Without the Spirit, we're nothing!!!

Hello everyone.  This has been another great week.  Our whole district has been lengthening their strides in the work, and it's really starting to show.  The Lord has been so merciful in His abundant blessings of late, and He continues to bless us in our efforts!

Tuesday was a sort of bittersweet day.  After our Zone Training Meeting in the morning, we had an EXCELLENT meal at the famed "Maman Florence's" house in Aïbatin, the Sister Missionaries' Branch.  And there's a reason she's famous: 1) she's a fantastic cook, 2) she's one of the loudest, most crazy older single ladies I've met, and 3) "[she's] every missionary's mama."  We had some really good Foutou igname with a delicious, perfectly spicy peanut sauce.  It was sooooo good.  Unfortunately, my camera took a nasty fall after the meal and would no longer turn on.  I was a bit sad for a few minutes after it, but I got over it, and it'll all be ok.  It's currently in the shop for a diagnostic.

Pounding the ignames.  It's a freaking workout!  No wonder all those African women are so strong!

This is how I dooooooo...

What we call foutou igname with peanut sauce.  So good!

On a happier note from that day, we had a first lesson with a contact that's really wanting to turn his life around, and it went soooo well!  He said that after reading the brochure, "[he] felt something really positive; like it was sucking all of the poison out of [his] life."  I was able to testify that that is the Spirit of God testifying to him that God loves him and that this is the way for him to turn things around.  He accepted the invitation to come to church this week, so we are very excited to see where this will go.

This past Saturday was a very good day.  After a couple of good appointments, we had the baptismal service in the afternoon!  Chris was finally baptized!  He explained in his testimony after the fact that this has been 2 years in the making!

Chris was so ashamed of the jumpsuit that he wouldn't let anyone take pictures of him hahahaha!

Our experiences with Chris have really accentuated the importance of the Spirit in conversion.  Everything always went ok with him.  He came to church every Sunday, he normally kept his commitments, and he was always asking when our next appointment would be.  I've always liked him because he's young, and his family is fairly well off and so it felt almost like a connection to home with the technology they have.  He also speaks perfect English because he did 5 years of college in Ghana.

Anyways, about a month and a half ago, it started to get a bit difficult.  His testimony was really starting to diminish, and it was coming to a time where he (and we) would have to make a decision.  Everything we shared with him he almost rationalized it to nothing.  We were both getting a bit worried for him, but we decided to just endure with him.

Finally, about two weeks ago, we got a random text from him saying something like, "set my baptismal date.  I believe."  Both of us were shocked and, in an appointment after we received that, he explained what led to it.  He said that he was just sitting there thinking a bit about the Church and the message and about Jesus Christ himself.  He said that as he was thinking, almost doubting too, he heard a voice in his head that was like, "why not believe?  It seems right.  What do you have against it?"  He said it felt right, so he started believing, and he said everything made sense.  All of his rationalizations suddenly disappeared and he felt ready for the baptism.

Just another example of why the Spirit is soooooo important in missionary work. In fact, without this Spirit, we're nothing!!!

I love you all soooo much.  Have a great week!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

LOVED this picture.  Unfortunately, I was trying to get a straighter angle on it when my camera fell out of my hands :(

A sunrise this week.  Thought it looked pretty cool.

C

There was an activity at the Aïbatin Branch after the baptism, and since there was food and we had no appointments, we stayed!  The guy who was directing it had to leave to go get plates and utensils and such, so he left me in charge of directing and assisting the judges in their judging.  It was a blast!  Luckily I wasn't a judge because every plate had fish in it!  Ok, not every plate, but almost every plate.  There were some pretty delicious selections, and I took note.

 

 

 

Magnifying my calling as Judges' Assistant

This little girl would not leave my side during the whole activity!  She's so adorable!

All of the participants

This was my favorite meal 1) because I love it (with out fish.  I usually do an omelette) and 2) because of his description.  He said, "this is the perfect single working man/student meal.  It's only 500 francs!"  I like that guy anyways.  He's Ivorien and on the high council.

Elder Silvas with my other favorite plate for the night.  It's called Djongoli and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!  It tasted really Mexican.

Precious Moments

My apologies this week: there were three power outages while we were at the cyber this past Monday.  Since I didn't have a chance to write home, I am writing today with my Mission President's approval.

So what I wanted to write about this week was to share a few special moments.  These moments I have started to document as "Precious Moments," moments when I have been so touched by the Spirit and when I have felt as if heaven is drawing nearer to me.

