Missionary work and Harry Potter

Celebrating the birthday of our Nigerian Homegurl twins.  They're a crackup!  And they don't speak French, so everyone in the neighborhood just calls them "'Ow are you" Because that's all they say!  When people ask what their name is in French, they just say "'Ow are you?" hahahaha

What to say.  Je n’ai aucune idée.  Je veux bien continuer en français.  Il me semble que cela sera plus facile.  Est-ce que c’est bon ? Je ne sais pas, mais honnêtement je dois mettre plus d’effort maintenant pour écrire en anglais qu’en français.  C’est bizarre pour moi que cette semaine, il y a quelques anniversaires.  Aujourd’hui, le 28 avril, ça fait onze mois depuis que j’étais mis à part en tant que missionnaire.  Demain sera onze en mission.  Et aussi, ce dimanche sera mon anniversaire de vingt ans.  C’est trop bizarre.  Le temps s’envole.

Donc, cette semaine passée, c’était un peu calme.  Après l’activité de lundi et puis la soirée familiale, nous sommes rentrés un peu en retard, et à cause de cela, je me suis couché tard aussi.  Mardi, nous avons assisté à la réunion de formation de zone.  Les chefs de zone m’ont demandé de préparer une leçon, et c’était très bien passé.  J’ai appris beaucoup de choses de moi-même en préparant la leçon, et les autres missionnaires m’ont fortifié lors de la leçon aussi.

Mercredi, j’étais frappé par un rhume.  C’était très difficile de me lever, mais je l’ai fait.  Avec la mutation, tout notre programme a été changé.  Avec la maladie et autres choses, on n’a pas pu enseigner même une leçon, malgré nos efforts, mais on a bien terminé la journée avec le dîner chez notre premier conseiller de branche.  Jeudi, c’était mieux grâce au Seigneur, et on avait une journée normale.  Vendredi, la maladie a retourné avec vigueur.  Mais, avec la planification pendant le matin et une visite des Assistants avec les missionnaires qui ont été muté au Bénin, j’avais assez de force de pouvoir sortir le soir.

Samedi, nous avons assisté à un service de baptême avec une amie de l’Eglise.  Le service était très bien passé, mais ce qui m’a touché un peu c’était en rentrant.  L’amie nous a remarqué que la chose qui lui a touché le plus (elle nous a dit qu’elle avait la chair de poule même), c’était quand ceux qui ont baptisé ont soulevé le bras à l’angle droit.  Elle a pensé que cela montrait vraiment l’humilité, comme ils ont demandé la permission avant de faire le baptême.  Elder Bile et moi, nous avons expliqué que c’est un signe de l’autorité de Dieu, appelée la Prêtrise, et que la chair de poule était le Saint Esprit témoignant de la vérité,  et elle a bien compris.  Elle a expliqué que plusieurs lui ont demandé quand elle se fera baptiser, mais elle voulait rentrer chez elle pour le méditer avant de faire une décision.

A part de ça, il n’y a pas beaucoup.  Oh !  Sauf que j’ai reçu une grande révélation cette semaine à propos de Harry Potter !  Elder Bile et moi parlions un peu des films en allant à la soirée familiale.  On parlait, et puis, on est arrivé sur le point de Voldemort.  Et puis, BAMMMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Révélation !  Toujours, en anglais, je n’ai jamais beaucoup pensé au nom « Voldemort ».  Et enfin, j’ai pensé au sens en français.  Wow ! Je n’ai jamais pensé à « Vol-de-mort », mais c’est parfait !  Vraiment, parfois elle est très sage Mme. Rowling.

Haha,ok.  Je souhaite une très bonne semaine à tout le monde, et à la prochaine.  Je vous aime tous !!!  Vous me manquez aussi !

Ok, for those of you who speak English, my apologies.  I didn’t really know what to write. Here’s the translation:

What to say.  I have no idea.  I really want to continue in French.  It seems to me that it would be easier.  Is that ok?  I don’t know, but honestly it is more effort for me to write in English now than in French.  It’s weird to think this week there are several anniversaries.  Today, April 28^th marks 11 months since I was set apart as a missionary.  Tomorrow will be 11 months on my mission.  Also, this Sunday with be my 20^th birthday.  That’s too weird.  Time flies.

