The law of the Sabbath is a sacred and an inspired commandment

Hello all!  Sorry, We're pretty late again today.  It's been a very busy day of Immigration, visiting Elder Kunz before he leaves/getting my hair cut, souvenir window shopping, and buying all of the ingredients for my Halloween chili this week!!!  So I'l try to just cut straight to my point this week.

This week, like every week of my mission, I have noticed something very interesting.  I noticed that no matter how my week goes, my attitude towards the week in general is decided on Sunday.  More specifically, I will say that it is decided based on Sunday.  This past week started off very well but was diving kinda hard towards the end of the week.  I noticed on Saturday night and then Sunday morning that I wasn't just feeling right.  I said a prayer before going to Church that I would be able to turn myself around and have a good day.  Church was okay, but I just felt so exhausted during all of it that it wasn't my best one.  We got home and ate, and I was again able to pray for the strength necessary to go about the Lord's work in the Lord's way.

We went out in faith Sunday afternoon, and it was an EXCELLENT afternoon.  We had a great lesson with an investigator that has started to fall, so we got him back on track and taught him how to plan so that he doesn't waste time and fall into temptation.  He was really excited to put it into action!  We then went to a lesson that was a potential debator, but it actually turned out very well!  After getting to know him and his views in a previous lesson, we were able to present the gospel to him to show that we actually have many of the same beliefs, and we used that to introduce the Book of Mormon, and he was very curious.  At the end of the night, we finished with a visit to a member of the Aïbatin branch that works as a security guard in our area.  He has decided to stay in the guest room of the family he works for (our American/ Mauritanian friends!), and we found that there were already 6 members there to support and feed him, including the Branch President!  Just another example of the Christ-like love that drives Christ's living Church forward.

We got back to the apartment, and I thought, "Wow.  That was an AWESOME day!  Actually, it's been a pretty good week!!!"  I looked back on that feeling that I had, and realized that, once again, my week had been decided by how I spent my Sunday, or rather, the Sabbath day, which I thought was pretty significant.

The Sabbath day was instituted in the world's history in remembrance of the day of rest which the Lord took and as a day to worship Him and rest from our daily labors.  Among ancient Israel, this day was vigorously observed on the seventh day of the week, Saturday.  This continued up until Christ's life.  Jesus Christ himself perfectly observed the Sabbath as the Seventh day of the week.  However, after his death and resurrection (which resurrection occurred on a Sunday), the Sabbath was progressively changed to Sunday, the first day of the week, in commemoration of the Savior's resurrection.  This continued up until the time of the Great Apostasy. Today, in the fulness of times, the Lord has decreed--as He is the Master of the Sabbath--through revelation that the Sabbath should be observed on Sunday.  To this day, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints observes the Sabbath day on Sunday, as direct by the Master Himself.

Apart from myself, I have seen the blessings of this sacred commandment among the poverty of West Africa.  There is a great difference between the blessings and spiritual foundation of those who observe this commandment and those who do not.  In fact, this is so with all of the commandments.  Those who truly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ here know that this is their only hope.  Materially, they have almost nothing.  It can easily be depressing.  But the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ brings blessings that lift these people up.  It is an incredible burden that they have been called to carry, and some do it with considerable ease because of their faithfulness to the Lord and His commandments.  It has been said by inspired Church and Mission leaders, "The commandments (and especially the law of Tithing) are the key to being rich in West Africa."  I agree.  In obeying with a willing heart, these people can be lifted out of their burdens and be placed in a position to lift others.  It is truly amazing and there is surely no other way than the Lord's way.

I know that the law of the Sabbath is a sacred and an inspired commandment.  I know that in observing this commandment, we will be led to be closer to our Savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.  The promise made in Doctrine and Covenants 59:9 is true.  In respecting the Sabbath day, we will be kept more unspotted from the world and its practices.

I invite all of us to live with more conscious intent on the Sabbath day: to consecrate this day to God, to abstain from our daily labors and activities that do not actively bring us closer to Christ, and to take time with our family to strengthen our relationships.  I invite all of us to come unto Christ through this sacred commandment.

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

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

PS: Transfers were this past week, and I'll be staying in Fidjrossè for another 6 weeks (which I had planned on since I'm training)!  At the end of this transfer, I'll have spent 7 months in Fidjrossè, the most that I will have done in any area of my mission, since I'll have 5 1/2 months after that!

Note from Mom:  I received these pictures from Sister Christensen in the office on Wednesday morning with a note that Elder Jenkins had asked her to send them to me.  With him having to be in the office several days this week for immigration, he was able to see the Elders leaving for home as well as the ones come in.   

With Elders Hawkins, Seidl, and Kunz before they head back to the States (with Elder Izekor as well)

One last photo with Elder Kunz before he heads home.  (Notice the nice haircuts they gave each other)

Welcoming his good friend Elder Imoukheude back after he had to go home to deal with a medical issue.

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

Musee National

Happy 11/11 everyone!  I captured a picture of my clock at just the right moment today, but I almost missed it because we were at the museum!  Yeah that's right, we went to the museum.  Honestly, it's the small museum I've ever set foot in (well, I mean I haven't been to terribly many museums in my life, soooo yeah...), and it's the NATIONAL museum of Togo!  It's attached to the Palais du Congrès (the Palace of Congress) which is like the big(ish) auditorium where they do a bunch of concerts.