The first moment was a marriage on Wednesday.  The Aïbatin sister missionaries (in our district) have been working with several couples in preparation for marriage.  Finally, two couples have been able to get everything in order for their marriage and then baptism.  So Wednesday the office elders picked us up in the mission van and we went to get the rest of the crew (the couples and family plus the sisters).  It was pretty packed, but we made it.  Luckily the sisters had asked me to bring my guitar so that we could all sing "Love at Home" together, so I got automatic shotgun.

The mission van

Elder Oliverson at the wheel

The District

The marriage itself was fun.  The mayor of Akassato (a little bit north of Cotonou--the marriages up there are far cheaper than in Cotonou) is quite the poet, which made for some good laughs.  But a precious moment for me was singing "Love at Home" at the end of the ceremony.  Another testimony for me that God lives and that He truly gives us families for a reason.  It is only through these families that we can reach the highest level of exaltation, which is why families are so important in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Here are the two couples with the mayor-poet on the right

The couple that was baptized on Saturday

The ring (I'm kinda proud of this picture.  It actually turned out ok even though I had a terrible angle)

The peanut gallery

The wedding party (courtesy of Elder Oliverson)

The couple who was baptized on Saturday (courtesy of Elder Oliverson)

The second moment was on Friday.  I had the opportunity to do the baptism interviews for one of the couples (the other couple was traveling and will be baptized in the coming week).  The husband and the wife are already soooooo solid in their testimonies of the truth.  They know that Christ had established something on this earth, that it was lost, and that it was restored by God and Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith.  They are so happy together, and they understand the gospel already very well.

But what touched me the most about this couple was how they know.  It was not through reason or research.  Yes, both of these practices helped them to gain a testimony, but what planted their testimony firmly in them is that they FELT that it is true.  When both of them explained this to me independently, I, again, FELT the same thing that they did.  Even though I come from halfway around the world, my testimony is the same as theirs.  Even though we might have acquired this testimony in different ways, it is the same.  Oneness has always been godliness, and this new, young married couple has joined in that oneness in their own special and precious way.

The third moment was their baptism on Saturday.  The baptism was in the afternoon due to the Mormon Helping Hands activity in the morning.  It was so nice to see two people so ready to enter into a covenant with God through the special ordinance of baptism.  President Morin came to the baptism as it was the first in the Aïbatin building.  His welcome message was focused on the family and its importance in life and in eternity.

The baptism on Saturday

I am very excited for this couple and the future that they have in front of them.  I never had the chance to teach them, but through the events of this past week, we have grown a relationship together, and I have been so happy and blessed to have shared a bit of their own path to eternal life with them.

The Mormon Helping Hands activity this past Saturday went very, very well.  In contrast from last year, everyone was engaged at almost every moment, and it was amazing how quickly the task got done.  We were done in just about an hour!  There was a Yovo-owned pastry place right in front of where we were working, so as we were waiting for the bus to come back and get us, Elder Hawkins, Silvas, Hanks and I all got some REAL cake/ éclairs!!!  It was quite delicious.  Not too expensive either.

My job was just to dump sand wherever they told me

Charging my load

This was the hardest part.  They started laying sand right next to the mounds instead of starting on the outside, so I had to roll over tons of sand in order to get to where I needed to go.  The problem was that the tire was completely broken.  Not just flat, but broken. In half.  So it did almost nothing.  Especially on sand.  But at least it was a good workout (which I haven't had in a while)!

In action

This little girl was so cute in that vest that was way too big for her!

 The whole group at our activity

Elder Silvas trying to get a sandwich.  Elder Kunz, Hawkins, and I were all dying laughing because he was just standing there with his hand up.  He eventually succeeded.

Anyways, that's been my past week.  It's been a great one, and the Lord is really blessing us!  I'm so happy to be in Fidjrossè right now, and I believe next week should bring some exciting news!

Thank you for all of your prayers.  They really do make a difference.  With a few other experiences this past week, I have truly felt the Lord's love, grace, and protection that He so graciously provides for His servants.

I love you all so much.  Have a great week!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

I played keeper for the first half and got score on three times.  The first was a 1-on-1 in the opening couple minutes.  The second was an own goal (*hmm hmm* Elder Oliverson).  The third was my fault because I had completely forgotten to set the wall on a set piece (that happens when you only play three times a year).  I then played second half at forward.

Our team from the soccer match this morning.  We got killed by the members, it wasn't even funny. But they sure thought it was hahaha

Eternal hope and happiness

SUPRISE!!!!  We all got our suits in preparation for the marriages coming up in the District.  So we decided to show up lookin classy to Church!  Normally our suits just sit in the mission home because we have no need for them here in this heat!

Hello all -

Honestly, there's been nothing much this past week.  I did have a couple of visits to Immigration.  Kinda cool, but nothing special.  Just some waiting, getting my picture taken, then having my prints taken (that was a pain).  The first lady that took my prints didn't really worry about it too much, but the second was fussing with my eczema.  I think it was partially because it had gotten worse in the two days between the two visits (the second visit was just to go pick up our passports), so my prints didn't match.  Hahaha oh well he got over it when I showed him my hands.