So, this past week was a bit calm.  After Monday’s activity and Family Home Evening, we got back a bit late and, because of that, I went to bed late as well.  Tuesday, we had Zone Training Meeting.  The Zone Leaders asked me to prepare a lesson, and it went very well.  I learned so many things for myself while preparing the lesson, and the other missionaries strengthened me during the lesson also.

Wednesday, I got hit by a cold.  It was very hard for me to get up, but I did it.  With the transfer, our whole day was different.  With me not feeling well and some other things, we weren’t able to teach even one lesson, in spite of trying, but we ended the day well with dinner at the home of the first counselor in our branch.  Thursday was better thanks to the Lord, and we had a normal day.  The sickness retuned with vigor on Friday.  However, with Weekly Planning in the morning and a visit from the Assistants and the missionaries that were transferred to Benin, I had enough strength to go out in the afternoon.

Saturday, we attended a baptismal service with one of our investigators.  The service went well, but what touched me the most happened on the way back.  The investigator noticed something that really touched her (she told us that she even had goose bumps).  It was when those who were performing the baptisms raised their arm to the square.  She thought that this really showed humility, like they were asking permission before performing the baptism.  Elder Bile and I explain that this is a sign of the authority of God, called the Priesthood, and that the goose bumps were the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness to her.  She understood it well.  She explained that many people asked her when she would be baptized, but she wanted to go home and ponder on it before making the decision.

The Chapel

There were some pretty cool looking clouds coming through on Saturday.

This one was my favorite picture of the whole day

Apart from that, there’s not much to share.  Oh! Except that I received a HUGE revelation this week about Harry Potter!  Elder Bile and I talked a bit about the movies while on our way to Family Home Evening.  We were just talking and then we arrived on the point of Voldemort.  And then, BAMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Revelation!  In English, I had never thought much of the name “Voldemort.” Finally, I thought of the meaning in French.  Wow!  I’ve never thought of “Vol-de-mort," which means roughly “theft-of-death!”  CRAZY!!!!!!  But it’s perfect!  Really, sometimes she is very wise, Mrs. Rowling. 

I wish everyone a very good week, and see you next time.  I love you all.  I miss you as well!

Avec amour, 
Elder Jenkins

PS Shout out to my big bro, Kaleb, and his 24th Birthday today!  It's crazy gig the tune flies!

Elder Dih with Luc and Vicky and Precious (PS: Precious can walk now!)

Elder Dih's good-bye Family Home Evening.

African missionary mouse trap.  Who can spot the mouse's tail?

Storm front coming through.  The rainy season is about in full-swing now.  It rains about every two days at least, especially in Baguida.  But the problem is that the humidity is higher, so it gets HOT when it's hot.  If there's no wind, I sweat a TON.

Yep.  Togo.  That's by far not the craziest thing I've seen on a moto.

I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ

Well, my dear friends, this has been one week my current English vocabulary cannot even begin to find an adjective to describe.  So rather than try to find an adjective, I will, in recounting an ongoing experience from this past week, bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation.

This past Tuesday, as we were home for lunch, I noticed that Elder Bile was moving a bit slow.  As the time to go back out approached, he sat on his bed holding his head in his hands.  For those of who you don't know him, and I'm pretty sure that means every single one of you reading this, Elder Bile is a VERY loud and outgoing person.  He makes me look VERY calm, that plus all my time here has calmed me.  Anyways, I honestly have never seen Elder Bile like this.  He is always the one to bring the noise and energy level up ten notches.  He had told me earlier that morning that he was feeling really tired, so I was not terribly surprised that he was struggling to get going. 

However, as I passed by his bed, I had the distinct feeling that I need to just sit down with him and put my arm around him.  As I did that, I started to have the feeling that there was something more than fatigue going on.  After a few seconds, he finally pulled his hands away from his face.  I asked him if everything was okay.  He replied, with tears in his eyes, "Yeah, everything will be fine." "What is it?" I asked.  He didn't reply, so I asked again.  After a few moments of silence, he stated, "Yesterday [last Monday, the 7th], one of my friends gave me some family news.  Because I don't have any contact with my family, it was him that had to pass me the message. He told me that my sister died this past week."  After that, both of us just cried together for a few minutes.  Once we calmed a bit down, I explained that he needed to call President Weed and let him know, and that while he talked with President Weed, I would inform Elder Dih and Elder Donadier (the other other missionaries in our apartment).  He agreed, and I dialed President Weed and explained briefly the situation and then passed the phone to Elder Bile.

