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

"It's much easier to be 100% obedient than 98% obedient"

Elder Nkanza and I!  I tried to get a better picture, but I didn't have the chance, but he's still AWESOME!!!!

My my my.  I think the earth decided to spin a bit faster this week.  Just about everyone I know has said that this past week has flown by.  So true.

This has been an excellent week.  I would say that the most major event was Friday morning.  President Morin organized a mission-wide conference (split in two for Togo and Benin) on obedience.  It is a new push that he has started since he came in July, and many of us had a feeling that such would be the case.

The Assistants really kind of ran the show and set up three white boards with a title on every one.  The first was "Continuer" (continue), the second was "Commencer" (begin or start), and the third was "Cesser" (cease or stop).  We spent about 20 or 30 minutes on each one with a open word to specific activities that apply to each of those three verbs.  I was so grateful for the peace of the Spirit that confirmed that I am striving to be as obedient as I can be.  It is a beautiful feeling.  I still have many things that I need to work harder on, but I am doing my best, and I have felt the Savior's Atonement make up the difference.  We are starting to see miracles come in our area.

We then opened up time for testimonies from President and Sister Morin, the Assistants, and then every single one of the missionaries.  There were some great testimonies given.  I shared my testimony that Ether 12:27 is so true.  I have felt the Spirit strengthen me immensely in my quest to be more exactly obedient.  I have heard his voice guide me, and I have become more accustomed in heeding His promptings more quickly, which, again, has produced some great changes in me.

I had the opportunity also to give a fireside about the Pride Cycle Saturday evening.  This was such an edifying experience.  I think studying it was far more edifying than presenting it.  I decided to create my own cycle based on others I've seen.  I added a couple points, and as I was searching the scriptures, I found that everything fell directly in place!  It was so amazing!  My companion was laughing while I was studying because I just kept freaking out because everything was lining up so perfectly!!! I really learned what it means to truly feast upon the words of Christ and delight in the scriptures.  Here's a picture of my Pride Cycle and one with it translated.  

Pride Cycle

Pride Cycle translated

My testimony this week has been strengthened about prophets and the very important roles that they lead in our lives and in the world.  I thought of this while doing my in depth study of the Pride Cycle.  I thought of ancient people and the early saints of the Church and the peace and joy they found in the gospel and the words of the prophets amid trials and persecution.  I then thought of myself and the world around me.  It is so sad to see things deteriorate so rapidly around me.  Being set apart from the world as a missionary and a servant of God has given me so much light on this.  I have found this same joy and peace in my life.  It is the sweetest feeling to know who I am, to know God's Plan, and to know how I can follow in His ways.

I love you all so much.  Remember, as President Monson said, it is much easier (and more worthwhile) to be 100% obedient than to be 98% obedient.  Have a great week!!!

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

View from Frère Kazotti's balcony

"... Cleave unto the Lord and serve him with all your heart and all you soul"

Well, what a week it has been.  There have been many ups and downs, but mostly ups.  There have been many, many important lessons learned.  And I feel like I say that every week, but this week it just has so much more feeling and sincerity in my heart.  These two years truly are the best for learning the precious lessons of the gospel and of life.

Well, to start off, I sent off Elder Sahue on Tuesday and my new companion, Elder Nkanza (from DR Congo), got here on Wednesday, direct from the MTC!!!  So far it's been amazing!!!  I love him so much.  He's energetic, yet quiet and very humble.  He's obedient and a very good listener.  He's serious and is very ready to work, which I LOVE!!!!!!!  I'm very excited for our future.

I have been very grateful this week for my first experience with training back in February.  I have decided to take things a little bit differently, and I think it really reflects my personal quests and studies.  Instead of focusing so much on the material and teaching methods (as I did back in February), I have really been focusing on what matters most in the mission, OBEDIENCE and THE SPIRIT.  He has been very attentive and is already able to pay attention to the little details.  He's also amazing at giving service.  I can't even count how many times I've been served in the five days that we've been together.

