Restoration or Reformation

Carlos' baptism:  Me, Carlos, Djimdo with the glasses, Elder Bile

Wow!  It’s hard to believe that a week has already gone by again!  This past week absolutely flew!!!  This past Saturday we had Brother LAWSON’s baptism!  He’s the first person that I’ve taught in English that has been baptized!  His friend (whose name is Djimdo) was baptized with his own family in Anfamé in February, and so that’s how we got his contact.  Ever since Djimdo introduced Carlos (Brother LAWSON’s nickname) to the missionaries in Anfamé, he has been wanting to change things around.  Before we even started teaching, he wanted to be baptized, so the only that has held him back is time.

What’s even better is that Saturday we decided to give Carlos a little surprise.  We called Djimdo, his friend, Wednesday evening when we had the Zone Leaders over for Carlos’ baptismal interview.  The Zone Leaders were actually the ones who taught Djimdo and his family, so they gave me his phone number, and I was able to call him and invite him to come and baptize Carlos on Saturday.  He got very excited and said, “Yes, of course I will!”  Saturday came, and Carlos still had no idea that Djimdo was coming, even though Carlos received a phone call from him congratulating him.  Anyways, Carlos was very, very surprised and even happier than he was surprised.  That was a great experience for Carlos because he isn’t the most comfortable in a church where he doesn’t understand anything (I translate for him every Sunday).  Thankfully he speaks éwé so he can communicate fine with the members, but he doesn’t understand anything in the lessons because they’re all in French.

Anyways, we were all very grateful for Carlos and his decision to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized.  Immediately following his baptism, Carlos said that he was going to visit a friend whose room had recently caught on fire and burned everything.  He had told us about it a couple times, and we had a free hour, so we decided to follow and pay him a visit.  As we went into their parcel, there was a gazebo in the middle with quite a few people just sitting around talking.  Carlos sat us down and we talked with his friend, who is from Sierra Leone and speaks English!  We chatted with him for a little bit, not really paying attention to the other people at this time.  Then, all of the sudden, it clicked in my head that they were all speaking English!  So we fixed an appointment with Carlos’ friend and then were able to chat a bit with the others.  I found out that there were two from Sierra Leone, one from Liberia, one from Ghana, and the rest I’m not sure. They all work with Carlos at the port.  A few of them are actually on the boats, but most of them are stationed here at the Lomé Port.   We ended up have a good, if only slightly animated, discussion with them about religion, and they were all very interested in our message.  I was just very happy to see how much Carlos was already talking to them about our message and how he knows that it is good and true.  He was so excited to share with them that he had been baptized that day.  Recent converts are great.

So this week, I wanted to share a little bit about a family that we are teaching right now, the DOLOU family.  We taught them just yesterday (Sunday, the 30th), and it was a fantastic lesson.  The Spirit was there, testifying of this truth, and it was noticeable that the family was feeling it as well.  We started by teaching the mom, Georgette.  After the first lesson with her, we asked her if we could share our message with the whole family.  She replied that there shouldn’t be a problem.  So, two weeks later, we were able to find a time to get an appointment with her and the two younger kids.  The oldest came a bit late, so we met him, too.  Which left the dad.  The next Sunday we were there again, but Georgette was busy.  However, Dad was there and he seemed interested.  We were able to talk about and explain the Book of Mormon.  The following week, we came back to find that Dad was still at work.  But, we were able to talk with Georgette and the kids.  We also found that Dad had taken great interest in the Book of Mormon, had read quite a bit, and had noted several things on a sheet of paper.

We then decided last week that we should invite the Gbedjagni family to join us for our appointment with the Dolou family.  The Gbedjani’s are Togolese but lived in Benin for about 18 years before returning just recently to Togo.  They have been members for quite some time.  Frère Gbedjagni was even a branch president in Benin, and they have been to General Conference in Utah several times.  Anyways, so this past Sunday we went by with the Gbedjagni family and we asked them to testify of how the Church and the Restored Gospel have helped their family.  The Dolou family really felt how important families are in this church and they were very touched by that.

