worse, and He was able to make it through in order to help us, merely out of love and obedience.  For that I am eternally grateful and I love Him so much.  Finally, I share this to bear witness that I have been called of God to share His holy message of His restored gospel in Togo and Benin.  I love you all, and I thank you for all of you support.

Je vous aime tous!

Elder Jenkins





Ambroise

P.S.  I think I found the next Ziggy Ansah this morning.  His name is Ambroise and he's on the Togo national basketball team.  He doesn't have the means to contact or get to BYU, so I said I can use my sources to get him recruited.  He's a member and I met him this morning while playing basketball.  He's pretty dang good.

Happiness comes from focusing on what really matters

Elders Jenkins, Owusu-Fenyi, Kalala, Seidl, Gnahore, Mukenga outside their apartment on 6.14.13                          (before the move)

Wow!  What a week it's been!  So far, I'm loving it out here!  I'm getting used to being hungry all the time, and this french keyboard is a little challenging, and I'm getting used to sweating a lot, but other than that it's amazing!  I have quite a bit of trouble communicating with the people here, but mainly because I don't understand them.  As my companion, Elder Gnahore, says to people, I speak French well, but I just struggle understanding Africans.

I am currently serving in Lomé, Togo in the Nukafu and Wuiti Quartiers.  They are just north of the downtown area, so lots of dirt roads and not the best housing situations for most.  It's really amazing how the people here have so little yet are so happy.

So Elder Lynch, who was one of the three coming out to Africa at the same time, missed his flight in Washington, DC.  Elder Haggard and I became worried when he didn't meet up with us in Brussels.  In addition to that, because he wasn't there to pick up his baggage in Cotonou, they put it back on the plane, which was off to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire the same night.  I'm sure he's suffering from that right now, but the Lord takes care of His missionaries, so I'm sure he'll be ok.

Elder Haggard and I arrived Thursday night at about 9 o'clock in the evening.  President and Sister Weed were there to pick us up and took us to the mission home for a quick dinner and to bed.  The mission home was very, very nice, especially for out here.  The road to get there was the bumpiest road I've ever been on.  The next morning I had an interview with President Weed, filled out some papers, and we were on our way to Togo.  Lomé is only 90 kilometers from Cotonou, but it took us 3 hours to get there because of the road conditions.  What an amazing ride in my life.  The country is absolutely beautiful, but you have to be careful where you walk.  The missionaries drove us to the border for us to go across and then exchanged with Elder and Sister Leavitt, who are pretty much the ma and pa of the Togo missionaries.  Once we got to Lomé, they took us to Festival de la glace, where I got a hamburger. Nothing like a hamburger at home, but it worked.  As we were ordering ice cream, Elders Gunderson and Lemaire came in to get some ice cream after a run.  They are one of the only companionships in the whole mission that has two white missionaries.

After lunch we dropped off Elder Haggard at his apartment, which was quite literally a block from, the beach.  Then 20 minutes north we finally got to my apartment.  Elder and Sister Leavitt dropped me off there and told me not to unpack because we would be moving on Monday (today).  Apparently, the landlord is a drunk and beats his family.  Unfortunately, we had to listen to it Saturday night, and it wasn't pleasant.  It took everything I had in me not to go downstairs and do something.  I'm very glad we moved for several reasons.  1) the new place is much nicer, 2) the old place was right next to a mosque, so we were woken up every morning at 4 for the prayer call, 3) we now live in Elder Gnahore and mine area, so we no longer have to walk half a kilometer to get to our area, and 5) there was a sort of evangelist church last night that was performing rituals until quite late.  One thing about Africans is that they loved God very much, so when they worship, they go ALL OUT.

One of the things I've found here is that almost everyone is very religious.  There's really 3 religions that I've run into: Islam, Catholicism, and other Christians.  The Muslims have no interest in talking to us, and a lot of the Christians just talk to us because they just want to Bible bash.  However, there have been many that are genuinely interested in what we have to say.  However, our main problem is showing people the God does actually have a body of flesh and bone, but some won't accept that fact, even on a basis of Genesis 1:26-27 and Acts 7:55-56.  We have quite a few teaching appointments set up this week so I'm very excited to see how it goes.  