After barely being able to choke out words to explain to Elder Dih and Elder Donadier, Elder Bile came back out to join us.  We went into the great room and spent some time together as a District.  After a few minutes of counsel and prayer, Elder Bile said that he was ready to go out, so we went and got ready.

We were able to get out the door and in the middle of our first appointment, President Dieudonné, President Weed's first counselor, called to say that he was on his way out to Baguida to meet with us.  Just as we were finishing our first lesson, he called to say that he had arrived, so we went out to the main road to meet him and then head back to the apartment.  We had a quick meeting of counsel and strength with him and one of the counselors of the Stake Presidency and then they took us to our next appointment.  Overall, we finished the day fine and I was very pleased with Elder Bile's efforts to overcome the grief and sorrow and put himself to work.  Yes, it was a bit slow, but he did a fantastic job.

Wednesday, I did a split with Elder Dih.  It had been planned weeks before, but I thought it was best to keep it so that Elder Donadier and Elder Bile could have some time together.  In the MTC, they had been companions and countless times, according to them, Elder Bile was there to put his arm around Elder Donadier's shoulder whenever he got homesick and thought that he couldn't go on.  Then, this past Wednesday, the tables were turned, and Elder Donadier was 100% there for Elder Bile in his time of need. After we finished daily planning at the end of the day, Elder Bile shared a bit from their day, and I was so impressed.  He really had put himself to work that day, and it showed.

The rest of this week has been filled with ups and downs.  There have been some moments where I have been so proud of Elder Bile and his efforts to work through the sorrow.  Other times, I struggled to known what to do or say to help comfort him.

However, one thing I do know, and I know that Elder Bile knows as well, is that death is not the end of his sister's story, nor any person that has ever lived on this earth.  Thanks to the scriptures, we know about something that we call the Plan of Salvation.  This plan is God's plan for each one of us, His children.  Well, my dear friends, this has been one week my current English vocabulary cannot even begin to find an adjective to describe.  So rather than try to find an adjective, I will, in recounting an ongoing experience from this past week, bear my testimony of the Plan of Salvation.

This past Tuesday, as we were home for lunch, I noticed that Elder Bile was moving a bit slow.  As the time to go back out approached, he sat on his bed holding his head in his hands.  For those of who you don't know him, and I'm pretty sure that means every single one of you reading this, Elder Bile is a VERY loud and outgoing person.  He makes me look VERY calm, that plus all my time here has calmed me.  Anyways, I honestly have never seen Elder Bile like this.  He is always the one to bring the noise and energy level up ten notches.  He had told me earlier that morning that he was feeling really tired, so I was not terribly surprised that he was struggling to get going.

However, as I passed by his bed, I had the distinct feeling that I need to just sit down with him and put my arm around him.  As I did that, I started to have the feeling that there was something more than fatigue going on.  After a few seconds, he finally pulled his hands away from his face.  I asked him if everything was okay.  He replied, with tears in his eyes, "Yeah, everything will be fine." "What is it?" I asked.  He didn't reply, so I asked again.  After a few moments of silence, he stated, "Yesterday [last Monday, the 7th], one of my friends gave me some family news.  Because I don't have any contact with my family, it was him that had to pass me the message. He told me that my sister died this past week."  After that, both of us just cried together for a few minutes.  Once we calmed a bit down, I explained that he needed to call President Weed and let him know, and that while he talked with President Weed, I would inform Elder Dih and Elder Donadier (the other other missionaries in our apartment).  He agreed, and I dialed President Weed and explained briefly the situation and then passed the phone to Elder Bile.

After barely being able to choke out words to explain to Elder Dih and Elder Donadier, Elder Bile came back out to join us.  We went into the great room and spent some time together as a District.  After a few minutes of counsel and prayer, Elder Bile said that he was ready to go out, so we went and got ready.