We then had a bit of time at the end, and Frère Dolou asked, “What is the relationship between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith?”  I absolutely loved this question and had to restrain myself from jumping up and down shouting “EVERYTHING!!!!”  But, I was able to explain that Joseph Smith was an instrument in God’s hands for restoring the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness here upon the earth again through the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ.  I was able to calmly add at the end that Joseph Smith has everything to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has everything to do with Joseph Smith.

Frère Dolou then went on to explain to us how he understood the difference between Reformation and Restoration.  He saw how every church on this earth today in some way or form has been reformed from another church which did not have the fullness.  He then explained how it was necessary that the Church of Jesus Christ be RESTORED on the earth, and how he believed that the Book of Mormon would be the answer to the question if Joseph Smith really was the prophet chosen by God to restore all things upon the earth.  He was and still is very intrigued that there are more scriptures inspired of God than just the Bible.  He has also plainly explained to us how he knows that men have tampered with the Bible, and thus it is only true if it has been organized and translated correctly.

Needless to say, we are very excited for the Dolou family.  We haven’t had too many opportunities to teach families here in Baguida, but now the Lord has given us an opportunity, a great opportunity.

Well, I think that’s it for this week.  I love you all so much, and I thank you all for the prayers and support that you give me every day.  It helps so much.  God gives me more and more strength every day to overcome the trials and temptation of my own life to focus on the salvation of others.

Have a joy-filled week.

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

PS: Shout out to all my friends and former teammates for some outstanding performances at NCAAs (yes, I got a few chirps from a few little birds).

Pigeon's nest on our balcony.

Elder Faerber, Elder Barton and I found Teddy Grahams today!

Giselle's (one of our investigators) son.  Poor kid.  He had an accident, so mom just put him in a bucket while she swept it up.  But he thought it was hilarious!

Slavery liberation monument in Lomé.

Godly sorrow and divine potential

Hey everyone!  Well, this has been another great week!  I don’t really know how to explain my week, but I hope that in sharing a couple of experiences I can show how my testimony of two important principles has been so strengthened this week.  As I have learned this week, and I hope that you see this as well, these two principles are directly linked.

First, our need for trials.  This week has been full of trials.  I have learned many things over the past weeks, but it seems like I have had some growing pains in applying these things.  There were three days this week with so many empty slots open in our day.  We have no shortage of investigators to teach out here, but NO ONE was available.  Well, this was something that I haven’t really experienced since the first month of my mission, so immediately I just started feeling inadequate as we had called and called and called for planning Wednesday night, but no one was picking up.  I let Satan into my mind and became very discouraged.

The next morning was not much better.  I was slightly lethargic, and I found it hard to find the motivation to study, something that I rarely struggle with.  The whole morning was just a struggle, from Personal Study all the way through Training.  I knew that I needed to get out of this funk, but I just couldn’t do it.  I tried thinking positively, but I had left my mind open too far earlier and I just kept thinking that I was more and more inadequate.  What happened next was a miracle.  Without going into too much detail, my companion and I were able to kneel down and pray together.  It was amazing what I learned about this experience.  First, like I wrote with my studies from last week, guilt is not meant to hold us back or push us down.  Rather, Godly sorrow is meant to push us upwards towards true repentance.  Second, I didn’t feel the weight lifted from my shoulders until after I had acted.  By praying for the Lord’s help to lift my burdens and then taking a step of faith to go out and teach with the authority that has been bestowed upon me, I felt the immediate affects of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.  As soon as I took one step outside of the door, I felt the weight lifted from my shoulders and I knew that everything would be okay.  With this experience, I was reminded of John the Baptist when Jesus came unto him to be baptized.  John himself knew that he would be the one to baptize Jesus, but he still resisted at first because he did not feel worthy to do it.  However, after Jesus reminded him that John held the authority to do it, he resisted no more and accomplished all righteousness.
 

As I looked back on this experience, I realized that I had learned so much.  My studies from the past two mornings from President Uchtdorf’s talk entitled “You Can Do It Now!” from this past General Conference aided in my learning experiences.  I have learned how possible it is to choose to be happy, even when surrounded by a negative environment.  I have learned how much we all need the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives and that if we try to trust in our own strengths instead of seeking to fulfill the will of the Lord, our eternal progression will be halted.  Finally, after many other lessons that I have not listed, I have learned that we need trials in order to grow and progress.