The biggest news that we've had this week is that there's a suspected case of Ebola here in Benin.  Now don't go freaking out quite yet because, 1) it's not even confirmed Ebola (note from mom - the tests came back negative), 2) it's in the northern-most region of Benin, and 3) the Lord and the Church are looking over us and taking care of us.  There's been a bit of a hysteria (ok, maybe too strong of a word, but my English vocabulary is very limited right now) in Cotonou about this news, but everything remains normal for now.

We have received an extensive list for hygiene from President and Sister Morin and a note from the Area Presidency.  However, we don't have water again (it's been two days) so hygiene is going to be a challenge.  There's a guy coming tomorrow to have a look at it.  Might be going to our neighbors to get some water again.

We are being very careful with everything we do, but the thing that keeps us afloat is our faith in Jesus Christ. Without a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I don't know how I would be able to cope with the tragedies and trials of the world today.  Were it not for the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I honestly think I would be hysterical about this Ebola outbreak.  But, I know that God exists and that He is in control of this whole situation.  I don't know why this sickness is spreading.  There have been tragedies in many peoples' lives I'm sure, but everything has it's purpose.

I don't think that we will be terribly affected by this, but if we are, I know that all will be well.  And that is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ does for us.  Yes, there are many commandments, requirements, and obligations required in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  At times, it is hard, but through His atoning sacrifice, He enables us and gives us the strength to obey.  In return, we have the confirmation of the Holy Ghost that come what may, it will be for our good, and we CAN love it (my favorite lesson from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin).

Sorry for being a little bit all over the place this week, but I hope and pray that you all can feel the love and hope of Jesus Christ in this world that is so quickly falling away from God.  I also pray that those affected by this experience (in first- or third-person) may be drawn closer to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ, knowing that only in them can we be constantly guaranteed an eternal hope and happiness.

I love you all so much.  Have a great week!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

The four of us in the apartment looking classy for Church!  08/10/14

My new favorite snack!!!  It's a cookie pretty much like uh-oh oreos and I dip it in peanut butter.  SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I went with Elder Silvas to Tokpa today (the HUGE market here in Benin) to get him so cleats for our soccer match next week.  He got some mercurials for 20 bucks.  ANYWAYS, the store that we were in had tons of equipement, and I found this volleyball.  I got it 20 bucks too.  SO excited.  It's been a while.  I consider volleyball my second sport, and since I can't swim, might as well play some veebs!!!!

Tevi zozo

Our last District Meeting with Soeur Kouadio.  She goes home
tomorrow (08/05/14)!!!  We've been in two districts together for a total of 6
months.

Hello all.  Well, it’s been a pretty interesting week!  There’s been lots going on, but what Elder Sahue and I have noticed the most is that the Lord is really starting to bless us for our efforts.  We haven’t seen too much progression in the past two months, but we’ve really trying to press forward in our area.  We have had several investigators that have been close to baptism, but none of them have really progressed like they’ve needed.

However, in the past two weeks, we have had five investigators explain that their questions are being answered and their worries are being resolved.  Two are preparing for marriage and then baptism with their daughter at the end of the month, and the other two have mentioned that they feel that they are progressing very well towards baptism.

So there have been a couple of cool experiences this week.  The first was on Tuesday, the 29th of July.  Last week at the cyber, we saw Prosper’s son.  He asked if we would be coming over again, and we told him we could around 7 on Tuesday evening.  So we went over with Brice (President Kazotti’s son), expecting him to have a couple of questions.  We sat down, and he asked (in English—he doesn’t speak French), “So what do you guys want to watch?” I was just like, “Uhhhhh…” So he put on Avengers Assemble on the Disney channel (they have a really good satellite package).  I didn’t really know what to say because he left right after he turned the TV on.  So my comp was like, “Well might as well put it on a sports channel.”  So I flipped through a bit and saw “The Commonwealth Games.”  Then, BAM.  Pool. In an arena.  On the TV.  We eight men swimming in lanes.  I was in shock.  Then I saw the “Men’s 100m Butterfly Final” in the bottom of the screen, so I was slightly intrigued.  They finished, and I saw lane 4 “1 Le Clos” (shocker…).  Then my eyes drifted to lane 6 “2 Schooling.” And I was like, “Wait… WHAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTT??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I KNOW HIM!!!!!!!!!” Haha.  Prosper’s wife had come out a couple minutes before because she did have a couple questions for us.  The Taylor family (members) had come over to talk with her about something else, but she wanted us to stay.  I was trying to explain to them that one of my friends was on TV and that I had trained with him every day when I was at home, but I’m not sure they really understood.