We were able to get out the door and in the middle of our first appointment, President Dieudonné, President Weed's first counselor, called to say that he was on his way out to Baguida to meet with us.  Just as we were finishing our first lesson, he called to say that he had arrived, so we went out to the main road to meet him and then head back to the apartment.  We had a quick meeting of counsel and strength with him and one of the counselors of the Stake Presidency and then they took us to our next appointment.  Overall, we finished the day fine and I was very pleased with Elder Bile's efforts to overcome the grief and sorrow and put himself to work.  Yes, it was a bit slow, but he did a fantastic job.

Wednesday, I did a split with Elder Dih.  It had been planned weeks before, but I thought it was best to keep it so that Elder Donadier and Elder Bile could have some time together.  In the MTC, they had been companions and countless times, according to them, Elder Bile was there to put his arm around Elder Donadier's shoulder whenever he got homesick and thought that he couldn't go on.  Then, this past Wednesday, the tables were turned, and Elder Donadier was 100% there for Elder Bile in his time of need.  After we finished daily planning at the end of the day, Elder Bile shared a bit from their day, and I was so impressed.  He really had put himself to work that day, and it showed.

The rest of this week has been filled with ups and downs.  There have been some moments where I have been so proud of Elder Bile and his efforts to work through the sorrow.  Other times, I struggled to known what to do or say to help comfort him.

However, one thing I do know, and I know that Elder Bile knows as well, is that death is not the end of his sister's story, nor any person that has ever lived on this earth.  Thanks to the scriptures, we know about something that we call the Plan of Salvation.  This plan is God's plan for each one of us, His children.  It responds to three essential questions: Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where are we going?  These questions are posed in very general and VERY eternal terms.  They can be rephrased as: Where were we before birth?  What is our goal in life on this earth? And where will we go after death?

I know that this life is not the end.  As I once heard a servant of the Lord state, think of this like as a piece of string.  Then, think of a rope extending from both ends of the string,in both directions forever; this is Eternity.  Our life, compared to eternity, is like that piece of string tied the middle of the rope.  Once we zoom out far enough, it's like we can't even see it, but we know that it's there and there are many, many things that we learn from it.

I know that the gospel is being preached at this moment among those in the Spirit World who await the Resurrection and who never knew the fullness gospel of Jesus Christ (see 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:6, as well as Alma 40:11-14), including Elder Bile's sister.  I know that, as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, for time and all eternity (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

This is the season of Easter, the time where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is risen.  He has overcome death and, through His merits, we, too, can overcome physical death. His death and resurrection marked the end of blood sacrifice of the lamb.  Now, all the He asks of us is a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" (see 3 Nephi 9:19-22).  If we do what he asks us to do - including having faith, repenting of our sins, being baptized by one holding the authority of God, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end - we will inherit Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God (see 2 Nephi 31:19-20 as well as D&C 14:10 and Moses 1:39).

I know that my Redeemer lives.  He lived, died, and lived again for all of us.  The sacrifice that He offered for us in Gethsemane and later on Golgotha is beyond our comprehension.  Yes, having nails tearing through His skin must have been excruciating beyond conscious belief, but something that we can never understand in this mortal existence is the pain that He felt as he prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, pleading, "If it be Thy will, take this bitter cup from me"  (see Matthew 26:36-46).  Through this sacrifice, He overcame the fall of Adam, opening to us the heavens and the kingdom of God.

I know that this Church is the one true Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is at the head of this Church and leads it through a prophet, seer, and revelator named Thomas S. Monson.  This truly is a Living Gospel.  Through this Church, we have the fullness of the gospel, which is once more throughout the entire earth.  I love this Church and I love this gospel, but much more so, I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

May we all take this next week to ponder upon the Lord's sacrifice in preparation for the celebration of His Resurrection next week.  May we all be filled with joy and gratitude in His Spirit as we reflect upon all that he has so freely given us.

I love you all.  Have a great week.

Elder Jenkins 

Baby pigeons on Thursday, 10 April, one day after hatching.  Elder Bile's expression after seeing the hatched babies, "The Lord takes and the Lord gives!"

Baby pigeons today, Monday, April 14

Elder Kunz's papaya trees

Bearing fruit!

With Gilchrist and his pet mouse

Nice Shirt!

uhhhh..... Yeah, Africa

Very possibly my favorite little African kid.  He is soooooooo funny!  His name is Escar.

Baptisms and new missionaries

Bonjour tous mes amis !  This has been an interesting week for sure, but the biggest news: my new companion, Elder Bile (pronounced Bee-lay, from Côte d'Ivoire), got here on Saturday, so I'm officially training now!  Equally big news: Luc and Vicky's baptism was this past Saturday!  I'm sure Elder Dih and I's new companions were quite surprised to be welcomed into the mission field by a few baptisms. With the total count on Saturday, there were 21 baptisms in Togo alone!  It was an extraordinary (if only a bit long) service!

The baptism on Saturday!  2/22/14

In all honesty, this past week has been a bit of a struggle for me.  Not having a companion is hard when there are very few (none at times) members who are available to go out with you.  But it's ok.  Heavenly Father just wanted to give me a mountain to overcome.  The hardest part was leaving no work being done in my area for 2 days.  But, I was able to swallow my pride and leave my area in order to help the other area in my district.

But then Saturday came!  It was quite the exciting day!  We spent quite a bit of time waiting on Saturday, but finally at about 12 the Assistants came with Elder Bile and Elder Donadier (from France) and we left again at 1 for the baptism!

As I said, the baptismal service was amazing!  The moment that Luc and Vicky were baptized by Frère Folly was very special for me.  I'm sure that Frère Folly had been waiting for that moment, and I know that Luc and Vicky had been waiting for it since before we even met them!  It was a great service for everyone, and as always, the Spirit was there testifying of this truthfulness.  The Kégué building was a busy place.  One thing that I love about baptisms like those is that, even though there are so many people, it is so personal for them, for the missionaries that taught them, and for God himself.  I am a witness that when a baptism is done by the authority of God, it is written in the Book of Life (see Matt. 16:19 and Rev. 20:12).  This Church is the truth, the only complete truth, which can be found on this earth.  In it, the world can find the authority of God and the blessings both temporal and spiritual that flow from this authority.

Dodji with Président Philippe's baby girl.

Just one week too late for Valentine's day!

Also, I just wanted to note that I am the only English speaker in the apartment now.  Having a Frenchie in the apartment has also showed me how much work I still have to do with French.  What is weird is how weird his accent is to me, but when Africans speak, I don't hear any sort of accent.  Used to be the other way around.  Haha but they are all so pressed to learn English!  We'll see how language study goes tomorrow.

Anyways, I love you all!  The church IS true, and this IS the Lord's work.  As I've said countless times, I'm SO grateful for this time that the Lord has given me to serve Him.  It is a blessing.
 

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

Haha this little guy

Got a little tired

God's love and miracles!

Bonjour mes amis!  I hope that you have all had an excellent week!  Things have been a bit interesting out here, but they’ve been great!  Elder Rasolo and Elder Kunz made it out Saturday morning, and it’s just been Elder Dih and I since then.  But with two splits to start the week and then two days left for the missionaries leaving to say goodbye, we didn’t really get too many lessons taught in our area this week.

Good news from this week: Luc and Vicky have found, through their own efforts and God’s help, the means to be legally married according to Togolese Customs and, as such, are now qualified to be baptized!  This means that their baptism will be this Saturday, the 22^nd!  Just another testimony of how prayer, hard work, and obedience bring miracles!

Vicky with her daughter Precious (Thursday night at Philippe's)

Tuesday and Wednesday morning I spent in Anfamé with Elder Rybin, who is one of our Zone Leaders.  He and I worked and got along really, really well, even though he attended the University of Utah before coming out here.  Amazing how the mission brings people together like that.  Anyways, he gave me some counsel and advice before I take on my new roles, and I learned soooo much about leadership with him.  He’s a good guy.

Wednesday, Elder Kunz and I did a split in my area and it went very well.  We got a couple of good lessons in, and we enjoyed the time together.  As we were out, at about 4:30, these HUGE black clouds just came rolling in along a front.  We saw them from a far, but weren’t terribly worried.  Then, all of the sudden, we were being blasted with cold wind and it got really dark.  It made for a very interesting experience and we got only a few drops of rain.  Apparently Lomé got pounded with rain.  So that was kinda cool, figuratively and literally. It was Elder Kunz’s birthday, so we decided to end it with celebrating with dinner at the Monument Restaurant.

With Elder Kunz celebrating his birthday

Right before the clouds came was absolutely beautiful and comfortable.

What you don't see here are the huge dark clouds to the right (North)

That's the front.

