As we are entering into this new year, may we all find these gifts that we are looking for.

The sun rising on 2015 

Happy new year!!!  It feels weird that 2015 is already here!  This is my year!

This past week has been wonderful. We've had some good experiences, and we've seen some really good progression in the work!  Our favorite couple (the ones of whom I sent a picture a couple of weeks ago) decided together that they want to be baptised!  That was very exciting.  We've still got a bit of a ways to go with them, but we'll make it.

So this week, I have seen God's hand working miracles in me.  For those who know me, patience is definitely not my forté.  I struggle with it for others around me, but I'm extremely impatient on myself.  Even the smallest of things can easily set me off.

I have been desiring this gift from God for quite some time.  I have been trying to work on it, but it seems to have been coming very slowly.  I have noticed the difference over the months of my mission, but it still seemed like I wasn't quite grasping it.  For the past few months, I have been noticing that my patience has been getting stronger and stronger, but still not complete.  However, this past week was full of stressful situations.  Through God's grace and gift, reflecting on these experiences, there was only one brief time where I got flustered and a bit upset, and that because members were asking to find, pay for, and direct a taxi to a place that I didn't even know!  But even then I cooled off very quickly and we were able to get the situation sorted out.

Ether 12:27 is true.  The Lord can take our weaknesses, and through His Infinite Atonement, make them strengths.  I have become a changed man.  Ever since I studied President Uchtdorf's talk, "Lord, Is It I?", I have really been searching for the strength to see my own faults and the resolution to those before I even look at others.  There were many situations this past week that could have led to me blaming everyone else first, but thanks to this new-found gift from God, I was able to calmly look at what I did not do correctly and how I could have helped others do better as well.  With faith in Jesus Christ, everything worked out in the end.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ--in its true and living form in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--is truly a gospel of peace and hope and patience.

My apologies for being a bit short this week, but I want you to know that I know that through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we CAN acquire His holy attributes.  They may not all come at once and they may not all come perfectly, but they will come as long as we diligently seek them.

I love you all so much, and I invite you all to diligently seek for the best gifts and attributes of Christ.  As we are entering into this new year, may we all find these gifts that we are looking for, even if it's just 1 or 2.  As long as we seek diligently, other gifts WILL follow (Matt. 25:14-23).

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

The baptism of Yannick!  First one in Akpakpa!

So I decided to clean our window nets to let more air in the room on the 31st.  It was a "dirty job" literally, but the results are fantastic!  This is ours.

Compared with the other companionship's window. 

Guided by the Lord



Elder Dagrou and I walking after we met Elder Mundu and Elder Kabedeh in the street



Well, I officially finished my Missionary Planner as of yesterday!  (There are six weeks in each planner.)  Only 16 more to go! 

This week was great!  Elder Dagrou and I definitely had some times where we were guided by the Lord to the people that we should talk to.  For example, Friday evening we had an appointment set up with two 16 year-old boys that were just recently baptized and two of their friends of the same age.  They are on a soccer team together and live close together as well, so they're all best friends.  We got to Landry's house and they weren't home.  We waited for a bit, but still they didn't come.  We decided to just head off to our next appointment.  As missionaries, we try to always look for people to teach while walking.  As we were walking down the street, I saw a man sitting on a bench and I had the strong impression to talk to him.  I asked my companion and he said if I felt like we should then we should.  We walked over to talk to him, talked for a bit, but not much came of it.  He said he was interested, but doesn't really have time.  I knew that we had stopped to talk to him for a reason, so we decided to just keep walking to our next appointment.  As we crossed the street, a moto pulled up next to us and the man riding it began talking to us.  He said that he has a lot of respect for us and what we do, how we sacrifice so much to go to a foreign country and serve the Lord.  We then asked if he was a member of our Church (normally it's just members that stop to talk to us like that), and he said no but that he had met with the missionaries a couple times before about a year ago.  We chatted a bit more and he said that he's a journalist here in Lomé and was going to Kara (a big city up ine the north part of the country) to do a piece this week.  But he would love to meet with us again when he gets back. 

After we had talked with him a bit we decided to keep going to our next appointment.  About 6 steps later, we heard the familiar call of "Elder!"  We looked back and couldn't see anyone, but then I spotted Yannick, one of the 16 year-old boys that was just baptized, a little ways back and across the street.  Not too far behind him were Landry, Stefan, and Stan, his friends.  We knew that now was the time to go and talk to them, and we ended up having an incredible lesson, especially for having four 16 year olds, a 19 year old, and a 22 year old all talking about God and prayer.  It was truly remarkable. 

We went about the rest of the evening with our normal planned schedule.  However, as I was thinking back on the day a bit back at the apartment, I realized how special our evening had been.  Of all the things that transpired, none of it would have happened if we were not in those exact spots at those exact times, which only happened because the Lord guided us where to go.  I was very, very grateful for that divine help.

It's weird now how normal Africa has become for me.  Everyday we leave the apartment, it's pretty weird how normal I feel being here.  Oh by the way, another tender mercy just happened.  As I was sitting here typing this, World Champs came on the TV right next to me.  The Cyber is on the French sports channel, and all of the sudden I saw some guy that was drenched and shirtless being interviewed in a press situation.  I then realized it was Yannick Agnel!  Naturally, my eyes are focused on the TV now, and they showed a few highlights of races and the results of all of the high-profile French swimmers.  Pretty weird seeing swimming, not being able to do it at all, haha.

Well, that's been my week.  I love you and miss you all and I wish the best for everyone who reads this.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

playing marbles with some kids outside Frère Atiougbé's house

Our street during the big storm that hit Wednesday morning, 07.24.13