Let’s start with transfers. Kadima is off to go home and I’m going to train a new Ivorian so that’s exciting. I’m optimistic yet hesitant we will see how it goes.
This week we had my thirteenth baptism of a young girl named Ak__. She is 18 and has a cool story. As a younger teen she wasn’t the best. She left home a lot without asking and lied about where she was and obviously was not doing the best things in her life. Her parents did not know what to do but luckily there was a young woman’s leader who lives right next door and asked the parents if she could take Ak__ to church with her to see if the teachings our church taught could help her. The parents accepted and our teachings did help her she really changed. She stopped the bad things and her parents saw the change and let her get baptized and here we are.
Okay let’s go from nice fairy tale story to weird “only in this mission” story. I wake up on Sunday and start to get ready, I hear the doorbell ring. I go check and one of our neighbors who sells us bread was there with her son she tells us “take him to your church today and bring him back when you’re done”. Before I have a chance to think about what was happening she was running away to go to her church. So now we have this eleven year old kid we get to take to church with us, since we couldn’t leave him alone at the apartment. We took him to church and took him back home like she asked. The kid is funny but it was just a super weird experience for sure, picture below.
I had spam bacon in a can this week, sent in a package from my grandma. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s been so long or if it’s really that good but it was some of the best tasting bacon stuff ever.
This transfer has not been easy for me at all, however just at the end me and my companion sat down and just talked he thanked me for everything I had done for him. He said I helped him do a lot to push him to be better till the end. It was a super cool moment and I have yet to find a comp that I have not gotten along great with.
Fun facts about Africa. It is summer vacation here, even though every day is summer. The kids have fun games to play with tires, sticks, playing in trash, and many other games. I have no idea how to play but they seem fun. There are guys that walk around with little carts that sell ice-cream in bags. Like water in bags that I drink, but really interesting ice cream, the trucks have horns that they honk and every time they see white people they honk extra fast. Beer flavored drinks that don’t have alcohol are very popular here but real alcohol is even more popular. I see so many drunk people it’s kind of sad.
Kadima said good bye to all his converts and the members which made our last few days super busy. Also the world is big but when we find connections we say the world is small. I found a cool connection this week with a couple in the stake that came to visit our branch. They lived in the US for many years and in many states before returning to Togo and guess where they found the church? No other than Sioux City, Iowa while living there for 8 years. When they found out I was from there they were so surprised because I’m the first or second missionary to serve in this mission from Iowa. They were super great people.
That’s all I can remember, life goes on.
Ak__ Baptism
The little neighbor kid we took to church
My amazing breakfast. Spam bacon (thanks grandma) good bread, eggs and a bag of water.
The ant hills in the apartment. I sweep about daily and they just come back.
Kadima wrote his name in 14 places in the apartment before he left.