So yeah, every month we have a Zone activity just to have a break from the daily life of missionary work.  Usually we just go and play soccer/ basketball, but every once in a while we like to do something to educate us on the people/ nation so that we can understand them better.  So we went to the museum and saw a bunch of original African stuff, like straight up Voodoo/ slaves.  Yep, that was about it in the museum.  But it was pretty cool!  A bunch of cool looking artifacts.

 

In front of the museum this morning, 11/11/13



Apparently Voodoo priests use this for music

Didn't know they had Vikings in Togo

I got a little excited with the Xylophone (mom here - love seeing the percussionist in him comes out still)



 I think this is a depressed slave

That's the only sign indicating where the museum is from the road.  It was kinda hard to find

The main floor of the museum

The other floor of the museum



The slavery monument in Togo.  I didn't get the good side of it because I felt kind of bad taking a picture of it.  Not really sure if it's permitted or not.

So this week has been fairly normal, other than the fact that my companion and I got a bunch of lessons in.  We were both very happy with how our numbers turned out this week, so now it's time to improve.

I have been very impressed as to how the members of our branch have responded to the Prophet's call to be more united in missionary work between members and the missionaries.  The past 2 weeks we've had 6 people come for the first time that were invited by friends that are members!  And all of the members are so willing to accompany us to the lessons.  My companion and I were getting a little worried because we were running out of people to teach, but our plates have been filled again and we're ready to go!  We're already starting to see early fruits of the labor of the members!  I'm sad that my time in the Wuiti Branch is reaching sunset because I've come to love these people like family, and the work is priming to explode in this area.

 

We had our Primary program this week.  It is a little difficult for them to learn the songs because they do not have a piano, but it was great!

 

With the primary after their program on Sunday! (11/10/13)

 

Sorry, I don't have terribly too much to write this week.  We got to the cyber a little late this week, so not too much time.  I love you all so much, and as always, I share my testimony that I am truly on the Lord's time and His errand, and there is not a better place for me to be right now, regardless of worldly ambitions.  As the Savior said, and I paraphrase, when we seek for the Kingdom of God before all else, everything in our lives will fall into place.  And if something doesn't, it's not important.

Also, I have been brought up to date with the natural disaster in the Philipines, and so I send out a remimnder to please pray for all of those affected by this devastating tragedy, especialy those missionaries valiantly serving the Lord in that area of the world.

I love you all so much!! Have a great week, and make someone's day!

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

 

A picture of our Zone from Zone Conference this week!

I forgot to roll my pants back down after putting my shoes back on after cleaning the church building on Saturday, 11/9/13

 

Parfaite = Perfect!

Elder Dagron and Elder Jenkins

Bonsoir mes amis!

Well, another week past, and they're really starting to fly now.  It really feels like just yesterday that I was writing last Monday.  This week has been a bit of a down week because we had a lot of emergency transfers happen with visa problems.  Transfers in this mission take quite a long time because we have 2 countries, 2 timezones, and 4 hours of driving between the two proselyting areas.  For this reason, it takes 2 days to do all of the transfers, which leaves a lot of down time for those waiting for their new companion, like me.  My new companion's name is Elder Dagrou, and he's from Cote D'Ivoire.  I absolutely love working with him!  He and I both have such a great love for the gospel, and so our daily study time together always passes by quickly because we both have so much to share together.

I realize that the past few weeks I've been focusing quite a bit on myself, so this week I want to share a little about those around me.  We have three investigators right now that have dates set for baptism.  However, Landry, the first, wasn't at church this week, so we're going to have to push his back again.  Charlotte, the second, is traveling to Europe, so we haven't seen her for a week.  And José, the third, hasn't accepted the invitation to come to church yet, even though she's accepted to be baptized.

We have two really progressing investigators right now, Marie and Parfaite.  Marie is best friends with a member in the other branch in our area, Soeur Tchothco.  However, we found her by tracting.  She was a little skeptical at first, but the more we've taught her, the more she has come to love the gospel.  She came to church for the first time last week, and decided that she wanted to get up and bear her testimony, as an ami!  In her testimony, she said that there were a lot of things that could have stopped her from coming to church that week, but she was determined to go because she had promised us that she would be there.  She then said as soon as she walked in the building, she heard a whisper in her head that told her, "Marie, this is your church.  You belong here."  What an amazing testimony of the truth that she has already received!  I was very happy for her, and just about the whole congregation turned around and smiled at my companion and I when she shared that.  She has accepted to be baptized, but doesn't want to set a date because she wants to know when she is ready with God to make that decision.

Our second ami en progrès is Parfaite.  The word parfait translates to perfect in English, and that about describes her right.  We've only met with her twice, but both lessons have been absolutely amazing.  She shared with us this past lesson that she normally doesn't like the people that pass by her small restaurant-shop that preach of God, but when we passed by, she felt something inside her that told her to call us over, and how grateful she was that she had!  Both of these amis have shown me how the Holy Spirit works in many people aroudn us to prepare them to receive the message of the restored gospel of Christ before we even bring it to them.

Well, that's all I have time to share this week, but I love and miss you all so very much, and I hope that everything is going well over there across the pond.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Love the smiles!

One of the things he was looking forward to the most were the kids.

A glimpse of the area he is living





Eating grilled fish and hot pima sauce (apparently very hot) - did he really eat the fish, head and all, or does he just want us to believe he did?





Oh, how I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the plate of pima and fish was set in front of him and the fish was staring back at him (photo borrowed from Elder Hawkins blog)

Elder Hawkins give a little more detail on this meal in his post last week.  You can read about it here:  http://eldertrevorhawkins.blogspot.com/2013/07/unforeseen-circumstances-and-looking-on.html