Just a pic of a part of my area mid-storm

Thursday and Friday were both spent mostly visiting people and saying good-byes, so I was just following wherever my companion wanted to go.  But both of them ended with very good mangez-vous, especially Thursday.  Thursday night we were at President Philippe’s house.  There were several people there, as most had been at the preparations for President Hervé’s (our Branch President) father’s funeral (apparently he had 8 wives, so there was well over 5,000 people that attended), so they all just came back to Philippe’s.  We had Djekoumè, which is pate made with tomato/piment (pepper) and onion sauce, meaning that it’s all cooked together, so some people call it red pate, but it’s soooooo much better than normal pate.  I can easily say that it’s my favorite Togolese (and African for that matter) meal, served with fried chicken.  SOOO GOOD!
 

Eating some Djekoumè.  Honestly one of the best djekoumès I've ever tasted.  Everyone was talking about how good it was after

Fanning the fire

This dog LOVES me.

We had a sling-shot competition Friday night at Boris' house.  He destroyed me

Saturday is when Elder Rasolo and Elder Kunz left.  I got to work with Elder Dih in the afternoon in the Ivorian Refugee Camp.  The camp was installed during their war in 2011 by the UN, and many haven’t been able to find the means to get their life back in Côte d’Ivoire.  Anyways, while we were there, we passed the central commons room (just a nice TV with a couple of couches) and I saw the Winter Olympics on!  That was pretty awesome.  Some cool ski jump.

With Elder Kunz on Saturday.

One last picture with Elder Kabedeh.  They past by our house on their way to Benin.

Today we moved into our new place!  It’s still big, but it doesn’t have too much useless space like the last apartment.  We still have plenty of space, but we’re not so separated anymore.  Plus we have garden space again!  Just not quite as nice as the last house and no grass.  But it’s very nice!  High, vaulted ceilings, too!  But moving in left me exhausted today.  Luckily President Blaise made up for it by providing Charwamas and Cheeseburgers.

The new house (facing north)

Angled East

Angled West

Harry Potter Cupboard!!!

Ma chambre

View from the balcony just outside

Well, that’s about it this week.  I have exceptionally felt God’s love the past few days.  I’ve been feeling, only slightly, a bit lonely because I am now the only American (and white person for now) again.  The only difference between this time and when I was in Tokoin for the 2 months before Elder Edwards came is that I have been called to be an example, being the oldest missionary instead of the youngest.  But, like I said, I have truly felt God’s love for me and the power of Christ’s Atonement to help us in all of our trials and sufferings, not only with finding forgiveness for our sins.  But, I have also realized that in the Church, we are never alone as long as we have our fellow brothers and sisters around us, something that I have had to learn by experience out here in Africa.

This work truly is God’s work, and He blesses all of His servants very much.  This is by far the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my entire life.  Physically, emotionally, and mentally it is so draining.  Everyday brings more and more fatigue from the long hours under the sun.  However, I would not trade this time for anything.  I have grown so much closer to our Heavenly Father, and my Spirit as well as my knowledge of God have grown so much.   It is true that the Lord works by small and simple things to bring about His great and eternal purposes (as stated in the scriptures).  I have seen this in my missionary life so much.  Every day is another drop added.  I still have such a long way to go, but it has been such a blessing for me to see how much I have grown in my short time here.

I could go on all day about this, but I have things to do, and I’m sure you have a normal life to live as well.  I leave you these things this week, and I hope that this next week brings the best for all of you as well.

I love each of you all so much.  

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Found these Ben & Jerry's flip-flops this week hahaha

Zone Conference and the Voodoo Market

with Elders Peterson and Kunz - Love these guys!

Bonsoir mes amis!  I'm writing a bit late today because we had some pretty crazy adventures today!  Anyways, it's been a great week, and  I'll start with the big news that's come in!

So this past Saturday, we got our transfer calls from the Assistants, and the missionaries in Baguida all received some big news!  Elder Rasolo (my companion) and Elder Kunz (the other American in the apartment) are both being transferred to Benin!  That means Elder Dih and I will be staying in the apartment together.  However, we found out that we will both be training!!!  My new companion (and I was made aware that this could change) that has been assigned to work with me is Elder Dakouri from Côte d'Ivoire!  Elder Dih will be training a new French missionary, which also means that I will be the only English speaking missionary in the apartment!  AND, I have also been called to serve as District Leader!  Wow.  Peeps weren't lyin when they said it was gonna be a big transfer.  Well, I honestly don't know what to say.  I'm humbled by the jump that I have to make from junior companion to trainer and DL.  I know the Lord will support me in my weaknesses so that I may fulfill my duties and pray that I can remain a humble servant of the Lord and all those around me.

On top of all that, we had Zone Conference last Friday, and it was amazing!  The Spirit that accompanied the conference with Elder Clayton and Elder Vinson transferred right on over to our Zone Conference.  

All of the birthdays at Zone Conference!  It was different having
it at Souza instead of Kégué, but I still loved it!

Oh!  Side note: the Assistants worked with us on Thursday and stayed with us over night.  As we were driving over to Souza-Netimé, a policeman blew his whistle and pointed at us, but didn't pursue us so we kept on going.  Then, a minute later, he was on his high-tech moto blaring his siren behind us.  One thing about Togo is that ALL of the taxis have at least 7 people in them, in cars for 5. (We do it at least once a week.  It was pretty uncomfortable at first, but I'm used to it now.)  So we thought we thought, like normal, we'd be fine with 6 of us.  Well, Benin plates in Togo + 3 white people in the car = yeaahh.  Well, we got to the conference in time despite that little delay.

Anyways, the conference was phenomenal.  Everything felt like it was directed at me, and my testimony was once again strengthened on how the Spirit can work in each of us individually.  I learned many, many lessons that I am very excited to apply with the new roles that are coming my way soon!  Afterwards, we got a ride back with President and Soeur Weed to Baguida, so transport for the day was FREE!

Yesterday, we had a little visit from President and Soeur Weed at Church, which helped fortify our branch a bit, and we were able to have a good discussion together about the changes being made, which helped me as well.

Finally, today.  Elder Kunz and I spent the whole day at the grand marché again with Elder Peterson and Elder Legbanon (from Benin).  We started by looking for a backpack, a new watch, and a washboard for me, all of which was decently easy.  I brought the backpack down from about 14 dollars (7,000 CFA) to 6 (3,000 CFA) and the watch from 11 dollars (5,500 CFA) to 2 (1,000 CFA).  We then got some charwamas for lunch at Akif's, and as we were finishing eating, this American guy walked in with his French translator.  The first thing that he said to us was, "Oh my goodness.  The Mormons followed me here!"  He then proceeded to take out his camera and film his conversation with each of us asking us where we're from, etc.  He was amazed to find out that the Church is out here, but he was a super nice and friendly.  His French translator was surprisingly friendly as well.  He complimented my accent.

Another view of the grand marché from today!

My new backpack

After lunch we all went to the Voodoo market in Akodessewa.  Since Benin is the Voodoo capital of the world, all of the vendors are Beninese, so Elder Legbanon was in heaven just being able to speak Fon with them.  The market was pretty cool!  They said we had to pay 3,000 CFA for the tour ($6) and an extra 2,000 CFA ($4) to take pictures.  I paid it, and it was worth it.  There was some way cool stuff there, and we got to play with some snakes and see some chameleons.  Elder Legbanon said there's way more things like this that are better in Benin, but it was still good!  I got some good pictures of lots of dried up animals.

SNAKE!  (It's alive)

Monkey!

Dog!

Horse!

Baboon hand/foot!

Turtle!

Well, this week has been another amazing one!  The people out here are amazing, and there are so many who are searching for the truth and who find it in this Church and in this message.  One aspect of the mission that I absolutely love is that I get to testify every single day that I KNOW that this is true, and what is even better is the Spirit that accompanies this message.  My work here is to bring others to Jesus Christ and to help them draw closer to Him every day.  I have been so blessed to be here, and there are too many experiences to share with you to testify of how I know that these things are true.  This Church really is the one message of the whole truth that can be found on the earth today.

I love you all so much.  Have an amazing week!
Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

First of my two pagne outfits that came on Saturday!

Second one!

With Elder Kunz

Thought these clouds looked pretty cool!

(Note from mom:  Here's the link to the interview with the American Elder Jenkins mentions above: 

HoboTraveler.com Mormons in Lome Togo