I'm so looking forward this next week to getting into more of a doctrinal study together, though we've already had a couple of awesome discussions!  But now we'll be more focused on the lesson content and teaching methods.

My apologies for another short letter.  The computer has been so very slow today.  Also, hopefully next week I will have pictures because I have word that my new camera is here!!!

A scripture that touched me during my studies this week of service and sacrifice is Joshua 22:5, especially where it says, "...cleave unto the Lord and serve him with all your heart and all you soul."  My appologies if it's not exactly correct, it was written from memory and translated from French.

I love you all so very much.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

When we obey with exactness, everything else falls into place

Sorry I have no time today, but here's a little of what I learned this week.

The first principle of enduring to the end is obedience.  When we obey with exactness, everything else falls into place.  No matter what the trials or hardships, the Lord has made a promise, and He is bound.

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins

The Lord works from the inside out . . .

Another week gone, and a whole bunch of new experiences as always!  In all honesty, I don't have terribly much to share from this past week.  

Last night, we had a pretty good mangez-vous.  The first course was a salad with cabbage, tomatoes, onions, hard-boiled eggs, some form of meat (I've learned to just not ask if I don't know) and many other delicious things!  I downed it so fast that I was given a second helping!  The second course was just rice, sauce rouge (which is pretty dang spicy, Elder Buxton and I were both sweating after that plate), and chicken, all very delicious.  The third course was fried potato slices (kinda like french fries) with a sauce of tomatoes, onions, canned peas, and a type of not-so-spicy pima.  All of that topped off with Orange Fanta.  It was delicious!

I will say that I've done quite a bit of studying in the scriptures and words of the modern-day prophets, and it has been very spiritually uplifting.  In everything I've read and studied, I've gotten some sort of message, whether a little obliquely or completely outright, of the two things that are most important to me personally.  First is the sacrifices required and the blessings promised with obedience.  Many times, I have seen a witness that while it is impossible for us now to be perfect, it is possible to be perfectly obedient.  This is something that has strengthened me so much.  Several times I've had peers and collegues tell me that it is impossible, yet, all of my mentors and people that I look up to have stressed it as the most important principle to exercise as a missionary.  While there are many things that I cannot control, I can be perfectly obedient in the things that I can control.  Really, I've learned that the mission teaches you things that are essential for life that would be very hard to learn otherwise, and that has made it worth it in itself.

The second principle that I have found in my studies is the power of Christ's atoning sacrifice.  This is something that is essential for life here on earth and for eternal salvation in the life after this.  Christ's Atonement provides us a way to find a remission of our sins even on the earth and a way to lighten our burdens that seem to be weighing us down.  There is a quote that I would like to share from my personal study this morning that really touched me.

"The Lord works from the inside out.  The world works from the outside in.  The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold man by changing his environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

President Ezra Taft Benson, who died in 1994, shared this in 1985.  It is amazing for me to see how that applies so specifically for me even all these years later.  This statement is true, there's is no way to doubt it or disprove it.  It is true, and I am a witness to that.  I have seen this change come within myself even though I have been powerless to change my environment.  I still have so much to learn, but it's been amazing what can happen when we truly apply the principles of Christ's redeeming and loving sacrifice.  It is through His example that we can reach our highest potential, something that I have seen in both Christophe and Gabriel the past couple of weeks.  As they have been introduced to the true doctrine of Christ, they have both realized who they can become and how big of an impact they can make in people's lives, both here on this earth and eternally.  

I am so grateful for this opportunity that our Heavenly Father has given me to come and serve him full time for two years.  My time here is truly sacred as it has been set apart by God himself.  The more I have served with all my might, the more I have seen how this work is driven directly by a divine influence, which is why it is so important for missionaries to be exactly obedient.  It is only through obedience to God's laws that we can truly reach our full potential, something that I have really come to know here with my time in the mission.

I love and miss you all so much!  Until next week!

Avec amour,

Elder Jenkins