It's been a change living with 4 Africans and only one other American.  The Africans are Elder Kalala and Mukenga (both Congolais), Elder Owusu (Ghanien), and Elder Gnahore (Ivorien).  The other Americain is Elder Seidl, from Idaho.  We all get along well, but the Africans are definitely a lot more light hearted than most missionaries.  However, most of them do know how to work when the time comes.  I'm very glad to have Elder Gnahore (pronouced ynaw-or-ay) as my trainer because he's very good with working hard out in the field.  I'm excited for when I can understand the Africans more so that I can participate more in the discussion.

One thing that I've found is that while there are so many things that are different out here, there are so many that are so similar as well.  I don't really know how to describe it.  That doesn't mean that there isn't anything weird.  Probably the weirdest is that in the three days I've been here, I've been proposed marriage three times.  One to a 6-year-old.  I learn to just politely decline.  They also consider 3:00 to be evening here, because the sun goes down at 6:30.  Another thing that is vastly different is the people.  While there are a few that may not have the best intentions, the general population, especially outside of the downtown area where I am, are all very nice and very friendly.  They almost never look like it, but if you say hello they smile and are very friendly back.

I absolutely LOVE the kids.  Even more than I thought I would.  I've noticed there's a specific pattern of events with kids.  If it's one alone, they generally don't look at you, unless they're brave.  If there's 2 or 3, they smile sheepishly while biting the tips of their fingers.  This is where it gets fun.  If there's 4 or more: 100 meters out: "YOVO! YOVO! YOVO!" which is their word for gringo, then 80 meters out starts the song "Yovo! Yovo! Yovo là bas! Il vient ici! Bonjour! ça va? Bien! Merci!" which means "Yovo! Yovo! Yovo over there! He is coming here! Hello! How are you! Good! Thank you!"  Finally 10 meters away the song stops and they revert back to 2-3 children.  Until I wave and say hello, how are you.  Then, they all smile with the biggest smiles and run along with me, yelling their responses.  It warms the heart each time, no matter how many times it happens.

Well that's all I have time for today.  I love you all, and I know that If we can all follow the example of the people here, not worrying so much about worldly things but focusing on what really matters, then we would all be so much more happier.  Our worries would immensely dissipate, and happiness would not be hard to find.  That's what I've seen in myself.  These are the harshest conditions I've ever lived in by far, yet I am the happiest I've ever been in my life,and just like the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I want to share it with the whole world!

Je vous aime tous!

Elder Jenkins 

P.S.  Oh! I forgot to add that I tried pate yesterday.  Depending on the suace it can be good, but the sauce I had tasted like the zoo.  Yes, the ZOO.  Imagine the smell of the zoo and then put it in taste form.  Yeah, disgusting.  But I'll get used to it.  Yes pate was interesting, but it can be good with the right sauce.

Love to see his sense of humor still coming through

Guessing this is his bed - I recognize the tie on the bed post and the towel and luggage tag are his

Need to remind him to let us know what his pictures are - recognize his luggage and bag tags over there with his shoes.  

This is Africa, my home . . .

Elder Jenkins with President and Sister Weed

A long 34 hours after leaving Provo, Elder Jenkins arrived in Cotonou Benin last night at about 8:15 pm local time.  He spent the night with President and Sister Weed in their home his first night in Africa.  After some training and an interview today, he made the 4-hour drive to Togo to meet his first companion and trainer and get acquainted with his new home, in Africa.  Isn't his smile contagious?  The real adventure now begins. . . .

MTC week 2

Salut mes amis!  Well it's been an exceptionally busy week!  The first few days were kinda like drinking out of a fire hydrant, but now that it's slowed down I can really enjoy it.  There's just something about being around so many that have the same standards as me!  The spirit here is absolutely amazing!

I've been learning so much!  Everyday except Sunday and p-day we're in class for at least 6 hours and the rest of the time is spent with meals, study, teaching appointments, and an hour for exercise. Thursday we had in-field orientation, which is where we learn how to effectively plan our time and work with those around us.  It got me so excited to be out in Africa next week!  I'm so excited to be able to share this simple and true message.  All of the training I've had over the past 9 days has really strengthened my faith and testimony in Jesus Christ and all of His modern-day prophets, all the way from Joseph Smith down to Thomas S. Monson today.

That's all I have time to write today, but next time I write should be a week from Monday when I'm in Africa!  I love you all!

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins