"You will be an official representative of the Church. . . . Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ . . . Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you." Thomas S. Monson
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2015

"Can you feel so now?"


At the Kazotti's for lunch this morning!  It was soooo good!!!
Wow.  I'm at a loss.  Yet I'm not.  I guess I'm just so happy that I had to take some time to let out a nice sigh.

Anyway, today has been a fantastic day.  After spending the morning in Fidjrossè eating lunch with the Kazotti family and seeing a couple converts, I got some excellent clothing shopping done.  It's been a great day.  Quite exhausting, but great nonetheless.

I LOVE mango season! 
Sooooo.... my pants ripped as I was getting into the taxi.  Luckily we were going to the tailor and she fixed it right up for me!
Mother's Day was wonderful.  We were supposed to watch General Conference for Church, but right aroud 7:30 a.m., the power goes out!  I told Elder Wittig to bring his little speakers and USB to listen.  We started with that at about 9 and got about 40 minutes into the Saturday Afternoon session before a generator got there.  It took a bit to get the generator going, but once we did we were able to watch the whole Saturday session!  Due to the instability of the power coming from the generator, the DVD player started to smoke right after we turned it off, so that kinda vetoed watching the Sunday Morning session, but we're planning on watching it this Saturday evening.

Once we got home, there was still no power.  So we waited, and waited, and waited in order to go Skype our families, but nothing came.  Eventually, we had almost given up when it was 30 minutes before curfew.  To add onto that, our phone was almost dead, so it wasn't like I could just go call my family for 30 minutes.

Finally, after much prayer, the power came on at 7:30 p.m., so I immediately went and plugged the phone in and had a wonderful chat with my family.  I love the Lord and His tender mercies.  Waiting that much longer made it just that much sweeter.

Now, onto my little testimony for today.  There has been one subject that has been occupying my mind for a little while now concerning conversion.  It has been obvious to me for quite some time that conversion to the Lord is obtained first through a testimony of the true and living gospel of Jesus Christ.  However, it has been an interesting experience for me to see the different types of conversion that come based on how these testimonies were received.  This reminds me a lot of the parable of the sower as recounted by Elder Oaks in the April 2015 conference as well.

I have seen testimonies be gained in two ways: 1) through reason and/or philosophy, and 2) through "feeling" a feeling.

My attention has been drawn to this because in the past few weeks, we've had several investigators more explain that they FEEL that we we're saying is true.  One example is the lady about whom I wrote last week.  She and many others have exclaimed how they have FELT that the Book of Mormon is true and how they have FELT that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored Church of Jesus Christ.  My heart has equally been filled with joy and this feeling that it is true as I have heard these blessed people explain their feelings and new-found beliefs.

In my time that I have been here in Africa, I have had the chance to meet many members of the Church.  Many have had their feet set firmly in the gospel sod.  They let their faith guide them through the many, many trials that the Saints face here.  They do things intentionally and truly seek after the Lord and His kingdom.  They firmly believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on the earth today.

Some members think that the Church is a good thing for them.  Some simply like what is said during the meetings.  Some just because their frineds are there, and others because they receive help from other members of the Church.  These are not necessarily bad things, but they are certainly not the right reasons.

The difference that i have noticed is that those who are firmly planted in the gospel FEEL that it's true and right.  They feel like they have a duty to God and to the truth that He has revealed to them.  Here are a couple examples of that "feeling" of conversion:
37 ¶Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
41 ¶Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 37-38, 41)
and
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done. (Alma 24:24)
These people were truly converted to the Lord because they FELT that it was right.  This feeling is essential if we are hoping to be converted to the Lord.  Here's another example of the results of the conversion of those Lamanites:
6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.
 7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. (Alma 23:6-7)
Now, those of us who have once or even many times felt this should remember that it is something that we should be continuing to strive after.  It might not be as mighty as the first time.  It might not (and will not) come in the same way everytime, but as long as we FEEL the presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives, we can know that we are on that straight and narrow path that leads to Everlasting Life.  Listen to Alma's counsel:
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? (Alma 5:26, emphasis added)
I leave you my testimony that this gospel is true.  I have felt time and time again that it is.  I know that this feeling comes from the Holy Spirit of God.  I know that God will speak to each one of us through that Spirit.  And I know that every time we consciously seek and receive His presence, we take one step deeper into our conversion to God and thus one step closer to Him.