The second principle is our divine potential as children of God.  This is something that I have found to be very true during my mission, an eternal truth.  We are all children of our Heavenly Father.  He loves us very much.  So much that His whole goal and purpose is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” which He later described as the greatest of all His gifts.  As I have come to see throughout my entire mission, this goal is very real.  That is our whole purpose in life.  And in order to obtain it, certain things are required of us.  These things, which we call the gospel of Jesus Christ, are faith, repentance, baptism by immersion by one holding the authority of God, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  God has promised us that if we do these things—walking resolutely along the strait and narrow path— that we will have eternal life.

Studying President Uchtdorf’s talk this morning filled me with the Spirit.  It was amazing what I found in his words.  It seemed as if they were pronounced out of the Lord’s mouth (see D&C 1:38) directly to me.  The Lord truly is amazing, and He truly does work through His called servants today.  My heart was deeply touched as he explained (using 2 Corinthians 7:10) the difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.  I realized that the sorrow that was weighing me down this week was greatly influenced by worldly sorrow.  He then went on to explain how we need to have our eyes set on our own eternal goals, and by association, God’s will.  He explained that even those who have their sights on their own personal and family eternal goals will stumble and fall with the rest of us, “but they will not be defeated.  They trust and rely upon the promises of God.”

Later, he explained that if we “rise up and follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer and Savior, and one day [we] will look back and be filled with eternal gratitude that [we] chose to trust the Atonement and its power to lift [us] up and give [us] strength” (emphasis added). These words deeply impressed me, and I was prompted to further ponder upon his use of the word “eternal” in these cases.  What I found was that these referred to greater implications than we mortals can imagine.  It is amazing God’s plan for us.  As President Uchtdorf said, “[God] has given us the map,” which is the words of the prophets, ancient and modern.

One final thing that really made an impression on me and really pushed me to write this today came from the last paragraph of his talk.  He said, “You are stronger than you realize.  You are more capable than you can imagine.”  This testified again to me of our divine potential.  God promised us in D&C 84:33-38 that if we receive Him, we will receive ALL that He has, something that, as President Uchtdorf explained, we cannot even imagine.  We have the potential—a divine potential—that we cannot comprehend as mortals.  Yes, we mortals fall, it’s what we do.  But “our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.”

Our trials in this life, no matter how great or small, have a purpose—a great purpose in the eyes of God.  These trials teach us many specific things, but in general, they teach us to rise up, time and time again, so that one day, we can learn to never fall again.  As the apostle Paul described, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.”  That is our divine potential.  Rather, that is merely a miniscule iota of our divine potential—a potential which cannot be described in finite, mortal language.

As I have said, this week, even amongst the trials, has been another amazing week.  The mission is amazing, and it is truly ordained by God.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by Jesus Christ himself through mortal men that have been called, set apart, and are continually inspired by God.  There is no other way to put it.  This is the truth on the earth today, and I am so grateful for this opportunity that our Heavenly Father has given me to share this glad message.  He also gives me everyday a chance to draw closer to Him and draw closer to my own divine potential through the many trials that we all encounter every day.

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

Folly's baptism Saturday, 3.22.14

Precious Saturday night

Candid picture of me getting ready last week

His Grace is Sufficient

with Elder Imoukhiede

Well, it seems yet again that I can't even begin to describe my feelings this week!!! Today we took a trip to Kpalimé (2 hours north of Lomé and an hour and a half north of the closest missionaries), but that will have to wait a bit because I'm short on time, and I wanted to share another great experience from this week 

So, to put it a bit short, if you had asked me how I was feeling during the week, I probably would have told you terrible.  And it was hard; appointments dropping like ants on a piece of caramel that I left on my desk (African ants are CRAZY). I don't know if that makes sense but it did in my head. Anyways, I found that I was focusing way too much on impressing others (and I'm sure those of you who know me well are not surprised) instead of the Lord.  I was focusing way too much on numbers and statistics instead of focusing on fulfilling the will of the Lord.  So, with that in mind, I found myself feeling miserable before humbling myself and allowing the Lord to instruct me in His own kind, gentle, and loving way. 

