Phone Call Home: Monday, October 3, 2022

 

With a new area, the phone availability has changed some for Elder Garcia so our day started rather early in order to be able to get a call in. It has been a long time since I have had an early start but it was worth it as always. :)  

Elder Garcia seems super happy today. He was full of smiles and full of laughter as he talked about his last week and the fun that has taken place in his new apartment and with the other 3 Elders that he is spending his time with. Some highlights from our call this week are:

- His new area is village village. It makes it difficult for connecting to a call. Not just to home but to those that they are trying to get rendezvous scheduled with. He says they all have a good attitude about it and they just keep trying

- Even though this area is normally dry dry, this last week has been full of rain. And not just a trickle or a sprinkle. Elder Garcia said that there was a day that it just poured and on top of that the thunder rattled and shook their apartment even. He said he loved that day and the smell of the rain as it fell even though they lost power for a few hours. :) 

- Elder Garcia spent Tuesday this week traveling to his new area. He said it was a super long drive but not near as long as the drive to Kpalime so he was grateful for that

- Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week were spent out in his new sector. He is slowly trying to acclimate himself to his new sector and trying to find landmarks in order to guide his way back to his apartment. There aren't street signs so he has to rely on those in order to know where he is. He also has bikes again this transfer. The tricky part is that 2 of the 4 bicycles are missing and they are the ones that would fit Elder Garcia better. He is determined to track them down and see if any repairs need to be in order to use them. 

- Thursday was spent out in the sector

- Friday they were back out in the sector in the morning and then his companion teaching how to sing in English so they did that as well

- This area has a church building now! They used to meet at the areas Presidents house (it isn't even a branch yet) but now it has a building. They have about 125 members with about 20 people who show up to church. 10 of them are Young Women, 2 belong with the Relief Society, 4 in the Elders Quorum, 3 are Young Men, and they will have a visitor of a member or if they are lucky, an ami that will show up too. 

- They met a gentleman who is married and doesn't have children yet. He owns two (2) boutiques and really wants to get his life settled before he does have kids. He spoke with Elder Garcia and his companion this last week and they are hopeful to go back and check in on him and see how he is doing

- Elder Garcia's companion is teaching himself how to play the piano so they spend some time at the church so he can practice. His companion also likes to sing and has been a member his whole life

- Elder Garcia really enjoys this new apartment he is in and the other Elders he is there with. They are all 'local' and all of them speak French. He says that there are plenty of jokes that are always going around and just as a whole, he is happy to be there.

- Elder Garcia went running this week with Elder Mahan and he is SORE! He said he tried to stretch it all out and everything but he is definitely feeling the effects of not running over the last year and then some.

- The village that Elder Garcia is in is so so new when it comes to the church even being there so Elder Garcia says that people are excited about it. They want to hear from the missionaries and they want to keep the next rendezvous they schedule. This is new and exciting for Elder Garcia too

This new area appears to offer good growth and lots of new possibilities for Elder Garcia. I am excited to watch and learn and will continue to keep him and his companion in our prayers here at home. Keep doing the work. I love you

Mom