I invite all of us to ponder on those special times where we have FELT that something is true.  As we do so, I promise you that you will feel this again and that you will vehemently and affirmatively respond to Alma's penetrating question, "Can you feel so now?" In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

#Africasleeps

Monday, December 29, 2014

Our Christmas Miracle

Well, I've been pondering a bit on what to say this week, and I'm slightly at a loss.  I think it partially may be because I've got a headache from being out in the sun for multiple hours today.  My words may be a bit short today, but I'll tell my week through pictures.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

I will explain one miracle that we had from this past week--from Christmas day actually.

In preparation for calling home on Christmas day, we searched for and found (through some members) a very good cyber just outside our area.  We went to it last Monday and it was phenomenal.  The connection was outstanding, there was air-conditioning, and the chairs were very comfortable.  As we left, I was confident that I would have a sucessful Skype chat with my family three days later.

So then Tuesday comes where we had the Mission Christmas Party.  It was a blast!  We get to the mission home that morning dressed all nice.  They had told us to wear missionary attire for the service project because we would just be washing bottles.  So here's Elder Jenkins, dressed up all nice.  Hair's done up, whitest shirt I own, my suit pants, and newly shined shoes.  We get to the orphanage that we were working at and the place was pretty much just a giant mud puddle.  We were way up in the village, so it wasn't too much of a surprise.  Looking at the mud, I was fairly confident that I could make it out still quite clean, after all, we were just cleaning glass bottles. ...

With a few kids at the orphanage 12.23.14
Just as this thought crossed my mind, President Morin says, "Elder Jenkins!  We need some strong men to move the bags of bottles to the tables.  Can you round up a few Elders, please?"  Sure.  OK.  So we make our way into the compound and go to the corner, where several huge bags of glass bottles are stacked.  I grab Elder Barnes to put him on the other side of the bag (they were pretty heavy), and we pick it up and head to the closest table.  I looked down, and I was on the verge of tears.  My shoes were covered in mud, the bottom part of my pants were almost unrecognizable, and my white shirt had several dirt marks on it from the bag.  So yeah, after about an hour of that I was dirty as all get out, drenched in sweat, yet my hair was still intact (at least the dirt got it's priorities straight).

Towards the end of the activity, we "strong men" were called on again to take all the buckets of water out and dump them on the street.  I tried to take one on my head, which went fine, until I hit a spot where I had to step down.  Not being able to look down with the load on my head, I was helpless.  Elder Ribera (from France), who had been working previously on the bags, came to my aid. As we were getting the bucket off of my head so that we could both carry it, a whole bunch of water splashed out onto him.  I didn't feel absolutely terrible because he was as dirty as I was, but I still felt really, really bad.  Thankfully, he was a REALLY good sport about it and we finished the job together.

View from the orphanage 12.23.14
After everything was cleaned up, we went up to sing to the children, and then we made our way back to Cotonou.

Once there, we went to Majestic, which is where we hold all of our big conferences.  We ate lunch, watched a few presentations (including a few musical presentations in which I participated).  I was in one with the choir, and then Elder Izekor and I did three songs together with him on the recorder and me on the guitar.  We did "Il est né, le divin enfant", "What Child Is This?", and "Silent Night".  It was a blast!  After all of that, we had three games, and Elder Izekor had asked me to be the game show host.  Guess all those years of watching GSN paid off!  After that, President and Sister Morin shared their testimonies at the end.  Before their testimonies, President had Elder Bulunga (one of the assistants) read a few rules that they really wanted to focus on during the holiday season--one of which being the fact that we should not leave our proselyting areas.

Our table at the Christmas party12.23.14
Our Christmas party lunch!  It was sooo good!!! 12.23.14
With this in mind, we set out home searching for solutions.  We did not know of any cybers in our area with a strong enough connection to do skype nor with the materials necessary.  Elder Wittig had the idea on Wednesday that we fast for it.  So, with much faith and great desire to speak with our families, we knelt in prayer together to start a fast.

The next 24 hours were not exactly easy, but we saw many miracles in our missionary work that came as a result of this fast.  We had decided beforehand to do some door-to-door on Christmas day, and it turned out great!  Everyone was together as a family, and they were already so happy that they were excited to have more visitors over.  We had decided to share the Plan of Salvation with everyone to show why the birth of our Savior was so important, and it worked really, really well.

My christmas gifts! (I got 4 new white shirts, a belt, and 2 photo albums) 12.25.14
My cinnamon rolls! 12.25.14
My cinnamon rolls with my little Christmas tree 12.25.14

At the Kazadi Family's home on Christmas day!  (I brought them my cinnamon rolls) 12.25.14
Finally, the evening came.  We asked around for cybers, and received some direction from members.  We tried three cybers, but none had what was necessary to call home with Skype.  After walking all over our area, which is massive, for two hours, we were a bit winded.  The day was dying, but we didn't lose our faith.  We pressed on, with hope of one last cyber, though reports from past missionaries put the chances in the dim range.

As we were walking there, we met a man who works at this cyber that we were going to.  We asked him about the connection, and he said that they had fixed it last week!  There was a problem with their internet device, but they replaced it and apparently there was a much better connection.  Next problem: no microphones.  Well, it just so happens that this man was going into town to fix a computer problem, and the store he was going to had microphones.  We gave him the money necessary, and 30 minutes later he was back at the cyber with them and we were calling our families.

Skyping with the family on Christmas 12.25.14
What a marvelous manifestation of God's love and attention to even four small missionaries in a remote country.  We showed our faith in Him, and He provided a way.  With all the events that transpired, this Christmas was, just as President Morin had promised that it could be, the most beautiful Christmas of my life.  

Avec amour,
Elder Jenkins

(Note from mom:  Elder Jenkins shared his testimony with us during our Skype and asked us to share it with family and friends.  You can view it here: Elder Jenkins Christmas testimony

Frère Joël's funeral.  I was invited to speak about the Plan of Salvation.  It was a magnificent occasion to testify of the truth and hope of the Lord's Restored Gospel. 
My favorite couple that we are teaching, 
Fréjus and Rabiath!  This was their first Sunday at Church!  12.28.14

Ouidah today!  12.29.14
Aquaman statue in Ouidah!  12.29.14
Point of No Return 12.29.14  (Note from Mom: This is the memorial commemorating the Atlantic slave trade.  This was one of the main departure points for those sold into slavery between the 15th and 19th centuries.  Notice the two rows of slaves chained together being lead to the boat (at the top of the arch), and the two statues on the sides of three shackled together to load on the boats). 
We (the Akpakpa district) were with the Assistants in their truck and we got a bit ahead of the rest of the zone with the office Elders in the mission van, so we had to stop and throw the frisbee to wait for them!  Poor Elder Wittig had to go sewer diving to get it after one throw!  Good thing the sewer was completely empty and dry! 12.29.14 
Best wave of the day!  12.29.14
The water was SOOOOO calm today.  The air was calm as well.  Just the overall tranquility was almost breath-taking, especially being in a city area now where we have so much traffic noise. 12.29.14
My name is Elder Jenkins, and I like long walks on the beach. 12.29.14
My tourist wins for the day! 12.29.14

My first nativity set!  12.29.14

Monday, December 8, 2014

Our need for personal revelation

Elder Nkanza and I with Bona and Judith, who are planning the marriage and baptism very soon!  Too bad I have to leave them behind!
Well, well, well...  The transfer virus has found its way to Elder Jenkins again.  Maybe for the last time for these two years. And I'm going to... drum roll please... *drum rolllllllllllllllllllllll* AKPAKPA.  Yeah, that's right.  Akpakpa.  Try saying that ten times fast.  Rather, try saying that one time slowly!!!  Just for a note: "kp" is considered a consonant in the Fon and éwé languages.  It's like a guttoral "p".  I will be working with Elder Jeneseri, my first time working with an American since the MTC 18 months ago!  He's Tanzanian by birth, but has been living in the States for quite some time.  I'm very excited for this new start again and the chance to make a difference.  This is truly where I am supposed to be.

For my short message today, I would like to simply bear a testimony of mine that has been so strengthened with this transfer call: our need for personal revelation.  In relating this experience, I do not wish to brag or boast or show that I am some sort of prophet; to do so would be a sin and against the will of God.  Nor do I wish to diminish the sacredness and importance of this personal experience that I had.  I am not seeking attention nor the glory of men.  I merely wish to bear my testimony and invite you all to partake of God's love and acceptance as I have, and I pray that the Holy Ghost assist me and you to confirm this simple, yet profound truth.

Two weeks ago, I was sitting in a missionary training meeting (Zone Conference) when a very strong feeling of peace overcame me.  This feeling burned brightly in my heart and was accompanied by the thought, "I really want to work in Akpakpa.  Yeah, I'm going to Akpakpa."  This revelation was preceded by pondering and asking what the Lord wants from me with my last 6 months.  We were talking about working with the local Church leaders and improving our relations with them when this overwhelming feeling and thought came over me.

Good-bye hug with Elder Rybin on Friday, the day before he called me for the transfer.
This past Saturday night, I received a call from Elder Rybin, one of the Assistants to President Morin.  "Elder Jenkins!" he said.

"Elder Rybin!" I replied, "Can I tell you where I'm going?"

"Sure, go ahead!"

"I'm going to Akpakpa."

"And who are you working with?"

"Elder Jeneseri!"

"Wow, right on!"

He then proceeded to give a few directives that President has felt of why I am needed in Akpakpa.  This experience had confirmed what I had known for two weeks, and I was ever grateful for the Lord's goodness towards a small and simple servant in His vineyard.  I know, if not from all my other experiences here then from this experience alone, that the Lord is in control of this work.  He inspires the mission president as to where He needs His servants, and the mission president is simply a tool in the Lord's hands.  

As I pondered upon this experience, I decided to study President Eyring's Sunday morning talk from the October 2014 General Conference about our need for personal revelation.  According to what I understood from his talk, one of the main reasons why we need personal revelation is to confirm in ourselves the commandments and rules given to us by our leaders and parents.  In this case, I sought the Lord's will for me, and just as he promised Oliver Cowdery, who served alongside Joseph Smith for many years, He told me in my heart and in my mind (see D&C 8:2-3).  What I understand now i
s that this revelation had confirmed the Lord's call for me to serve in Akpakpa before I even got it!  When I received the call to serve from my leaders, I was ready to accept this call with a willing heart and a willing mind.  What a miracle.

I testify that we all need personal revelation to progress in this life and eventually attain Eternal Life, exalted in the kingdom of our Father.  This small example that I have shared with you today is but a mere glimpse of what our Heavenly Father will reveal unto us through the power of the Holy Ghost.  We all have a RIGHT to receive revelation from God as we are literally His spirit children.  No one is too little to receive revelation.  We ALL can and will receive revelation from God if we study and ask and if we are worthy to be accepted of Him.

I love you all, and I invite you all to live your life in a way where you can be worthy of and receive revelation from on high to stregthen your own testimonies that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that your are a child of God

Have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

Edouard and Clarisse (the ones who were married in August)!!!  Two of my favorite people ever! 
With the whole fam!
Dinner at their house last night!  Delicious, and perfectly spicy!!!
Aristotle, 3 years old, yet worthy of his name...
Lunch with the Bidodoussi family (minus Patrick the dad who was at work) today!
Lunch!  Was not too shabby as well!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Thanksgiving and the miraculous conversion of Joël

Wow.  Where to start. Well, Happy Thanksgiving!  It was a good last celebration here in Africa.  Elder Silvas made some barbecue meatballs and I made the mashed potatoes, green beans, and garlic bread.  I finished it off with some REAL vanilla ice cream!!!

