Week 40 Email

From: Christian.garcia@missionary.org
Date: Monday, March 21, 2022

Bonjour ma famille et mes amis!! J'espère que vous avez passé une bonne semaine.

Tuesday was a day full of excitement... we woke up and Elder Meline informed me that he wasn't feeling well so we got to talk with the Jeffocats (the sr. couple in togo) and they said to wait and see what he felt like in the afternoon. So I got some great studying in in the morning. The bible is challenging in any language if you don't understand it very well, good thing we can ask questions haha. Elder Meline ws steeling up to go out to sector in the afternoon so that's what we did. It was a great experience to stay the least. We got stood up because one ami went to go play soccer. And then the others just weren't home when they said they would be. We ended up going and trying to find people but it was as if there wasn't anyone out in the streets so it was pretty weird. Especially because there aren't really doors to go and knock on. You just walk into this group of houses and ask if someone is interested, it can go good or very badly. This time we got to talk to nobody :/ But that's okay because there is always other days to have successes!! We followed institute at Bé Kpota (bay-pota) and Elder Anderson and Elder Ngoma were there!! It was really great to see them again, and all of the Elder Anderson fanatics were happy he was there too.

Wednesday was kinda like every other Wednesday haha. We got up and this time we were both vibin. We turned on some of the youth album, I highly recommend it, and then we did everything to get ready for the day. Well we didn't have any rendez-vous again :/ but that's okay because it gave us time to go and find amis in Anfamé. After lunch we went out and taught Frère Andre. For the past couple of weeks he's had school exams so he want able to follow the lessons but he kept coming to church so we were praying he would be free sometime soon, and today was that day! We got to teach him about baptism and the covenants and the gift of the Holy Ghost. He asked us about baptism and we got him on a date!! After him we went and hung out with a member family so that we could wait for some of their friends to come by for the lesson. (We don't actually know where they live because we also do the lessons at this families house). They didn't end up showing up but we got to share some thoughts with this family and it was really a great experience for me to listen to the testimony of this family. God created families for a reason, and its a wonderful reason. After we walked to the apartment and almost got ran over many times because the motorcycles that don't want to wait in traffic just hop onto the sidewalk so that's always fun. 

Thursday we started off the day with a What the Heck!?!? moment. Here in Africa there is no respect for time with basically anything. We had Zone Conference at Keugue but the problem was that the taxi that we had called a few days before decided that he was jsut going to be super late. Thankfully I have learned that with the drivers here you need to let them know a time before you want to leave by a certain amount of time so that when they actually get there they are there at the right time. So we told the driver to come around 8 o'clock and he got to the appartment around 8:30... I am even more thankfull that we don't live really far from the stake ecnter beacuse that was definately pushing it close. Anyways, we had Zone Conference!!! It was really good and we got to listen to President Proudfoot talk about repentance and how it is so important for us to repent on a daily basis. HE also talked to us about when it is a time that we should go and talk to someone with priesthood authority to help us in the repentance process. We got to celebrate birthdays for those that have their birthdays in this transfer so we got to sing in French and English and I can say that I love listening to the francophone missionaries sing in English probably as much as they love hearing the anglophones sing in French. We got to have a training of how to fix a baptismal date with our Zone Leaders and I know that I am going to be applying that to my missionary life. If there is anything that I could share with you all from this Zonce Conference I would have to choose to share the importance of being humble enough to admit that you have made an error and then ask our Heavenly Father to forgive you. He is there for each and every single one of us all day every day. He sent His Beloved Son do suffer and pay for our sins. Christ suffered all of our sins so that when we repent we, ourselves, don't have to suffer. (D&C 19:16) 

Friday we did our weekly planning and Elder Meline led it and chose some very amazing songs from the Cantiques. In the afternoon we went out to sector in Anfame, again, with a member and he helped us with translation into Éwé. After we headed over into Adakpame so that we could hopefully find new people to teach and meet up with some members... there weren't many people out in the streets though so we went into the market and I almost got lost. I didn't fathom how many people can fit into a street before Friday... so many bodeis everywhere y'all. We ended up at the church and got to talk to the bishop about our progression of the mission and we have an activity planned soon so hopefully I can get some pictures of that. We ended the night by buying some schwarma and burgers from a resturant we pass by every time we head back to our apartment. They tasted pretty good, except the ground beef here is seasoned with cinnamon so it tastes a little funky. The put french fries on their burgers too. All in all, a bunch of random ingredients were thrown together and the burger tasted good and was well worth the less than $2 I spent hahah. 

Saturday started off slower than they have been becasue we had no rendez-vous. But that didn't stop us from trying to find people. We ended up finding a few people and inviting them to church. They were busy this week so hopefully next week. We went and taught Sr. Bebé a part of the 3rd lesson. She had lots of questions concerning a few points so if you could keep her in your prayers it would mean a lot. We then went to go and meet up with a new ami buuuut she was busy so she couldn't meet so we rescheduled it for Sunday. We the w end end the church to participate in a ward council and the reason we went there wasn't even something that got talked about hahah. So hopefully the activity goes good. 

Sunday was interesting. I woke up and felt great and then we got to church and I got sick. But it passed once it came up and out so we were chilling. We had quite a few good amis show up to church and were even able to talk to some members to help us this coming week. We also got to meet a new ami in Anfame!!! We still need to figure out a time when he's free but I know that he is going to progress really good. In th afternoon Elder Meline and I were actually walking around trying to find some people before our rescheduled rendz-vous and we saw some of our amis so we went to go and talk with them and they invited us to join thier foosball game. So we played foosball and built an even better relationship with them. Then we went to go and meet up with the new ami, and I made a mistake. She lived in the OTHER sector so we were at the wrong place. So we rescheduled it for when she was free because by the time we would have gotten there she would have been busy :/ I felt really bad, so I made sure to let Elder Meline that I was sorry and the ami too. Then we went and jung out/taught some old members because it was one of the girls' birthdays. We got to talk about the importance of a patriarchal blessing. If you haven't gotten yours yet and you're able to I highly recommend that you think about it. Bring it to the Lord. It's a very great thing snd something that will help your life immensely in the years to come. I have a very grand testimony of that. 

Spiritual thought: 

This week Elder Meline and I studied Charity and Love in our companionship and I wanted to share something with y'all that I learned. To have charity is to use your love because charity is an act of love just how hope is an act of faith. Throughout our lives here on earth we learn and grow. We come to know love, true love through Christ. And the love of Christ is something pure. In Moroni 7:47 we read that "Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forver..." I know that if we turn to charity and learn to love how Christ did our love that we give to someone or that we share with someone, even if it's someone that you say hey to on the street, will endure forever. 

I love each and everyone one of you guys! I hope you all have a great week!!

Beaucoup de mon amour ici en Afrique, 

Elder Garcia

Photos:

We found a sombrero tree

Chillin and waiting for an ami

Spaghetti and garlic bread I made for dinner

In motion soccer game here

Trash heaps +