As I previously stated, soooooo many appointments were just dropping like flies, and our numbers were not in top form throughout the week. Well, with my analytical brain, I let that go to my head quick, and I got really, really discouraged.  With the physical, mental, emotional, and especially spiritual fatigue setting in, I was becoming a train wreck around Thursday. 

Then, Friday came, and we had the Togo Missionary Leadership Training Conference for all of the Trainers, District Leaders, and Zone Leaders in Togo.  It seemed that everything was o speak directly to me, as if the Lord himself were speaking to my troubled heart.  Sister Weed spoke about handling stress with the new booklet "Adjusting to Missionary Life."  This was a bit of balm to my soul, but He wasn't finished yet.  President Weed then followed and spoke about many things, but what touched me the most was one simple phrase that brightened my mind.  This really accented the fact that I needed to focus FIRST on fulfilling the will of the Lord in all things and not focus on the numbers.  Yes, number are important, but the Lord's will in infinitely and eternally so much more important.  This left me with a lot of food for thought, but I was happy as I left the conference. 

Afterwards, I knew that I needed to change, but I was getting so down on myself for the way I had acted this week and the thoughts that I had had and the ignorance that I had shown to the Lord's will. Friday went well, but I still wasn't feeling 100%. 

Saturday, I had planned on studying one of the talks from the Priesthood Session of the past General Conference. However as I had finally received a package that my mom sent in November, I saw that there was an Ensign from September included.  I just started flipping through it, and I fell upon an article entitled "How God's Grace Really Works."  I was intrigued and decided to study that for my personal study.  It soon became clear to me why I needed to study such a topic. 

Within the first three paragraphs, I noticed how much mine own thoughts aligned with those that the author had described with those who struggled with the concept of God's grace.  As I continued to read, it was amazing again how I heard the Lord's voice in what I was reading.  One quote that really stood out to me, taken from Elder Oaks, said something like: "The regret that we all need to feel in order to repent of our sins is not for punishment or payment.  We can never repay the debt that Christ himself has offered for us.  Rather, this regret is meant to change us and transform us." 

These words were exactly what I needed to read and study. This lightened a heavy load, and the pavilion was finally able to be lifted and I felt God's love and grace for me.  We do not need to punish ourselves for our own sins.  God understands us, better than any of us understand us, I might add.  He knows the intents of our hearts and, as long as we are striving to be our best, His grace is sufficient to heal and to make us whole.  This article talked of many other things, but this is what I learned and needed in order to press on.  The difference in my own work as a missionary has been astonishing.  I love the Lord and I love His work.  (Note from Mom:  Here is a link the article he is referring to:  His Grace is Sufficient by Brad Wilcox) 

Finally, today.  I need to be brief because I am out of time, but today was absolutely fantastic!  It started at 4:30 am.  We made it to Tokoin at 6 and were pulling out in the bus at 7.  We made it Kpalimé at 9:30 and made the hike up the mountain to the waterfall in an hour and a half.  For a couple hours, we enjoyed the scenes, took pictures, ate lunch, and enjoyed time together.  Finally, at about 1 we made our way back down, and we were pulling out at 2.  We made it back to Tokoin at about 4:30. 

This was one of the most beautiful hikes of my life.  It was also was one the most hot and humid.  I loved this experience and the memories that it brought back of many other hikes in my life.  The scenes were stunning over looking the valley, but unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice.  I wish I had more time to explain, but I'm out of time, and I'll let the pictures tell the rest.  They're each worth 1,000 words anyways.

First view of the first mountain I've seen with my own eyes in 9 months!

A better view

The trail

The valley

Towards the top overlooking the valley

Elder Potter and I found a secret pathway up to a secret ridge that
nobody else found that led directly to the first waterfall.  The mist
was quite refreshing.

With Elder Maruai (Tahitien)

The second fall

Taking a shower with Elder Oliverson and Elder Peterson.