Our apartment à table!
Thanksgiving dinner!
In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, I got thinking about what I'm truly thankful for.  First, I'm thankful for a Loving Heavenly Father and the knowledge that I have of Him.  The relationship that I have gained with Him during these past 18 months alone has made this time worth it.  He truly lives and truly does love us and watch over us.  I'm grateful for His Son, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.  No greater sacrifice has been, nor ever will be, known upon the face of this Earth.

I don't want to sound cliché, but I'm am so grateful for the past 18 months that I have spent serving the Lord.  I am no longer the same person that I was when I started nor that I was 6 months ago.  At times, I felt that I have been put through the refiner's fire.  It's hard, but the outcome is always beautiful when we let the Master work His mighty hands on us.  I am thankful for all of the people that I have met that have touched my life for the better.  I know that I will keep in touch with some of these people for life.  I am so thankful for the Lord's preparation of His children to receive this restored gospel.

On that note, I want to explain a little miracle that Elder Nkanza and I have experienced these past 2 weeks.  

Just over two weeks ago, Elder Nkanza and I had a lesson with a recent convert, Eric.  We had decided to watch the Restoration video together and ask if there was anyone he knew that would be touched by watching that video.  He said that he knew that there was and that he would search and pray.  We ended the lesson with a prayer.  As we were walking out, a friend was just arriving from Togo to visit him.  He said, "This is who I was thinking of during the video."  We invited him, Joël, to come to Church the next day, and he excitedly accepted.

We had our first appointment Monday evening (they live right next to our cyber café), and, long story short, we fixed his baptismal date right then and there.  The past two weeks have been absolutely incredible as we've met with him every day.  He understood just about everything right as we said it, and his questions were so inspired.  Needless-to-say, he was prepared by the Lord.

Even more impressive than his short but strong conversion during the time we were teaching him is the way that he had been prepared by the Lord leading up to meeting us.  He comes from a very voodoo family but decided a little while ago that Jesus Christ was really the path that he should follow.  He said that he's been searching for a while to be baptized, but every time that he went to a church, he just didn't feel satisfied.  It was just like something was missing.  He said that at a certain point his work started to take a big downfall, and there were days where he earned absolutely nothing at work.  He began to question if God really exists.  As he was pondering constantly the question, he had a very special experience that testified to him that God truly does exist and is watching over him.  He began searching for the truth.  A few weeks later, he found us.

He said that ever since the first day at Church, he has believed that this is the truth because he felt comfortable, whereas he was uneasy in other churches.  As we began to talk together, he gained a testimony of the truth after reading, pondering, and praying about the Book of Mormon.  Through the power of the Holy Ghost, he received an answer that it IS true.

There are few things that can compare with introducing the Gospel to someone, becoming close with them, and seeing the gospel take root in their lives and begin to produce fruit so quickly.  Joël experienced a great change of heart and received the strength and aide necessary through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon, and a long but concise preparation process produced by a loving Heavenly Father.

Baptismal Service on Saturday, 11/29/14.  Joël is the one on the far left, next to Elder Nkanza.  Eric is right next to me.
That's about how our week's been.  I love you all so much.  Have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

One of the two pigs we killed today for Elder Silvas' birthday.  With Elder Rich.
Sorry it's a bit blurry (this camera does that a lot, especially when I take videos--I guess he just doesn't have that long of an attention-span to focus on one thing that long).  But I'm in the middle with my super dull knife.
One of my all-time favorite little African kids.  I don't know her real name, but we all call her Ma because that's thing only thing she said for a while.
Having undergone an intensive HUMAN anatomy class, I was the designated dissector today.
On the grill.

Monday, August 18, 2014

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