Anyways, thank goodness that was our last appointment because my mind was kinda blown.  I wrote about that in my journal that night, and then I remembered that it was around this time a year ago that I had seen Worlds on the TV in the cyber.  I looked in my journal, and I saw that it was EXACTLY one year earlier that that had happened, the 29^th of July.  Coincidence? I think not!

The week was pretty normal after that until Saturday.  Elder Silvas had organized an activity to help two of their investigators raise money to be able to pay for their marriage.  So we all, the members and missionaries, put in some money to buy some ingredients, and then we set up a stand outside of the Branch building on the side of the main road in Fidjrossè to sell some Mexican and African food.  It was a blast!  We got some good attention (partially I think because of the two white guys that were selling food on the side of the road) and a diverse clientele.  My voice was completely shot at the end of the day after yelling “TEVI ZOZO!!!!” over and over (which means “HOT FRIED YAMS!!!!”).  That’s how you sell here.  You hear yells everywhere you go.  It’s like a giant baseball stadium, but without the baseball or the stadium.  Yeah.  We ended up losing 3,000 F CFA (6 US dollars), but it brought the Branch together, which we really needed.  Plus, all of the extra food we had was given to families in need in our Branch, so it was certainly no waste!

Elder Silvas and his guac!  It was delicious!

Donatien, me, Elder Méjean, and Elder Hanks all getting our Mexican
"chop" on!

Yesterday was very interesting.  Church went very well, but exhausting.  Our fast and testimony was fantastic!  There were so many people that bore their testimonies that have never gotten up before.  There were two women that bore their testimonies that can’t be baptized right now because of some marriage issues, but they come every Sunday.  They both bore their testimonies of how they know the Church is true, which gives them the patience to accept the Lord’s will and wait.  It was very edifying for all in attendance.

The Primary president had to leave during Sacrament meeting, which left no one in charge of Primary (the children’s meeting).  The Branch really takes to heart Elder Nelson’s October 2012 talk, so naturally the response was, “Let’s ask the missionaries!”  So, Elder Silvas (the other American in my district) and I got to Primary, and all the kids were all sitting nicely in their chairs.  Then we were like, “Well what the heck do we do?” “I don’t know.  Play a game?” “Ok sure, you take the younger kids and I’ll take the older ones.”  “Ok, ready?  BREAK!”  Two minutes later, the room was absolute chaos.  Kids hitting kids.  Shoes flying across the room.  Crying.  Screaming.  My tie almost getting ripped in half.  Finally I took off my tie and my watch to get down to business. I tried picking up as many kids as I could to get the chairs back in order, but there were too many of them.  I couldn’t shake them off!

After what felt like 20 minutes of telling myself, “They have their own agency. They are children of God, not lifeless objects and certainly not little devils.” I had Boyd K. Packer’s quote come to mind that “True doctrine understood will change behavior faster than the study of behavior will change behavior” or something along those lines.  So I thought, ok, all the kids that are behaving are already sitting. Let’s set up the chairs, START WITH A PRAYER, and then have a lesson. So we did, and things started to calm down.  I asked them about what they knew about the Book of Mormon, and we started to talk about Nephi when the Lord sent three angels disguised as a Relief Society Presidency to help. One of them exclaimed, “This is Primary! Why don’t I hear singing?!” Then I was like, “Oh, I forgot about that.  Ok we’ll finish quickly the lesson and then we’ll get to that.”  So I asked what they knew about Nephi, and they exclaim, “He built a boat!” “And who asked him to do that?” “Heavenly Father!” “And what was Nephi’s response?” “I will go and do!” “And what is your response if Heavenly Father asks you to do something?” “Yes! I will!”  It was amazing the difference of a heaven-sent lesson.  We then sang “Nephi’s Courage” to move into music time.

The most tender moment for me was when one girl stood and starting singing “I will Follow God’s Plan” when asked what her favorite Primary song was.  We all joined in (me in English), and the Spirit was tangible in the room.  I was so amazed at how that was possible, even in Primary.  Reverence had replace chaos.  I myself was so humbled by this experience.  The Lord had changed my heart.

That's been my week here!  I love you all so much!

Have a great week!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

We were waiting for one of our investigators to get home from work,
so I started helping his (future) wife serve people rice!

This dude was riding around last week.

Oh the things you see on motos here.  Also, Benin just passed a law
that helmets are required on motos and all infractions will be
punished.  There have been some pretty creative "helmets".  The best
one was a small trash bin strapped on a guy's head.  I've seen an
equestrian helmet, a little girl's pink bike helmet, and a world war I
style helmet.  One of the best was this one guy that wore a helmet in
a car!