With Elder Florion (Tahitien) 

Well, I love you all.  It has been an amazing week followed by an amazing day!  Enjoy every minute of life, and use it wisely.  We all have a purpose here on the earth, and how we use our time here in this life has everything to do with our life after death.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Amazing experiences

Well, the past few days have been quite amazing!  Elder Bile and I have had some very amazing experiences together this week, and my testimony has been strengthened that the Spirit accompanies us even more once we learn to heed His promptings.

So let's start of with earlier this week.  Because we took a trip to the grand marché last Monday, I didn't have time to do my laundry.  I don't know why, but my shirts just don't seem to get clean anymore.  I can scrub and scrub and scrub, but the dirt stays set in.  So, as I was scrubbing my shirts, I let myself get super discouraged.  Finally, the time came when we had to go out, so I just left it.

 

An all-exclusive premier look at laundry in Africa.  Sorry I've
taken so long to take this picture.  And yes, I'm sitting on the toilet seat.

Then, the next morning, as I was drying myself off from the shower and then eating breakfast, I heard scrubbing noises coming from the shower.  I went to go check it out, but the door was locked.  Seeing that Elder Dih and Elder Donadier were not in, I knew it was Elder Bile.  I asked what he was doing, and I only received a vague response.  I then put my clothes on to start studying, and just as I was sitting down to my desk, out comes Elder Bile with all of my laundry!  I was speechless!  I tried explaining to him how much he helped me and how much of a burden he had lifted from me, but the words weren't coming out quite right, and he didn't want to hear it anyways.  Ok, keep this simple act of love in mind.

So, I was trying to think of something that I can do to serve him back, and nothing was really coming.  I then had the thought that I could focus a lot more on his training by putting a lot more study into the scheduled topics instead of flying by the seat of my pants  (As a side note, I've found that our training study sessions everyday have become much more profound and much more edifying.).

So as part of where we are in training, I have been trying to get him more involved in lessons.  Wednesday night, we were teaching a couple of recent converts who had missed Church for two weeks.  I started off a bit, but he was super excited to give them lots of advice and counsel and scriptures.  So, after I talked, Elder Bile then went on with many stories and Bible references about how people were punished in ancient times for not keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  This went on for about an hour.

We got back pretty darn late.  Everyday at the end of daily planning, I ask him three things that we did well and one thing that we can improve on.  He shared his thoughts, and then I shared mine.  I shared that one thing we do well is start well, which he does really well.  I then shared that we can improve on ending well and ending in a timely manner.  He took this a bit hard, and I noticed how this hit him immediately and tried to repair it how I could, but I trusted in the Lord that I did the right thing.

Long story short, the next day, Thursday, he was in a huge funk and didn't say a thing during all of the lessons.  We got back to the apartment a bit early and had a lot to talk about.  He realized that he had reacted badly and almost immediately got back to the happy, cheery, loud Elder Bile that I know.

Then, it was my turn.  Saturday morning he shared a suggestion for me of how we could do something better.  Normally, I take these suggestions just fine, but this morning I did not.  I didn't get angry, but I definitely got defensive and didn't have the Spirit with me.  We progressed with our studies after we had discussed a bit, but I knew that I wasn't in the right place.  As we were making the transition from companionship study to training study, I took a couple of minutes in silence to leave everything else around me and just focus on what I needed to focus on.  I then said a silent prayer to help me leave this.  I suddenly realized that I personally had the choice to let this bother me or not, and I immediately dropped it.  I put my trust in the Lord and just opened my mouth, and words started coming out.  These words were exactly what I needed to hear.  This had then helped me to humble myself before the Lord and my companion to ask forgiveness for what I felt and said.

The training study that followed was spectacular!  We talked a lot about Alma 22:4-18 and the importance of the Spirit in our lessons and the importance of LISTENING and then asking inspired questions, one of my favorite things of being a missionary.  He was really attentive, but what was even better was how we applied it.

So Saturday we taught 6 lessons, 5 of which were all some of the best lessons for me as a missionary.  The Spirit was SO tangible in each of the lessons as we listened to the Spirit and were able to discern their needs.  During most of the lessons, we truly were not speaking our own words, but were having words put in our mouth.  Several times Elder Bile cut what he wanted to say to what he needed to say, and we both shared the time so well!  After the lesson, he remarked, "Sorry. Was I too short?  I had more to say, but I didn't want to take up too much time.  Did I teach what I needed to?"  And then I was like, "OH MY GOSH, companion, that was AMAZING!  Honestly, I was very impressed!" After every lesson we were both able to share our thoughts, and there was so much unity with us for the rest of the day!

Typical homes in Africa

Then, Sunday came.  This Sunday was a Missionary Sunday, which means we do EVERYTHING.  Bless and pass the Sacrament, give the talks for Sacrament Meeting, teach Gospel Principles, and teach Elders' Quorum as well.  So, Elder Bile, Elder Dih, and I all gave talks and then Elder Donadier taught Gospel Principles, which left me to teach Elders' Quorum!  Elders' Quorum out here can be kind of similar to at home, "Ok let's read this paragraph.  Any questions?  Comments?  Yes that's very interesting, thank you, Elder. Ok next paragraph."  It's not every Sunday, but sometimes.  So, I really want to make it different.  As I was studying before hand, I was constantly praying and looking for ways to have inspired questions and avoid reading too much of the manual at once.

Well, the Lord blessed me with a lesson plan.  Honestly, everything flowed super well, and we had a great discussion throughout the whole lesson, and question led to question which led to another question. It was so great!  Another testimony of how questions can answer questions with patience and thinking.

Finally, yesterday after Church we had two phenomenal lessons again. The Spirit guided both of them and we finished off the night with a fantastic visit to a members house.

My apologies for rambling on so much today, but I just wanted to share how great my week was!  It's been full of humbling yet uplifting experiences; experiences that have greatly strengthened my testimony of the Spirit and the Lord's acceptance.

My dear friends, the time is flying by.  It's is so hard to believe that it's already March.  Next thing I know, I'll have been out for a year.  WEIRD.  This week will be 9 months in Togo.  But one thing I do know is that this Church is true.  As I have read a couple testimonies of General Authorities this past week, one common thing that I have found is that they all really gained a knowledge of these things during their missions.  I am a witness of this as well.  I add my testimony that I KNOW that these things are true.

I love you all.  Have a great week.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Story: decided to make French Toast with Elder Donadier.  Keep in
mind I'm making FRENCH toast with someone from FRANCE.

As I'm preparing it, he comes in and is like, "that's what we're
eating?" with a slightly disgusted look on his face.  When I replied
affirmatively, he got a little apprehensvie.  Once at the table, he
saw the syrup and was slightly curious.  I gave him his plate and told
him to just try it.  He did.

"OH MY GOSH THIS IS DELICIOUS!  I've never tasted anything like this
before in my life?!"  After I explained that we call this FRENCH toast
in America (French cooked bread in French as there isn't a word for
toast), he just laughed and said that they don't have anything like
that in France.  But he asks everyday now if we're going to eat "the
bread" again.  Hahaha Elder Donadier makes me laugh sometimes.

"Come to the edge"

Bonjour mes amis!  This has been quite a week!  Not too many special experiences to share, but things have been going great with Elder Bile and his training!  

with Elder Bile

This work is progressing well here in Baguida!  We have a couple baptisms lined up this month that I’m very excited for! We have also had some great miracles this past week with being guided by the Lord to find people, many times.  The Lord is truly in control of His own work!

The real big exciting news of the week comes from Thursday with a conference that we had with Elder Vinson.  As always, the Spirit was very present and there was much counsel and guidance shared with us the missionaries.  The main thing that he talked about was not shrinking before the will of the Lord, but rather exerting all of our own efforts and letting the Lord take us from there.  He shared a poem with us that Elder Holland shared once with missionaries in Australia:

“Come to the edge,” He said. “Come to the edge.”

“I can’t,” I said. “I can’t”

“Come to the edge,” He said. “Come to the edge.”

I did.

He pushed me.

I flew.

I loved how this illustrated what we are capable of when we give our all in our efforts to the Lord and then completely put our trust in Him.  I am so excited for how this and all of the other things that we learned that day will help me to grow and become a better missionary.

Since I don’t have too much else to share this week, I'll share my testimony of this Church and this work with you all.

I know that this Church is true.  I know it with all of my heart.  There is no other way.  This is God’s Church on earth today.  Here, we find the authority to act in His name.  Here we find precious truths about this life and the Plan of God that have been lost through time.  The same Church that Jesus Christ himself created in His day has been restored again through a prophet named Joseph Smith.  The entire truth has once again been restored in its proper place among men, as the prophets of old called it, “the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21).

I’m exhausted.  This is the hottest climate that I have ever been in.  Everyday is by far the farthest that I have walked in my life.  I wake up every morning exhausted, wondering how in the heck I’m going to get out of bed and go walk and teach and share this message.  Honestly, if this message was not true, I could NEVER do the things that I do every day.  I could NEVER overcome the fatigue that I have felt here in order to share this glad message.  But God is capable of doing His own work, and He truly does bless His servants.  The only reason that I am able to heave my weakened body out of bed in the morning is my testimony of this gospel and of this Church.

I know that God lives.  I know that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son, and that through Him and His eternal sacrifice, we, too, can rejoice in the eternal blessings of our Father.  I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration.  I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, sounding as voices rising up from the dust, testifying to the people of our day (see Isaiah 29:4, 2 Nephi 33:13).  I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s prophet on this earth today.  He leads us and guides us with divine counsel and inspiration.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church on the earth today.  I have seen countless blessings of these simple truths in my life, and I invite all of you to partake of these blessings with me.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

with Elder Donadier

Semken's Ramblings - 3.1.14

1 March 2014

We hope that today is a good day!

     This is the last month of our mission.   We will arrive home on Thursday 27, 2014 at 8:30, United Airlines, from Chicago.  

      Our report to our ward in Orem, Utah will be on April 13, 2014; 600 West 600 South; (South of Mountain View High School and north of the UVU campus); at 11 am.  We will have a luncheon at our home following Sacrament meeting; All of you are invited.   Please pass this on to your missionaries.  They are not on this mailing list.

     We have already cried at the thought of leaving.  Our hearts are very tender at this moment.  Had we known that a replacement has yet to be called for us we would have stayed until President Weed was released.

     We love the missionaries and the people.  It has been our pleasure to serve here.

      This past month we had several missionaries leave and several come.  It is quite the contrast between the new missionaries whose eyes are glazed over wondering what is in store and those who are now mature and confident.   

      Two missionaries from the states have born their testimony in French at least twice and in public.   Of course they were frightened.They did very well.  These missionaries do have the gift of tongues.   I remind those who have been here for some time and are very fluent that it isn't easy to speak as proficiently as they do.   The missionaries' French is as good as the natives.   They indeed were blessed to be able to understand and speak French.

     The missionaries walk day after day in the dust, it is very hot and humid.   The temperature index is approximately 105-110 most days.  Following a rain storm the humidity is almost intolerable.  They are obedient and keep doing the work.

     Sister Semken gave a wonderful presentation about keeping things clean at Zone Conferences in Benin.   It is difficult to keep things clean, windows are open and the dust just comes and settles in their apartments.   A little effort each day would solve their problems.   Some missionaries are better at cleaning than others.  It is interesting that the local women sweep the dirt in front of their homes daily.   They gather paper and twigs etc.   They are clean.

     Elder Vinson held missionary conferences in Benin and Togo this past week.   A few missionaries had the opportunity to be interviewed by him.   Elder Vinson reports that West Africa is the most fruitful and fertile area in the world at this time.   He sees the numbers from around the world and can see what is happening.   

     This past month we had 96 baptisms in the mission with only 110 missionaries.  80% of the converts come from members referrals and help.  All missionaries have some very unique stories about conversions. These are their stories for them to tell to you.

      Since I have been here we have doubled, with the current addition of Calavi and Cocotomey, the number of branches in Benin.  Our numbers are very close to being a stake in Benin.   This has occurred in a few years.

      We miss the missionaries that were recently transferred to Togo. We said good-bye to them knowing that we wouldn't see them until they return from their missions.

       All of the missionaries face the "wind in their face" and the "wind at their back".   Both have and teach great lessons.   They do face disappoint.  The joy and happiness from the lessons they learn far exceed the disappointment.

         Still a lot to talk about in the future,

                Elder Semken